Ill Wind - A Review

Publisher: Roc
352 pages

So What's This All About?

Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden, a person who controls the weather and keeps it from being more destructive than it can be.

But she's on the run from the other Wardens, accused of killing a senior warden (nicknamed Bad Bob), although she didn't really kill him (he died from a heart attack).  This, of course, happened after he put the Demon Mark on her (which means a demon is deep inside her, and, with time, can destroy her soul).  So she needs to find a djinn in order to get rid of the demon, even though it means that djinn will be imprisoned for the rest of its life.

More...
She takes to the road for the strongest Warden of all time, Lewis.  She thinks that with his strength, he can either wrest the demon out of her, or she can use one of his djinns to "take over" the demon.  He stole three djinns, so she figures he can give up one to help her; they have a history, if you know what I mean. ;-)

As Joanne runs to where she thinks Lewis is hiding out, she picks up a hitchhiker, David, who seems to be more than he appears to be.

So...will Joanne get rid of the demon in time, before her soul is eaten away?

My Impressions - Might Be Some Spoilers!

I loved, loved, loved Joanne.  She drives a classic Mustang (I have a Mustang, but it's a much more recent model), and prefers muscle cars or any type of car that goes fast (I could see her behind the wheel of a Lamborgini).  Plus she can fix cars, too, which comes in handy from time to time.

David turns out to be a magical being...a djinn, and I thought the entire mythos of djinns that Ms. Caine puts into this book were quite interesting.  But besides being a djinn, David is a very sensual, sexual being, and this fits in with Joanne, who seems to need a lot of lovin'.  Even David's touch turns her on.

So, yes, there is some romance/sexual tension in this story, but it doesn't overwhelm the action.

And what action there is!  Violent weather up the wazoo, and it's explained in a sort of meterological way; but it somehow doesn't come off as boring as it sounds.  It's quite a lively telling (in first person).

I actually cried at one point in the book, when a friend of Joanne's turns out (like David) to be not who she seems to be.  I was actually shocked by that turn of events, as Joanne was.  I'm not going to say anymore than that; you'll just have to read the book.

The ending has an interesting twist that I didn't see coming.  But, it worked, it made sense...and there's a good chance I'll be reading more in this series to see what happens next.

In Summary

Definitely worth reading.  If you're into romance, you might be disappointed (even though there is definitely sexual tension).  But if you're into fantasy and action, with a kick-ass heroine who drives fast cars, this is your cup of tea.

Love and kisses,

~Nancy Beck