Immortally Yours

Immortally Yours (Argeneau Series)- Lynsay Sands
Avon Books
Release Date: September 26, 2017

Warning: Spoilers Ahead!

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: One hundred and twenty-five years is a long time to nurse a crush. That’s how long it’s been since Beth Argenis first met Cullen “Scotty” MacDonald and he instantly became the star of her most X-rated dreams. Back then, he was rescuing her from a Rogue Immortal. Now Beth’s a Rogue Hunter—a damn good one. She doesn’t need saving anymore, despite what Scotty thinks. What she does need is the fierce, wild desire that finally erupts between them.

Scotty has hesitated to claim Beth as his own. But one explosive kiss confirms what he’s long suspected: She’s his life mate. But Beth is tough, fearless, beautiful…and in immortal danger. Unless he wants to lose her forever, he’ll have to rethink everything he once believed about love and destiny as well as confront an enemy who’s terrifyingly close.

________________________________________

With most of the North American Rogue Hunters down in Venezuela dealing with trouble there (Immortal Unchained), Beth Argenis is stuck working with Cullen "Scotty" MacDonald and a group of hunters from the UK who have volunteered to help out in Canada until things get back to normal.  Scotty may star in all Beth's most interesting fantasies but in real life she's pretty sure he can't stand her. So why is he suddenly acting so protective and kind?  Scotty has known for over 100 years that Beth was his life mate but he's waited until he decided she was over past traumas before making his move. The problem is that now that he's decided she's ready, someone else has decided they want Beth dead.  Can they survive a series of violent and creative attacks, figure out who's trying to kill Beth, and manage to work through their own issues to reach a happy ending?

I absolutely loved Beth Argenis. She's had more bad luck than any person should have, dealt with incredible trauma and abuse as a mortal, been turned against her will, spent over 100 years trying to deal with issues that would break other people, and still managed to come out a strong, independent, compassionate, and kick-ass person.  After being attacked by a Rogue she not only learned how to defend herself, she trained to be a Rogue Hunter and protect others.  It took a long time, but she managed to put aside her anger at life and begin to enjoy life and to lover herself for who she is.  Although she has had a crush on Scotty for pretty much her entire immortal life, on discovering that they are possible life mates she isn't willing to drop everything and become who Scotty thinks she should be (or thinks he thinks she should be).  Walking away from him might break her heart but she would rather do that than not be true to herself.  In fact Beth has probably one of the greatest self-affirming speeches ever written where she tells Scotty all that and more.  You are heartbroken by all the suffering she reveals in her life and cheering for her as the person she is today all at the same time.

Scotty is kind of a jerk and takes much longer than he should to arrive at these same conclusions (although in the end at least he admits he's been an arrogant idiot).  He may have spent the past century trying to protect Beth and waiting for her to be ready for a life mate, but he hasn't spent that time getting to know himself or learning from other mated couples the meaning of words like "compromise" and "teamwork".  His actions and ideas may come from the desire to keep Beth safe and happy, but they fall short of the mark.  He actually wants her to have her mind wiped blank to she won't have bad memories! Scotty is slow and Beth has to beat him over the head with the truth a few times (and shoot him a few times) but he does eventually get there.

Immortally Yours gives us plenty of time to think about how we are shaped by out life experiences- both the good and the bad.  It also makes us question how each of us would live as an immortal.  Would we hold on to the terrible things that happen and let them make us bitter or drive us insane?  Would we learn to live in the moment and be proud of who we are and how we've worked to get there?  Scotty and Beth both have traumatic pasts and each had a seriously terrible parent but while Beth has worked hard to overcome her 'daddy issues', Scotty (who's more than 800 years older) hasn't ever admitted that he might have some skewed ideas because of his mother. I wanted to hit Scotty more than once about assumptions he makes when he should have the life experience to know better. Fortunately, so did some of the other characters- and they were more than willing to do it!

Although a part of Sands' Argeneau/Rogue Hunters series, you don't have to have read all the other books to enjoy Immortally Yours.  It's removed enough from other characters or series threads that it would be a good introduction for readers new to Lynsay Sands and her Immortal world, while being connected enough that long-time readers will enjoy glimpses of a few familiar faces.  Fast-paced, with lots of depth to the main characters, and written with Lynsay Sands' trademark humor, Immortally Yours is a fun and fulfilling new addition to the Argeneau canon.  

