Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden, one of the elite who do battle with the weather to keep the rest of us mortals as safe as possible from out of control weather. There are 3 groups of Wardens; Air, Fire, and Earth who work behind the scenes to protect us or at least that's the theory, but Weather Wardens are human and with great power goes great responsibility and often even corruption. Joanne has just learned first hand how great power can corrupt and is now on the run for defending herself and inadvertently killing the wielder of all that corrupt power as well as the recipient of a demon mark that is working slowly to take over her very soul. She knows of only one person who may be able to help her, Lewis Levander Orwell, fellow warden and the only Warden with the complete range of powers, who also happens to be on the run from the Wardens.

Joanne is a white knight of sorts, she believes in the tenants of the Weather Wardens and while not ignorant of Warden politics, simply does not buy into them, preferring to do her job to the best of her ability and saving lives is a top priority for her. She is totally unaware of how she affects others, nor the depth of loyalty she inspires in her friends and even some acquaintances.

Joanne also has a passion for muscle cars and is in flight in a vintage Mustang named Delilah. She's fleeing not just the authorities but also one very large, very angry and very vengeful storm headed after her. For reasons she does not understand she picks up David, who is hitchhiking supposedly to California. David is not what he appears, he is in fact a Djinn, one of the ancient beings that the Wardens have basically enslaved to lend them power when they need greater power to control natural disasters and who are given out to only the highest level of wardens, a level Joanne has yet to attain. It's during their flight that they begin to realize there are even bigger things going on then just a Warden gone bad, free Djinn's, a demon mark and rampant storm intent on killing her.

Fleeing toward her childhood best friend, Joanne is about to learn another lesson about trust, friendship and betrayal which will end in a most disturbing change of circumstances for Joanne.

This is an awesome series, a very well written, compelling suspense with a subtle romance component running through the story. You will definitely never look at weather the same way again. Ill Wind is the first of the Weather Warden Series and you might as well get the set, 4 and counting, because you will want to keep reading.

Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden but she is more than just a pretty face who warns the public when to take a brolly with them. Joanne does much more than just forecast what is to come. She has a strange ability to actually control wind and water allowing her to manipulate storms and hopefully prevent an unnecessary loss of life.

However, Joanne has a dark secret. Betrayed by a fellow warden she has been given a Demon Mark and if she doesn't find a means to remove the mark it will eventually destroy her and give the demon a means of entering the world. She believes that there is only one person who can help her, the most powerful Warden ever discovered. But he has disappeared and taken 3 bottles of Djinn with him.

To make matters worse Joanne is wanted for the murder of the very warden who originally betrayed her. When she meets a strange hitchhiker, David, to whom she feels and immediate and powerful attraction. But is he too good to be true and why does he seem to be hiding something?

What follows is a top speed dash through the world of elemental control with Joanne and David racing to find a means of removing the Demon Mark and to exonerate Joanne before time runs out.

Originally this series was to have been reviewed by Steve but I have a confession to make. Having come down with one of those winter colds that make you feel really pathetic I played the sympathy card and claimed this series for myself. To be honest I think it is a good thing that I did. As the story is written from the perspective of the main female character (including descriptions of the sexual attraction she feels towards David) I don't think that it would have been the best book to be read by a man!

In my case however, I loved it. Within a couple of pages of starting the story I was completely hooked and the whole book was read in little more than a day. The main character, Joanne, is a feisty Weather Warden who can control the movements of wind and clouds allowing her to control weather fronts and dissipate serious storms. But unlike characters in other books, Joanne is far from perfect. She makes mistakes and in the early days of being a Warden she would make changes without really considering the knock-on effects on other areas.

As the story progresses it never once loses momentum. If anything it continues to ramp up the gears until the glorious twist in the tail stops you in your tracks and leaves you thinking "Oh yes!".

Unbelievably this is Rachel Caine's first book – not that you'd know it from just reading the story. The writing is competent and stylish and the result is an enchanting tale that any great fantasy author would be proud to put their name to.

Rachel – you have arrived. And I for one am looking forward to reading the rest of this series.