Vampires of Portlandia by Jason Tanamor-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 27, 2020

When Marcella Leones relocates her family of aswang vampires from the Philippines to Portland, Oregon, she raises her grandchildren under strict rules so humans will not expose them. Her only wish is to give them a peaceful life, far away from the hunters and the Filipino government that attempted to exterminate them.

Before she dies, she passes on the power to her eldest grandchild, Percival. He vows to uphold the rules set forth by Leones, allowing his family to roam freely without notice. After all, they are aswangs.

However, when the aswang covenant is broken, the murder rate in Portland rises drastically. Who is behind the murders? And who is behind the broken covenant? Along with sensie Penelope Jane, Percival must find the truth.

It’s then they discover that there are other breeds of aswangs—werebeasts, witches, ghouls, and viscera—who have been residing in Portland for years.

Based on Filipino folklore (aswang), “Vampires of Portlandia” is a fantastical tale of different monsters coexisting in the weirdest city in America.

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REVIEW:VAMPIRES OF PORTLANDIA by Jason Tanamor is a paranormal/ urban fantasy story line based in the Filipino folklore focusing on the aswang-an all encompassing term for shape-shifting vampires, ghouls, witches, viscera suckers, and werebeasts (dogs and crows).

Told from several third person perspectives bouncing between several time lines and perspectives, VAMPIRES OF PORTLANDIA follows the Filipino-born Leones family of vampires to Portland, Oregon where they learned to blend into the human population. Upon the matriarch Marcella Leones’ death, a new leader for the aswang world must be born, and Percival, as the eldest of the surviving vampire becomes their reluctant leader by accepting the amulet of power. A series of grisly murders in Portland becomes suspect in the mind of Percival Leones, and his brother is about to become his number one priority until he meets PJ, a twenty-something sensie with the ability to feel other people’s emotions, and the supernatural community is pulled together for a potential civil war. With the aswang community focusing their anger at the family of vampires, it is another shapeshifter that focuses its’ malevolence on the Portland nightlife.

VAMPIRES OF PORTLANDIA is a story of betrayal and vengeance; death and destruction; power and control. The supernatural creatures of the aswang have set up their communities in Portland Oregon but one of the shapeshifters believes they should no longer follow the covenant written by the God Asuang but take control of the world in which they now live. The slow building premise is interesting and entertaining but it was difficult at times to hold my attention- the back and forth between timelines revealed the backstory and history but I think if the history and events had been revealed in order, the story line may not have felt so disjointed ; the characters are numerous, curious and intriguing. VAMPIRES OF PORTLANDIA is NOT a comedic story of fun and adventure but a story about vying for control of the supernatural world.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy