Prodigal Son by Debra Mullins
- Method of Obtaining: I received a copy from the publisher.
- Published by: Tor Books
- Release Date: 10.01.2013
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Bounty hunter Rafe Montana is a Seer, descended from the fabled Atlanteans. He uses his inherited power to “see” criminals across the globe and track them down, and he’s just started on a new case. Danny Cangialosi is accused of disappearing with a stolen car…but for the first time in his life, when Rafe goes looking, he is unable to “see” him. Instead, his search leads him to Danny’s stubborn, meddling, and very cute stepsister, Cara McGaffigan.
Cara is looking for Danny, too, but not to turn him in. He is her brother, after all, and she’s convinced he has a good heart. If she can just find him before the cops do, she’ll figure out a way to get him out of this. But Cara didn’t count on a scorching-hot bounty hunter getting in her way.
Despite instant chemistry, Rafe and Cara know they’re never going to see eye-to-eye when it comes to Danny. What they don’t know is that Danny didn’t just steal a car—he stole a precious stone, a stone right out of the legends of Atlantis. It holds powers they can only dream of…and its owner wants it back.
When I received my copy of Prodigal Son by Debra Mullins I was a little uncertain. I’m not normally a paranormal-romance girl so I set it aside for when the mood struck. Well, it struck a few days later and that, combined with my curiosity, caused me to pick up the book. What I got in return was a quickly moving, fun, action-filled story that was, unfortunately, chock full of holes.
So let me talk about the bad first so I can end on a good note. While Mullins has some interesting concepts, some things just weren’t fleshed out well. I enjoy a well put-together magic system and this magic system was not that. I never quite understood what exactly the “Hunter” was, let alone the tiered layers of hierarchy within the system. I didn’t know what exactly it was that Cara would see when Rafe would go into blackout phase, nor why Cara had such an effect on him afterwards. Additionally, Rafe’s family just confused the hell out of me, conveniently knowing things when those things would move the plot forward, but keeping other things secret when it was not beneficial for the powers to work just then.
Then there’s the near assault-type relationship between Rafe and Cara. Right off the bat there are sparks, and I get it. It’s a romance novel so the chemistry is important. But their first meeting involved major body contact in a way that immediately declared the primal, overpowering strength of Rafe. There was no balance to that from Cara’s side. She was supposed to be a strong, successful woman, but instead spent most of her time trying to avoid one man from her past, search for another man, and deal with attraction to a third man. Yet Rafe had multiple conversations and engagements with people of both genders without coming across as weak. Just a bit of the feminist in me being frustrated.
So the good things. I loved the names. Rafe was very aptly named and put the entire story in the right mood from the get-go. There was also quite a bit of action and a neat connection to the Lost City of Atlantis. While I wish more of the history and lineage would have been talked about more, I thought it was an interesting concept. Additionally, I was interested in what would happen when the end goal of Rafe and Cara’s mission finished and felt pleasantly rewarded when I got to the end of the book. For a paranormal-romance, it’s doing well when I don’t toss it across the room halfway through so I count that a win.
So if you enjoy reading about dominant men, Las Vegas, strange magical powers and are looking to heat your day (or night) up a bit, then check out Prodigal Son by Debra Mullins. It gets a solid three stars from me.
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