Customer Reviews

Tall, Dark & Dead (Garnet Lacey, Book 1)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Garnet Lacey is a good witch who hosts the goddess Lilith in her womb after calling down the dark powers a while back to defeat the team of witch killers that slaughtered her coven. Single, she has a thing for vampires, who are apparently quite rare although they have a large following among goth circles in Madison, Wisconsin. She's got her sexy vampire ex, Parrish, who is a dependable rock when it comes to hiding bodies and has recently come drifting back into her life. And she's got blood-sucking Sebastian, a daywalker who recently visited her shop in search of a vital ingredient for his life-sustaining magicks.

And Garnet is madly, passionately, devotedly in love with whichever vampire happens to be with her at the time. She trusts the one she's with, mistrusts the one she's not and has sex with whomever's closest.

"Tall, Dark & Dead" has a few problems, and Garnet's fickle heart is least among them. One is the overall presentation of witchcraft. Garnet pretends to be a new-agey witch poseur to throw pursuers off her track, and yet the actual performance of her craft is drawn from those very same neopagan sources.

The story obviously needs a villain, and author Tate Hallaway (a.k.a. Lyda Morehouse) demonizes the Catholic Church to provide one. Perhaps it's just me, but when her protagonist is a member of a religion that prioritizes religious tolerance, it seems unwise to slam another faith so blatantly. In this case, the church employs psychics to hunt and murder witches, and is considering creating an army of Catholic vampires to strengthen the hunt.

Problems aside, I enjoyed "Tall, Dark & Dead" much more than I expected. Even the problems mentioned above were amusing in a good-natured but exasperating kind of way. Hallaway is a graceful writer who knows her way around a sentence, and she's building a strong supporting frame for Garnet Lacey's world. I hope the coming sequel, "Dead Sexy," works out the kinks and focuses on Hallaway's strong points.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.(n e t) editor

Garnet Lacey has sworn off magic ever since she arrived late to a coven meeting and witnessed the slaughter of her friends by the Vatican witch killers. In a fit of rage, Garnet summoned the goddess Lilith and destroyed all of her friends' killers. Her ex-boyfriend and vampire, Daniel Parrish, helped her bury the bodies and she fled, re-inventing herself as a goth poseur. Unfortunately, Lilith still lurks beneath the surface and now the Vatican witch killers have returned....

Sebastian Von Traum is a vampire through alchemy and the Vatican wants him dead and to possess his formula. Sebastian's son and dhampyr, Matyas, is aiding them as he wants a Papal exorcism for his mother, who hovers somewhere between vampirism and death. Garnet will have to summon inner reserves she doesn't even know she possesses to keep Lilith under control while staying alive and out of the clutches of the Vatican witch hunters.

TALL, DARK & DEAD is an interesting blend of fantasy and romance. The story is a bit darker than most romances but Tate Hallaway's humor balances it out. The character of William adds comic relief necessary to break the tension. William is Garnet's friend and therefore willing to assist her with her quest to protect Sebastian but his naiveté regarding the supernatural (despite working in an occult bookstore!) is refreshing. Garnet's familiar, Barney, also adds a touch of humor as her familiar is allergic to magic!

One fascinating aspect of TALL, DARK & DEAD is the struggle between good and evil. The Vatican would normally be associated with good while witches would be evil and yet Tate Hallaway has turned this concept around and made the witches good while the Vatican supports killing. Garnet struggles with these weighty issues as the goddess Lilith inside her wants to destroy while Garnet is a peace-loving vegetarian.

TALL, DARK & DEAD is not to be missed by lovers of paranormal romances! Tate Hallaway has created a rich world that will leave readers screaming for a sequel.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Garnet Lacey is pushing thirty, and while she's like to leave her magic past behind, she's finding it extremely difficult, what with an inner goddess name Lilith controlling her powers. Besides, disposing of all things magical isn't the easiest task when you're the manager of Wisconsin's premier occult bookstore, and are around all things magic 24/7, including customers. Which is where Sebastian Von Traum - a gorgeous guy in leather and denim, sporting an Austrian accent - enters the picture. Garnet is immediately attracted to the piece of unadulterated hotness, but when she realizes that he's missing one very important thing: an aura, she knows that he's ultimately part of a different world. Meaning, he's dead. Which is definitely trouble. But Garnet knows what she likes, and she's automatically sucked in to the trouble written all over Sebastian. And now, as much as she'd like to escape it, Garnet - along with Sebastian - are being chased by the Vatican witch hunters. The same Vatican witch hunters who killed Garnet's coven months ago, and who she's been hiding out from ever since that fateful day. As if dealing with one vamp - Sebastian - weren't difficult enough, Garnet's ex Parrish has dragged himself out of his coffin, and is hanging around, looking to get some action - of the blood-sucking variety - from anyone willing; and Sebastian's ex is squirming in her grave, in limbo between life and death. Now, Garnet is on the run, hiding by daylight, and running when darkness falls, in an attempt to protect herself - and her friends - from an untimely death.

