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Blood Memories (Vampire Memories #1)

by Barb Hendee (Goodreads Author)

3.45 of 5 stars 3.45 · rating details · 730 ratings · 90 reviews

Eleisha, a vampire, is far older than she looks and makes men yearn to care for her. Then she usually kills them, since self-preservation comes first. So when an old vampire friend kills himself, Eleisha is shocked. And what she finds in his home shows how world-weary he had become; hoarding corpses and keeping records of vampires actual names and addresses. Now the police...more

Paperback, 243 pages

Published October 7th 2008 by Roc (first published November 1st 1999)

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Oct 15, 2008 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008-reads

I enjoyed reading "Blood Memories" by Barb Hendee. This is definitely an urban fantasy vice romance novel (at least so far and there is at least one more novel to come) as there is no one special relationship that the story focuses on. Instead, it's an interesting look at a young woman turned vampire to be a caretaker but not given any information on her existance. The story is told mostly in first person from her POV and it's strangely fascinating to read about how she lives and how she learned...more

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Oct 05, 2008 Jean Tatro rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Don't let the cover fool you, this isn't like other Urban Fantasys. The plot set up on the back cover serves more as a catalyst then anything, driving a mediation on what it means to be immortal, different, a vampire? How does living for so long, and how does coming to be that way, affect you?

Even at it's slowest and most introspective the pacing clips along at a good speed. There are some real heart-string pulling moments. Every character is drawn in detail, even the worst of the antagonists is...more

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Aug 12, 2011 Jenn rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

I spent a long time waiting for something to happen in this book.

By the end I was still waiting and not in a great way.

Eleisha seemed kinda wimpy to me. Her special "magic skill" is that she comes across as the "save me from the world" girl to her victims. A victim heroine is not my favourite read. It was an interesting twist on vampire lore but not enough to sustain me through the book since I didn't like the characters.

No one was really likable. I found Eleisha whiny, Wade a little naive to su...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars

The lovely Eleisha Clevon has spent the past hundred years in Portland, OR. Her house is secluded, not easy for anyone to find, and that is as it should be. She does venture out at night, sometimes with her only friend Edward. When hungry she hunts for a victim, and often finds one in the seedy bars of the city. When she has them alone she acts quickly, tears out a portion of the neck and drinks their blood, the only life force that can sustain her. Eleisha doesn't like to kill, but she must in...more The lovely Eleisha Clevon has spent the past hundred years in Portland, OR. Her house is secluded, not easy for anyone to find, and that is as it should be. She does venture out at night, sometimes with her only friend Edward. When hungry she hunts for a victim, and often finds one in the seedy bars of the city. When she has them alone she acts quickly, tears out a portion of the neck and drinks their blood, the only life force that can sustain her. Eleisha doesn't like to kill, but she must in order to survive.

Her life had a sameness that is shattered one night when she rushes to Edward's house knowing he is in desperate trouble. The sweet smell of decay assaults her as she enters. Edward romps around the room unaware of the horrid existence surrounding him. Vampires never keep victims near, They never eat, indeed cannot eat, solid foods. Rotting garbage and decaying animals lye in heaps. Eleisha tries to reach out to Edward. He retreats. He wants to die and he will not let her stop him. As dawn approaches Edward throws himself off the porch touching the first ray of sunlight. He immediately bursts into flames, and Eleisha feels the agony of his death. She is not the only one.

A police man, who was nearby, also feels it and screams at the horror of what fills his mind. Eleisha knows this cannot happen to a mortal, but there is no time to think about it. She must make her way to the basement and its dark, secret hiding place.

Now at least one mortal senses that her kinds exists. She needs to leave the Portland immediately. When she awakens that night she rushes back to her home, grabs her elderly charge William, and catches a flight to Seattle. But her placid way of life will never return. The policeman and his partner are on her trail. Eleisha begs to stay with the one other vampire she knows about, Maggie. They are not welcome guests. Danger comes to all three from Julian the oldest of the undead and the one most feared.

An unusual group forms when Eleisha and the psychic police officer begin to understand what they have in common. Eventually another vampire joins them. Hendee not only builds heart stopping tension, but also bares the soul of each protagonist. It is Eleisha's strength, a strength she hadn't realized she possessed, that brings a ray of hope to a desperate situation.

