Jaye Welles - Red-headed stepchild

Sabine Kane is a child of a forbidden relationship between a vampire and a mage. Her mother shortly dies after giving birth and Sabine was raised by her grandmother, who is also the head of the Dominae. Sabine’s childhood is hard and she is taught that all other races are inferior and that vampires and especially the Dominae is everything. Because Sabine is a half-breed she must be loyal and the only future for Sabine is to be a cold hearted assassin, who kills any target selected by the Dominae without questioning.

Sabine is trying hard to impress her grandmother but it seems she cannot make up for her mother’s mistake and now she is send to kill her best friend for his betrayal to the Dominae. But that is not all she has to infiltrate into the enemies camp and get as much information for the grandmother in order to win the war. But Sabine gets help from an unexpected race, it seems the mage race has an interest in Sabine too and wants to tell her the truth about her background once and for all. Her grandmother has kept many secrets from her and she is about to find out what….

Red-headed stepchild by Jaye Welles is the first novel in her Sabine Kane series and also her debut novel. As many other debut novels, especially the ones in a series has a lot of world building and character information in it, like this one. But the storyline is great, so all the information was not bothering me at all.

Sabine Kane is a kick-ass assassin and determined to please her grandmother in every way she can, even if it means killing one of her best friends. And when her grandmother ask her to be a spy in the enemy camp to win as much as information to win the war, Sabine slowly discover that the Dominae and her grandmother are keeping secrets from her. Not only does she discover that not all the race is evil, but also that her mage family is looking for her.

Sometimes I wanted to smack Sabine’s head for her refusal to see the reality before her eyes, but with the help of a mage and the midwife of her mother, she slowly see she has been used by the ones she loves the most.

I have to be honest; this is definitely a good debut album with a great storyline. I’m looking forward to see how this all is going to turn in the next novel.