Alright, Curious One. Today I took a chance on a topic that I typically stray from. Vampires. To me, vampires should be kept as dark, immortal, terrifying beings who hunt at night and take what they want. They should always epitomize the genuine traits of what most people consider monsters. No diamond skin, no surviving off blood bags or animal blood and definitely no love affairs with fragile humans.
However, because I loved Dale Mayer’s Psychic Visions series first book, Tuesday’s Child, I decided to go ahead and check out her first book in the Family Blood Ties series, Vampire in Denial.
Vampire In Denial’s World
What initially attracted me to Vampire in Denial is the way she has built the world. First off, Vampires and humans are coexisting. Vampires go to school at night and humans go to school during the day. It has only been happening for about 50 years, so the peace is both prosperous and tenuous.
I also loved the theory that vampires could actually produce, but why would they want to? We all know most vampires to be cocky, selfish and full of anger and jealousy, so why would they want to share that with a child when their lineage will already live forever?
On top of that, because 50 years ago they brokered peace between societies, they have started a new generation of vampires that no longer thirst for fresh human blood from the vein. Now, I know I said not even 200 words ago that I believe vampires should remain terrifying shadows of the night but think about it. If the knowledge of vampirism and their nocturnal ways has been accepted for 50+ years, why would they not evolve? They would certainly have to in order to not be hunted down and massacred, so there would have to be an evolution in their feeding habits in order to not die off.
Technology Bridge to Peace
And, not to mention, technological advancements that have created a manufactured blood that provides all the proteins and nutrients that you would find in human blood, but it wasn’t taken from a live human. Even one of the characters made the comment that they tasted fresh, human blood once and it tasted terrible. So, you genuinely have an adaptation in the genes that will help keep peace between the two polar opposite species. If the vampires no longer want and crave human blood, then why would the humans feel the need to be terrified of them any more than the evil humans? You’re always going to have good and bad in each society. That will never change, but Dale Mayer’s world is so much more realistic.
Of course, I’m sure, as it has been hinted at in Vampire in Denial, that there was a struggle between everyone that caused many issues, but that is to be expected. You cannot think that to introduce an entirely different outlook and way of life would be easy for everyone. It’s hard enough trying to get humans to live peacefully with other humans. I cannot imagine how difficult it was or would be to introduce a supernatural element with a “creature” that is by all means a hunter and manipulator. Just saying.
Anyways, I was attracted to the idea behind Vampire in Denial because of all of that. It felt a bit more thought out than the typical “vampire meets human and falls in love and crosses the lines between societies causing an uproar with the ancient ancestors…” those vampire tropes are so worn out that when I ran across this, I felt I had to give it a chance. So, here we go.
Vampire In Denial’s Protagonist, Tessa
Vampire in Denial is centered around a 16-year-old girl named Tessa. She is half vampire and half human, though she was born from two full vampire parents. I think it is part of that evolution I was talking about earlier. She is the youngest of 3 children and it seems as though her eldest brother is very much a typical vampire in the sense of her feeling uncomfortable around him and how he kind of refuses to accept her into the family because she isn’t a fully fledged vampire. Her other brother though, David, seems to accept her with more grace. David also has a bit more mobility in the sunlight, although it still bothers him – whereas Tessa can move freely in both.
I also love that it is their eyes that hold the key to their ability to walk in the sun. Not their skin. That was a wonderful adaptation of information. We all know that traditionally they burn in the sunlight, catching fire, but this is their eyesight causing the issue. Tessa can move freely between both worlds because she can change her vision to adapt. Her parents though can only move freely in the night, hardly capable of functioning in sunlight and definitely not able to move around in broad daylight.
I think this is important. I also really love the way Mayer incorporated this information. It was like she wanted you to think about it yourself so instead of just stating that fact in narration, Tessa revealed it to her father in a series of questions he asked. Much more enjoyable than strictly relaying the information for you to take in.
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Stuck Between Two Worlds
Tessa is going through more than just the typical 16-year-old struggles in high school life. She is judged and ridiculed by both societies. In the human world she is just enough too sharp in her features to easily blend as a human and in the vampire society she is just enough too plain to be easily accepted as a vampire. To be standing in the middle of both worlds with each foot in a different way of life would have to be hard. Because she comes from an original line that is ancient her family think that no one messes with her because of her name. But being vampires who grew up in a world that was black and white, her being full of gray and colors isn’t something they notice.