In the dark urban fantasy Blood Memories Hendee has written an engrossing tale of vampire death and evolution.

Barb Hendee is best known for the Noble Dead Saga co-authored with her husband J. C. Hendee
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May 27, 2011 Jules rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: purchased, reviewed

This book was first published in 1998 and has been reprinted. There are two more books in print with two scheduled in the next year or so. Barb Hendee is the author of The Noble Dead saga as well as The Vampire Memories series.

With all of the sexy, sparkly teenage vampire stories out there right now, this was a welcome change in the genre. Eleisha and her fellow vamps were much more cerebral, darker and maybe "realistic"? This was a very nice change of pace from the love triangles and teen angst...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, vampire

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 Ed...more 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 (less)

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Jan 11, 2011 Ithlilian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

The cover, the description, and the thinness of this book gave me some doubts to it's quality, but I was very pleasantly surprised after I finished it. Eleisha, a vampire, witnesses the suicide of her only friend Edward, only to be confronted by cops with strange mental abilities immediately after. Since Eleisha's car was parked out front of Edward's house when the cops arrived, she and the feeble vampire she takes care of must flee and seek help from anywhere they can get it. Throughout the ent...more

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Nov 16, 2010 Sandy Williams rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy

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...more

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May 07, 2009 Katie(babs) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Blood Memories is about vampire, Eleisha Clevon who has been around since the mid-nineteenth century ever since she was turned into a vampire by another, Julian, who wanted her to take care of his crazed father, William Ashton for all eternity. Julian turned his father, thinking the change would make him sane again. That did not happen, and Julian was ashamed by what he did, so he banished both Eleisha and William to the states. They were able to survive and have been living in Portland, Oregon...more Blood Memories is about vampire, Eleisha Clevon who has been around since the mid-nineteenth century ever since she was turned into a vampire by another, Julian, who wanted her to take care of his crazed father, William Ashton for all eternity. Julian turned his father, thinking the change would make him sane again. That did not happen, and Julian was ashamed by what he did, so he banished both Eleisha and William to the states. They were able to survive and have been living in Portland, Oregon for almost a century. Since William cannot hunt, because he is still a feeble old man with dementia, Eleisha gives him rabbits to feed on. Eleisha is able to look young and vulnerable to those she targets. This allows her to overpower her prey and suck their blood, and most importantly, their life force out of the bodies. She has also has a very close vampire friend, Edward Claymore, who helped her when she first came to America. Edward decides he can no longer live as an undead predator. He kills himself while Eleisha watches. Eleisha is not the only one to witness Edward's suicide, as two police officers arrive on the scene and see a man come running towards them in flames.

Eleisha has no choice to run for safety. She and William find sanctuary with Maggie, another vampire from her past. Soon these two women are hunting together and for a short while Eleisha feels safe. Unfortunately, the two cops who saw Edward go up in flames, have been looking for Eleisha. These two men are empaths and one of them, Dominick, wants to kill Eleisha and all creatures like her. Dominic has a partner, Wade, who though Psychometry, the touching of objects, can know all about a person. Whereas Dominick feels the need to destroy, Wade wants to befriend Eleisha, because for the first time in his life, he feels in tune with another person. Eleisha and Wade are able to touch each other with their minds, and when Wade finds out about Eleisha's past and how she turned and why, he wants to protect her. As for Dominick, he has become delusional. And if that isn’t bad enough, Julian has found out that Eleisha hasn’t been staying under the radar and may be on his way to make things right, which makes Eleisha frightened to her very soul.

Even though Blood Memories has some interesting moments, there is something lacking within this story that could simply not hold my interest. The action comes on suddenly and things seem to jump around too much and a bit too fast in some passages, as if Hendee was trying to put as much information as she can out there without enough descriptions to back it up. I wish Hendee would have given more time with the flashbacks about Eleisha and Wade’s past, rather than an overview.

