Haven: Lowtown, Book 1

Pryor expands on her class-driven near-future world with this swift-moving but predictable paranormal romance, which is meant to be read on its own but doesn’t explain enough of the world to be truly accessible to those have haven’t read the related Blackthorn series. In this dystopian setting, humans reacted to learning about vampires and lycans in their midst by cracking down on them and establishing administrative districts where humans rule and paranormal (“third species”) entities are oppressed. Blackthorn is a closely patrolled ghetto for human criminals and vampires; neighboring Lowtown is almost as miserable, a grim district populated mostly by poor humans and the few vampires who have earned government approval. Ember Challice just wants to escape the squalor of Lowtown for the comfort and respectability of Midtown, and she’s a mere handful of days away from the completion of her plan. But when she saves vampire Nate’s life, she’s drawn into a deadly intrigue involving a local crime family, who desire her for a magical power she never realized she possessed. Now Ember and Nate must work together to survive, especially if she’s ever to be free of Lowtown, but a forbidden romance blooming between them could destroy all their dreams. Sadly, the core romance and obligatory sex scenes feel perfunctory at best, and the resolution makes little sense given the characters’ established motivations. Only longtime series fans are likely to continue following this spin-off. (Mar.)