Customer Reviews

Memories of Envy: A Vampire Memories Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
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Barb Hendee is an amazing author. In this next installment, she introduces us to yet another brilliantly crafted character who is fresh and different (and if she weren't a vampire, I would say very alive.) I think what I love best about the Vampire Memories novels are the characters. While Philip demonstrates the most growth in the course of this novel, each character gets deeper into who they are and why they are supporting the underground.

Just like a jewel, characters need the perfect setting to bring out their shine. Barb Hendee's settings are rich with the details of someone who has firsthand knowledge of the places she describes. It is a joy to journey with her characters through the various settings.

While this novel doesn't end in quite the same sword flashing, gut wrenching crescendo as the previous two, it is not lacking in drama or suspense. And it leads you along to a complex satisfiying ending as inevitably as being a pawn in one of Simone's games.

(Reader beware of Barb's gift--to draw you in...)

Eleisha Clevon is a vampire still grieving from the loss of a friend and mentor. But Eleisha is given hope when she discovers a vampire may be living in Denver. Eleisha and her friends have been searching for other vampires, in hopes that they can be taught to feed on humans without killing and join their underground community. But Simone Stratford is another kind of vampire, a brutal huntress without remorse. Her gift is envy, and few are able to resist her charms.

This is the third installment in the Vampire Memories saga. This story centers almost entirely on Simone, her character and her affect on those around her. Eleisha's relationship with Philip is most affected, when he is tempted by her way of life. Hendee's characters are incredibly vivid and pull the reader into the story. With so many character changes and interesting relationship dynamics the next installment can't come fast enough.

This vampire series is full of drama and suspense. A fast-paced page-turner, it begs to be read in one sitting. The sense of danger and tension builds to an exciting conclusion. But enough plot threads are left to continue the series in more thrilling installments. Fans of the genre should not miss this captivating saga.

There are very few vampires in existence today because they failed to abide by the laws of the elders such as not killing humans. Instead they should use their powers to insure the mortal they drank blood from forgets the incident. Eleisha Clevon lives by that rule and the other laws. She has gathered two vampires Rose and her protector Philip to the Portland underground, an abandoned church set up as vampire headquarters. Wade Shelfield is the investigator who has located vampires so that Eleisha can reason with them to diligently stick to the old laws and offer them sanctuary in her Oregon home.

Standing in their way is Julian who has notelepathy, but he likes power and ignores the ancient laws. He has killed vampires before and uses, without their knowledge, Eleisha and her group to take him into the hiding place of other vampires so he can kill them too. Eleisha learns about the dead vampire Maggie's progeny Simone Stratford and is determined to bring this Roaring Twenties ingénue to her home. She fails to realize that cute innocent looking Simone enjoys the hunt and plans a deadly game with her wannabe savior and Philip who she is attracted to.

Urban fantasy vampire readers will thoroughly enjoy the latest Vampire Memories thriller (see Hunting Memories). Eleisha is a good individual who lives by the moral code of the elders. Her vulnerability is being a Good Samaritan trying to help her peers see the light as she hopes to forge a law-abiding community. She is naive as her faith in her species is strong with her only picturing Julian as evil. Her protector was a predator for years, but now is there for her by trying to abide by her rules. However, it is Simone who makes the tale entertaining as she teaches Eleisha a lesson not to judge a book by its cover.

Harriet Klausner

I couldn't wait to read this book, and it didn't disappoint me. It was predictable and you could figure out what was going to happen that's the only part about it that I didn't like. But I would recommend this book to my friends if they want something that is easy to read and very predictable. I would give it three and a half stars!!