Dhampir

Written By: Barb & J.C. Hendee

Copyright: 2003

Publisher:  Penguin

Pages 375

This will be my second book in the Once Upon A Time challenge and my first for Quest The First.

Quest The First : Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time criteria. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

And My Quest Begins....Magiere had been raised by her aunt. She had heard the stories of her father. The whispers among the villagers named him as unnatural. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her father moved on, not wanting to be burdened with an illegitimate child.
Ostracized and taunted by the villagers, the only kindness she knew was from her aunt. On her 16th birthday she was given a falchion and two mysterious necklaces, left to her by her father.
This is where her story truly begins.

Magiere abandons the place of her birth, and the memories that went with it. Living her life on the road, she soon meets  Leesil, a pick-pocket...or should I say, catches him, and his traveling companion, a wolf like dog named Chap. As they journey together, they conceive a plan that gives them a reputation for being vampire hunters. After "saving" yet another village Chap senses something stalking them and Magiere finds herself doing battle with a creature unlike anything she's ever encountered. As the battle goes on she finds herself ....changing. Not understanding what's  happening to her, she feels a hatred that she's never known. Magiere knows only one thing she must kill this creature at any cost.

The way I see it: It's interesting, I started out with one impression of the characters in this book, (not just Magiere and Leesil) and ended up with a completely different one. The authors introduced attributes of their personalities and pieces of their past in careful layers, which changed my opinion of the characters ever so slowly. For all that, I still found it to be a fast read, do in part, to the fact that I couldn't put it down at times...lol The biggest mystery of all of course, is Magiere who knows neither who, nor what she really is.

The bad, the bad, and the ugly: The only thing that bothered me a little bit about this book was the fate of two of the main vampire characters. I like to feel that characters deserve what they get, one way or another....greys are not my thing. I still wasn't sure of that at the end of this book...but then again, neither was Magiere.

Love it or Leave it: Looooved it :D I very much enjoyed the evolution of the characters. Especially Leesil, It took a while before I really "got him" if you know what I mean, and he was quite a funny fellow as well. I'll absolutely be purchasing the next book in the series.

On to my next book in Quest The First.