I will admit that I was originally attracted to this book solely by the cover. However, upon reading the first few pages, I was hooked on the mystery and supernatural aura that lingered around both Garnet Lacey, and her many...freaky friends. Tate Hallaway has entered the paranormal/supernatural/vampire romance genre with a bang, and brought along a crew of wicked cool pals who will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last. Her descriptions of vampiric exchanges leave you cringing, and grabbing your jugular; while the romance never dies, living on in each page. An engrossing addition to the genre that will keep you reading long into the night.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

This book was a rollercoaster and not the good kind. It started out very promising, the first few pages made me buy the book. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to finish this frustrating book. At times, I had to force myself to read until the plot picked up. The plotting was very good, the problem lay with the characters who were spotty at best.

The vampires were laughable (the skeevy clothes and the romantic dracula talk). Other writers like MaryJanice Davidson make fun of this kind of vampire (strangely Ms Davidson gives it a positive cover blurb.) But Garnet, the main character, LOVES this kind of vampire. She refers to them as bad boys, but they're just bad. Ultimately, Garnet is weak when it comes to vampires and, for me, it's not an attractive trait in a main character. Especially when she's attached to two vamps that are alternately evil, just plain criminal, and not that likeable. And yet the reader, like Garnet is supposed to find their behavior and Garnet's inability to say stay resolute in her behavior toward them charming. It's not. This book's premise had a really great promise, too bad Tate Hallaway couldn't follow through on it.

I have recently started reading the paranormal, romantic comedy. I enjoyed this book even though it was not "literature." When I read these books, it's for entertainment purposes and I know that going in. I have already suspended belief and am hoping the author gives me characters that are interesting and halfway believable situations. I think Tall, Dark and Dead delivers on most of that.

I did have one area where I had to not only suspend belief, but actually turn my brain off; the Vatican witch hunters. I had a hard time believing that the Vatican wanted to exterminate witches, but had no problems with vampires. If the book had used a different entity/villian, it would have been more believable.

My understanding on reading the book was that Garnet WAS a witch with knowledge and power at one time, but who decided to stop practicing her craft. I'm sure Lilith, the goddess also didn't bother with her possessee's unless there was something she wanted. I liked Sebastian, but felt the strongest character with the most thorough character development was Matyas...Sebastian's son.

Tate's writing is not as good as Charlaine Harris, Rachel Caine, Mary Janice Davidson and some of the other writer's in the genre, but I enjoyed this book and I plan on reading the next one.

"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."

That's kind of hard to do when you have the Goddess Lilith inhabiting your body. Garnet called her down when she walked in on the Vatican Witch hunters finishing up the last rites on the bodies of her coven. She would have been one of the bodies there if she hadn't been running late. Soon afterwards she runs and now lives in Madison, Wisconsin hiding in plain sight, running an occult bookshop.

To shake things up a bit she run into a vampire named Sebastian Von Traum who needs a mandrake root to be able to complete the formula that lets him walk around in the daylight. The two of them end up getting together and that comes with its own set of problems, namely a son and a not quite possibly dead wife. The two of them get pulled together when the Vatican begins hunting them both and intend to kill them.

I thought this book and its sequel Dead Sexy were alright when I read them the first time, but after re reading Tall, Dark and Dead, neither of them will be staying on my shelves. They're both good for a first read, but after that, there's really nothing that pulls you back into the book and makes you want to read it again. I've toyed with the idea of getting the third book, Romancing the Dead, but Garnet just comes across as too possessive and jealous of Sebastian and the fact that she has to share him with others for him to eat, because she doesn't want him to bite her, according to her she is his lover not his food. And while that does kind of make sense, at the same time that is life for a vampire; they need to eat from multiple sources so they don't leave a trail of bodies behind them. If you can't handle that fact, then don't date vamps, think she would of learned that the first time around with her ex lover Parrish.

