Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands

Hey everyone,

I’ve read so many books recently but haven’t had time to blog about any of them so be prepared for lots of reviews coming your way! One book I read this week was Immortal Ever After by Lynsay Sands. It is number eighteen I believe in her Argeneau / Rogue Hunter series.

The book:

Valerie never gave much thought to the legends of vampires. That is, until she's kidnapped by a fang-wielding psychopath and kept hostage in an underground dungeon with six other female-dining companions. Able to escape using her martial art skills and her wits, she's picked up by the Argeneau rescue team - and the sexy Anders - only to discover that her captor got away...and is on the hunt again.

When Anders discovers Valerie battered and bruised under a bush, he's not expecting to meet someone capable of defending herself against a vampire attack - or his psychic influence. Immediately taken by this fierce beauty, he's determined to find the vamp responsible for her abuse...and make him pay.

My thoughts:

I remember renting this series from the library when I’d just discovered the romance genre. I use to love this series but in more recent years I haven’t kept up with it. Now I tend to just drop in and out whenever I see one for sale. For me it works because I don’t think this is a series you need to read in order. Of course as Lynsay Sands has now written eighteen books in this series a lot of characters from the previous novels are around. Some of who I honestly couldn’t remember anymore... But I did remember the Vampire mythology and the general premise of these novels. It’s all about the life mates people!

Anders eyed the offering, but didn’t at first open his mouth. She was just about to give up, sit back and eat it herself when he suddenly did. Valerie moved the spoon between his open lips, watching silently as he closed his mouth around the spoon and ice cream.

We meet the hero and heroine in a fairly creepy and disturbing circumstances as Valerie is being held hostage by a rogue vampire. I loved that she rescued herself and the other women. Valerie is definitely no damsel in distress. This is particularly apparent in the first scene where Valerie has plotted and planned to escape from the horror she has been subjected too. Generally I really liked Valerie as a character, partly because of her dedication to her dog. Even when she’s imprisoned she is concerned for her dog. I thought Anders was an okay hero. I wasn’t a huge fan of his distrust in the life mate business. Mainly because his reason for doubting that Valerie was his life mate was due to a lack of physical attraction in the beginning. It just felt a bit unnecessary in my opinion.

This life mate business wasn’t anything like he’d expected. In fact, he wasn’t at all sure Valerie really was his life mate. She had a good figure and he thought she was pretty, but he’d met thousands of prettier women in his life.

I actually read Immortal Ever After in a single day, but this was more due to the ease of reading and a lack of anything do to than a passion for the book. It was okay. The relationship between Valerie and Anders felt effortless and right but it didn’t excite me. In fact the most memorable moment in the book for me was the discovery of Anders true name. I won’t spoil the surprise but be prepared for the worst. Also I didn’t really enjoy how we found out about Anders past, it felt like an information dump.

“How much older?”

“Why is it rude to ask a lady her age, but not rude to ask a man?” he queried rather than answer and Valerie considered the question.

“I suppose because men aren’t usually sensitive about their age,” she said after a moment.

Part of me wonders if I’ve out grown this series. Everything felt too light and fluffy without much substance. Even the baddies of the novel where dealt with fairly easily and without much fuss. Yet at the same time Anders and Valerie’s relationship didn’t have much depth to it. Instead Lynsay Sands relies almost completely on the idea of life mates to substance the romance between them. Like I said they suited each other but I didn’t feel they had to work at the relationship.

“Actually, I saw Ander's fangs at his house this afternoon and they're bigger than yours,”  Valerie said at once and then as Anders reached her side, she glanced at him and asked “why? Is it like big fangs, big feet, big - ” 

I wish I could have been more positive about this book as it comes from one of my favourite authors and a series I use to adore, but time and reading tastes change. If you like light hearted romances with a dash of humour and action you probably will enjoy Immortal Ever After. Although if you’ve never read a Lynsay Sands I would advice starting from the beginning of this series as in my opinion they’re better!

My rating:

Happy reading and see you next time!