Companions

Rating:
Summary: One BAAAD Enforcer, One Tough Female Cop!!
Review: This has to be my favorite of the series so far! "Laws of the Blood: Companions" is a great read! Selena Crawford is a Chicago Homicide Detective, she is also a non-magical member of a gypse family, she also happens to be the personal property of the head Enforcer in the USA. "Steve" and Selena rub each other the wrong way...well maybe its the right way all the time, when their not fighting of course.

Vampire Politics mingled with the possibility of an extreamly rare pregnacy make for a wonderfully twisted and exciting read! It is Definately Worth reading this book and this series!...

Rating:
Summary: Better than Partners
Review: This is the story of Istvan, the head Nighthawk, and his companion, Selena, a psychic, and homicide detective. She was not willing to become his companion, and he really didn't want one, which leads to many complications. When someone starts killing vampires and leaving them for humans to find, he actually suspects her. A very old vampire from Istvan's past has designs on her cousin, so Selena enlists the help of a group of unwilling companions to save her, since Istvan is gone, or is he?

This is an even better novel than the one before. The main characters are more evenly matched, and we find that the Enforcer of Enforcers has weaknesses and a previous life. Enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Better than Partners
Review: This is the story of Istvan, the head Nighthawk, and his companion, Selena, a psychic, and homicide detective. She was not willing to become his companion, and he really didn't want one, which leads to many complications. When someone starts killing vampires and leaving them for humans to find, he actually suspects her. A very old vampire from Istvan's past has designs on her cousin, so Selena enlists the help of a group of unwilling companions to save her, since Istvan is gone, or is he?

This is an even better novel than the one before. The main characters are more evenly matched, and we find that the Enforcer of Enforcers has weaknesses and a previous life. Enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Officers of the Law
Review: This is the third in a series of vampire stories that focus on enforcers, a vampire form that specializes in carrying out the laws of the vampire council. Enforcers are special, with additional powers and strengths that aid them in a job which often involves the control and killing of other kindred. In one other way are enforcers notable. Their natural food is not us humans, but the vampires that feed on us. They are the stuff that vampire nightmares are made of.

Each volume in the series focuses on some aspect of the special underworld Susan Sizemore is constructing. "Companions" is about the humans who are part of the vampire world. Theoretically better than slaves, in most cases there is little to tell of the difference between them. Like slaves, companions are the vampire's property; the companion's special position comes from having drunk their master's blood. Eventually, if they survive, they will be made into vampires. But the vampires powers and the influence of the blood bond turns most of them into little more than obedient servitors, completely subject to their vampire's will.

There are exceptions, though. Selena Crawford, a homicide detective in Chicago, is such. Two years previous to this book she came into contact with Istvan, a 500 year old enforcer. Istvan is not just an enforcer, but a dhampire, child of a human and a vampire, making him such a deadly threat that the vampire council has banned making such a vampire ever again. Tricked into bonding with Selena, Istvan is an unwilling master. And Selena, part Gypsy, has no intention of being a willing servant. To avoid perpetual conflict they have been separate for the last two years, ignoring the blood bond to maintain independence.

Not unexpectedly, the two protectors of different laws are doomed to confront each other again. Istvan is dispatched by the council to look into the murder of a vampire in Chicago, and Selena is assigned the same case. Other than enforcers, vampires cannot kill vampires (or so it is said). Even for those who know how, killing a vampire is a difficult task. But in a very short period of time two identical killings occur, and the same chainsaw used to dispatch the two vampires is used to cut of the arm of a third. Istvan and Serena switch from conflict to love to detection and back again repeatedly as they pursue a trail that leads to Denver and then into the eerie world of vampire politics.

Istvan (usually called Steve, nowadays) is your basic super vampire, and his character development is sufficient, but not overwhelming. His casual sarcastic style is entertaining, but he lacks the depths of Serena's personality. She is not only a detective and a companion, but witch and gypsy as well. The Bailey's of Chicago were touched by magic long before coming to America. Led now by Aunt Caetlyn, Serena's godmother, a spellcaster, and a fine vampire healer as well. With a background like this it is no surprise that Serena's personality strikes sparks.

Sizemore has created an online support group for companions, which is a thoroughly novel idea in vampire fiction. Indeed, this may be the first vampire tale where surfing the net plays an important part (besides Buffy).

While there are some connections between "Companions" and other parts of the series (primarily with "The Hunt"), calling this is a series is still a bit of a misnomer. The books in this set are completely independent tales. This is the first volume with crossover characters (Siri, Yevgeny and Jebel Haven). Yet these characters still only put in guest appearances, albeit important ones. But one can see how the books are beginning to come together, and there is much promise for the future.

Rating:
Summary: Oh yeah!
Review: This time the setting is Chicago. Selena Crawford is a Chicago homicide detective. She is the unwilling companion of Istvan, Chief of the Enforcers. Istvan is considered "the Enforcers' Enforcer." He is the dhamphir. Due to the bond between vampire and companion, they cannot help but come into contact with each other. But they try their best to meet as rarely as possible.

The Law of the Blood states "A companion is a vampire's property. They may do with their companions as they will." It is a law that many companions want changed. But for a companion to even think of changing things is like an act of treason, with a high punishment. Even so, there are a few brave ones. They have an elite chat room where they secretly speak with each other and plan what they will do differently once they have grown fangs. None of them knows the real names of the others or where they reside. The ID of each is gender-less. No one speaks of what they do for a living. They vent about their "Friends" and make plans.

Selena and Istvan must join forces to investigate the murder of a vampire and maintain the secrecy of the vampire race. But when they find the killer and learn her motive, they find out that there is an even bigger threat and it hits even closer to home! Things are about to get very, very personal.

***** Outstanding! Author Susan Sizemore has outdone herself in this one! The story is well written, believable, and the main characters are so wonderful that I could not help but like them. There are even a few cameos, which I did not expect to happen so soon in this series. Highly recommended! *****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, it is the best in a series
Review: While I enjoyed the first two books in the series, I found them a bit confusing at times. Companions however is clear and easy to follow. The characters, the mythology, work on several levels. I look forward to more.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: With all the great reviews on this book, I was expecting something as good as the Anita Blake series. But what a disappointment. The whole thing just fizzled out in the first few pages. The vampires aren't in the least bit menacing and in no did I feel that they were living up to the reputation that a vampire was supposed to have. Won't recommend it.