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birdloveranne's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed it. I wonder what will happen next in the series.
kairosdreaming's review
3.0
In the world of Vampire novels, this is an older one. Written in the nineties I saw a lot of similarities to recent vampire novels in this book. It was an ok book, not the best in its genre, but it wasn't bad either.
Eleisha is a vampire and her task is to take care of William, a vampire who was turned while having Alzheimer's and now has lived undead with the disease for many years. Taking care of William is about to get harder though. Normally solitary beings, they had made the friendship of Edward and he has just gone mad and killed himself in front of witnesses. Since Eleisha is connected to him, she has to hide. But these are no ordinary police witnesses, they have psychic powers and between them and William's son Julian who is also a vampire, she has to be careful or fall prey to all their schemes.
Eleisha has a few defenses though. When a vampire is made, the attribute that was most profound becomes ten times as powerful. In Eleisha's case that is vulnerability, she can literally make people want to take care of her. She also discovers that most vampires have psychic powers as well and she can learn to use that to her advantage. Despite this though, she is playing with dangerous players and must keep herself and William safe.
The characters were ok. Eleisha of course was the most developed but they gave plenty of background on all of the characters so at least you knew their history. She takes pretty good care of herself despite being called weak and not so wise with the world.
Hendee's writing is pretty clear. She doesn't use a lot of offensive language but there are some violent scenes and descriptions in this book. Her style in this book was a bit distracting. With the vampires psychic abilities there were a lot of flashbacks as they showed each other things. This took away from the main story with a lot of huge gaps in the novel. Her writing isn't really engaging either and while I enjoyed the story, I wasn't drawn into it.
As far as vampire stories go, this is average. I do see a lot of inspiration for some of the ones written lately and advise people who enjoy the more recent ones to read this one. She has some other books out and it seems this could be a series so I'll definitely be checking more of her work out.
Blood Memories
Copyright 1998
243 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2010
Eleisha is a vampire and her task is to take care of William, a vampire who was turned while having Alzheimer's and now has lived undead with the disease for many years. Taking care of William is about to get harder though. Normally solitary beings, they had made the friendship of Edward and he has just gone mad and killed himself in front of witnesses. Since Eleisha is connected to him, she has to hide. But these are no ordinary police witnesses, they have psychic powers and between them and William's son Julian who is also a vampire, she has to be careful or fall prey to all their schemes.
Eleisha has a few defenses though. When a vampire is made, the attribute that was most profound becomes ten times as powerful. In Eleisha's case that is vulnerability, she can literally make people want to take care of her. She also discovers that most vampires have psychic powers as well and she can learn to use that to her advantage. Despite this though, she is playing with dangerous players and must keep herself and William safe.
The characters were ok. Eleisha of course was the most developed but they gave plenty of background on all of the characters so at least you knew their history. She takes pretty good care of herself despite being called weak and not so wise with the world.
Hendee's writing is pretty clear. She doesn't use a lot of offensive language but there are some violent scenes and descriptions in this book. Her style in this book was a bit distracting. With the vampires psychic abilities there were a lot of flashbacks as they showed each other things. This took away from the main story with a lot of huge gaps in the novel. Her writing isn't really engaging either and while I enjoyed the story, I wasn't drawn into it.
As far as vampire stories go, this is average. I do see a lot of inspiration for some of the ones written lately and advise people who enjoy the more recent ones to read this one. She has some other books out and it seems this could be a series so I'll definitely be checking more of her work out.
Blood Memories
Copyright 1998
243 pages
Review by M. Reynard 2010
tkat's review
1.0
Not what I was expecting from Barbe Hendee considering I love the Noble Dead saga she writes with J.C. Hendee. It makes me think that J.C. is the real force behind the Noble Dead.
thestarman's review
4.0
An above-average vampire novel (~3.5 stars), and the 1st book of a series.
PLOT (NO SPOILERS): There are fewer than 10 vampires left in the entire world, or so our heroine vampire has been told for ages. Most of them remain hidden. But then one of the vamps suddenly commits suicide. And our heroine encounters a man with most unusual talents. She begins to wonder if what she has believed for years is all just a lie. And who is the cop who knows about hidden vampire society?
No werewolves, fairies, or goblins. Perhaps one other type of supernatural creature (here or in Book 2), but I won't tell.
Recommended for those who want some real vampires in their vampire novels. This is a moderately serious paranormal book, but it's not super-dark or terrifying. I'd say it's somewhere between Anne Rice (denser, darker) and Charlaine Harris (lighter, sillier).
PLOT (NO SPOILERS): There are fewer than 10 vampires left in the entire world, or so our heroine vampire has been told for ages. Most of them remain hidden. But then one of the vamps suddenly commits suicide. And our heroine encounters a man with most unusual talents. She begins to wonder if what she has believed for years is all just a lie. And who is the cop who knows about hidden vampire society?
No werewolves, fairies, or goblins. Perhaps one other type of supernatural creature (here or in Book 2), but I won't tell.
