Review: Tall, Dark and Vampire by Sara Humphreys

Tall, Dark and Vampire by Sara Humphreys
Series: Dead in the City #1
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Published on: August 6, 2013
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 320
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley
Amazon | Kobo | GoodReads

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...

First impressions are often times deceiving and that couldn’t be truer than with Sara Humphreys latest book. At first glance, Tall, Dark and Vampire appears to be just another “vamp story” but beneath its pretty cover lives a well developed story peppered with rich lore and a timeless romance.

For me it was Humphreys mythology that propelled this novel from being just an average, everyday read to something truly special. Anyone who’s read a decent amount of paranormal fiction is probably familiar with the term daywalker but the Dead in the City series takes it to a whole new level by making one myth go hand-in-hand with yet another lore, that of the bloodmate. Now true love comes with its fair share of advantages which also ensures that the stakes are higher than ever. I liked that despite all of the pros that come with being undead that there’s also a few disadvantages as well, namely blood memories. In this world, when a vampire feeds directly from the source they also absorb their victim’s memories for eternity so it’s now doubly important that they chose their prey wisely. It’s hard enough living with one’s own sins never mind those of others as well.

I really enjoyed Doug as this book’s lead male protagonist; he’s a cop who’s investigating the murders connected to The Coven nightclub when things go awry. I liked how Humphreys took a good-to-the-core character and turned him into the epitome of evil: a vampire. When first confronted with his new reality Doug confesses his plans to end his existence but the more time he spends with Olivia, the more he realizes that not all vamps are bad. I thought the “natural vampire” aspect was pretty neat too. Doug’s transformation is anything but typical and the skills he acquired as a police officer serve him well in his new life. He has one of the smallest learning curves that I’ve ever encountered in paranormal fiction. I also liked how the author described his first moments as a vamp; she does a phenomenal job of depicting all of the heightened sights, sounds and smells. There was one chapter specifically where I felt like I was seeing the world for the first time through Doug’s eyes.

I flew through the first 3/4’s of this book; the murder investigation was intriguing and the chemistry between Doug and Olivia was downright scorching! The ending on the other hand felt rushed and didn’t really fit with the rest of the story. It was just too… perfect. It seemed as though the author forced their HEA and it didn’t do their journey justice at all. If I would have stopped reading this book at around the 250 page mark it probably would have been a 5-star read. Tall, Dark and Vampire starts off strong but fizzles towards the end; all-in-all, not a bad start to Sarah Humphreys Dead in the City series.

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