Series: Dead in the City #1
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca on August 6, 2013
Format: eBook
Pages: 320
Source: NetGalley
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The last person Olivia Hollingsworth expected to see at her Greenwich Village vampire club was her one true love, Doug Paxton—whom she believed to be dead for centuries. Olivia thought she had moved on, but when Doug reappears, her heart knows she'd rather die than lose him again.Ever since Doug can remember, a red-haired siren has haunted his dreams. He never thought she could be real until he goes to investigate a murder at Olivia's night club. However, as the bodies keep piling up at her feet, he must fight to prove her innocence—even if it costs him his life...
A fun and flirty romance with bite! TALL, DARK, AND VAMPIRE has rekindled my love of PNR! Sara Humphreys has taken the vampire mythology and truly made it her own. Olivia and Doug’s romance will steal your heart and leave you wanting more. Don’t let the sexy cover fool you, Ms. Humphreys has woven an intricate new vampire lore that sucks you in (no pun intended!)!
What do you get when a 300 year old celibate vampire club owner and a dark and mysterious detective come together to solve a string of grisly murders in the streets of New York City? A recipe for a page turning mystery and a swoon-worthy romance! Olivia Hollingsworth has spent her immortality helping others, staying in the shadows and dreaming of her long lost love Doug Threadgood. When a killing spree brings Detective Doug Paxton to her club’s doors, Olivia comes face to face with the man she thought was lost to her forever. Faced with clearing her name and protecting her coven, Olivia must work alongside the man that’s haunted her dreams for years and fight for a second chance at love despite all the odds against her.
I love when an author breaks out of the conventions of the genre and makes her heroine the one who’s paranormal with a human love interest (or at least for a while!), it makes for an interesting story line. Olivia is a great balance of kick ass and femininity, she’s all about business and protecting those around her, but she still has a sexy side when the right man comes along. Liv (as Doug likes to call her) is indeed a tortured heroine, she’s lost her true love and has had to live with the guilt of his death for centuries which has made it difficult to get close to another man. She doesn’t need an alpha male to protect her but her love for Doug is stronger than her pride and there are some cute moments between them where she lets him be the protector.
Every fierce heroine needs a swoon-worthy counterpart and Doug Paxton is the perfect beau for Liv! He’s a stand up detective who has no clue of the supernatural world surrounding his city. When his life is altered and he joins the ranks of the “undead,” Doug is torn between accepting his new world with Olivia and losing his mortality. He’s a bit resentful at first but soon realizes being a vampire along with his training makes him an apex predator. The most interesting aspect of Doug’s transition is how quickly and smoothly it occurs, the revelation as to why is also a shocker I didn’t see coming. Sara Humphreys allows us to experience Doug’s transformation through her vivid storytelling, I almost felt I was there with him!
Although Liv and Doug have a “past” so to speak, their romance is not so instantaneous that it’s not believable. It’s almost as if these two characters meet and fall in love with their true selves the second time around. Yes, there is an immense physical attraction between these two at the start of the book, but I enjoyed the courting and flirty banter they provide before things get serious, it’s a great build up to the sexy scenes. Humphreys also delivers an intriguing mythology of bloodmates and daywalkers that ups the stakes (oops I did it again!) for our couple’s relationship.
The ongoing murder mystery, delightful characters and romance in TALL, DARK, AND VAMPIRE effortlessly draw the reader into Humphrey’s Dead in the City world. As a native New Yorker, I can’t help but feel a connection to the the book’s setting of New York City and think it’s perfect for this dark and gritty vampire world. I’m a sucker for a HEA which is almost guaranteed in this genre but felt Olivia and Doug needed a little more story before they sail off into the sunset. All in all I found this book to be the perfect read to delve into after a paranormal romance hiatus. TALL, DARK, AND VAMPIRE is a solid start to a promising new vampire romance series I can’t wait to revisit!
This sounds good – I love the unique elements that seem to be running through it. You caught my attention with the mention of the CELIBATE VAMPIRE. I didn’t know those existed in any PNR or UF books LOL! And the love interest working the other way – vampire to human – sounds like a fun twist. Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to check this one out!
Let me know what you think! 🙂
Awesome review, I received the book last week and hope to get to read it soon. Have you tried her shifter series?
I have not but I’ll have to check them out. Thanks for stopping by!