The Renegade Hunter: This one’s for the romance readers

The Renegade Hunter by Lynsay Sands

How I feel about The Renegade Hunter depends, in part, on whether I put on my “romance hat” or my “fantasy hat.” There is definitely some overlap between urban fantasy and paranormal romance, but this one falls on the romance side. This is not a bad thing, just something you might want to know, whether you’re seeking out paranormal romance or trying to avoid it. The focus is squarely on the relationship between Jo, a feisty marine biology student; and Nicholas, a brooding vampire who has been on the lam for fifty years, presumed guilty of a brutal murder.

Nicholas rescues Jo from a psychotic vampire, and an instant attraction flares up between the two. In short order, they realize that they are “life mates.” The rest of the plot follows Nicholas and Jo as they try to evade both the psychotic vampire and a group of good vampires who want to apprehend Nicholas for the 1959 murder. There’s plenty of suspense, and some steamy love scenes.

I really liked Jo. She’s funny, and stubborn in the best possible way. I have to love a character who refers to a vampire elder as “Captain Crabby,” and her determination to snap Nicholas out of his self-loathing and prove his innocence is touching. I liked Nicholas a little less, just because I’ve seen the angsty vampire with a heart of gold before, but he’s sure to appeal to readers who like that type of hero.

I’m not sure what I think of the vampire origin story that Lynsay Sands has created. I actually said “What?” out loud when I learned that the vampires were created in Atlantis using nanotechnology. It’s both too cliché (because doesn’t all the ubertech always come from Atlantis?) and too far-fetched (I’m having a hard time buying nanotech in the ancient world, Atlantis or no Atlantis). Then again,

• Maybe it’s silly to look for realism in a vampire novel.
• I have been saying I want twists on the standard vampire story, after all!
• It may be meant as a parody of the super-enlightened-Atlantean cliché. I’ve gathered from
  poking around on the Internet that Sands’ earlier vampire novels are more comedic than
  The Renegade Hunter. I may be picking on something that was meant to be funny but
  isn’t coming off that way because this installment is a little on the dark side.
• The nanotech is actually quite well-thought-out! Sands does a great job of tying her origin
  story into the pre-existing vampire mythos, and explaining how the nanos relate to vamps’
  aversion to sunlight, the ravenous hunger of newly-turned vampires, and so on.

I did find the ending a little disappointing. First, Sands brings a large cast from previous novels onto the “stage” to discuss Nicholas’ fate. This scene serves largely as a “where are they now,” and I think it would be better appreciated by someone who’d read the previous ARGENEAU VAMPIRES and ROGUE HUNTER books. Then, a major event occurs, but is never explained. I’m guessing that it will be clarified in a later novel.

Overall, The Renegade Hunter is a fun, exciting romantic suspense, but becomes slightly less satisfying as it draws to a close. The ending depends too much upon previous books and future books, when up until that point The Renegade Hunter could have stood on its own.