Weather Warden Series (part one): Books 1 - 3
Rachel Caine's Weather Warden series won me over right away and I ended up reading the first 6 books over the span of a week. (I'm a fast reader.) I only really discovered the series after reading her YA series the Morganville Vampires. I wasn't sure what to expect from the series as it sounded like nothing I had ever read before, and I hadn't.Ill Wind introduces us to Joanne Baldwin, a Weather Warden, she has control over air and water and helps save the Earth from major natural disasters along with her fellow Wardens. There are also Wardens of Earth and some who control Fire. Only one Warden has ever had control of all three elements, his name is Lewis and that is whom Joanne is currently fleeing for her life towards. Blamed for the death of one of the most famous Wardens, Bad Bob (the name kind of says it all, doesn't it?), Joanne takes off in search of the rogue Warden Lewis who is hiding out somewhere having stolen three djinn which is totally against Warden rules.The Wardens use djinn (genies) to aid them in controlling the most difficult of elemental troubles as the djinn help augment the Warden's power. However to control a djinn you have to hold them captive in a glass bottle and order them to do your bidding. The djinn aren't t thrilled with being used like slaves.Along the way, in her search for Lewis, Joanne picks up a hitch hiker named David whom she falls for in a big way. It's only after some pretty big events that she learns he is a djinn as well.The entire series it seems as though Joanne is always on the run from someone or something and she really is. But she is so captivating, sarcastic and funny that her dire situations seem a little less dire as she keeps her wits about her and a cool head under pressure. This woman has a more intimate relationship with death than Buffy did in the TV show! The end of book one ends with Joanne's death and rebirth - as a djinn!
Heat Stroke, the second book in the series, finds Joanne coming to terms with the fact that she can suddenly play the role of Jeannie in the show I Dream of Jeannie. Although as it turns out she's not fully djinn, she's half her and half David and David is fading away because of it. Not to mention that the sacrifice he made to turn her into djinn seems to have opened a rift in the atmosphere through which the Demon Realm is able to ooze through and start to take over Earth. David has been held captive by Jonathan, the first djinn and most powerful and Joanne has been sent off to stay with Patrick, the only other djinn who was turned in death from human and survived. Patrick is to give her djinn lessons and help her try to stay alive.Yet again the Wardens are after her, as are some of djinn and she seems to be quite popular with the demon kind who always seem to want to invade her body and use her power. Poor Joanne gets captured by an evil Warden who is trying to get to David and then given to her step-son, Kevin. Kevin's idea of a female djinn seems to come with some pretty revealing clothing, not a choice that Joanne would have made. A djinn cannot refuse a command from whomever holds their bottle and so Joanne is constantly fighting what she wants to do with what she's being ordered to do.And lo! She happens to die yet again. What a trooper she is! Two deaths in as many books. She's going to be a pro soon if she keeps this up!I did not like the second book nearly as much as the first and I was almost tempted to give up on the series then and there. However since I had ordered books two through five from Amazon and they all came at the same time, I might as well have read them since I had them right? And I am glad I did because I liked the rest of the books much better. Book two just bothered me for some reason. I thought it sort of focused too much on the relationship between Jo and David and less on the plot of the story. Unless their relationship was the plot? Hmm. At least they didn't have graphic sex every five seconds. ;)
Reborn as a human once more, Joanne now has to go after Kevin, who has locked himself in Las Vegas with Jonathan, the most powerful of djinn and this threatens the safety of the world. So in Chill Factor, Joanne is about to try and save the world yet again and hopefully not die this time.No such luck, because of a loophole in the command Kevin gave Jonathan that "no Warden alive can get across the Vegas border", Joanne seems to be able to get through due to a plot that she didn't know about where a djinn kills her and then wakes her up in the lobby of the Bellagio hotel in Vegas. All this dying can wear a girl out!Now Joanne is still on the run from the Wardens (who consider her a threat and would like to remove her powers. But Joanne doesn't want to be "neutered" as she calls it!), the djinn still aren't happy with her and now another powerful group called the Ma'at seem to be after her. And all she has to do is try and stop Kevin from using the world's most powerful djinn to bring about the fall of the world. Simple, right?I really, and I mean really liked Joanne Baldwin. From her designer-obsessed ways to her sharp tongue to her ability to die three times in a row and still continue on. What a trooper! She's all about fashion, fast cars and doing what's right. I'd totally love to be her friend, though I think it might be slightly hazardous to my health. The books are face-paced and fun and kept me reading book after book in the series. I was so happy to have found a series that already had 6 books published and a 7th on its way in August during my week off from work!Books 4 - 6 shall be reviewed shortly. I thought that 6 books in one post might make this a little too long. :)Weather Warden Series