So Dead My Love by Patty G. Henderson

Publisher:            Black Car Publishing


(This was originally published under the title Blood Scent.)

The Karnov legend is that the "chosen one" will come to free Lara Karnov from a curse imposed by her vampire family and then she will rise to lead vampires into a new age. Lara has lain waiting for centuries and the time may have finally come.

Samantha Barnes has always known that she was different from other people. That is one reason why she chooses to live on an island off of the coast of Maine and be a semi-reclusive artist. When she is commissioned to do a mural for the local bank and begins to investigate the history of the island, she finds herself drawn to the creepy old Karnov Mansion. Samantha also finds herself drawn into an existence she never imagined and a love affair with a woman who wants her soul. But there is still a contact who holds her rooted in the "normal" world.

Carmen Montaya loves Samantha and would give anything to be her partner. She knows something is wrong with the strange visitor who has shown up at Samantha's and she's not going to give up Sam without a fight. Samantha is going to have to make some choices. Does she accept eternal life with Lara, bought at a terrible expense, or turn to the dedication and love that Carmen offers her? Is Samantha in fact the "chosen one?" The fact that she's not sure herself adds some suspense to the book.
 
Vampires exist by drinking blood; nothing changes that in So Dead, My Love. When Lara awakens, she has to feed and the island provides ample opportunities for that. The back blurb says that "even among vampires…there is good and there is evil." Where that line falls is not very clear in this story. Lara Karnov performs acts that are decidedly evil and leads Samantha into activities that should have her conscience in a turmoil forever, although there is a twist at the end that might be considered redeeming. This is the first book in a trilogy, so the role of the Karnovs might become more clear as the series progresses. There were a number of editing errors that should have been caught, especially in a book that is a second edition, but they don't detract from the story much. If you're a fan of vampire novels, you might want to give this one a try.