ArchAngel's Viper

Archangel's Viper (Guild Hunter Series)- Nalini Singh
Berkely
Release Date: September 26, 2017

Warning: Potential Spoilers Ahead!

Rating(out of 5):
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Once a broken girl known as Sorrow, Holly Chang now prowls the shadowy gray underground of the city for the angels. But it's not her winged allies who make her a wanted woman--it's the unknown power coursing through her veins. Brutalized by an insane archangel, she was left with the bloodlust of a vampire, the ability to mesmerize her prey, and a poisonous bite.
 
Now, someone has put a bounty on her head...
 
Venom is one of the Seven, Archangel Raphael's private guard, and he's as infuriating as he is seductive. A centuries-old vampire, his fangs dispense a poison deadlier than Holly's. But even if Venom can protect Holly from those hunting her, he might not be able to save himself--because the strange, violent power inside Holly is awakening...
 
No one is safe.

_________________________________________________

Taking place at the same time as Archangel's Heart, Archangel's Viper follows the members of Raphael's Seven who stayed in New York to hold down the fort while Raphael and Elena are away.  Specifically, it follows everyone's favorite venomous vampire as Venom, rather accidentally, finds true love. Long time readers of the Guild Hunters series may remember Holly Chang, once known as Sorrow, as the girl Elena and Raphael rescued from the insane Archangel Uram in Angel's Blood.  Holly is beginning to accept her new life as a not-quite vampire but no-longer human.  She works with Janvier, Dimitri and others to keep New York safe. She has reconnected with her family, and the nightmares of her torture by Uram aren't quite 24/7 anymore.  But, like Vemon and Nassir (Archangel's Enigma) Holly is unique.  And in this world of immortals and angels, unique is not always a safe thing.

Because of her fast reflexes and poisonous bite, Holly is assigned to Venom for training.  Where others treat her gently, Venom treats her the same as any other new recruit.  He pushes her, annoys her, and makes her test her limits. When a botched kidnapping attempt alerts them to a bounty on Holly's head, Venom is the natural partner to help her figure out who's behind it.  But things become complicated and past becomes present as Uram's shadow continues to haunt Holly and it turns out that the past may not be quite as behind them as everyone thought.

As enjoyable as Elena is, the Guild Hunter books who follow the 'secondary' characters are just as good, if not better.  Each of Raphael's elite Seven is unique in some way and we've been able to get to know the men behind the warriors in these books. Venom may be one of the ones we know the least about, so it's no surprise how eagerly anticipated Archangel's Viper is by fans!  I think everyone will agree this story was worth their wait.  Holly has grown into a strong woman who may still be working on her confidence, but is learning in leaps and bounds and carving a place for herself in the Tower.  She and Venom have a nicely antagonistic relationship from the beginning that shows a great chemistry- even though neither believes it at first.  Venom thinks she's too young for him, Holly thinks he's a jerk.  But in the best Nalini Singh tradition, the more they work together, the more they discover about each other- and themselves.  Emotions like love sneak up on both of them, which really worked here.  Neither was looking for a relationship with anyone, especially each other, so it felt like a genuine journey of discovery on both sides.  I also liked how, even though Venom thought Holly was too young for him as a woman, he treated her as an equal partner in their investigation from the beginning.  She didn't have to prove herself to him, if anything he proved to her what she was capable of.

Much of the conflict in Viper comes from Holly's past trauma and what Uram did to her, but I don't think readers who haven't already read Angels' Blood will be lost.  There's enough background given and Holly does enough flashbacks, that new readers will catch up quickly.  Holly's story is one that she herself is still discovering, and the questions readers (new and old alike) have are questions Holly is looking for answers to: what did Uram do to her? What is she now? Why does she have the abilities she has, and what is the darkness inside of her?  The answers we get by the end are both a surprise and not a surprise. Holly has to learn what Nassir and Venom, and plenty other Nalini Singh characters, have learned: you are unique, an individual, and it is your choices that make you what you are, not what others try to label you.  

A great addition to a great series- Nalini Singh fans and paranormal romance fans will love Archangel's Viper!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Immortal Unchained

Immortal Unchained (an Argeneau Novel) - Lynsay Sands
AvonBooks
Release Date: March 28, 2017

Rating (out of 5):
📚📚📚📚📚

Warning: Potential Spoilers!

