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July 2008
Dead Sexy by Tate Hallaway
Paula Chaffee Scardamalia is the award-winning author of Weaving a Woman's Life: Spiritual Lessons from the Loom, and a freelance writer for national online and print publications. With more than 20 years of study of shamanic dream techniques, myth and smbols, Paula weaves dreams, tarot, myths and fairytales into personal consultations, workshops and seminars that suggest pathways for action and empower choices for transformation. She writes about creativity, dreams, and a woman's life at www.weavingthedream.com/blog.
"Who knew there were so many dead things in Madison, Wisconsin?" Always appreciative of great opening sentences, this has to be one of my top ten, at least in the paranormal genre. In addition to definitely hooking my interest and making me read further, the sentence also clues us into the fact that the author has a quirky sense of humor, a key element that keeps this Garnet Lacey series from becoming just another girl-meets-boy vampire story. Another element that makes Hallaway's series unique is that her heroine, Garnet Lacey, is not just any ordinary good-looking woman lusting for a hot time with a sexy vampire. Oh sure, in her past life she was a sweet looking blond witch, but now she shares her body with the Goddess Lilith, and is more Goth witch with her dyed black pixie-cut hair, blood-red lipstick, and purple eyes. And while the hunky vampires in this series have vampire strengths and other special abilities, when Garnet lets Lilith loose, Lilith has the ability to snap handcuffs, kill loas, and generally cause all kinds of havoc and violence. After all, it is Lilith who killed the Vatican witch hunters after they killed the members of Garnet's coven, and it is Lilith who left Garnet to clean up the mess At the end of the last book, Tall, Dark and Dead, Garnet, with the help of Sebastian, has cast a spell on a group of Vatican witch hunters to make them think that she and Sebastian are dead so the hunters will stop chasing them. Just when Garnet thinks she has Lilith under control and is safe from her past, FBI agent Gabriel Dominguez walks into her bookstore wanting to interrogate her about Parrish and his suspected role in the murders of the Vatican witch hunters. As if dealing with new boyfriend, Sebastian, and his jealousies and suspicions regarding old boyfriend (also a vampire) Parrish, as well as Parrish's obvious desire to get back into Garnet's bed isn't more than a girl can handle, Garnet casts a small love spell on Dominguez to help him believe her lies. Hallaway ups the ante for Garnet, however, when the spell affects Garnet as well. Like a delicious dessert, Hallaway adds another layer of tension and concern for Garnet. Remember those "dead things"? Zombies—who keep showing up all over Madison, like the coffee shop next door, Holy Grounds. And as if that isn't enough, her friend and employee, William, is dating someone who appears to have something to do with all the zombies. In keeping with the paranormal, witchy theme, the chapter titles progress through the signs of the zodiac starting with Aries and ending with Pisces, and each sign has keywords which are indicative of the action in the chapter. Hallaway's twists and turns in the story are imaginative and fun, but it is her deft blend of the occult and fantastical with the contemporary and mundane (Holy Grounds coffee house!) that give the novel its uniquely humorous voice, such as when Garnet is selling a book to a zombie in her bookstore. When I noticed the spittle hanging from his lower lip, I felt a pang of pity. I shook my head. I couldn't afford to start thinking like this. If I took in every ghost, golem, or ghoul that wandered into Mercury Crossing, Madison's premier occult bookstore and herb emporium, I'd be one seriously busy little Witch. The only thing I missed from this second book in the Garnet Lacey series is the level of tension that was in the first book—tension about Garnet's safety from the witch hunters (as a reader, I am just not as worried about a hunky-looking FBI agent) and her ability to control Lilith. Perhaps I was just frustrated having to wait until the end of the book for a really juicy love scene between our heroine and her true love. Nevertheless, Dead Sexy is a well-layered, humorous, original paranormal romance, with a heroine whose penchant for magic and sexy vampires (and FBI agents) keeps you turning the pages. Having now taken care of the zombies and the FBI agent, and with the witch hunters thinking she is dead, will love's path for Garnet and Sebastian continue smoothly? And where, after kissing Garnet in the middle of the night when she thought she was dreaming, did Parrish—and his coffin—go? Fortunately, the next book, Romancing the Dead will be out soon. I can't wait to read it. |
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