Fangs for the Memories

Cleopatra Lutz used to be a very successful actress, until she was converted against her will and disappeared from the Hollywood scene. Her Sire, Rodriguez, taught her to stay hidden, convincing her that they were the only vampires left in the world and that they were always in danger. Not knowing any different, Cleo had no choice but to believe him and to follow his directions to keep herself safe. Even after his deserved murder, Cleo kept to her teachings, never coming into contact with any others of her kind and staying well hidden from the world. She had no friends and she was alone, forever alone, until she meets Michael Brown. At ninety-nine years of age Cleo has rarely ventured out among humans, but her diet of pizza delivery boys is wearing thin. Her last feed made her wary because whatever drugs the delivery boy used had taken two days to work themselves out of her system. She decides to venture out to find a meal, only to find that the styles, of attitudes, clothing and dancing, have dramatically changed. Keeping herself hidden, she scans the crowd for a likely meal. Michael comes to her rescue when an over-exuberant suitor doesn’t want to take no for an answer. Dancing with him, she decides that he will be her meal for tonight. In addition, since she’s been without sex for so long, the attraction she feels towards him makes her decision to have sex with him a foregone conclusion. But there is something different about Michael. His knowledge about vampires is bewildering to Cleo, who still knows so little about what she is. Just what is Michael? Where does all of his knowledge come from? What does he want from her? Is he someone she can trust?

Michael is a Psi, someone with strong mental capabilities. Until recently, he was a companion to a nightwalker (the politically correct term for a vampire). Once his nightwalker found his bloodmate, Michael was released. As a companion, his body produced more blood so he could feed his nightwalker several times a week, aged more slowly and had an increased life span. At over sixty years of age, Michael has retained the appearance of a much younger man. Michael is looking for another nightwalker to hook up with when by chance he finds Cleo at a nightclub he does not usually attend. He knows immediately who she is, having been a huge fan of her movies – not to mention she has had a leading role in many of his sexual fantasies since he was a teenager. Knowing instinctively she is the one he is looking for, his pursuit of her is single-minded. There are few extremes he is willing to go to in order to call her his own. But when Cleo is kidnapped, this time not by him but by the Paranormal Watchers, will he be able to save her? Can he get Cleo to trust in him and love him as much as he does her? Just what extremes will Michael have to go to for Cleo to accept him as her companion, lover and trusted friend?

Cricket Starr’s Fangs For The Memories is a vampire story that sets itself apart from the others in this genre. It’s highly original use of companion, nightwalker and bloodmate, in addition to several other terms unique to this story, breathes a breath of fresh air into this field. The inclusion of the theatrical, in addition to being an unusual element in a vampire romance, is cleverly used to help set up several important (and occasionally scorching) scenes in the story. Many of the secondary characters have been developed to the point that they also seem as three-dimensional as the lead characters giving the author the opportunity to write romances for them that I crave to read. There is most definitely the opportunity and audience for the author to create a series out of this one superb tale, and I will be the first in line to get my hands on them if and when they should make their debut. Fangs For The Memories is a cleverly written story of a vulnerable, lonely ‘young’ woman who is afraid to trust anyone. By and large, she has kept to herself, until she is drawn out by the enigmatic Michael, a man who knows what he wants and strives to achieve it – and now he wants Cleo. This is a story that I highly recommend to one and all, particularly paranormal fans.

Reviewed by: Elizabeth