I will say that Blood Memories should appeal to fans who have an interest in vampire lore along with a twist on the legend and myth. I did enjoy Eleisha, who was the most well rounded and most dimensional of all the characters. I could not stand Wade at all because he was very one-dimensional and not a worthy partner for Eleisha. I found him annoying and he really didn’t bring any substance to the plot. I would have preferred if Eleisha was on her own because she would have come across as a better female heroine than to rely on a sap that I found Wade to be. Quiet honestly I found all of Hendee’s male characters to be very lacking. It seems her strong suit was with Eleisha and Maggie.

With that in mind, would I want to read a sequel to Blood Memories? I would have to take a pass. This almost became a DNF for me, and the only reason I stuck till the very end was because I wanted to see if Eleisha was able to come out on top. Perhaps the problem lies with Blood Memories not being refined enough and too amateurish for my tastes. (less)

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May 06, 2009 Theresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

If Barb Hendee's name sound familiar, it's probably because you have read "The Noble Dead Saga," written by her and her husband. Because I have read some of Hendee's other books I knew her to be a good author and I was interested to see what she would come up with as she took on the paranormal genre.

Elisha Clevon is a tiny, fragile looking vampire who uses her talent of seeming-helplessness to survive. Unlike other vampire myths in which the vampires have super strength, speed, flight and any nu...more If Barb Hendee's name sound familiar, it's probably because you have read "The Noble Dead Saga," written by her and her husband. Because I have read some of Hendee's other books I knew her to be a good author and I was interested to see what she would come up with as she took on the paranormal genre.

Elisha Clevon is a tiny, fragile looking vampire who uses her talent of seeming-helplessness to survive. Unlike other vampire myths in which the vampires have super strength, speed, flight and any number of other gifts, Hendee's 'real world' vampires are mostly extreme manifestations of their mortal selves. Elisha was born a servant and her naturally servile and vulnerable nature has become so exaggerated as a vampire that men cannot help wanting to take care of her. It's a power that she can control and she uses it to make men feel protective of her-- until she feeds.

Vampires live a lonely existence in Hendee's world. They don't live or hunt together. Elisha is unusual in that she does have one vampire friend, Edward, who had originally helped her transition from her mortal life to her immortal one. But Edward has lived too long. He has seen the world change too much and his mind has finally broken. After Elisha receives a call from Edward and witnesses his suicide in front of two policemen, she is thrust into a strange new world when one of the policemen appears to be able to read her mind. Fleeing the scene, Elisha contacts other vampires for help and begins to realize that there is a lot about being a vampire she never knew. Now she not only has to try to stay ahead of a man determined to hunt her down, but she also finds herself discovering what she really is.

What's interesting to me about Hendee's writing is that she doesn't try to make vampires less horrifying than they should be. Her vampires don't just take a little blood, they kill. That isn't to say that they're always unsympathetic characters, but they aren't romanticized either. Sometimes they are disturbing and commit violence in a casual and unrepentant manner. Elisha is unusual in that she doesn't enjoy killing, she just doesn't know another way to survive.

"Blood Memories" isn't a big book, coming in at only 243 pages, but it manages to tell a full, detailed story. Jumping back and forth from the present day to Elisha's past we learn how she came to be a vampire and why she has been given the task of taking care of William, a vampire too fragile to take care of himself. We gradually learn about her creator, Julian, and why he has used his talent of instilling fear to keep vampire-kind isolated from each other and why so few vampires exist.

I personally liked "Blood Memories" quite a bit. I am pleased to say that it is in no way a "Buffy" clone nor is it anything like the goofy paranormal romances that turn vampires into some kind of harmless non-monster with strange eating habits. I like how Hendee explores the personalities of her characters. Vampires are not human but they're not wooden automatons either. They experience loneliness just like everyone else and they're fragile in their own way. The only slight qualm I have about this book, which is likely to be a series, is how Hendee plans on portraying her vampires in the future. There is a suggestion toward the end of the book that vampires don't need to kill to survive and that Hendee's characters might start moving toward less aggressive personifications in later books. But having read part of "The Noble Dead Saga" I doubt Hendee will back down too much on honestly exploring characters that are, by their nature, terrifying. What I expect is a continuation of Hendee's slightly Gothic, modern vampire tale and not some sort of strange story that tries to venture into warm and fuzzy territory. Thank goodness.(less)

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Jan 11, 2010 Natasha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Blood Memories is the first book in the first book in the Vampire Memories series by Barb Hendee.
Blood Memories is an amazing book. Once I started this book, I was hooked.

