Red-headed Stepchild (Sabina Kane #1) by Jaye Wells
Pages: 325
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: Paperback
Challenge: Sabina Kane Read-a-long, 150 + Books in a Year

Synopsis: 

In a world where being of mixed-blood is a major liability, Sabina Kane has the only profession fit for an outcast: assassin. But, her latest mission threatens the fragile peace between the vampire and mage races and Sabina must scramble to figure out which side she’s on. She’s never brought her work home with her—until now. 

This time, it’s personal.

Cover Talk: Badass woman? Check. Red hair? Check. Weapon? Check. Seriously. If a book cover has just one of those things, I am sold. This book cover has it all. I may or may not have developed a girl crush on her.

First Line: “Digging graves is hell on a manicure, but I was taught good vampires clean up after every meal.”

Why I Read It: As if that first line weren’t enough, I have been wanting to read a new UF series and I have had my eyes on this one for a while. When I found The Book Nympho’s Sabina Kane Read-a-long I signed up right away.

Characters: Sabina is tough, sarcastic, and quite funny. She is not one to let others get in her way and is always trying to overcompensate for her mixed heritage. Being half vampire and half mage is not only frowned upon, but the consequences of fraternizing with the enemy is deadly.

Giguhl, AKA, Mr. Giggles, is my favorite! Sent to test Sabina, his plan to kill her doesn’t work. So he’s stuck with her. And oh my word, I love this demon so much. Ordering on home shopping networks, shape shifting into a cat, then a hairless cat. Love this guy. Demon, rather.

Adam the “sexy hexy”. I feel like I don’t need to say anything else, but I’m not shallow and will not only talk about how attractive this guy is. He is also an incredibly powerful mage and is determined to help Sabina embrace her mage side.

Clovis is half-vampire, half-demon and is hellbent on taking over the magical/supernatural world. And I’ll be damned if he is not the most charming thing ever. Ugh. Why? Why are the bad guys so charming?

Plot/World-building: I cannot tell you how much I am digging this world. Vampire, mages, fairies, demons are just a few of my favorite things. Throw in a badass heroine and my life is complete. There are so many societies, rules, conspiracies, and secret organizations in this one book alone. I cannot wait to read the rest of the series and find out more.

The best part of this book is how often I found myself laughing. When reading the synopsis, I didn’t really expect that to be the case. The humor and sarcasm reminds me very much of Kevin Hearne’s Iron Druid series that I’ve also been reading. I just love when the hero is an inch from death and they can still make a sarcastic remark, all while bleeding profusely. It’s wonderful.

The ending definitely has me wanting to read the next book very soon. I absolutely cannot wait to see where Sabina will go and what she and her friends will do next.

Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. Badassery, sarcasm, grit, humor, and sexy time. I really couldn’t ask for more. I am so ready to read the next book in the series.