Jo Anne read and liked Mandi's review of Ruling Eden:

"This is Michelle Picard's debut novel. When she emailed me to ask if I would review it, the blurb caught my attention fortunately, because the cover did not, and I decided to take it on. I am very happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
...more This is Michelle Picard's debut novel. When she emailed me to ask if I would review it, the blurb caught my attention fortunately, because the cover did not, and I decided to take it on. I am very happy to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Rachel is turning twenty-five in just a short time but she is soon going to realize this will be no ordinary birthday. Unknown to her, she is the Mother Heir - the queen of all supernatural beings. She has just learned from Jack, a talking poodle (thankfully he plays a small role), that she is to come with him to the Garden of Eden, to assume leadership of all supernatural beings. Funny thing is, this is the first time she has heard of this - she lives in a world where magic is just pretend. Jack flips out - Rachel was born in Eden, and then fostered in the mortal world so she could become acquainted with the human race. She was suppose to be tutored by secret witches during this time so she would be ready on her birthday to take over - problem is, her guardian vanished when she was young, leaving Rachel to live from foster home to foster home and leaving Rachel with no idea who she really is.

Having a very short time before midnight hits, Jack fills her in on the world she is about to enter - the goddess Lillith created seven races called Kesayim to protect the mortal humans and now she must go back to Eden to rule now that is of age and her birth mother is deceased. When the clock strikes midnight and she starts shooting off magic haphazardly, she thinks two things - she has lost her mind, and why not follow the talking dog since she just made her briefcase fly through her apartment at break-neck speed.

In Eden she meets her mentor Morven, who has been ruling until Rachel reached maturity. Morven's personality is prickly at best, but she becomes a great ally in Rachel's court. She is assigned three guards, three very smexy guards - Sebastian, a shifter, Tarn, a fae, and Gabriel - part angel, part demon.

With her guards in tow Rachel learns all of her new responsibilities. First she must learn and master her magic. It is well known in Eden that she was not brought up with knowledge of this world, and the supernaturals are all on edge looking for a weakness. She knows she must assert herself from the beginning or they will run all over her.

She also learns that the mortal realm of Earth is failing - no one knows for sure why. The goddess has dictated that this is kept a secret from the supernaturals of Eden, leaving a heavy burden on Rachael's shoulders. With pressure to also find a consort, a man to start having children with soon, Rachel realizes her new life is one filled to the brim with anxiety. Although she forms a special relationship with Gabriel, she needs to convince him he is worthy of being loved and then she may just have a future to look forward to.

Ruling Eden started with two scenarios that usually make me cringe but in this book Michelle Picard makes them work. First a talking animal. Jack the poodle turned out to be a very minor character, one to just get her to go to Eden. He was actually funny, and I must admit made me laugh at one point.

Secondly, the protagonist grows into adulthood and all of a sudden is thrust into a magical realm with no knowledge that magic even exits. The big reveal, when the protagonist finds out - hey, I have magical powers - is hard to pull off. Michelle Picard does it in a great way. Of course first Rachel thinks she is losing her mind by talking to a dog (who talks back) - and she eventually bursts into hysterical giggles (which is so what I would do). There is such a tricky balance between having the character reject this new knowledge, but also have her move forward in her new life. What I loved most of all about Rachel is that once she is thrust into Eden, she accepts it! She doesn't spend half of the book fighting her new life, or not believing all of the supernatural things going on. I can't handle it when you are three-fourths through a book and the protagonist is still thinking they are moving back to main street and the supernatural will "magically" disappear.

Michelle Picard writes very engaging, deep characters and I can't say enough about how much they captured my attention and left me satisfied throughout the story. Rachel's guard trio are quite funny and have that kind of brotherly camaraderie I am fond of. Her guard gives each other a hard time, relentless in the teasing, yet one suspicious move from anyone in court, and they are armed and lethal.

Rachel herself is very outspoken and although she may not have the confidence deep down, she never backs down and makes sure everyone knows she is queen. The only thing that nagged me just a little is that Rachel enters Eden not having any control over her magic. When tensions rise and she is forced to use her magic on a couple of occasions, her magic always works. Not to say, at some points she wants to stun only two people who are fighting and she stuns half the court by accident. But she always prevails. You could bring up the argument that she is the Mother Heir so even though she doesn't have the training, she has the power to overcome. Yet, I would have liked to see her struggle just a little more with learning her powers.

Besides a string of murders, and figuring out how to save the world, Rachel has a very hot romance with Gabriel. I love how he is written - being half demon, he doesn't feel worthy of her love, and has had a very hard past, similar to Rachel. He is not accepted because of his mixed heritage. Although Morven chose him for the guard and he is trustworthy, at least to her, many ridicule him and talk about him behind their backs. Although his feelings are reciprocated, he shies away at the thought of being Rachel's consort because he doesn't want to bring shame and embarrassment to her.

Ruling Eden is a great tale of romance, mystery and just a wonderful, beautiful world Michelle Picard has created. (less) "