Chuckles Retro Review: Red Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells (Sabina Kane #1)

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:
Sabina Kane is an assassin who is half vampire half mage, earning the disapproval of her Grandmother, the head of the Dominae vampires and Sabina's boss. Her mother was a vampire and her father was a mage, a forbidden relationship that vampires seem to blame Sabina for being part of. Her latest assignment starts with the murder of her friend and she is then to go as a spy to the enemy camp led by the evil Clovis who is trying to unite all the other races against the vampires. But life is complicated when the Mage community contact Sabina to try to convince her that her place is with them and not the vampires who look down on her. They offer her a family and community that she has never had and training to develop her Mage skills. The question is, who is the real enemy? Clovis, her Grandmother's vampires or the Mages?Who can she trust and what side of the coming war should she be on?

Sabina is tough and sassy like your typical UF vampire heroine. She is constantly trying to prove herself to her  vampire family and gain their approval but they are bigoted against her tainted bloodline. It doesn't stop them using her considerable talents to their benefit which Sabina resents, as she is still never forgiven for not being pure vampire. However, the distrust between vampires and mages is getting worse and war could be coming, leaving Sabina in a wilderness and wondering how to gain the approval she seeks. Her chance comes when her new task is to kill Clovis, who is uniting unhappy supernaturals from all sides to destroy the vampires. As a halfbreed, Sabina could get closer to Clovis than anyone and he would like to have her talents on his side, even if they don't trust each other. Sabina needs to find a way to kill him if she wants to be a vampire but the situation becomes confused.

There are the Mages, led by Adam, who wants Sabina as an ally and is willing to teach her about her mage side and the truth about what is really happening, not just the version of the vampires. Sabina is about to discover a few harsh things about her family which she struggles to deal with but will it help her to finally choose a side? Is it more important to uncover her Mage skills or to gain her Grandmother's approval? For the first time, she has friends but can she actually trust them?  One is a demon assassin called Giguhl who was unable to stake her in an organised test to see if her Mage side protected her. Unable to find a way back to his demon realm, he became addicted to the Shopping Channel before she accidently turned him into a hairless cat. The other friend is scatty nymph Vinca, who is kind and wants to convince her to trust Clovis. I liked these side characters as much as the snarky heroine and I liked the friendship that developed with them all.

The book has plenty of action to keep you interested. The dialogue is clever, her snarky attitude is entertaining and her character evolves nicely throughout the book. There is really wonderful humour in the form of Giguhl and Vinca as well as a decent paced urban fantasy plot. For those who like a bit of romance, there is potential for Adam and Sabina later in this series but it doesn't dominate the book if romance isn't your thing. I re-read this book in January 2019 so I could go on to do a full series catchup so this is an expanded review from my original when I read it back in 2011.

Read January 2019
5 stars