This book I bought on a whim.
This book features Garnet - a witch that has a goddess living within her.
Parrish an ex-boyfriend thats return
And Sebastian whom is Tall, Dark .. & Dead :)

There is always something going on and its quite action filled, never a dull moment and the chars are rather wonderful - I liked William, which I think many people can relate too, just trying to find the right belief thats suits him.

Now this book can get confusing quite easily if you skip parts, which I love in a book that every moment is important and never dull.

I gave this book 3 stars for 1 reason ... I could not at all get into Sebastian. He was suppose to be Tall, Dark, which he was and sounded quite wonderful but he was cold and quite unlikable. He never showed much affection towards Garnet, except for occasional jealousy.
Actually half way thru the book he was romancing and hung up more on his dead wife then Garnet herself.

This is a good book to read and all but it really has no real passion and romance in it that I found, although it is a wonderful book and lots of action and never a dull moment, it is not a book to close your eyes and sigh over a truly romantic novel.

It's a great book . . . quick read, engaging, and the characters felt like people I'd hang out with. Lacy is troubled, as a good protagonist ought to be. The Vampires are attractive bad boys and that's just the kind of guys Lacy would be with. The love triangle worked very well.

I'm happy I read it and will read more from Tate Hallaway.

To the reviewer who was 'offended' that the Catholic church was made villianous . . . get a life. This is fiction and large organizations, like churches, governments, and corporations (and is there really any difference today?) make great enemies. Ms. Hallaway joins a LONG list of good writers who've written underdog-vs.-the-Church stories.

I recommend this book to both the 'vampire chick lit' crowd and to any others who like good stories told well.

This is definitly a 3 1/2 star book for me. It's extremely intriguing and I'd certainly pick up the upcoming sequal, Dead Sexy,in May. But there were parts of the book that were irritating and the ending was glossed over just a little too much.

As someone who's never gotten into astrology I found myself using Wikipedia just to be able to understand a good deal of the main character, Garnet Lacy's,lingo. Garnet's newest boyfriend is a vampire, not unlike her latest ex - whom she dropped shortly before her coven was attacked by homicidal Vatican priests and she channelled the spirit of an extremely vengeful Goddess to crush them.However the new boyfriend can run around in the daylight and was not turned the old fashioned way. He was an alchemist who stumbled onto the secret of immortality, but he must drink the elixer again if he wants to remain a dead man walking. And everyone is after his formula including his son, a mythical damphyr.

For me there were many ends left loose, which I'm hoping will start to be tied up in the next installation of the series. The book certainly drew me in. But not only does the author not go into exceptional explanation over astrology, she doesn't really explain who her trapped goddess Lillith is, so readers could certainly be a bit baffled if they've never heard of her before. Drag the encyclopedia out, but it is just about worth it for a good read.

I checked this book out from the local library; thankfully that means that I don't have to worry about lost money. I enjoyed reading about the idea of a different source for "vampirism" than a soul doomed or the devil. I also enjoyed a book that brought magic into the mix. I thought there were a couple of good ideas for the platform/reality of the world created within the book.
Unfortunately I could not buy into what was created. I believe this is because the writing did not effectively create the world in a believable way for me: more specifically the main character, Garnet, never felt fully fleshed out to me. She seemed opaque and insubstantial. The original vampire was more solid of a character than she was. None of the side characters really felt substantial either. So much time was spent explaining Wicca and astrology that could have been spent making the books world believable and solid in its creation, that I found my mind wondering and almost falling asleep at times. The primary challenge to overcome was not delved into as much as it could have been and the climax was anti-climactic. It seemed more contrived; to what end, I know not. I think the end could have been wrapped up much more effectively then it was, and that's what disappoints me so much.
I picked this book up looking for a comedy based on the supernatural. What I found was a piece that I felt belonged in a creative writing workshop in high school. With some rewriting, this could have been great. As to laughs..I found none. I think I smiled once or twice; not even a chuckle. I wish I could say more positive.
If you want something like what I was looking for...read Bitten and Smitten by Michelle Rowen. I laughed hard and out loud a lot over that book.