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The Rhine Maiden (2000)

by Erin Evans(Favorite Author)

3.32 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Paranormal Fantasy

series

Rhine Maiden

review 1: It was nice to see a stay at home mom as a paranormal heroine, but be warned: this one listens to Glen Beck for "news', is preachy and overbearing (but thinks it's funny to use the term "fag")and hits you over the head with her poorly researched anti choice stance (that goes on for many chapters and is hard to skip past). There were some promising points when she described her college years, and her younger sister has potential. I'd like to see stories from the sister's POV. I would also like to see this paragon of virtue show a little appreciation for a mother-in-law who drops everything alt the last minute whenever she's called to babysit. Instead we hear complaints about how the old bat buys too many toys for the girls and cooks homemade meals instead of microwaving ... moreeverything. The gall. I will try to read the next book in the series in hopes that the main character grows (or at least gets that stick out of an uncomfortable place). I think with experience and editing, the author may be able to write a decent story.
review 2: The story follows Piper, the stay at home mother of two demonic toddlers who also has the power of Voice, making her being able to command people. She sworn not to use the power ever again (unless in a dire situations, aka when it comes to her dog Harvey) after she had a scary incident in university which made her change universities and move cities. For 6 years Piper was able to keep her power under control, until she lost her temper with her little sister Sarah and came under the radar of USB (United Supernatural Beings) again. This is where the fun starts! Now Piper has to petition USB to join them, while trying to not get killed, while still taking care of her children, while keeping it all a secret from her husband Mark. Enter Cecily, her new next door vampire neighbor who ended up becoming Piper's permanent side-kick. Then enter a werewolf and a fae who need Piper's help, along with a bunch of evil witches who really don't want Piper to stick her nose in their affairs. And of course we can't forget about little sister Sarah, who is a general pain-in-a-butt type of character (Sorry Sarah, but I'm with Piper on that regardless of how misunderstood you think you are). The book grabbed my attention from the first page, and I was chuckling all the way through at Piper's parenting methods. I don't have kids, but I can relate. And her mother-in-law was making me so mad, I wanted to throw something at her. Or better yet, kick her really hard where it hurts! I loved all the supporting characters too, especially Otis the cat. Ok ok, I meant Cecily, the uber cool vampire chic who can kick ass and eat anything she wants while not gaining an ounce of weight. There were other miscellaneous characters that helped to bring the book alive, and I'm hoping to see them again in the next books.Piper is very real, maybe a little ditzy (but who wouldn't be after dealing with her kids) but still able to think on her feet. She cares about her family, and loves her children more than anything, but at the same time she takes her situation (and the fate of humanity) very seriously. So she works around her parenting schedule and even asks her mother-in-law to babysit two days in a row, so she could go take care of her paranormal business. Piper is a character I could relate too, someone who has problems and not always a clear way of dealing with them.There is also not an ounce of sex in this book, which was very refreshing considering that's where all the paranormal fantasy books are leaning these days. Maybe I've been reading too many naughty romance novels lately, but it was nice to see a heroine who didn't loose her ability to think the second she saw a hot guy. (Um, Piper = married mother of two here thank you very much)There were few minor things I didn't particularly cared for, namely the aliens..... aliens huh? But I know there is a higher purpose to that, so I'll just wait and see. Then there is the vampire character that briefly appeared at the beginning, but then disappeared for the rest of the book. I kept waiting for him to jump out and attack Piper, but no, he must have went into vampire hibernation. And finally Sarah and Piper's mother-in-law. They were so real that I was reliving Piper's experiences with them, and it was making me mad! I have to applaud Erin Evans on her writing here.Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a different type of paranormal fantasy. less

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