Unwrapping: Review of SECRETS OF THE FOG by Jaye Shields

Last month, I introduced you to a new writer who happens to also frequent this blog which I'm very pleased about. This debut writer is Jaye Shields. She has already thrilled many readers with her debut work, CONFESSIONS OF A SEX DEMON, but I'm pleased to say that her talents don't end with sex demons. I was recently asked to read an eARC of her upcoming release, SECRETS OF THE FOG, book one in the Immortals in Alameda series. So, of course, I jumped at the chance. Jaye Shields hooked me with this one -  again.

***eARC supplied by author in exchange for an honest and unscripted review

Blurb for SECRETS OF THE FOG:

A Sexual Goddess + Giant Tree = Dryad. Or at least that’s how Tera was born.

When the Dryad Tera’s friends inform her that the portal on Alcatraz Island is buzzing with an arrival, she thinks her goddess mother has come to visit. When Tera arrives at the portal to welcome her, she doesn’t find her mother, she finds a gigantic otherworldly warrior causing mass destruction among the San Francisco tourists. Being a Forest Dryad born from the Goddess of the Hunt has its perks, and kicking ass is one of them.

Sabin is six-feet-six of hard-bodied soldier, used to subduing demons twice his size. One day after chasing an elusive smoke demon through a portal into the human realm, Sabin is brought to his knees by a beautiful woman, literally. After arriving at a pier full of dead bodies, Tera issues a passionate smack-down before Sabin can explain that he’s the good guy.

He’s just in time: as an ancient grudge has come to life. Eris, the Goddess of Chaos, has held a bitter hatred for Tera’s mother, Artemis, for over 400 years – and now she’s ready to destroy all Dryads – including Tera.

                     *                    *                    *                    *                    *                    *

Tera is a Forest Dryad who has come to live in Alameda after meeting her friend, Sparrow. The Dryad don't normally leave the forest but Tera wanted more. Now, she lives a happy life with her adopted family of Wiccans that include Sparrow, Sparrow's mother Egret, and her aunts Morgana and Melissandre. Tera protects her city and its inhabitants like she once protected her forest and her Dryad sisters. Only now her enemies are the vampires that sometimes creep through the city and leech their existence off the humans.

Sabin is a warrior guardian of the Fog Realm, a Knight who guards the portals that open between the realms and allow some to travel through and others to keep in. As a Knight of the Fog Realm, he is immortal. When he finds himself suddenly pushed through a portal along with a demon, Sabin has no idea how is life, his very long life, is about to change. Intent on destroying the demon and protecting the more fragile humans on which the demon preys, Sabin never expects to find himself attacked by a warrior woman in the form of a Forest Dryad named Agrotera. He more certainly doesn't expect his heart to be captured by a woman who has been raised to despise men even more than demons and vampires.

SECRETS OF THE FOG by Jaye Shields is captivating, inspiring, and action-packed nearly from the first page. The aunts immediately caught my attention and reminded me of the adorable Owens sisters in Alice Hoffman's PRACTICAL MAGIC, endearing me to the characters as easily as the teasing, loving banter between Tera and Sparrow. Being a huge fan of magick and witches, I was already captured by the camaraderie of the main characters but when introduced to Sabin, and his merry Knights of the Fog Realm, I knew I was in love. Jaye Shields has taken paranormal romance to a new level with Dryads, Witches, Demons, Vampires, Shapeshifters, Goddesses and realms that wander in and out of our Human world leaving us wondering about some of the strange things that do happen in our world that can never be explained or discovered.

SECRETS OF THE FOG by Jaye Shields introduces us to a series that is more than just vampires and werewolves as we are used to in paranormal romance. It's much more. It brings in the stories of ancient mythologies, celtic tales, and the world of magick. Jaye Shields has proven that she has a vivid and expansive imagination that can treat us to a travel visit to San Francisco or through the fog and mists that surround and captivate the imagination as their secrets swirl around the city on the bay. Strong female characters who can hold their own and aid the men while fighting demons . Women who draw us in to cheer and wish that we could trade places with them. These are women who we'd love to have as friends and sisters. We laugh with them. We cry with them. And then we share their triumphs and pride. All while falling in love with the most incredibly sexy immortals ever to grace our pages.

I highly recommend SECRETS OF THE FOG, book one in the Immortals in Alameda series, by Jaye Shields to anyone who loves the stories of the gods and goddesses from ancient Greece or other mythologies, including those of the Forest and the ancient Celts. If you've never delved into the paranormal romance genre but would like to dip your toe in - this is a great one to start with - but be forewarned - once you do, you will be hooked and eagerly awaiting the next, as I am. 

Happy Reading Everyone!

SECRETS OF THE FOG, book one in the Immortals in Alameda series by Jaye Shields, Crimson Romance, upcoming release date, October 29, 2012, available in ebook formats.