Jade Tiger »

Jade Tiger, by Jenn Reese (Unabridged)

Shan Westfall—halfChinese, halfAmerican, one hundred percent kung fu badass—is on a mission to recover five mystical jade animals before they fall into the wrong hands.

Over 15 years ago, Shan's mother led a secret society of female martial artists sworn to protect the statues. When the Jade Circle lost four of the five statues during a murderous attack on their sanctuary, 12yearold Shan's destiny was sealed. It was she who carried the remaining tiger statue all the way to America; she who felt it clawing at her with the need to recover the crane, snake, leopard and dragon. The Circle was destroyed that night, and Shan hasn't seen her mother since.

Shan has grown up under the tiger's unforgiving influence and the shadow of her mother's legacy. Her quest to recover the statues takes her to upstate New York and Ian Dashall, a geeky but brave archaeology professor, and then on to France and England with Ian at her side....

Publishers Weekly

Reese's vibrant debut introduces Shan Westfall, a half-Chinese, half-American crime fighter, who yearns to unite the mystical power of the Jade Circle, an ancient female order embodied by five jade animal artifacts. The Jade Circle is currently incomplete, broken by a ruthless crime lord who seeks the statues' power for his own nefarious purposes. Shan's determined search leads her to the jade crane held by archeologist Ian Dashell, who becomes an ally and, after a period of smoldering erotic tension, her lover. Flying kicks, heart-stopping spins and amazing somersaults propel the action. Complicating matters is Ian's colleague, Dr. Daniel Buckley, an antiquities expert; One-eye, an evil Asian martial artist; and Sifu Xia, a feisty 60-year-old kung fu queen. Reese choreographs both the romantic moves and the martial arts with flair. Juno is a new fantasy imprint of Wildside Press featuring strong female characters, exotic locales and romance. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.