Blood Memories is about a female vampire named Eleisha Clevon who has been around since the mid-nineteenth century. She was turned into a vampire by another vampie named Julian, who wanted her to take care of his crazed father, William Ashton. Julian turned his father, thinking the change would make him sane again. Then the f...more Blood Memories is the first book in the first book in the Vampire Memories series by Barb Hendee.
Blood Memories is an amazing book. Once I started this book, I was hooked.

Blood Memories is about a female vampire named Eleisha Clevon who has been around since the mid-nineteenth century. She was turned into a vampire by another vampie named Julian, who wanted her to take care of his crazed father, William Ashton. Julian turned his father, thinking the change would make him sane again. Then the following day he turned Elisha so she can take care of Willam for all eternity.
Julian didn't teach Elisha or William the way of life of vampires, he just sent them on their way for them to take care of themselves. More than 150 years later, Elisha still survives, still caring for her charge William but is suddenly thrust into danger. Things turn upside down for Elisha and she is pushed to new territory with new allies.

I personally loved this book. I love the characters and the plot. If I had to pick a favorite besides Elisha, I'd have to pick Phillip. He's strong headed and old fashioned but has great potential. I am a huge fan of this series, I'm currently reading the next book, Hunting Memories and I'm loving that as well.
Barb Hendee knows how to write a great story. The story is compelling and fast paced. If your a fan of Urban Fantsay and a bit of Dark Fantasy/Paranormal Romance you have to read this book! I'm hooked!

Synopsis:
Eleisha Clevon has the face of a teen angel, but she is no angel. Unlike most vampires, she doesn't like to kill, but self-preservation comes first.

When an old friend destroys himself by walking into sunlight right in front of her, Eleisha is shocked. And what she finds afterward points to how very sick of his existence her friend had become--piling drained corpses in the basement and keeping records of other vampires' real names and addresses. That's a problem.

Because now, there are policemen on the case: two very special humans with some gifts of their own. They know who Eleisha is, and, even more dangerous, what she is.(less)

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Jun 03, 2011 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Blood Memories was Barb Hendee’s first novel written over 13 years ago. From what I understand, the final three chapters have been deeply revised, if not completely rewritten and the book has been re-released with a new cover.

This is the first in a series about Eleisha Clevon, a vampire whose gift is helplessness. Yep, that’s right ladies; she gets what she wants by pretending to be helpless. In other words, she does exactly what women have done since the beginning of time. Eleisha just has an e...more Blood Memories was Barb Hendee’s first novel written over 13 years ago. From what I understand, the final three chapters have been deeply revised, if not completely rewritten and the book has been re-released with a new cover.

This is the first in a series about Eleisha Clevon, a vampire whose gift is helplessness. Yep, that’s right ladies; she gets what she wants by pretending to be helpless. In other words, she does exactly what women have done since the beginning of time. Eleisha just has an extra bit of “help me” mojo that encourages folks to forget their better judgment. Due to the nature of her gift, I was completely prepared not to like Eleisha. However, I found it to be an intriguing part of her personality. There is a lot of room for growth and I’m hoping Ms. Hendee allows the character to continue to learn and mature as the series continues.

Blood Memories spends a lot of time world building and introducing us to the characters. The author has written in a nifty mind trick which allows her to basically give a complete biography of each of the major players. It’s not the usual way of getting to know the characters, but it works in the story line. The big bad in this novel is a vamp named Julian. His character is rather bland and didn’t seem scary enough. Also, Julian? Such a vamp cliché. Although to be fair, the book was written over a decade ago. Maybe it wasn’t such a cliché at the time. The three “heros” of the book are Eleisha and Phillip, both vampires, and Wade, a human with the ability to read minds. Their relationships are complicated and I found Wade to be rather, well, boring. Maybe his character will get a boost in upcoming books.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Ms. Hendee’s first solo novel. I found it to have an interesting take on vampires and the characters were worth getting to know. I will say that if you are looking for novel along the lines of the Charlaine Harris or Lynsay Sands, you will be sorely disappointed. There is very little romance or lovelorn angst in this story. The closest I can come to a comparison is more along the lines of Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series.(less)

