Voice of the Blood by Jemiah Jefferson
By Beverly Jackson • Aug 29th, 2011 • Category: Book Review 2011 •
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In Voice of the Blood by Jemiah Jefferson, Adriane Dempsey has a promising future as a bioscientist, but she is feeling a little unsettled as her attractive smart fiancé, Dr. John Thurbis, has accepted a position to be a guest fellow at Cambridge for the upcoming semester, and verbal fighting has become their main form of communication. One night after a fight, Adriane retreats to her laboratory to distract herself with work, and is surprised by an intruder and has an unusual but most erotic experience that leaves her hospitalized. Shortly thereafter, Adriane receives a letter of apology, and an invitation to meet her attacker, Orfeo Ricari. Curiosity gets the better of her and she accepts the invitation. It is a most pleasant meeting and Adriane learns Orfeo is a vampire who seems to defy the myths regarding vampires and their culture. This just fuels Adriane to push Orfeo for the full story and to learn more about his world. But as the saying goes, “curiosity killed the cat,” and Adriane is drawn deep into a world of glitter and gutter and tries to forge her own place within it, yet still craving the normalcy of the human world. And just want is she going to do when John returns?
Voice of the Blood is a racy, erotic vampire story. The author has done a wonderful job of creating an original cast of vampires who dispel the current characterizations of their world. The diverse group of vampires, from the hermit-like Orfeo to the rock-star-like Daniel with his groupies, entices the reader to keep turning the pages. This character-driven story is more about transformations than good versus evil.
As the first book in the Vampire Quartet, we get an introduction to the main characters in the series, but this book is Adriane’s story. As the story narrator, we get to see the world through her eyes and experiences, but while you may not always like the lifestyle choices she makes, it does give insight on how easily one can be seduced by the fantasy of unending pleasure, forbidden love and a youth-obsessed culture.
There is a heavy emphasis on sensuality, which to the characters are erotic and pleasurable, but for many will be raw and racy. This is definitely adult storyline, and this theme works well to illustrate the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that can propel unexpected reactions. The action is well-paced, though I would have liked to see a little more suspense built in so the unexpected violence did not seem so sudden and uneven. The story takes place in the academic world of San Francisco and the often unseen seedy side of Hollywood with the different locations reflecting the multiplicity of characters and moods.
I recommend this book to adult readers of vampire fiction who do not mind racy storylines that push the boundaries on the gothic horror genre.
Reviewed by Beverly
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Beverly Jackson is is a recent transplant to the Charlotte, North Carolina area. She is an avid reader, and there are very few times you will catch her without a book. Several years ago, she changed her dining room into a library with wall to ceiling bookshelves. She loves sharing her enthusiasm for reading with others and writing book reviews is a way she shares her thoughts. For the last twenty years, she has worked in the technology field for an international consulting firm, but is easing her way into retirement. Her biggest accomplishment is raising two daughters to be productive citizens of society, and they have blessed her with five wonderful grandchildren. Some of her other interest are traveling, watching sports and practicing yoga. And her latest toy is her Kindle which allows her to carry around her library in her purse.
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