Recommendsday Review - Love Bites by Lynsay Sands

Today's Recommendsday Review is Love Bites by Lynsay Sands.

There was a time when I loved Lynsay's Sands' stories, and this is one of the stories that made me fall for her. Unfortunately, our love affair was meant to be brief, but this story is still worth a reading if you're looking for a fluffy vamp tale to enjoyably pass some time.

***Spoiler Alert***

The second in the Argeneau Vampire series, Love Bites tells the story of 300 year old, vampire computer nerd Etienne Argeneau and coroner Rachel Garrett. From the back cover:

"Etienne Argeneau's three hundred years of bachelorhood were at an end. Either that, or he'd be forever alone. He could only "turn" one human in his lifetime, and most of his kind reserved that power for creating a life mate. If he turned the wrong woman . . . But what choice did he have? He had to save Rachel Garrett. He didn't know her very well, but the beautiful coroner had saved his life. To save hers he would make her immortal.

Rachel Garrett awoke surprised. All she'd wanted was to get off the night shift at the morgue; now here she was staggering to her feet naked and in a strange place. But everything would be all right. She'd just make like a bat out of- Then she saw the man of her dreams emerging from his...coffin? And the look i his bright silver eyes said they'd be spending a lot of time together. She just hoped he tasted as good as he looked."

Etienne, despite being 300 years old and as close to immortal as anyone becomes in Sands' world, is nothing if not a slightly inept nerd. He's created the best-selling vampire computer game in existence, yet finds himself unable to deal with a pesky, bumbling human named Pudge who wants him dead.

Pudge, however simple he may be, does manage to twice land Etienne in the coroner's office. The first time it's a bullet to the heart. The second time ends in a fire that renders Etienne unrecognizable. But it's Pudge's third attempt at vampirecide that sparks the romantic plot of the story. When Pudge storms Dr. Garrett's office with an axe, intent on ending Etienne's long life once and for all, the lovely coroner feels compelled to protect what she believes to be a dead body. No, it didn't make sense to me either, and all Rachel manages to do is get herself mortally wounded. To save her, Etienne does the only thing he knows how...he changes her into a vampire.

What follows is a comedy of errors wherein Etienne attempts to woo Rachel, and Rachel convinces herself she's delusional. The tension is weak, the sex is sugary sweet, and the plot is pushed forward through a series of minor misunderstandings and family meddling that eventually leads Rachel and Etienne to their happily ever after. It's light, it's fluffy, and if you're not a fan of the darker urban fantasy tales, it will probably amuse the pants off of you.

And take heart! If you like Love Bites, you're in luck. The next 6 books in the series have roughly the same plot and characters, just with different names and professions.

Rating: 3/5

~Lily

Books soon to be in my grubby lil hands :)

Since we haven't posted in a while, (I started back to class and Lily started a new job) I figured I would do a light entry about my near-future soon-to-be purchases!


JR WARD - COVET
This novel is the first in a new series by JR Ward, our beloved author of the yummy Black Dagger Brotherhood. The story centers around a Harley-riding fallen angel, sounds like plenty of potential for me. Novel hits shelves on September 29th.



LYNSAY SANDS - RENEGADE HUNTER
This marks, number "I can't even count that high" on the Argeneau series meter. I know Lily and I have both stated our dismay at the progressive downfall of this series; however, I feel I need to read it for review purposes and maybe it will rock (opinion pending). Novel also hits stores September 29th.



CHARLAINE HARRIS - A TOUCH OF DEAD
Everyone has been excited for the latest Sookie installment. Sadly, we must wait a while in order for our wishes to be fulfilled. In the meantime, Harris created a collection of short stories involving our beloved Bon Temps characters. Of the list, this I am most excited for! Coming soon on October 6th.



PC CAST and KRISTIN CAST - TEMPTED
Mother-daughter duo has created another installment for their House of Night series. The vampire twist on a Harry Potter-esque storyline has me eagerly awaiting what happens next. This novel comes out October 27th.





Happy reading!!!!

~Helena

"It's not you...ok, it totally is"

A month or so ago, there was an entry at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books about Breaking Up With A Series. This struck me as interesting because I've recently been thinking about a once-loved series that I just don't care enough to read anymore. Now, I fully admit that I'm a series addict. If a character and world truly grabs my attention, I want continuing stories of the characters and their lives. I will hold on to a series when even the rats are jumping ship. But sometimes a series just...fizzles, so badly that you have to let it go before it takes you down with it. And with the fizzle comes a certain amount of disappointment, like a trusted friend letting you down.