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Nov 01, 2011 Nikki rated it 3 of 5 stars

I have to say I was not sure what to expect with this book! I am very surprised at how much I liked it. This is definitely a first book in a series, which I am fine with. The characters are built up in this book, glimpses in the past through mind reading make the characters complex and more understood. You can tell as events unfold and things change for our vamps, evolution in their thinking starts to change. You can feel the hope and emotion from them as they discover how things can be as oppos...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Destiny rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, vampires

I bought this book for a simple reason. It was on sale and it has vampires. You can't beat that combination! Honestly I was intending to read the other book I bought along with it. But as things often happen, I chose to read something else.

Two days ago I pursued my bookshelf for something new to read. This one caught my eye and so I picked it up. It seemed like most of the other vampire books I'd read, but I have to say Eleisha's gift interested me a bit. Why give her that particular gift? Aroun...more

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Feb 14, 2010 Paige rated it 1 of 5 stars

this book was recommended by a friend. I'm almost half way finished with the book and I'm still waiting for the 'hook'. Reading it isn't tedious but there are no rewards. I feel as though I'm still waiting to figure out what the book is about. I've learned more about the plot of the book from the back cover than I have from reading.
Hopefully things will improve.

to be continued...

I finished it and realized the main reason I didn't like it was the lack of character development. The characters wer...more

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May 12, 2012 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book came out when I was in my Vampire Stage of life. It was back when I was in High School. I picked this book up because it was originally published by the same company Vision that published Whisper of Wings.

This book's original cover was much more interesting then the one thats there now. I miss the hand drawn picture. As for the book it was kinda like a basic vampire girl wants to live her life kind of story. Looking back on it, it wasn't a piece of Shakespeare but it is certainly more...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Melliane rated it 3 of 5 stars

j'ai un sentiment assez étrange sur ce tome , il se passe beaucoup de choses et en même temps peu de choses. Je pense que ce tome place l'histoire. On a une vampire qui s'occupe d'un vampire sénile qui ne sait rien faire tout seul et qui se retrouve toute seule avec lui quand le seul vampire autour se suicide, elle part retrouver une autre vampire mais tout tourne toujours mal. Il n'y a pas vraiment de fin, du coup on se demande quand meme ce que pourra bien être le sujet du tome 2. On se demand...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Esther Diaz rated it 3 of 5 stars

okay for the first book i read of this author, i don't know i like the story but i not sure i want to keep reading only the fact that in coming book is going to be a little romance make me want to read a little more, personally i don't like the book i read it and enjoy it but didn't make go crazy like some book. i did like the character and that what keep me reading. one thing i didn't like is that for a first book almost everyone she love is gone i mean come on at least leave someone but hey i...more

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Dec 25, 2010 Shelley aka Gizmo's Reviews rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Synopsis: Eleisha Clevon is a fragile-looking teen with an angelic face. Actually, she is a 200-year-old vampire; her face, a lure for prey. She is also caretaker of the senile vampire William, the father of the vampire who turned her. When police find dead bodies in the home of an old vampire who commits suicide by walking into the sun, Eleisha and William, must flee to Seattle. Eleisha gets into the hunt for a vampire murderer while there. Flashbacks to Eleisha’s youth and her development as a...more Synopsis: Eleisha Clevon is a fragile-looking teen with an angelic face. Actually, she is a 200-year-old vampire; her face, a lure for prey. She is also caretaker of the senile vampire William, the father of the vampire who turned her. When police find dead bodies in the home of an old vampire who commits suicide by walking into the sun, Eleisha and William, must flee to Seattle. Eleisha gets into the hunt for a vampire murderer while there. Flashbacks to Eleisha’s youth and her development as a vampire salt the search sequences in this mixture of solid action, high-quality characters, and plausible settings.

William isnt just senile; he has Alzheimer's. His own son, Julian, turned him, and then forced Eleisha who was his maid, into taking care of him and Of course, she too ends up as a vampire.

Eleisha abilities that are unique from other vampires. When a vampire is made, the attribute that was most profound becomes ten times as powerful. In Eleisha's case; it's 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.