Synopsis: Ever since Domitian Argenis recognized Sarita as his life mate, he’s been waiting for the perfect moment to claim her. Those fantasies did not include him being chained to a table in a secret lab or both of them being held hostage by a mad scientist. Somehow, they have to escape…

Sarita has seen some crazy things as a cop, but nothing to rival Domitian. A vampire? Seriously? But his healing ability, incredible powers, and their mind-blowing physical connection—none of it should be possible, yet her body knows differently. Now, not only do they have to save each other, but other innocent lives are at stake. Failure is not an option, for Sarita intends that Domitian show her exactly what an eternity of pleasure feels like…

______________________________

Domitian Argenis has known Sarita is his life mate for nearly 15 years. He's waited for her to grow up and become her own person, all the while imagining how he would arrange for them to 'accidentally' meet, how he would romance her, and they would live happily ever after.  None of those fantasies involved him going to the secluded island of a maniac to try and rescue Sarita, or being drugged and waking up chained to a table in a lab where he and Sarita are being held prisoner.  Not quite the romantic beach retreat he'd fantasized about.  Sarita flew to the island off Venezuela to see her grandmother and ended up drugged and trapped with a strange man who claims he's a vampire and she's his life mate. They have to learn to work together to free not just themselves, but all the other victims of a mad scientist.

Long time readers of the Argeneau series have been waiting for this book for awhile.  Sands has been building us up to this Island of Dr. Moreau reminiscent story for the last few books now (Immortal Nights, Runaway Vampire) and Immortal Unchained does not disappoint.  Dr. Dressler is every bit the mad scientist whacko we figured he'd be, and then some!  On the one hand he readily admits that immortals are pretty much people just like anyone else, with families and lives and loved ones.  On the other, he has no problem kidnapping all the immortals he can get his hands on and experimenting on them.  Is he trying to learn how to recreate the original Atlantean nanobot technology?  Does he want to become immortal himself?  Is he just a sick mad scientist who likes torturing people in as many ways as possible?  Does it have to be just one of those?  (hint: no, it doesn't.  Remember, he's a psycho)

Fortunately, the mad doctor doesn't get too much "onscreen" time.  He has set up a remote location as a "romantic getaway" for Sarita and Domitian and they know whatever experiment he's set up, they want no part of it.  It was a lot of fun getting to know Sarita and Domitian and watching them get to know each other while they work on escaping.  Domitian is a great guy who blends complete sincerity with some very smooth lines.  How can you not fall for a man who learned to cook so he could woo his life mate with amazing food (though he didn't eat at the time) and quotes The Princess Bride?  Likewise Sarita is a modern, independent, practical woman who became a cop so she could make a difference and help people.  She has no intention of sitting around and waiting for someone to save her when she can do it herself.  She takes most of the craziness of the island in stride- it's hard to say vampires don't exist when the proof is right there.  There is a great scene where they are getting to know each other and Sarita asks about Domitian's past.  She's able to handle the whole "vampire thing" but when it sinks in exactly how old he is she goes straight for the open bottle of wine!

Sands does an excellent balancing act with the tone for Immortal Unchained.  Obviously with the threat of a mad scientist, Unchained couldn't have the entirely light, often madcap, humor of some of the other Argeneau books.  However, that humor-in-the-face-of-all-odds is also a trademark of any Lynsay Sands book and couldn't be left out here.  I thought Unchained was perfectly balanced between the two.  There's a scene in the beginning where our fears of the doctor are confirmed and Sarita realizes what she's walked into that the overly squeamish may want to skim over.  Very quickly the complete threat the doctor represents is realized, without going into (too) gory details.  No similar scene needed to be written for the entire rest of the book, it haunts us the way it haunts Sarita, threatening the worst while still reminding us that immortals are pretty hard to kill.  We feel the urgency Sarita and Domitian feel to rescue everyone without continually being reminded through additional sessions with the doctor and Sands was smart to leave it that way. 

It's no spoiler to say that we get the expected happy ending while at the same time getting a to-be-continued threat of more trouble to come.  Readers new to Lynsay Sands' Argeneau series will need the first chapter to catch up, but should then enjoy it as much as the rest of us (plus have the additional fun of being able to read the rest of the series for the first time before the next book comes out in September!).  Long time fans get to enjoy cameos by a few Argeneaus and Rogue Hunters we already know and love, while now adding Domitian and Sarita to the extended family tree.  

A great new addition to the Argeneau series, Immortal Unchained lives up to high expectations while opening some new doors for potential future stories.  A must read for paranormal romance fans and Lynsay Sands fans!