Naomi's Reading Palace: February 2020

Windfall by Rachel Caine ~ Review & Teaser (@rachelcaine)

Windfall was a helluva ride, I tell you!! There was a lot that happened and I was on the edge of my seat from start to finish! It was amusing to see Jo step back and build honest friendships.

Title: Windfall

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Weather Warden #4

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published: November 1st 2005

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Leaving Las Vegas seemed like a great idea to Joanne Baldwin. But there’s no escaping her past – and there’s no time to recharge. The former Weather Warden’s powers are at an all-time low just as the clouds of war are gathering – and the biggest storm since Atlantis’s destruction is heading for landfall.

Joanne is exhausted. When not donning a rain mac and camping it up for the camera as a TV weather girl, she has to contend with a vengeful cop on her tail, her newly divorced sister moving in and getting caught in the middle of a supernatural civil war. Worst of all, her boyfriend in a bottle can’t stop draining her powers and is fast morphing from the Djinn of her dreams to the Ifrit of her nightmares.

As the agreement between the Wardens and the Djinn starts to self-destruct, Joanne finds herself forced to choose between saving her lover, saving her Warden abilities…and saving humanity.

I don't know what I expected from this book, but I certainly wasn't expecting all of that to happen!! Joanne seemed to always find herself in a lot of trouble, and although she began this book trying to fit into the normal world, the Warden world seemed to drag her back in. This particular read was a slow build, however the ending has left me shocked, and I need to continue immediately.

It was amusing to see Joanne try to fit into trying to be a normal woman, holding down an interesting job, and she had very few friends. Her sister managed to make her way back into her life and turned so much of her normalcy upside down. I really liked Jo's new friend Cherise, and how she was willing to come to Jo's aide whenever she needed her.

I could see that the world was changing and there were disputes arising everywhere, between Wardens and even the Djinn. Jo seemed to be caught in the middle and often called on those she trusted for a little help. I was happy to see Lewis again, and even the punk kid Kevin. David's appearances were sporadic and my heart ached for Jo.

The Weather Warden series has been one hell of a roller-coaster ride so far. Each one of these books has been building into something huge... and by the time I got to the end of Windfall, there was certainly a big shift in the game! There was so much change and there were a few threads left open that I cannot wait to see more of! Rachel Caine has certainly made me a Weather Warden addict, and I'll be picking up Firestorm immediately!!

I have a couple of good teasers, showing the pressure that Jo was under. She also has some good friends! 😝

‘What’s wrong?’
‘Apart from the Djinn fighting in the streets and Ashan himself coming to kick my ass? Well, I have a time clock running on my life, and Jonathan wants me to break the bottle and free David, but if I do that we’ll never be able to heal him, and besides, he’ll probably kill Jonathan and win the war for Ashan. I got sunburnt and my boss tries to feel me up every day. Also, my sister asked a date over for dinner, and David’s an Ifrit.’
Stunned silence. And then he said, carefully, ‘Have you been drinking?’

Kindle Page 143

‘Are you saying I’m not subtle?’
‘You’re about as subtle as a brick. But you can take that as a compliment. Hero-types generally aren’t that subtle.’
Hero-types? ‘Anything else?’
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘The greasy-looking kid who was in your apartment last night ripped off some cash from the flour jar in your kitchen. And the guy you were talking to before you left for work made him put it back.’
Kevin and Lewis, each acting according to their natures. It made me smile.
‘Also,’ Rodriguez finished, ‘you looked totally hot on TV, and your sister looks pretty good naked. Now. Tell me about what really happened with Quinn.’

Kindle Page 208

Rachel Caine is the NYT, USA Today, and #1 WSJ bestselling author of more than 50 books in several categories and genres, including adult thriller and adult urban fantasy/SF as well as books for young adults ages twelve to eighteen.

She is the winner of several national awards, and most recently was a finalist in both the International Thriller Writers awards and the Killer Nashville awards for her debut thriller novel Stillhouse Lake.

Website / Facebook / Twitter
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Other reviews featuring Rachel Caine
Weather Warden series
Ill Wind #1
Heat Stroke #2
Chill Factor #3

Chill Factor by Rachel Caine ~ Review & Teaser (@rachelcaine)

I'm telling you I have found a new favourite Urban Fantasy! I'm quite enjoying following Joanne and seeing the trouble that she lands herself in. Danger is basically her middle name!

