I just finished Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway (pseudonym for science fiction novelist Lyda Morehouse) over the weekend – a paranormal romance that is presumably the first installment of a series featuring South Dakota medical examiner (and witch) Alex Connor and her love interest Valentine Zmajov, who also happens to be a Russian ice dragon.
“I watched as he snapped out his arms, and gigantic batlike wings unfolded from his back. His body elongated and shifted. Yet somehow he was still recognizable to me with a slender, elegant neck and massively powerful chest. Scales, as white as snow, sparkled like diamonds in the sun. A snakelike tail curled and twisted, whipping back and forth in fury. Coal black reptilian eyes seemed to find me despite the speed of ascent. What did I see there? Sorrow? Regret? I wasn’t certain, but it was a decidedly human expression despite the proud, cruelly handsome snout.”
The storyline of Precinct 13 was more paranormal fantasy than paranormal romance – the romance element was unequivocally understated – revolving around Connor, a 26-year old female coroner who accepts a position in Pierre, South Dakota, in large part to distance herself from her past, which included time spent in a psych ward and a boyfriend (Valentine) who enabled her belief in magic and magic creatures. Once in Pierre, however, she performs an autopsy on a recently deceased necromancer (who eventually gets up and walks away!) and quickly realizes that she is indeed not crazy – magic does exist. She is introduced to Precinct 13, essentially a secret team of paranormal cops who are involved in a “war against the unnatural,” and, with their help, she attempts to solve the mystery surrounding the awol necromancer.
While the storyline was a little formulaic, I enjoyed the diverse cast of characters, which included a golem, a vampire/werewolf, a half-fairy, etc. I initially thought that Connor would become emotionally entangled with a “nerdy goth” technomage named Jack – a wildly endearing guy who embraced his inner geek by naming his magpie familiar after a Dr. Who character and wearing a stocking hat with Yoda ears! – but the arrival of Valentine put the kibosh on that potential connection…
Although this novel didn’t “wow” me – the well-developed cast of characters doesgive it the potential to become an entertaining series – it did get me to thinking: of all of the supernatural lovers in the paranormal romance realm, which kind do we as readers enjoy reading about the most?
• Is it vampires, like the ones in J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series (Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, et. al.) or Lynday sands’ Argeneau saga?
• Is it the hunky shapeshiftters from series like Jennifer Ashley’s Shifters Unbound saga (Pride Mates, Primal Bonds, Wild Cat, and the soon-to-be released Mate Claimed)?
•Maybe the angels from Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter saga
(Angels' Blood, Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's Consort, et. al.) or Gena Showalter’s Wicked Nights?
• Or perhaps the dragons portrayed in Thea Harrison’s Elder Races novels (Dragon Bound, Storm's Heart, et. al.) or Hallaway’s Precinct 13?
If you were the lead character in a paranormal romance novel, what kind of supernatural lover would you want to be involved with? And why?
Caprice Damani is a work-from-home mom with extensive experience in the publishing industry, as a bookseller, editor, and romance reviewer. Keep up with all of her blogs – as well as all of Barnes & Noble’s exclusive reviews, authors interviews, videos, promotions, and more – by following @BNBuzz on Twitter!