That said, I was very surprised by some of the series and authors discussed on the SBTB blog. The most notable authors/series named were JR Ward and the Brotherhood Series, Sherrilyn Kenyon and the Dark-Hunter Series, Laurell K. Hamilton and the Anita Blake Series, Christine Feehan's Carpathian Series, Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse Series, and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum Series. (Damn, that's a lot of links).

Some of these shocked me. Tired of JR Ward? Perish the thought. The woman could sneeze on paper, have it published, and I'd probably spend hours trying to decipher the meaning of the water marks on the page. Likewise, I'm still deeply in love with Harris's Sookie series, and not just because of True Blood. I feel like the world Harris has built is just really starting to be explained. While I don't like the increasingly darkening mood the series has taken, I still consider it a must read.

I've never read any of the Anita Blake books. Same goes for the Carpathian novels and, from what I hear from Helena (and I trust her implicitly...where books are concerned), I'm not in a great hurry to break the binding of a Feehan novel anytime soon. I haven't read enough of Kenyon's Dark-Hunter series to pass fair judgment. As for Evanovich's Stephenie Plum series, I'm praying I stay interested. I only picked up this series (now 15 deep) about a week ago. I've finished the first two and I'm infatuated. It's quirky, it's smart, it's sassy, and it's completely relatable on a very basic woman-cursed-by-Murphey's-law type way.

Now, there are series that I'm ready to have "the talk" with. You know the talk, the one that begins with "It's not you, it's me..." and ends with me eating a pint of extra creamy mint chocolate chip ice cream and wishing I'd started the convo weeks (months, years) earlier.

Men and books. Both can lead you to mainline Häagen-Dazs.

Yes, that totally deserved its own link.

The first series on my list, and it pains me to say this, is Lynsay Sands' Argeneau Series. Looking back, we've had a rockier relationship than I'd like to admit, the Argeneau's and I. The first two books hooked me, they really did. The next few seemed a bit long, but only because the out of order sequencing and release of the titles lead to a great deal of repetition. At least that's what I told myself.

But things did get better for a while. The novels eventually straightened themselves out and the story lines started getting stronger. I had such high hopes. Then the nagging feeling that I'd read this all before started to settle in. The world is fascinating, like no other vampire world I've read before, but the main characters are all so similar. Still, the situations and world building of the series kept me interested...all the way to the ninth (and in my opinion strongest) book.

Vampire, Interrupted really is a worthwhile read. Unfortunately it is also the last worthwhile read in a series that has passed its prime. The last two installments, so forgettable I can't remember their titles and don't care enough to look them up, were a collection of recycled characters and themes so bland that I jumped ahead pages at a time just to make the reading go faster. Then, when I finally got to the end of the last, I realized I simply didn't care. I didn't like the main characters, I didn't feel any chemistry between them, and even though the story ended on a cliffhanger, I have no real interest in seeing the matter resolved. I've reached the end of the Argeneau series, whether the series continues or not.

You just aren't meeting my needs, Argeneaus. I'm sorry. I'll always look back on the good times.



So, what series do you think have passed their prime?

~Lily

Review - A Quick Bite By Lynsay Sands

The fourth book to be published, A Quick Bite is actually the first in Lynsay Sand's Argeneau series.

From Amazon:

"Lissianna has been spending her centuries pining for Mr. Right, not just a quick snack, and this sexy guy she finds in her bed looks like he might be a candidate. But there's another, more pressing issue: her tendency to faint at the sight of blood . . . an especially annoying quirk for a vampire. Of course it doesn't hurt that this man has a delicious-looking neck. What kind of cold-blooded vampire woman could resist a bite of that?

Dr. Gregory Hewitt recovers from the shock of waking up in a stranger's bedroom pretty quickly—once he sees a gorgeous woman about to treat him to a wild night of passion. But is it possible for the good doctor to find true love with a vampire vixen, or will he be just a good meal? That's a question Dr. Greg might be willing to sink his teeth into . . . if he can just get Lissianna to bite."

A Quick Bite starts out slowly. The first half of the book is devoted to introducing what seems to be every single member of the Argeneau clan. What isn't lost to introductions is spent on long winded explanations (courtesy of Lissianna) of the vampire world and how it operates. Despite this, the setup is interesting. Lissianna is a vampire who faints at the sight of blood. This is an obvious problem, one that robs her of her independence and generally hampers her life. It is also a problem born out of a traumatic experience involving Lissianna's deceased father, Jean Claude. Though dead before the start of the series, Jean Claude is mentioned throughout the books. Notorius for his alcoholism and cruelty, his past misdeeds have a lasting effect on his children (Lissianna, Etienne, Bastien, and Lucern) and widow (Marguerite), as well as the vampire community as a whole (apparently, Bram Stoker got the idea for Dracula after a drunken Jean Claude told him a few tales).