She contacts a another female vamp outside of her circle in Seattle for help; Maggie. Maggie is a gorgeous vampire who has been using her gift of beauty to seduce men in her own right. When Eliesha arrives in Seattle at Maggie's door its against Maggie's best interest that she let her in, but she does. With Maggie and Eleisha now living together, it brings unwanted attention from Julian who's hatred of vampires with pyschic abilities goes back hundreds of years. Julian has no ability of his own and has gone against the vampires code in killing fellow vampires. He still has a soft spot for Eleisha, and somehow manages to save her life.

Wade is another interesting character. He's always been an outcast because he is a telepath. Only when he meets a man who can see pictures of past events from touching an object does he find someone who understands. But when his friend turns violent, Wade is torn between his friendship and protecting those his friend seeks to kill.

I still don't care for Phillip. He and Eleisha end up being friendly, along with Wade, but, he continually ignores Eleisha's advise about not feeding off and killing humans.

I started reading this series way before I found the Noble Dead series by the author and her husband. I found the storyline lax at times. Eleisha is a weak main character, and is falling into trouble constantly and having others pick up the slack for her. Her flash back scenes are actually not bad.

In that case alone, I give this story 3 Christmas stockings.

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Apr 29, 2010 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, vampires, 2010

Eleisha is one of only a handful of vampires in the world. Once a servant in a lord's castle in Wales, she was turned in the 1830s at the age of seventeen by Julian, the lord's son, a man everyone fears. She's put on a boat to America with a very specific responsibility: to care for William, a vampire everyone but Eleisha is repulsed by.

In America, Eleisha finds friendship with another vampire, Edward, who teaches her how to hunt, how to feed, how to ensure mortals never discover what she really...more Eleisha is one of only a handful of vampires in the world. Once a servant in a lord's castle in Wales, she was turned in the 1830s at the age of seventeen by Julian, the lord's son, a man everyone fears. She's put on a boat to America with a very specific responsibility: to care for William, a vampire everyone but Eleisha is repulsed by.

In America, Eleisha finds friendship with another vampire, Edward, who teaches her how to hunt, how to feed, how to ensure mortals never discover what she really is, and how to use her gift. When turned, a vampire's singular personality trait as a human becomes a tool of manipulation with which to lure mortals. Julian's was fear. Edward's was charm. Eleisha's own gift is to appear angelic but helpless, weak and vulnerable - and make people want to help her, protect her, rescue her.

Little changed over the course of years, decades, centuries - not for the small clan of vampires: Eleisha and William, Edward, Maggie, Philip and Julian. But everything changes when Edward commits suicide, dramatically bursting into flames when he steps into the sun - right in front of the police.

Now Eleisha is on the run, and not just from the police but also from a telepathic police psychologist who has somehow linked to Eleisha. Unable to turn to the cold and brutal Julian, she runs to Maggie in Seattle ... only to have trouble follow her and change her immortal existence, forever.

First published in 1998, long years before the vampire craze took off some time in 2007 (I remember it well - I'd just finished reading Twilight and about two months later, so had everybody else and suddenly vamps were IN!), Blood Memories has more recently been re-released - "resurrected", you could say - and very timely it is too, now that there's a more appreciative audience for vampire Urban Fantasy. The present-day dates have been moved to make it more current, but I don't think it needed it. It reads fresh and modern and is solid Urban Fantasy - no dash of Romance here, not even a whiff, as they tend to have these days. (Hendee is also co-author of the Nobel Dead series, a Fantasy series featuring vampires, which I've yet to read. I've got the first book, Dhampir, just haven't got around to it. There are a few authors who were writing about vampires in new ways, long before they became mainstream. Credit where credit's due.)

Eleisha narrates, though there are flashbacks told telepathically through memories that shift to third-person. Eleisha's voice is at once strong and vulnerable. She's come a long way, matured hard, and can fend for herself, hold her own, fight and kill efficiently when necessary, albeit reluctantly. The others think she's weird for genuinely liking William, and for seeking out the companionship of other vampires - they've been taught by Julian that they should always be alone.

