Book Review: Green Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells (Sabina Kane #3)

Things to do:
1. Rescue sister.
2. Murder grandmother.
3. Don't upset the voodoo priestess.

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. Her sister has been kidnapped by her grandmother, the Dark Races are on the brink of war, and a mysterious order is manipulating everyone behind the scenes. Working on information provided by an unlikely ally, Sabina and her trusty sidekicks--a sexy mage named Adam Lazarus and Giguhl, a Mischief demon--head to New Orleans to begin the hunt for her sister. Once there, they must contend with belligerent werewolves, magic-wielding vampires and--perhaps most frightening of all--humans.

But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won't be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about most, she must save herself from the ghosts of her past.

My Review: 
The new plan to find where Maisie is being held revolves around kidnapping Persephone, the weakest of the vampire rulers, and forcing it out of her. It goes wrong when they actually end up with Tanith who is happy to cooperate with them over Maisie if they let her rule when Lavinia is dead. Sabina and her friends don't trust Tanith but have little option and they are told that Maisie is being held in New Orleans. rhea has a voodoo priestess friend there who is willing to help them and they head to the city. It soon becomes clear that the Caste are following them and there is the frequent danger from Lavinia's vampires as the search for Maisie continues. 

This was a more enjoyable sequel than The Mage In Black, although it was a decent read too. I liked the change of scene to New Orleans and getting to explore the city with Sabina and her friends. I liked the new emphasis on the voodoo priestess trying to use her spells and tricks to find Maisie and help the quest, and the local werewolf agreeing to help with use of her secret contacts in the vampire world to find out what Lavinia is doing and where Maisie might be. There is plenty humour from Giguhl and Brooks to enjoy and a lot of really good action sequences throughout the book, exactly what I look for in my urban fantasy. It has a mix of fights and magic in the action scenes which is certainly fun, and a bit of zombie raising which you expect in a New Orleans setting near Halloween! 

I love the characters in this book. Sabina is still struggling to learn how to use her new mage powers and I like that it isn't coming easy for her. Too many urban fantasy books have someone gaining power and being able to use it instantly and perfectly. I like seeing Sabina trying hard to learn and control her magic and only being able to do it bits at a time. Her relationship with Adam is difficult because she is still haunted by the doomed inter-species relationship of her parents and being brought up as a vampire, being involved with a pure mage like Adam feels like repeating mistakes of the past. Putting aside her feelings while they search for her sister is more difficult than she expected but she needs to feel in control of her emotions even if it hurts Adam. 

Giguhl is still a brilliant character. He is a mischief demon whose other form is a hairless cat and he is still sulking about the unfaithful demon girlfriend that he ditched. He is such a funny and witty character, one of my favourites in urban fantasy. He proves the comic relief in each book in the series and I just love him. He is devoted to his friends but struggles to feel useful to them at times. It was nice to see bits and pieces of Rhea and her mage allies though the main focus of the book is Sabina's group and her new allies.

There are several great new characters in this book which was enjoyable. Zenobia is a voodoo priestess friend of Rhea who agrees to have the trio stay in her house while looking for Maisie though her interactions with Sabina are a bit difficult at times. Her housemate Brooks, who has a drag Queen alter ego called Pussy Willow is a wonderful addition to the story. He is a sweet and helpful guy, totally glam as Pussy Willow and I loved his flirting with Giguhl and his humour. I also really liked the singer in the rock band and his frinds and the creepy little guy in the butcher shop was interesting. I didn't quite know what to think of him!  

I really enjoyed this book. I had quite a few laughs and I was also on the verge of tears when one of my favourites was in terrible danger. When a book gives you the feels, it is doing really well and I had a great time with it. I have two novels and a short story left to complete the series which I hope to do soon.

Read June 2019
4 stars.