Blood of my Blood (Vampire Legacy, #4) [Paperback]

Karen E. Taylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Our fascination with vampires seems never to die.
-- The TV shows "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel", as well as their book spin-offs, continue to be hits.
-- Laurell Hamilton's Anita Black, Vampire Hunter is a very successful series.

Now, these fans will devour Blood of My Blood, the all-new installment of Karen Taylor's popular Vampire Legacy series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078601153X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786011537
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,360,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My name is Karen E. Taylor and I am a horror/paranormal author, with eight published novels to date and an eclectic assortment of short fiction which ranges from vampires to ghosts to telepathic, romantic dinosaurs. What can I say? I start out to write a story and, before I know what's hit me, the main character turns spectral or grows fangs or wings. It's what I do and what I love. I hope my readers feel the same.

In real life, I'm the mother of two sons and have been married for 32+ years. I'm owned by two cats and a dog. In my spare time I make candles and cosmetic creams/lotions. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, I graduated from Grove City College with a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Communication Arts. I've lived in all sorts of places, from Pittsburgh, to Grove City, to Richmond, to Laurel. Most recently, I loved living in Los Angeles, but have now moved back to the east coast, specifically Northern Virginia.

I'm working on a few new projects, but I'm superstitious enough to not want to talk about them yet.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read..., December 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood of my Blood (Vampire Legacy, #4) (Paperback)

Don't listen to some of these naysayers. Blood of My Blood is actually a rather enjoyable and worthy read, and also a slight departure from the first three novels. As one reviewer put it, this seems like a transition into another, separate trilogy from the (excellent) first three books in the Vampire Legacy. The focus has shifted, somewhat, from Deirdre and Mitch to Lily, the stillborn daughter Deirdre thought long dead and buried. In the process, we are introduced to a veritable smorgasbord of interesting new characters, including the villainous Angelo and the benevolent Moon.

About half of this novel is told from Lily's viewpoint, while the other half is told from Deirdre's. This sets up some rather interesting interpretations of characters' actions, especially when we get to see the same event from both perspectives. An excellent storytelling device, and somewhat hard to pull of convincingly. Ms. Taylor succeeds admirably.

All in all, a quality read. I eagerly await the next one in the series.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book Of The Series, September 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood of my Blood (Vampire Legacy, #4) (Paperback)

Deirdre Griffin is back after 4 years! This time she is battling the daughter she didn't know she had. All of the Deirdre books are written in the first person, but this is written from the perspective of Deirdre and of her daughter. The book takes the reader from the backwoods of Maine to New York to the streets of New Orleans, mixing in healthy doses of vampirism and Santeria (voodoo). Ms. Taylor has outdone herself in writing a horror novel where you really care about the characters. Defintely a "Couldn't put it down book".

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tantalizing!, December 19, 2001

By 

Tonya Ramagos (Chattanooga, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood of my Blood (Vampire Legacy, #4) (Paperback)

Deep dark forces drive the plot of this tantalizing novel with each and every page. We begin by learning about Lily Williams...beautiful and young yet completely consumed with anger and hatred. Abandoned at birth by her mother, left to dig her way out of a dark gloomy grave with no one to turn to and no where to go, Lily feels virtually no emotions aside from the loneliness, pain and betrayal that has built to raging heights over many long and grueling years. See, while Lily may look young on the outside and appear to those around her as one of the age of twenty-two, she is in truth over a century old. Part human and part vampire, she ages but not as a full-blooded human would. Discovered by a woman of dark religious beliefs name Philomena just after she clawed her way out of the grave, Lily is passed down from generation after generation to Philomena's children...each taking on the responsibility of watching over Lily and keeping her safe as she grew so slowly through the years. But there is no one to care for her now. Moon, Lily's last guardian has been murdered on the streets of New Orleans. Juggling the options of how to continue life and fearful of what the future may hold, Lily allows herself to become overrun by the anger and hatred she has strived on for over a century and sets out to find the woman who caused such horrible emotions in her so long ago.

The story continues as we come to know Deirdre Griffin-Greer, vampire and wife of Mitch Greer. In a small cabin in the woods of Maine, Deirdre and Mitch have found peace from the darkness and blood retched lingering smell of New York City. At least, they had found peace for a while. Now suddenly Mitch is experiencing horrible nightmares...nightmares that are causing him to cry out in his sleep. "Kill her," are the words he cries. "She deserves to die." Deirdre made him what he is. She stripped him of the normal human life he knew and turned him to the darkness. She had done this not because of her urge to feed but because of her love for him and her need for companionship. Now he resented her for it and wanted her dead. These feelings she recognized all too well. After all, she to had killer her maker. Unsure if she should fear her husband, she leaves while he is sleeping only to return to find him and everything to the curtains ripped away from their happy little cabin. He's left her and taken everything with him...even her clothes! With no where else to go but back to New York, Deirdre sets out on her journey only to learn along the way that Mitch had not only left her but he had left with another woman. Pain and anger build more inside. The longing to kill instigated by the cat inside her scratching to get out, wanting to get even with the man who has hurt her so badly. It's in New York that she discovers the truth. The woman with whom Mitch fled with was not just any woman, she was Deirdre's daughter...a daughter whom she thought was still borne and had buried over a century ago. Consumed with anger and revenge her daughter had sought to destroy Deirdre in the one way that would hit straight to her heart...through the man she loved.

BLOOD OF MY BLOOD is book four of the captivating VAMPIRE LEGACY series. Despite the darkness and gloom of the vampire world and all that it entails, this book brings you to a hopeful state...one in which you deeply feel for the characters and long for a happy conclusion. The division of the novel into six parts allows the opportunity to see the complete plot through both the eyes of Lily and Deirdre bringing you to a greater since of understanding for the actions and emotions of both. You feel the hatred and abandonment that Lily feels toward Deirdre yet, at the same time, your heart goes out to Deirdre in her time of sorrow. BLOOD OF MY BLOOD is, in a word, a "killer" book which I highly recommend.