As vampires, they're traditional - sleep all day, sun will kill them, as will fire and decapitation - and yet not: no fangs, no super-human strength or speed or hearing, though they're better than mortals and have good night vision. They're not invincible. And they're messy eaters. They have their personalised gift and, as Eleisha learns, something extra too. Overall they struck me as surprisingly vulnerable, but more organic for it. It could be their self-induced loneliness, their superiority complexes that mask a pathetic desire for companionship. It makes them sympathetic - alien, but understandable.

I liked that Eleisha's inhumanity - her non-humanness - was there to see, as well as the residues of her humanity. She's unapologetic about what she does to survive, but is also keen to explore ways of changing their methods of feeding without killing. The male vampires are more varied - Julian is more insane, insecure and deluded than plain evil (though maybe that combination is one definition of evil, especially when acted upon?).

Structurally, it's fast-paced for the most part but free of the worst traits of genre fiction, traits ever more prevailing today - the things that make my right eyelid tick: too much introspective thought, explaining everything and over-thinking everything; and those abominable standalone dramatic sentences that too many genre authors overuse, reducing the intended tension to the incessant landing of a fly on your leg that tickles and just won't leave you alone. It's why I haven't read any Kushiel since 2006, even though I keep buying the new books (I loved the stories, but the writing style got on my nerves and I needed a break), and why Rita Herron's abysmal Dark Hunger got such a bad review from me. Dramatic standalone sentences (which get their own paragraphs) should be used sparingly, or they won't be dramatic anymore. Just irritating to the point of being obnoxious. I can't bring that up without diverting into a mini-rant. Thankfully, Hendee's narration is just right: mature, nicely balanced between light and heavy, confident, firmly grounded in her protagonist.

However, the story itself did start to lose my interest towards the end for a bit. It lost momentum with all the flashbacks, as good and necessary as they were and interesting to read too. The ending was too static to give a suitable climax after all that build-up, and left me less interested to read Eleisha's next story. (less)

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Jun 16, 2009 Brenda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Imagine a life that revolves around only two other people, and one of those dies. How alone would you feel? How desolate?

This is a dark and haunting tale of a young woman turned into a vampire and then sent of to care for a mentally deficient vampire with no training and no knowledge of what she had become. More than 150 years later, she still survives, still caring for her charge, but is suddenly thrust into danger.

I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to reading another in the series.

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Sep 10, 2010 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Originally published in 1998, Blood Memories is an odd book. In some ways, it's more in line with the gothic vampire-fiction trends begun by Anne Rice, while in other ways it's more reflective of the newer urban-fantasy trends influenced by Joss Whedon and early Laurell Hamilton.

On the Rice side of the scales: Barb Hendee's vampires kill, but are presented as sympathetic characters who don't enjoy killing. (In current urban fantasy, it's more common to find vamps who rarely kill, or else vamps w...more Originally published in 1998, Blood Memories is an odd book. In some ways, it's more in line with the gothic vampire-fiction trends begun by Anne Rice, while in other ways it's more reflective of the newer urban-fantasy trends influenced by Joss Whedon and early Laurell Hamilton.

On the Rice side of the scales: Barb Hendee's vampires kill, but are presented as sympathetic characters who don't enjoy killing. (In current urban fantasy, it's more common to find vamps who rarely kill, or else vamps who are wholly evil and like to kill.) There's a focus on the angst and loneliness of eternal life. The present-day narrative is broken up by expository chapters in which the main characters' life histories are revealed. Characters fall in love and/or become intimate friends just after meeting.

On the Buffy side: The present-day plot is fast-paced with plenty of guns and chase scenes. The prose is simple and straightforward, not languidly descriptive as it is in Rice's novels. Most importantly, there's a streak of female empowerment running through Blood Memories. The heroine, Eleisha, starts out dependent on others, and in the end takes control of...well, of a lot of things.

The result is a novel that sometimes feels like it doesn't know what it wants to be. The juxtaposition of action scenes and "memory" scenes threw me at first. I eventually got used to the frequent changes in pace, but it was an issue at the beginning.

The villain is a little anticlimactic when he finally appears. I realize that he has the power to make others fear him. It's good for him that he has that power, though. When he doesn't have it "switched on," he's not all that and a bag of chips. I kept wondering why no one had stood up to him earlier, especially when he first went rogue in the 1800s. The minor villain, a mortal, was scarier by far.