Because the ridicule from her vampiric peers is so severe, she turns to the human world and tries to leave her vampire traits behind, hiding what she can and keeping it secret from her friends.
She decides to go out with them to a movie – there’s a boy she likes, Jared – and during the movie, she recognizes a couple vampires hunting. From what I understand, hunting is illegal, but it’s surprising that they would hunt in a movie theatre to begin with. Mostly, even at night, vampires tend to stay away from popular hangouts that the humans have.
They leave the theatre and there is an attack. Tessa gets them all to safety and her friends all get rides with their parents, but Jared has to walk home. He won’t be missed as he his living with his uncle, so they begin to walk home. They are attacked though, and Tessa is knocked unconscious as when she wakes, the two vampires had taken Jared and left her in the street.
Troubling over Heartbreaking
She gets to her family, scared and angry and tells them about what happened. They go to the council, but she isn’t allowed because she isn’t fully human. So, she dresses the part and sneaks into the council house to try and get some information. She recognizes the scent of the two kidnappers and after being found out by Cody – David’s best friend – they follow them and get into some trouble. Tessa is knocked unconscious again and Cody brings her back to her family who have been worried sick.
Conversations happen and eventually, Tessa convinces them to help her find out what is happening and to help rescue Jared. When her and Cody were out, they found evidence of humans being held captive and overheard the two kidnappers talking about why one of them died.
So, a big group of them split up and head in different directions to find some clues as to who and what is going on. Some trouble ensues, including the betrayal of a friend who wasn’t really a friend, so the betrayal was more troubling than it was heartbreaking. Which was nice.
Inside a Vampire In Vampire In Denial
I definitely think something is up with Jared. When they tested his blood they found traces of an ancient vampire lineage, but it was so small and so far back that it didn’t make him a vampire. However, when they were putting in the drugs and enhancements, I think it made him worse? I’m not sure. I hope the next book goes more into it, because if they made him a vampire and somehow like activated his vampiric gene or something, that’s crazy. Because remember, they also had a few vampires strung up in their blood farm, so what would they be doing with the vampire blood? And why was he okay when they got to him and suddenly worse the longer he was there?
So many questions! Hahah!!!
A lot happened that I think is very important to the series, but it was definitely pretty obvious that it was the first book in a collection. I was relieved that it wasn’t extremely dramatic. Most series’ that center around a 16-year-old girl have so much drama, especially boy drama, that it kind of get annoying. Perhaps the next book will have more, if Jared survives and comes back and Cody doesn’t confess his feelings to Tessa, she might end up making a few annoying mistakes when it comes to a love triangle – if that is the direction the author chooses to take.
However, I really liked Vampire in Denial! It was a short read for me, probably only about two, maybe three hours for me to read total, but it was full of innovative information and new possibilities in the vampire legends.
Final Thoughts on Vampire In Denial
If you’re a fan of vampire novels, I would probably suggest. It was a refreshing take and hopefully I can find the other books in the series to continue her story. I might just start with the first three books and see how much drama comes into play, but if it is manageable, I would definitely love to find out what is happening to the humans and vampires and who is behind it! What if it is a military operation that has been experimenting underground for the last 50 years?! I’m getting an X-Men: Wolverine vibe here!
Hahahah!! Sorry… anyways, I love Dale Mayer’s writing technique and style. She can easily adapt into many different genres and because of that, I think she may be one of my top 10 authors. She has such refreshing takes on every series I have seen. From terrifying and obscene to fantastical and dramatic to cute and comforting, she has explored it all and given so many different ages and genres a chance. I can’t help but love her work and that makes her an amazing author to me. She has over 15 different series that explore so many different worlds and genres, like I said. Please check out her website – dalemayer.com – and explore! Help satiate your own curiosity, subscribe to her newsletter and read!
Again, Vampire in Denial is an amazing first novel and I will keep an eye out for the following books, collect them all, and keep answering my own curiosity’s questions. I hope this week finds you in a wonderful moment in your life. Remember to keep smiling and give life all you have.
I think… it’s time for me to find another book…
Check out Dale Mayer at the following links:
@DaleMayer on Twitter
https://dalemayer.com/
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