Customer Reviews

Blood of my Blood (Vampire Legacy, #4)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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".

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.

After a gap of four years, Karen Taylor has brought out another volume in her series about the life of vampire Deirdre Griffin. This is something of an occasion, since the original volumes were quite successful in their time. Most of the series thus far is set in modern New York City, although parts of "Blood of My Blood" happen in New Orleans. In a genre where vampires are getting decadent faster than they are aging, Taylor's vampires are almost refreshingly ordinary. Although, perhaps, 'less weird' is a more honest description.

The book is narrated at first by a woman who you discover is Lily, not quite a human, and not quite a vampire. In fact, Lily is the child Deirdre was pregnant with when she became a vampire. The child did not survive the change, and everyone assumed she was dead. Instead, she regained consciousness, and as a tiny child clawed her way out of the grave. Lily has been nurtured and protected by a line of voodoo witches, living in New Orleans, but nothing has been able to overcome her sense of abandonment. When a vicious killing takes both her current 'maman' and her dearest friend, Lilly decides that it is time to seek revenge on the woman who deserted her 150 years ago.

Deirdre, and her lover Mitch, have fled civilization and are happily ensconced in a cabin in Maine. Suddenly trouble starts to happen. Mitch starts to experience nightmarish dreams. These are the creation of Lily, who has allied herself with Victor, a vampire who has no reason to love Deirdre. When the dreams cause Mitch to seem to want Deirdre's death she temporarily flees the cabin. Lily, who is the image of Deirdre, then puts into action the next part of her plan. She steals away with Mitch, and indeed intends to steal all of Deirdre's life before exacting her final revenge.

When Deirdre returns to the cabin, unaware of Lily's existence, she discovers everything is gone, and is torn between her human love for Mitch and her vampire's need to destroy him for the insult. Deirdre returns to New York, aided by her friend Sam, to solve the mystery of Mitch's disappearance. As the narration shifts back and forth from Deirdre to Lily one realizes that neither of these women is really a monster, but have been forced into adversary roles by their mistaken beliefs and the accidents of fate. Now the two women hurtle toward a confrontation which not only may destroy themselves, but others they love as well.

One of the reasons that I like Karen Taylor's efforts is that her characters aren't driven out of a sense of romanticism or ghoulishness. Rather, they are vampire 'people' living their somewhat unusual and complicated lives. Deirdre and her fellow vampires behave as if they had personalities - character instead of caricature. Deirdre is still working out what being a vampire means to her, as is Mitch and her other companions on this dark journey. This makes the tales absorbing and believable without the theatrics that other authors often use. I found "Blood of My Blood" quite readable despite a lapse of several years since reading its predecessors, but I would still suggest reading the earlier novels if they can be found.

First off I want to say how suprised I am that this book has recieved such a mixed rewiew. I thought this was outstanding, right to the very last page! The characters are really believeable, and the reader can't help but to care about them, even the mean and evil ones.

Now for a quick review. In the previous 3 installments of The Vampire Legacy, Deirdre has told us that her daughter died at birth, because that's what she believed....but it's not so. She is very much alive and ready to seek vengenace aganit her mother who left her for dead. The daughter, Lily, wants to kill Deirdre, but before that happens, she wants to take everything her mother has....including her lover, Mitch. The way that Taylor writes will keep the reader engaged until the very last page.

What an interesting char Lily is. The reader will see how she's hell bent on revenge she is. Her anger, bitterness, and rage is easily seen. Taylor knows exactly how to create a angry teenager.

As usual Deirdre is wonderful. I can't san enough good things about her.

I also like how Taylor keeps you up to date with characters that has been in this wonderful series from book one. When you see the characters, it's like seeing old friends. You want to know what's happening with then.

If you haven't read any of the books before this one, I urge you to go out and find them. I can promise you that you won't be sorry!

This entire series works on two levels. If you like good fiction, then get this book. If you like Vampire fiction, then again, you need to get this book. I can't say enough good things about The Vampire Legacy.

I'm a big fan of the previous three books in the "Blood" series. I found this story leading the reader into another trilogy. I didn't agree with the some of the other reviews and their issues on point of view and plot development. I think Ms. Taylor is starting a new story with her tried and true characters and we are as yet to see where she is going to go. I find her dialog riviting and her scene discriptions well thought out. The only dissapointing thing I have noticed is the darn thing isn't long enough.

I have not read any of the author's works before, so perhaps that is why I don't feel more strongly about this book. It is the fourth of the series, and not having read the previous books made this one feel flat to me. Although the writing is decent and the characters interesting, the story never took off for me. It just sort of coasted at a low level without ever gaining any altitude. This is a fun read, but it is silly in places. Still, I liked it enough to finish it, and admit that I should have read the previous books before judging this one too harshly.

I was given this book and I must admit I do not usually care for vampire novels but to my surprise I found myself really enjoying this one. Karen Taylor is an excellent writer (if this is any example) and uses language with balance and restraint, rather than the over-the-top style of most vampire authors I've tried to read.

Furthermore, this book actually has a real and interesting plot, whereas so much vampire fiction seems to be little more than thinly disguised BDSM.

Understand, I have not read the other books in this series (hope to do so soon) so I cannot comment on how well this one fits in. But it reads well in its own right, and I didn't feel handicapped by not having read the previous ones. That is not always true of series fiction.

I don't read modern vampire fiction, that strange sub-genre of dark fantasy that may contain elements of humor, horror, romance, and sometimes erotica. I'm a purist: Bram Stoker set the mark more than a century ago and no one, including the ever popular Stephen King and Ann Rice, has measured up to it. On the other hand, I've waited impatiently for five years for the latest installment of Karen Taylor's Vampire Legacy series. Why? Because it was written by Karen Taylor, of course. She has yet to publish a disappointing novel -- a claim that can't be made about King, Rice, or even old Bram himself (yes, there was a Stoker stinker or two).

Long overdue, BLOOD OF MY BLOOD carries the Vampire Legacy series in a new direction. Two points of view are presented -- those of Deirdre Griffin and her unexpected daughter Lily -- giving the series room to evolve, which is exactly what it is doing. The familiar cast of characters from the first three novels has grown; a new (and original) conflict has been added; and at the end of the novel, as with Taylor's previous books, I found myself wanting to say to her, "Wait. Don't stop there. What comes next?"

Where have you been, Karen Taylor? You aren't going to make us wait another five years for your next book, are you?

I don't read modern vampire fiction. I do read Karen Taylor. This is not a contradiction. The author is in a class by herself.

I have read all of the books in this series and enjoyed them tremendously. This is strong and sensuous writing. You care about the characters. Ms. Taylor writes vampiric romances, as opposed to hardcore horror, and for those who like this type of material she is one of the finest talents in the field. I prefer her work to that of Laurell K. Hamilton.