Afterimage

Image Vampires #2

by Jaye Roycraft

Nothing is going well for Alek Dragovich, enforcer for the Undead. His position in the Directorate is in jeopardy, but he has little interest in the Directorate’s schemes until someone tries to kill him.

Dhampir Marya Jaks, the offspring of a vampire and his mortal wife, can detect vampires, thereby making her a perfect vampire killer. When Marya learns that Drago has deemed her a threat to the vampire community and has ordered her termination, she strikes back.

Drago, the hunter, has become the hunted. But is it Marya who wants him dead… or another mysterious power-hungry vampire?

Jaye Roycraft, a former big-city police officer in Wisconsin, has incorporated her police procedural knowledge into her stories of the undead, creating urban fantasies that twist together modern realism with history. Jaye, author of ten novels, has presented numerous workshops for writers both online and at conferences, has been a contest judge, and has been a featured panelist at Dragon*Con. Jaye recently moved from the frozen tundra and now lives in sunny Arizona.

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Jeannie Zelos · Rating 3 out of 5]

 
 
 
 
Afterimage, Book 2 of The Image Series, Jaye Roycraft
Genre:  Romance, Sci-fi and fantasy.
Review from jeannie zelos book reviews 
I’ve not read book one, but again as with several recently  its a series where characters or setting are connected, and each book stands complete.
I was attracted to this book because I love vampires fiction, and  I do like those romances where the protagonists start off disliking each other – in this case they Hate each other. Alek thinks Marya is an Aberration, something that all vampires hate and think should be killed. Marya, because of her personal history and the constraints the vampires have put on her personal live the last twelve years, thinks all vampires are evil and need to die. Strong stuff eh? It starts off well, and I always love that progression from hate to love, like to see just how and when things begin to turn, but somehow here though it made that change from hate to love, there wasn’t really (IMO) a turning point or reason for it, and sadly I wasn’t convinced of the relationship or connection between them. That of course affected my whole view of the romance and it just didn’t feel convincing for me.
The plot is decent, trying to track down who wants Alek killed, and why, and of course he’s no idea who he can really trust. There’s some interesting moments, and some drama when they’re captured and need to use their wits to get free. I didn’t guess who was behind the move to kill Alek, and much of the political machinations made it feel that it could be any one of a number of people. Had a good ending though – I need a HEA to a romance, but overall thought the book was good its purely a one off read for me. 
Stars: Three, a good read but for me not a keeper.
ARC provided by Netgalley and publishers.

[WildAboutBones · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story begins with the “it’s all a big misunderstanding” trope, and I almost stopped reading, but am glad I didn’t. It had a good ending, but it was lack luster through the middle. Even though the story is all "telling" verses showing us what happens, it turned out to have the bare bones for a good story of reluctant, forbidden love.

It lagged in spots, and Marya’s (the heroine) persecution complex for “her people” got old quick especially since she’d not been anywhere near any of “her people” since she was a young child, with the exception of dating/hanging out with a young man for a little while. She also blamed the vampire enforcers for how she lived her life. She chose the life of a hermit instead of living as many do, making the most of every moment because they know death is coming for them. Ever heard the saying “live like you were dying”? Marya also did some really stupid things, but she was not alone. Drago did as well.

I very much like Alek/Drago (the hero), and Revelin Scott (a secondary character) is an interesting fellow. Nik, the head vampiress, is also an interesting lady. The author embellished the vampire mythos with her interesting additions.

The author did a good job of making this a standalone book within the series. I didn’t realize it was book two until after I read it. I believe I’ll check out book four to see more of Revelin Scott.

[Mellissa Monteforte Jimenez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the background of the story and the character building of both HEAs. The occasional phrasing of words seemed a little repetitive both otherwise a very enjoyable tail. I did not read the first book in the series, most times that makes me feel lost, BUT it was not the case with After image. Definitely a page turner and I really enjoyed it.