Title: Chill Factor

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Weather Warden #3

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published: January 4th 2005

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

Weather Warden extraordinaire Joanne Baldwin, who protects the human race from monster storms, was killed, reborn as a Djinn, and then restored to her original form. She’s been through a lot – and stuck her neck out many times – to save innocent lives. Now she’s rolling the dice to stop an infinitely powerful, deeply disturbed kid from destroying the world…

A teenager has holed up in style at a Las Vegas hotel with the most powerful Djinn in the world, planning who knows what kind of mischief. The Wardens’ senior leadership is dead, Djinn are disappearing, and a secret society wants to help Joanne destroy the teenager, even if doing so kills her again. But everybody in Vegas has a game going, and Joanne has to learn the rules fast because the stakes have never been higher – and all hell is about to break loose…

Since picking up the first book in this series, I've been reading them back-to-back, and as the thread in Heat Stroke continued on into Chill Factor, you know I had to pick it up and follow on. This read gave us some more insight into Joanne's past and what she had already endured being a Warden. It also showed us how tough she was as she lived through some tough situations and suffered so much loss.

I really love how tough Joanne was. She was willing to face every challenge that was thrown at her. She thinks outside the box and works so well under pressure! And I do love a girl with impecible dress sense ;) I also liked that she was willing to save a boys life, despite the trouble that he had caused. He was rebelling after his unpleasant life, but unfortunately his Djinn wasn't 100% cooperative! Joanne knows how to manipulate people and situations and she sure had her work cut out for her through this read.

We were also introduced to some new people: the Ma'at. They have a different look on the Warden's and how they use the Djinn. I am looking forward to see how they all play out together in further books in the series.

As I expected Chill Factor was action packed from start to finish. There were a lot of twists and turns, as well as moments that will carry into the next book. I thoroughly enjoy Rachel Caine's writing style, and the way she is fleshing out her characters even more.

This snippet is a good insight into Joanne, her wittiness and her work.

Someone stepped into my path, small and neatly suited in hand-tailored excellence. Holding a silver handed black cane, in the best tradition of his generation. Charles Ashworth II had a kind of grave dignity that wasn’t affected by the wind swirling around him.
‘Desist,’ he said to me.
‘Bite me, Grandpa,’ I said, and kept walking. I let the wind become a gale, knocking people down, drawing shrieks of alarm from clerks and tourists. I targeted Quinn and knocked him ﬂat, then pinned security against the walls. Sent a gust straight for Ashworth.
It didn’t so much as rufﬂe his silver hair.
‘Don’t be stupid,’ he said. ‘You can’t hurt me.’
‘News flash, Chuck, I’m not going to sit still and get fried like your chicken dinner this time.’ I readied my own lightning, well aware that it was destabilising the currents inside the hotel, that it was spreading out in a dark wave of imbalance over the aetheric. ‘Get out of the way or I’ll return the favour.’
He gestured with his cane, pointing behind me, and I felt a presence taking form up on the aetheric. ‘I warn you, we will stop you. And we won’t be gentle.’
A Djinn. Bingo. Plan B had actually yielded a decent outcome, for once.

Paperback Page 217-8

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Other reviews featuring Rachel Caine
Weather Warden series
Ill Wind #1
Heat Stroke #2

Heat Stroke by Rachel Caine ~ Review & Teaser (@rachelcaine)

I am on a bit of a roll now... I've found a new series and I want to devour! Jo and David have great paasion and banter, and there are always selfish people that want all the power!!

Title: Heat Stroke

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Weather Warden #2

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published: March 8th 2004

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

The Wardens Association continues to protect the human race from extermination by climatic extremes. That is, when they’re not turning on their own…

Joanne’s survived one challenge – technically – but now she’s got a whole new set of problems. After being accused of murder and chased across the county – and killed – by a team charged with hunting down rogue Wardens, Joanne’s human life is over. Reborn into Djinnhood, she has to master her enhanced powers whilst trying to avoid being ‘claimed’ by a human. With the help of a hot supernatural lover, things are looking bright – until they go wrong. There’s trouble brewing, and it’s not confined to River City…or to the Wardens. No, this trouble could kill every Djinn on the planet – and unleash a storm that could send humanity to join them.

Armed with keen fashion sense, lime-green Manolo Blahniks and a really fast car, Joanne prepares to do battle with the enemy.

Just one problem...it may be herself.

After reading the first book, Ill Wind, you bet that I was going to dive into the next book immediately! I was so hooked by the end of that book that I needed to see what happened next. Heat Stroke was definitely more exciting right from the beginning as Jo started her new life as a Djinn.

I liked that David and Jo's relationship continued to grow, although she didn't fully understand how she came to be. As the story unfolded I was able to see the full picture to David's actions. I liked meeting new characters and villains that I loved to hate!

Although Joanna was no longer in the Weather Warden world anymore, I could see that she was missing it. She would meddle even though she wasn't supposed to, and events would drag her back into it. I liked seeing Jo as a Djinn, and seeing her learn her powers, and when she was claimed, it certainly made it interesting!!

