Romancing the Dead-Tate Holloway

Romancing the Dead
Tate Holloway
Berkley, May 2008, $14.00
ISBN: 9780425221334

Witch Garnet Lacey, who has the Goddess Lilith living inside her, wants to buy the Mercury Crossing Occult Bookstore that she manages. Her vampiric fiancé Sebastian von Straum encourages her to do so. The pair also hopes to create a new coven to replace those who sadly died from a Vatican anti-vampire assault team. At the first new coven meeting, Garnet mentions Lilith to the group and Sebastian claims he is a vampire; most have some doubts with what each says.

Garnet goes to the university to attend a lecture given by Sebastian on herbs. He is late, which is a shocker as he is always punctual. His son Matyas, who sent the Vatican assassins after them, arrives. Garnet and Matyas do not like each other as she knows he sent the Vatican after them and he believes she is just Sebastian’s favorite chew toy. When Sebastian fails to arrive at all, Matyas assumes he is feeding from one of his ghouls while Garnet thinks he is in trouble.

Though enemies they go to Sebastian’s farmhouse, but he is not there. Garnet traces Sebastian’s path on the astral plane, but to her shock it splinters into many threads; something she has never seen before. She also sees a wolf with human eyes so she flees back to the farmhouse. They find Sebastian’s black book listing his sustenance ghouls. They know he is in trouble, but begin a quest to save him starting with an interview of his ghouls.

As always in a Tate Hallaway fantasy, the various types of paranormal species seem genuine and Madison, Wisconsin is a perfect setting for this the action thriller that never slows down for a moment. Readers will thoroughly appreciate this stand alone tale that also refers back to incidents in the previous two novels (see tall sexy and tall, dark & dead). Although ROMANCING THE DEAD lacks the humor that the audience expects from this talented author, this superb tale affirms the theory that “life’s a witch” worth reading about.

Harriet Klausner