The Argeneau clan hopes a good psychiatrist can cure Lissiana's phobia, and that's where Greg comes in. Not that he comes of his own free will. He's kidnapped by Lissianna's delightfully meddlesome mother, Marguerite, who literally ties him to Lissianna's bed as a birthday present. That's what mom's are for.
Instantly, the sexual tension flairs between Greg and Lissianna, as does the conflict. Sands raises the conflict between the two masterfully, and pays off just as well. The sex scenes in this book are H.O.T. But that's not all A Quick Bite has to offer in terms of conflict. It seems that in addition to a meddling mother, blood phobia, and bed-tied human to deal with, Lissianna has also attracted a good old fashioned vampire hunter. So curing her phobia isn't just a matter of conveinence. As the vampire hunter gets closer to her and Greg, it just may be a matter of saving their lives.

I've seen some negative reviews of this book, and I admit that there are obvious flaws. While the first half of the book is slow and tedious, the second half skims by at hyperspeed, Lissianna and Greg making snap decisions based on inaccurate information and misperceptions. Therefore the relationship between them is based on a series of misconceptions. Even so, the emotions that arise between them feel authentic and the two seem to genuinely care for one another. Additionally, the plot goes beyond a simple will-they-or-wont-they setup to bring in a villain who has plans and motivations of his own. This adds depth to the plot and works to even it out, despite the obvious pacing issues.

All problems considered, A Quick Bite is an enjoyable reading experience. The strength of this book comes from the relationship between Lissianna and Greg. Also, Sands tongue-in-cheek humor shines through. The pacing needs work and the explanation of vampire history should have been woven in rather than dumped, but the main characters are able to resonate with readers and many of the secondary characters who are introduced (some through rather ridiculous means) eventually receive books of their own.


Rating: 4/5

~Lily

Lily on Lynsay Sands

Now that Helena has taken the time and pains to introduce herself and the point of this blog, I feel it is necessary to follow suit. I am Lily Ghates, lover of vampires and debauchery alike. Like my friends and blog compatriots, I am a fledgling paranormal romanceaholic and writer. My favorite paranormal romances (PR) are JR Ward's Brotherhood of the Black Dagger series and Lynsay Sands' Argeneau series, both exceptional additions to the PR field. There is some confusion with Sands' series, though, and I plan to address it now.

Lynsay Sands, for whatever reason, decided against writing her books in order. That's correct. Her first published Argeneau book "Single White Vampire" is actually the third book in the series. The fourth book to be published "A Quick Bite," is actually the first book in the series. Confused? Well, I was when first I started reading. To save others this same confusion, I offer up a proper reading list for anyone interested in the wonderful fantasy world Sands presents:

1. A Quick Bite
2. Love Bites
3. Single White Vampire
4. Tall, Dark, and Hungry
5. A Bite to Remember
6. Bite Me If You Can
7. The Accidental Vampire
8. Vampires are Forever
9. Vampire, Interupted

Why go to the trouble of correcting the book order? Because Sands' books are just damn good. These books have provided me with some of the most valuable reading time I've spent with paranormal romances. Her take on the vampire myth is fascinating, primary because she imbues the myth with a scientific background. Sands uses science to explain the existence of the vampires, called "immortals," in her books. This scientific backing explains all of the strengths and weaknesses that render her characters so delightful. While I don't have the time to go into a proper review of each of Sands' books at the moment, I have read all save the last two (one of which I am over halfway through), and the series most definitely gets my stamp of approval.

Until next time,

Lily

First bites first

Hello and welcome to the home of our newest blog! Our delightful trio will bring you news concerning the hottest and lamest paranormal romance novels gracing your local bookstore shelves. Over the past few months, we have spent amounts we would rather not disclose ;) on texts from this popular genre. This is a genre that is not often discussed partly due to social taboos, partly due to the readers hoping to savor a sense of pride. We have discarded any shred of shame for our current addiction and throughly look forward to bringing our thoughts into the limelight.

Authors such as JR Ward, Lynsay Sands, Lora Leigh, and many more will make an appearance in the future posts. If you get the hankering to read a paranormal romance post haste, make sure to try the Black Dagger Brotherhood collection courtesy of JR Ward (our groups "fangs" down favorite).

I would like to introduce myself as Helena Sparrow. Yes, we have made up cheesy romance author names for ourselves. Who can resist the urge? Feel free to leave comments or discuss topics among yourselves. Getting a comment is on the same level as receiving a birthday gift, or in the light of this blog, a good bite!

Happy reading to all!