Ill Wind - Rachel Caine

As I mentioned on April 1, Jackie over at Literary Escapism has a new mini-challenge going this month. I'm 2 1/2 books in so far (Kessler/Kittredge's Black and White was my first).

So book two in the Battle Royale mini-challenge for me is: Rachel Caine's first in her Weather Warden series, Ill Wind, is my second.

Ill Wind introduces urban fantasy/paranormal fans to an all new, original concept in the genre. It's magic, but elemental based magic. And there are genies -- Djinn to be exact. Joanna Baldwin is a Weather Warden, able to control air and water. Aside from her, there are Fire Wardens and Earth Wardens. When a Warden reaches a certain level of experience, they can be awarded a Djinn. Joanna was just months away from receiving hers, but that's months too late. After an incident with a fellow Warden leaves her on the run and carrying a demon mark, Joanna's only hope is to track down a missing friend who was rumored to have stolen three Djinn from the Wardens before he left. No one can live with a demon mark. It eats them from the inside out. The mark would kill a Djinn, but until now, Joanna has had no reason to believe that this is anything but her only option.

Excellent start to the series! I love the end. I won't give it away, but let's just say that I'm pretty excited about running off and grabbing the next one. This is one case where being totally broke is a bad thing!

There are currently eight books in the Weather Warden series, with book nine due out in August. And considering Caine writes like a madwoman (multiple Morganville Vampire books out each year as well), she's thankfully showing no signs of slowing down! Lots of backlist to get my hands on and plenty of time to catch up!

The Weather Warden series, in order:

Ill Wind

Heat Stroke

Chill Factor

Windfall

Firestorm

Thin Air

Gale Force

Cape Storm

Total Eclipse

For more on Rachel Caine and her various series, visit her official site here.