In a field of vampire books, IN MEMORIES WE FEAR is a completely different kettle of fish. This was my first book in the series, and Hendee does a good job of bringing new readers up to speed (she drops information in through multiple character perspectives, in a way that moves action along enough to keep established readers satisfied). Eleisha's little band of misfits is a fascinating group, with a web of interconnecting dependencies that definitely verges on the unhealthy, but never gets boring.

The initial codependencies are immediately apparent through the language Philip and Eleisha use to relate to each other. Philip is the antithesis of a self-aware, observant alpha. Rather, Eleisha's efforts to grow closer to him often go right over his head. His own attachment to her isn't in question, however, as she is the only thing keeping his murderous nature leashed. I'm a sucker for a romance where two virgins find their way, and this dynamic is further complicated by an essentially different vampire sex drive. Hendee's vampires may not crave sex, but they do crave passion and intimacy, and I can't imagine trying to create an entire vocabulary for relationships from scratch without cultural guidance. I was fascinated watching Eleisha, Philip and Wade find their way, even more so because I had no idea how I wanted the love triangle to resolve. Hendee doesn't make any of her characters perfect, but their flawed relationships never tipped over into being worrisome or annoying.

In addition to the life or death mission of rescuing a mentally deranged vampire before he can be killed by the villain, the main drama of IN MEMORIES WE FEAR centers on the interpersonal stresses of Eleisha's little family. The discord that troubles this group is balanced without any of the characters betraying their essential nature, and I'm more interested to see what will happen going forward than how they got this far.

Full review at All Things Urban Fantasy.

Sexual Content: Kissing, references to sexual contact. ( )

Perhaps this would have been more enjoyable if I had read the previous three books in the series? As it was, nothing happened. No, really. People argued a lot, there was some fighting, but out of it all it seemed like nothing really happened.

Also, I didn't get the "team" aspect of this team at all. The members don't communicate at all, each goes their own way, they lie and mislead each other, and they are all pretty unpleasant. As mentioned above, perhaps it's because I've just read the 4th book, but I don't foresee picking up any of the earlier books in the series. ( )

Review Courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: An interesting vampire folklore where memories play a huge role and make this book a quick and easy read.

Opening Sentence: Midautumn was approaching, and even at night, the trees lining Naito Parkway were glorious in their shades of red and yellow.

The Review:

At the beginning of In Memories We Fear, Eleisha is in Portland with her friends and for the first time since she can remember she is actually feeling happy. She is making a life for herself and she is exploring some of the strange memories that she has in her head. She has developed feelings for Philip that she can’t really explain so she shows him a memory, hoping he may have the same feelings towards her. Eleisha is trying to explore these feelings as her strange group heads to London to save a feral vampire.

In Memories We Fear is the fourth book in the Vampire Memories series. This is a series that I have wanted to read, but this is the first book in the series that I have read. The author does a good job hinting at events in the past but not giving away too much detail to ruin them if you haven’t read the other books. Unfortunately the end events from Memories of Envy are ruined, but not enough so that it doesn’t make me want to go back and read that book. I really believe the events in this book may have been filler for the fifth and final book in the series, Ghosts of Memories.

Eleisha is a 187 year old vampire, but she looks like a teenager, and in many ways she still acts like a teenager, but one who has to make very grown up decisions. Eleisha’s friends are a little more mysterious to me, their actions aren’t fully explained, which may be dealt with in an earlier book. Julian, the big baddie vampire, wants to kill all the elder vampires, but leaves Eleisha and her friends alive for some reason. His motivation towards keeping Eleisha alive is not explained.

Pretty much every character in In Memories We Fear has a point of view in the story. I counted nine different points of view. That is a lot for a book like this, it did make it feel like I didn’t really get to know some of the characters.

I think In Memories We Fear is a very simple story, but it was entertaining. I found the book enjoyable, it was easy to just jump in and know what was going on. The world that has been built around these vampires is realistic. I like how memories play a big role in the story. I could easily follow and picture what was going on in fight scenes and just see the buildings around them. The only thing that was a little confusing to me was the emotional aspect. Eleisha seemed surprised to be feeling happiness, and the fact that love/lust/romance just seems confusing to them just kind of baffles me. Maybe it’s explained more in a previous book, but not in this one.

I found In Memories We Fear, a quick and easy read. I am interested in seeing how this series ends, but it also makes me want to dig out my copies of the first three books in this series. I want to know more about these vampires, the world around them, and what has led up to the events of In Memories We Fear.

Notable Scene:

Something flew straight at her from the darkness, and she tried to duck away, losing any mental connection. Incredibly strong hands grabbed her and threw her against the wall. She hit, striking her head hard against the bricks, and bounced off, falling to the ground. Looking up, she could see the vampire’s white face and black hair as he came at her again, hissing and spitting.

But Seamus fully materialized beside her in all his transparent glory. As the vampire charged, Seamus snarled back and took a swing. Of course, he couldn’t make contact, but he’d used this move before, and it always worked. Just the sight of his fist coming was enough to make anyone flinch.

The vampire spun away.

Everything was happening too fast.

Eleisha pulled herself up, struggling to clear her dazed head, reestablish contact, and send a command, but to her shock, the vampire just kept spinning all the way around, darting under Seamus’ arm and scrambling toward her.

She managed to fire off only one mental scream.

Philip!

The she was pinned to the ground and a blinding, searing pain struck at her throat.

The Vampire Memories Series:

1. Blood Memories

2. Hunting Memories

3. Memories of Envy

4. In Memories We Fear

5. Ghost of Memories

FTC Advisory: Penguin/Roc provided me with a copy of In Memories We Fear. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy:
www.allthingsurbanfantasy.blogspot.com

In the common urban fantasy vampire mythology, IN MEMORIES WE FEAR is a completely different kettle of fish, both in paranormal and physical terms. To further complicate the issue, vampire culture has been decimated by the villain, leaving the main characters to flounder around and find their own way. Eleisha's band of misfits was an interesting group, with a web of interconnecting dependencies that may verge on the unhealthy (but never gets boring). I enjoyed learning about this world as they discovered things themselves.

In addition to the life or death mission of rescuing a mentally deranged vampire before he can be killed, the main drama of IN MEMORIES WE FEAR centers on the interpersonal stresses of Eleisha's little family. The initial codependencies are immediately apparent through the language Philip and Eleisha use to relate to each other. Philip is the antithesis of a self-aware, observant alpha. Rather, Eleisha's efforts to grow closer to him often go right over his head. His own attachment to her isn't in question, however, as she is the only thing keeping his murderous nature leashed (most of the time). I'm a sucker for a romance where two virgins find their way, and this dynamic is further complicated by an essentially different vampire sex drive. Hendee's vampires may not understand human passion, but they do crave intimacy. I can't imagine trying to create an entire vocabulary for relationships without cultural guidance, and the process had me riveted.

Though this was my first book in the Vampire Memories series, Hendee drops information in through multiple character perspectives, a smooth technique that I think will work for both established and new readers. Though the discord that troubles this group is balanced without any of the characters betraying their essential nature, their initial dysfunction leaves me more interested to see what will happen going forward than in than going back to read how they got this far.

Sexual Content: Kissing, references to sexual contact. ( )