Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Nobody’s Perfect

The line between magic and sanity is very thin. That's part of why I, Garnet Lacey quit cold turkey. Never touch the stuff. No exceptions.

But magic is so addictive.... and my inner Goddess, Lilith, is hard to resist. Besides, restraint isn't easy when you manage Wisconsin's premier occult bookstore, and get customers like Sebastian Von Traum-- piercing brown eyes, a sexy accent, and a killer body in black leather and denim. The only thing missing is an aura. Which means he's dead...

That means trouble. I guess I'm a sucker for it. The Vatican witch hunters are on to us. My long-lost vampire ex has crawled out of the woodwork looking for action. And Sebastian's frustrated ex is stirring in her grave.

What's a girl to do if she's hot for a dead man walking? Run like hell-- and take full advantage of the nights...

Title: Tall, Dark and Dead
Author: Tate Hallaway
Series: Garnet Lacey, Book 1
Start & Finished: 1/28/09
Published: May 2, 2006
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Pages: 304
Genre: Paranormal- Adventure Romance

An award-winning author of science-fiction/ fantasy novels, Lyda Morehouse changed her name and her genre in 2006 with the release of Tall, Dark and Dead by Tate Hallaway. It’s a paranormal romance adventure that is the first book in her on-going Garnet Lacey series. In an interview, the author claimed that her favorite thing “about writing paranormal romances/urban fantasy is that you get to have all the relationship/girly stuff married to the high-octane adventure/boy stuff. That’s pretty near perfect for me,” and her readers seem to agree.

The paranormal anthology Many Bloody Returns edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni LP Kelner, contained stories by some of my favorite authors but this is where I first became acquainted with Tate Hallway’s story Fire and Ice and Linguini for Two. Ms. Hallaway’s witchy heroine Garnet Lacey and her vampire boyfriend Sebastian were such amazingly interesting and different characters that I was immediately intrigued by the author’s “voice”. Even if the story was only 25 pages long and takes part mainly in a car during a blizzard, so I knew it was something I just had to read.

There were a few times when I was on slightly unfamiliar ground but the author does make sure I was never lost. I wasn’t very surprised to learn that she is a practitioner herself (by the way, real magic isn’t like it is in Hollywood but this author does let a little bit of Hollywood glamour into her story so real practioners will be amused) but I never got the sense that she was preaching even if the bad guys in the story are part of the Vatican.

Tall, Dark and Dead had a laugh-out-loud-ness to it that I usually attribute to MaryJanice Davidson but with a bit of solidness behind it, like Charlaine Harris herself. I’m already completely hooked on this series too. I found myself re-reading passages aloud many times and laughing. Actually, I spent almost the entire story with a grin on my face- it was just so entertaining! Having a bit of knowledge about a lot of the magical things (Ms. Hallaway leaves several gems of truth in the book) that are talked about and happen in the story do seem to help with how much I enjoyed it.

Garnet Lacey Series
1. Tall, Dark and Dead (2006)
2. Dead Sexy (2007)
3. Romancing the Dead (2008)
4. Dead If I Do (2009)

Links: Author Wikipedia, Author Blog, MySpace
Interviews: Mike Brotherton, Strange Horizons, Jenna Black

Picture Explanations
Mandrake:
The plant that brought Sebastian into Garnet’s life.
Bow and Arrow: An arrow through the heart will keep a vampire transfixed but won’t kill him
Altar: Garnet is a practictioner.

20 comments:

  1. A new series to experince. Ty!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like the way you describe this one. I think it's something I would enjoy. I need to read something light and fun for a change :)
    As always, great review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was drawn to the book when I saw the cover and added it to my wish list after I read your review.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi LadyTink!

    This is a new series for me, but really sounds good I believe it will be just my cup of tea. I'll give it a try! Looks like fast fun reads!

    Dottie :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really liked this one myself. I appreciated how the author used real aspects of the Craft in an authentic way to how real Pagans practice today. Now to find time to read the remainder of the series!

    Here's a link to my review in case you're interested.

    Oh, and also take a stroll over to the Zombie Chicken post on my blog too since I awarded you with a Zombie Chicken of your very own. :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Loved the review and liked your comparison to Harris too. Never thought of it that way but you're right that it is funny and light but still has depth. Read the first three in this series and loved em all. I had no idea that Tate Halloway was a pen name.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I haven't heard about this author before...at least I don't think so. The cover does look a bit familiar.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ooh, this sounds like fun! I hadn't heard of the author before, but she's definitely on my radar now.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm not familiar with this series, but it sounds like fun.

    One question though: is it going to be difficult to quiet my inner romantic? (For instance, I always find myself wishing that Sookie Stackhouse could find her one true love...)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Um, also... any book called "Dead Sexy" is one I definitely have to read. Fabulous title!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This does sound good (and I love that cover!). Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Jen.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow! What and awesome review. Thank you so much. Would you mind if I sent this on to my editor?

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love this series. I can't wait for the next one.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yet another series I'm going to have to check into. I love the cover on this one.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Read the first one and enjoyed it. Don't know why I haven't gotten around to reading the rest of them. Thanks for the reminder! :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've read the first 3 books in the series and loved them. I had no idea the author was using a pen name and that there was a story in that anthology. I'll have to look it up. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Liyana: You're welcome! I hope you like it!

    The Chic Geek: There are some dark moments in the series but for the most part it stays pretty light. Thank you!

    Bermudaonion: I'm glad! Isn't the cover incredible?! They're all like that in this series.

    My Blog 2.0 (Dottie): Hello! Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

    Cherie: Me too. I hope the next one comes out soon! Off to check out your review and claim my award, thank you!!!

    SciFiGuy: Aw thank you! I've read the other two too and loved them all.

    J.Kaye: She's really good!

    Memory: It was! I believe she's still fairly new (under this name at least) but worth checking out.

    Kate Diamond: Maybe a little... (personally I think Sookie should be with Eric- end of story) as there is two potential love interests but she seems to care more about one of them (I believe she gets married in one of the upcoming books).

    Wendy: You're welcome! I'm curious about how you would react to it. Honestly, I think you'd like it!

    Tate Hallaway: Thank you SO much for visiting and saying such nice things! Of course I don't mind :)

    CarolsNotebook: Me too :)

    Dar: Hope you do. Isn't that cover awesome!

    Naida: It is!

    Chelle: Hope you do! The others are great too.

    Monie G: You're welcome! I can't wait for the next one!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I was turned onto Garnet the same way you did. I originally purchased Many Bloody Returns to read the Butcher and Armstrong stories and was completely enthralled by Garnet's story. I immediately went on amazon and bought Tall Dark and Dead. Sebastian is just too cool.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Perla: I agree! Sebastian is awesome!

    ReplyDelete

NO SPAM WILL BE TOLERATED!

Thank you so much for leaving me comments and coming by!

Don't forget to visit my other blog:
Up Close and Personal with LadyTink I'd love to hear your opinion or just "meet" you!

I do leave answers to your comments here.

Search This Blog