However, I enjoyed the development of Eleisha as a character. I didn't like her much in the beginning. By the end, I was cheering for her. She's not the gun-toting, uber-tough type of heroine we're used to, but she grows to be strong in her own way. Blood Memories was written at a turning point in the vampire genre, and I can almost see Eleisha's path as a metaphor for what was going on in the genre at the time. Out with brooding, in with strong heroines.

This review originally appeared at Fantasy Literature's Hendee page.(less)

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Mar 23, 2009 Delores rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This book was about a young girl who was "turned" when she was 17 against her will. She wasn't given much information about what she had become or what her "new" life would be like. She was turned because of selfish reasons by her "maker." The reader learns her "modern" story as well as glimpses into her past dating back to the early 1800s. The basic plot was good. The story had some good twists and turns but it wasn't completely enthralling. It had just enough to keep me reading but not enough...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Julie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another vampire book, but a little different. I like Hendee's style of writing and she made me care about the characters. The main character is a vampire name Eleisha, who was turned in order to take care of another vampire who had been turned even though he was old and senile. It tells the stories behind these vampires from the time they were "born" until present day. Interesting and exciting. I hope there more books follow this one!

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Feb 25, 2010 Tiffany rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: vampires, psychic, urban-fantasy

I'm not exactly sure if I liked this book or not. I was happy to find a book from the perspective of the vampire that actually included vampires feeding and well, acting like vampires. However, the way the author describes the "gifts" of the vampires was seriously lacking and nondescript... it seems as though there wasn't much thought put into it. I may pick up the second book, but I wouldn't say I'm dying to rush into it either.

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Jan 22, 2009 Brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

One thing to remember about this book -- it was actually written before her popular Noble Dead saga. Again, her main character is a creature of limited knowledge about who/what she is. The book serves more as a character development study then a plot driven book. Interesting read. The ending does leave it open for further stories. I wonder if that's why the book was republished after 9 years?

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Dec 10, 2011 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a 'thoughtful' vampire story. It seems at first to be going slowly, but that's an illusion - it flows smoothly despite having three of the characters stories told in 3rd person and injected amongst the normal 1st person chapters. The suicide of Edward by stepping into sunlight starts a chain of events, that lead to an exciting confrontation where I swear I had to remind myself to breathe. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed it

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Sep 21, 2011 JenniferJ rated it 2 of 5 stars

This story was just meh for me. I cant quite put my finger on what I didn't like about it. I feel like it could be that Eleisha is such a weakling that the other characters had to kind of tug her along to make the storyline work at all. About the only thing that I liked about her was her care giving for William. She was just "to" soft was my problem I guess because I am so used to kick ass no foul heriones that Eleisha really never stood a chance with me.

Although this was just NOT the book for m...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Faith Hunter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Very dark urban fantasy. This is the first book of a series, limited 3rd person POV, with rich detail and intense internal dialogue. The characters all all dynamic and very different from the Nobel Dead series, yet it reads just as easy. I admit that I am totally hooked and started on book 2 in the series five minutes after I finished this one! Go get this book!

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Jun 13, 2010 Doris rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is not a supernatural romance, regardless of the appearance of the cover! That is a compelling reason to like the story, even if it didn't give you a tale of someone lost in a world not of their choice, trapped in a confusing mix of should have beens.

It was a good read, and helped explain a few things in Hunting Memories, which I read first.

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About Barb Hendee

[See both BarbHendee.org and NobleDead.org]

Like most writers, I've worked at many jobs in my life, including teaching pre-school until I completed my master's degree in Composition Theory. Between 1993 and 2006, I taught college English while writing fiction on the side, some independently and some with my husband and life-long partner J.C.

Over the years, we've lived in Washington State, Idaho, Co

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Books by Barb Hendee

Dhampir (The Noble Dead Saga, Series 1, #1)

Thief of Lives (Noble Dead, Series 1, #2)

Sister of the Dead (Noble Dead, Series 1, #3)

Traitor to the Blood (Noble Dead: Series 1, #4)

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Blood Memories (Vampire Memories #1)

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