Recommended for those who want some real vampires in their vampire novels. This is a moderately serious paranormal book, but it's not super-dark or terrifying. I'd say it's somewhere between Anne Rice (denser, darker) and Charlaine Harris (lighter, sillier).
sammie5460's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoyed reading "Blood Memories" but I felt it was a bit on the short side. It seemed to me as though most of the book was background stories of each character instead of the actual story line. I found Barb Hendee's take on the traditional vampire really interesting, though, and did enjoy the both the story and the background information. Despite the book seeming like a set up for the second novel, I really did have fun reading it!
ghostlydreamer's review
3.0
Ouch. Okay. I'm not sure what to write about this one. I gave it three stars, but I think it deserves...one. At least judging by my current reading tastes. I would never pick something like this up now. Granted, I don't think I would have back then either, except it was written by one-half of the authors who wrote one of my favorite series of all time, the Noble Dead Saga. So naturally, I just HAD to read it. And I only owned it because my local Hastings was going out of business, everything had to go, and this series was maybe a buck a piece.
You know. Logic.
But this book really wasn't my cup of tea. From the very first page, I think I knew that. I mean, I finished it very quickly. So that must say something. But I often read out of obligation, back then. I'd read for hours at a time, and if I was determined to finish a book, I think I read it that much faster so I could just...get it over with. I'm pretty sure that was the case with this one.
Look. Vampires really aren't my thing, normally. Least of all when it's set in the real world. Then you've got the pretty girl and the hot vampire boyfriend and the steamy tension between the two and just...no. It's not my thing. It wasn't written all that well, which was unfortunate because I know what Barb Hendee is capable of (the Noble Dead Saga proves this). The plot was unremarkable and pretty damn forgettable. And I wasn't in much of a hurry to finish the series.
Also. Let's be honest. The cover sucked. I should've known from the start that one wouldn't be for me. If we're judging books by their covers, that is.
You know. Logic.
But this book really wasn't my cup of tea. From the very first page, I think I knew that. I mean, I finished it very quickly. So that must say something. But I often read out of obligation, back then. I'd read for hours at a time, and if I was determined to finish a book, I think I read it that much faster so I could just...get it over with. I'm pretty sure that was the case with this one.
Look. Vampires really aren't my thing, normally. Least of all when it's set in the real world. Then you've got the pretty girl and the hot vampire boyfriend and the steamy tension between the two and just...no. It's not my thing. It wasn't written all that well, which was unfortunate because I know what Barb Hendee is capable of (the Noble Dead Saga proves this). The plot was unremarkable and pretty damn forgettable. And I wasn't in much of a hurry to finish the series.
Also. Let's be honest. The cover sucked. I should've known from the start that one wouldn't be for me. If we're judging books by their covers, that is.
sandywilliams03's review
3.0
This was a strong 3.5 stars for me. I really enjoyed it. It's been so long since I read a vampire book, it was nice getting into one again, and I felt, especially toward the beginning, a bit of a BITTEN vibe, which is definitely a good thing. We had to discover how Eleisha reached the point where she is. I thought the writing was excellent, and while I wasn't sure about the lets-leap-into-someone-else's-memories-of-the-past storytelling at first, it grew on me.
This book probably would have been a 4.5 to 5 star book for me if it had any romance, but it had zero romance. Not even a light one, and I'm finding that for a book to make it to my OMG-I-Love-It-I-Love-It list, it must have a strong romantic subplot.
The only other thing I want to mention real quick was the ending. Some of it seemed kind of tacked on, like Eleisha's relevation about a certain aspect of vampire existence. And then, there was a note from somebody which came out of nowhere. I totally didn't get why it was sent to her at the time it was sent, and it really just seemed to be there so that it could set up a sequel? Those two things were the only parts that made go, huh, but I still enjoyed the book, and if you're into vampires without a hint of romance, definitely give this a try.
I received this book in a giveaway on The Deadline Dames. I actually won the third book, but Barb Hendee was a sweetheart and mailed me the first two as well. A good thing since I didn't realize I'd won book #3! So, since I have #2 and #3 already, I'll definitely be reading them in the future.
Okay. One last thing. Did anyone else want to love Julian? Maybe it's just the name, Julian, but I so wanted to give him a hug. Probably just because I was desperately seeking a love interest. :-)
This book probably would have been a 4.5 to 5 star book for me if it had any romance, but it had zero romance. Not even a light one, and I'm finding that for a book to make it to my OMG-I-Love-It-I-Love-It list, it must have a strong romantic subplot.
The only other thing I want to mention real quick was the ending. Some of it seemed kind of tacked on, like Eleisha's relevation about a certain aspect of vampire existence. And then, there was a note from somebody which came out of nowhere. I totally didn't get why it was sent to her at the time it was sent, and it really just seemed to be there so that it could set up a sequel? Those two things were the only parts that made go, huh, but I still enjoyed the book, and if you're into vampires without a hint of romance, definitely give this a try.
I received this book in a giveaway on The Deadline Dames. I actually won the third book, but Barb Hendee was a sweetheart and mailed me the first two as well. A good thing since I didn't realize I'd won book #3! So, since I have #2 and #3 already, I'll definitely be reading them in the future.
Okay. One last thing. Did anyone else want to love Julian? Maybe it's just the name, Julian, but I so wanted to give him a hug. Probably just because I was desperately seeking a love interest. :-)
misswinchester84's review
4.0
A fun easy read. I had fun reading. this different vampire story. I'd definitely recommend this book.