Book Review: Red Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells

Synopsis from Goodreads


Book Title: Red-Headed Stepchild
Author: Jaye Wells
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2009
Publisher: Orbit

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.

My Review

The story introduces us to a world of fairies, vampires, demons, humans, and even mages (mages are like witches and warlocks, but here in the book.. they do not form circles and cast magic that lasts for HOURS to complete -.- .. No… here, they tend to use spells to attack people on the spot; Just flip their fingers and BOOM!).. SO with all these creatures in one book, it sounds so typical! but do not be fooled because Red-Headed Stepchild is going to blow your minds off.

Sabina Kane, the main character, is half mage and half vampire. Vampires and mages don’t  like each other  very well (I mean REALLY DON’T LIKE each other), so it was a forbidden act committed by her parents when they fell in love and brought her to this world. Her parents died before she  even gets to meet them, so she was raised by her grandmother (Lavinia Kane, from her mother’s side) who is one of the royal vampires. Vampires are known to have red hair and it gets darker when they get older. As for Sabina she has a mixture of red and black streaks; you can see it at the cover of the book ( I love that mixture, it looks so alluring). As a result, Sabina is an outcast and is perceived to be a freak by other vampires, so she was raised to be an assassin which is a profession that obviously fits her. She even detests all mages because Lavinia fed her these lies that her father’s family abandoned her. Sabina dedicates her life to serve Lavinia just to gain her acceptance, hence, she will do ANYTHING for her even if it will cost her, her own life.

Sabina’s latest mission was to spy on, then assassinate a half demon vampire, Clovis, who tries to unite all the creatures together and create a peaceful world. However,  in Lavinia’s case, she believes that Clovis is trying to gain power and jeopardize their race. Whichever is true, you’ll find out once you read the book. Other than the mission, Sabina has a demon, Giguhl, living with her, and a handsome mage, Adam, that stalks her. Her life gets so complicated once she accepts the mission. She will stumble upon many unexpected events, unravel unwanted truths, gain additional powers, and will have to find out who to really follow.  

This book was SO intense where my LOVE for it can’t be put into words. Giguhl was the funniest character I have ever read about(LITERALLY FUNNY). I swear to God that there are incidents that made me laugh for a whole 2 minutes, which I rarely do with books.  Sabina was exceptionally witty with her actions and comments. She is a very strong character in which she won’t fall down without a good fight. Adam was okay, probably will be more fun in the next book. Clovis was the dangerously hot creature; he was so dark and sexy. As for Lavinia, I really wanted to strangle her to death; I hate her SOO much.

Also, I have to say that this book is FULL, I mean FULL of action. Fights never seem to stop only for a little while. AWEESOMEEE

The whole concept of the story was fascinating, and some of it really made me think. Sabina is torn between choosing her own path, or following her grandmother’s just to gain her acceptance. It is sad that there are many people in this world facing these issues. Sometimes gaining people’s acceptance and love is a person’s LIFE goal, which is CRAZY. Life is unfair (I know it’s cliché, but it’s true) where people are not living the life they want, just because of obstacles  they face, even if these obstacles are people. It is nice to make people happy with our actions once in a while, but we do not have to go overboard doing it because it WILL somehow end badly (not just physically, but psychologically as well).

Overall, I love this book wherein I held this book tightly after finishing it, not expecting to feel that way towards a book at all. I was literally trying to recap everything that's happened to create a clear picture of it in my mind. It made me thrilled, cry, laugh, and overly excited.

I intensely recommend this book

5/5

Xoxo Meera