There were a few twists thrown into this one and I loved every second! Rachel Caine wove the tale perfectly and I cannot wait for more. It was intense, exciting with plenty of action that is going to continue into the next book! As you can tell, I am excited!

This was Jo's first introduction to Jonathon. Although it was tense at first, there were some amusing parts.

‘So what you’re talking about, when you say you want to fix him, is that you want to kill me.’
Silence, from both quarters. Jonathan didn’t deny it.
‘Wouldn’t advise you to try. I may not look it, but I’m pretty tough to kill,’ I said. ‘You can ask around. How many people you know survived having two Demon Marks?’
Jonathan half turned and gave me a sarcastic, one-sided smile. ‘Half a Djinn, and she’s already giving me grief. Must be your influence.’
‘Not my fault. Like this when I met her.’ David’s smile was delighted, warm, proud. ‘You’ll like her, Jonathan. Trust me.’

Kindle Page 77

Website / Facebook / Twitter
Goodreads / Instagram

Other reviews featuring Rachel Caine
Weather Warden series
Ill Wind #1

Ill Wind by Rachel Caine ~ Review & Teaser (@rachelcaine)

A few years ago an overseas books friend sent me this book. I have spent a little time collecting the next few in the series as I knew that I would enjoy it and would want to read more... Thank you Chanzie! You are amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed Ill Wind!

Title: Ill Wind

Author: Rachel Caine

Series: Weather Warden #1

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Published: April 28th 2008

Buy Now - Amazon US | Amazon Aus

Some Weather Wardens control fire, others control earth, water, or wind – and the most powerful can control more than one element. Without Wardens, Mother Nature would wipe humanity off the face of the earth…

Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. Usually, all it takes is a wave of her hand to tame the most violent weather. But now Joanne is trying to outrun another kind of storm: accusations of corruption and murder. So she’s resorting to the very human tactic of running for her life.

Her only hope is Lewis, the most powerful Warden. Unfortunately, he’s also on the run having stolen not one but three bottles of Djinn – making him the most wanted man on earth. Still, Joanne and her classic Mustang are racing hard to find him – because there’s some bad weather closing in fast…

I was so excited to get into Ill Wind, because I was honestly looking for a good urban fantasy and really, the books I've read lately have been just ok. I needed something with a good storyline that would leave me thinking about it while I wasn't reading, and always excited to come back to it. Ill Wind certainly delivered and I cannot wait to read more.

Joanna was in a pickle right from the opening chapters. I soon realised she trusted the wrong person and was willing to succeed, which lead her to the situation that she was in. She was willing to do anything to get out of this mess and was looking for an old friend to help her. I enjoyed getting a lot of the back story through Joanne as she travelled across multiple states. She ran into some trouble on her journey and always managed to get her way out.

I loved Joanne's sense of humour, and her fashion sense was unique and hilarious! She tackled everything as best as she could and really took in her surroundings. I enjoyed the weather element that she manipulated and how the other wardens were able to control different elements as well. Then there is David... SWOON! It was interesting seeing him come into Joanne's life and the impact he had on her and how the story unfolded.

Honestly, this is the first Rachel Caine book I have read, and I am kicking myself that it has taken me so long. I enjoyed the way that she slowly created and built up the world, and the introduction of characters had me intrigued. I am really looking forward to picking up the next book!

I just loved seeing Jo and David together, there was always good banter!!

‘You were going to let me crash and burn.’ I made it a statement. ‘Why save me?’
‘I liked the way you looked,’ he said. ‘I saw you at the diner, when the lightning came for you. You could have run back inside. Why’d you get in the car?’
‘You’re kidding, right? There were all those—’
‘People,’ he finished for me. ‘You didn’t want to put them in danger. I told you. I liked the way you looked.’
‘In Oversight.’ He didn’t confirm or deny. ‘I didn’t see you in Oversight, and I was looking.’
‘We’ve had this conversation. You can’t see me when I don’t want you to.’ He flickered, suddenly, like a failing TV picture, blinking in and out in strobe patterns. I almost ran the SUV off the road. ‘Sorry. Just a demonstration.’
‘This morning at the motel – you didn’t leave. You were just—’ Hiding. I had another thought. ‘You watched me! You watched me change clothes!’
He closed his eyes and made himself comfortable. The smile on his face made me smack him on the shoulder. Hard.
‘Hey! I’m talking to you!’ I said. He didn’t move, just sat there, relaxed and limp, eyes still closed. ‘Right. As if Djinn nap.’
‘We do.’ He did sound tired. ‘And I’m going to.’
‘Whatever.’
‘Fine.’

Paperback Page 201-2