Heat Stroke (Weather Warden)

Rating:
Summary: A whirlwind of a ride!
Review: Being dead is so much more than you were ever told. That's what you find out, only after the fact. And only when a Djinn has whisked you away and made you his. Which, as a matter of fact, makes him half of what he was and the two of you so much more. Unfortunately, that's not quite enough to save the world. You get turned into a 16 year old's living dream. His wicked stepmother messes with your lover. The Uber-Storm kicks in and many Free Djinn die. The adrenaline rush of this book only settles as you turn the last page. Damn! You'll have to wait again to see what's next. Heat Stroke? Hot stuff!

Rating:
Summary: Improvement over the first, but cliffhanger ending...
Review: Ex-Weather Warden Joanna Baldwin has died and returned as a djinn. But being djinn is not a 'get out of dead free' card as she quickly finds out. David, the free-djinn who used his magic to rescue her, is sharing his power to keep them both alive. Joanne's got to learn--and learn quickly--how to live on her own, else both she and David may well die and for good. Book's decent enough to keep reading, but the first part of it wades through a lot of 'relationship material' between her and David that I could do without. The point off is for that and the cliffhanger ending.

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one, and I loved the first one. The stakes are higher this time around: it's not just Joanne and David who are in trouble, but all of the djinn. This was a very fast, fun read with likeable characters and characters you love to hate. I want to see more from Lewis however (and why is it that the greatest of all the Wardens is always on the floor with the crap kicked out of him?) Jonathan- the scarily powerful djinn- was a very good addition to the series and I'm looking forward to seeing more of what he can do in the next book. The only thing that I'm not sure I was happy with was what happened with Joanne in the end. Despite that, this series has earned a spot at the top of my bookshelf.

Rating:
Summary: A rockin' good read!
Review: I have been laughing my lunch hours away the last couple of days. This was a highly entertaining read. Not necessarily mind expanding, but a ton of fun. I am a big fan of the pre-Blue Moon Anita Blake series, and have been looking for something to replace the high-octane action and witty banter that has been missing from recent releases in that series. Well, this series has it. Thank you Ms. Caine! Bring on number 3!

Rating:
Summary: Better all the time
Review: I loved "Ill Wind," the first book in the Weather Wardens series, and "Heat Stroke" is still the better book by far. I'd read in an interview with the author that she originally had a plot device that ended "Ill Wind" differently and boy, am I glad it slipped her mind to do so. The consequences of David's act form the core plot of "Heat Stroke," and dealing with them makes for some of the best reading I've seen.

If you're not absolutely entranced by the relationship between Joanne and David, the first part may seem slow to you. (It wasn't a problem for me at all. :D) Your perserverance will be more than rewarded.

At the end of the book, I'm a little unclear on exactly how secret the Wardens are in this version of reality, but that seems a petty nit to pick in the overall scheme of things.

One last request...may I have Jonathan when the author is done with him? ;)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent sequel
Review: I read the first book in the Weather Warden series, Ill Wind and really enjoyed it. Heat Stroke was an excellent follow-up to the first book.

Heat Stroke pretty much takes up from where book one left off. From beginning to end it is action packed and keeps you hooked. While the first book introduces you into the world of the Weather Wardens, this book focuses more on the world of the Djinn and the underlying tensions between them and the Wardens. This book also goes more into depth about Joanne and David's growing relationship and the repurcussions of the actions taken to protect that relationship in book one. As well as these two main characters, the secondary characters really stood out in this book and helped flesh out the story. I hope the author gives more focus on Louis in the next book, he shows great potential and I feel his character deserves some more examination.

The book ended in a big surprise change for Joanne and a cliffhanger as a whole for the series and while frustrating will definitely have you looking forward to book three in the series, Chill Factor.

Great job Ms. Caine!

Rating:
Summary: One Hot Read
Review: I'd been looking over both "Ill Wind" and "Heat Stroke" for some time, and finally grabbed them when I met the author at a convention where I was working. The first book kept me up until 3 am and only the fact I had a 12 hour day ahead made me stop. I finished it and the second book within 24 hours.

Characters, world logic, scene, setting -- all the nessessary stuff was there, put together with tight pacing and an irreverent, smart-mouthed, slightly-over-the-top style that was instantly winning. The author loves to tell stories, and it shows. This is a story worth reading. Joanne Baldwin, Weather Warden, lives in a very complete and detailed world that the reader can swim into easily, without a lot of explanation and exposition. "Heat Stroke" in particular expanded some very interesting aspects introduced in "Ill Wind" and the upcoming "Chill Factor" promises even more. This is a series with wheels and a V-10 engine.

Rating:
Summary: Loses points for cliffhanger ending.
Review: I'm a big fan of fantasy series, but one of my pet peeves is a book that ends with a cliffhanger. It just seems greedy on the part of the author to force you to buy another book to get closure. That said, this was a fun read. I don't know that I'd compare it to the early Anita Blake books as some of the other reviewers did, but it sure beats the recent plotless porn from that series. Still some work to go for it to be up to the level of some of the other fantasy series like Jim Butcher's Dresden Files, but worth checking out.

Rating:
Summary: Action-packed fantasy... better than Ill Wind (4 1/2 stars)!
Review: Ill Wind was a terrific introduction to the Weather Warden series. Heat Stroke takes it one step further. I am hooked on this series! Joanne Baldwin is back... and this time she has powers she had never envisaged. She had died during her fight with two demons and is now a Djinn. Now she can use her power to have honeymoon-like encounters with fellow Djinn and lover David at five-star New York hotels and create chic clothes at the drop of a hat. But it takes more than just a few tricks to be a Djinn -- something she finds out the hard way. She must improve her skills or die. To make matters worse, there is the threat of a potentially fatal storm in the atmosphere, a sadistic woman is after David, Lewis is in trouble, and she has been claimed by a sociopath teenager. Joanna has to learn the Djinn skills and fast. There are various twists throughout the novel.

Heat Stroke is better than Ill Wind in so many levels. This novel is action-packed and full of twists and turns. There are no stale moments in this book. I was better able to understand the things that the Djinn go through when they are claimed by humans. The things Joanna goes through made me laugh at times. The scenes where she has to wear a French Maid outfit whenever her randy teen owner ordered her to do so are especially hilarious. And the characters are better developed this time around, except for Paul and Marion. I'd like for the author to concentrate more on them in the future. I liked the character Patrick a lot. He was quite fun. I hated what happened to Rahel. She was such an awesome character. I like the protagonist's voice. She is a bit flighty at times, especially when it comes to cars and her wardrobe. She sounds young and spunky and fun to read. David once again is scrumptious. I hope she has more feeling for him than for Lewis. And the story in the second installment is great. My one complaint is that the Djinn rules seem at times inconsistent. I was confused in some parts. She had to follow orders from her keeper, but she bended the rules a lot. And the cliffhanger would have bothered me if I hadn't already had a copy of Chill Factor handy. All in all, this is a great novel, one of the best fantasies I have read. I look forward to reading Chill Factor.

Rating:
Summary: Soooo cool (er hot)!
Review: In this excellent sequel to Ill Wind, our heroine is dead. That kinda bites until she realizes that she's been "reborn" as a djinn by her boyfriend David. The unforeseen repercussions of that act of love form the basis for this book. Unlike all the alternate reality novels filled with vampires and werethingies, we get creative insight into efrit and djinn, something that hasn't been overdone. Once again the characters are fresh, the plot is twisted (in a good way), and the book genuinely engaging. This novel is a romance, tragedy, and thriller commingled into one great piece of storytelling. Very worth reading!