ARC Review: The Lady is a Vamp by Lynsay Sands

The Lady is a Vamp

by Lynsay Sands

(Argeneau Vampires # 17)

There is one thing I've come to expect when picking up one of the Argeneau books, that is a cute story with a little bit of mystery and an entertaining light read. This was exactly that. Somewhere in the middle of this series I felt as if it had lost some of its charm but I really liked the last book and now this one was also another great one! Right back on track!

Paul Jones is a human who works for Argeneau Enterprises. He is privileged to the information of what they are due to the nature of his job in research. But he flies under the radar. That is until his daughter is sick and with no hope of recovery. He makes the risky decision of kidnapping an Argeneau and make her change his daughter.

When choosing, of course he chooses the one woman who had appealed to him for years. He used to watch her from afar, he knew so much about her. Subconsciously he chose her because of his attraction.

Jeanne Louise Argeneau has a lot on her plate. Finding her life mate, him being human, being kidnapped by him, having to turn his daughter, running away from her family who wants to free her from the evil kidnapper.

I always enjoy the stories in this series where the lifemates that are human often times are older, because of course after the change they go back to their mid twenties. The connection between Jean Louise and Paul was slow and steady, and every so often we got glimpses of the attraction that had been there before on Paul's side.

Of course there's a twist closer to the end and I was about to get mad when I didn't see a solution (or volunteer) but things worked out perfectly, even better than I was hoping for.

Paul's daughter is also very sweet and a great addition to their dynamics. Not a lot of the Argeneau family members in this one, only towards the end.

I'm looking forward to see what's next in this series! 

*ARC provided by publisher

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ARC Review: Under a Vampire Moon by Lynsay Sands

Under a Vampire Moon

by Lynsay Sands

(Argeneau Vampires # 16)

So I have a confession to make.  I am not up to date with this series (maybe I'm about half way through it) and decided to take on reading this book out of order because I LOVE CHRISTIAN!  So I figured, what could it hurt?   And I was pleasantly surprised that this was it's own little story in the Argeneau/Notte world so I had no problem jumping right in.

Now that being said and from my feelings on the past books in this series I feel that the cute charm this series had at the beginning is somewhat back!  Yes, I thought this book was cute and funny at times, sweet and sexy.  I mean you really can't go wrong when you throw Christian in a situation where he has to pretend to be gay to get with his life mate!

Christian first of all is possessive, sexy as hell, alpha, passionate, I could go on.  His longuish hair and male-model good looks had me swooning, as well as our heroine Carolyn.  Carolyn is actually a bit older so she struggles with being attracted to Christian and feeling like a cougar, and on top of that there's the fact that she believes he is gay and is "playing his girlfriend" to help him out.

And then there's the Notte's!  The side characters are a hoot.  Marguerite I've always loved and she didn't disappoint this time trying her best to make things work for her son.  She is an expert matchmaker after all.  But the one that stole the show was Zanipolo.  LOL When Carolyn thinks he's the gay one he goes through a whole identity crisis to prove to her that she's not.

I do feel like we could've used at least an epilogue.  The explanation of what they are and all that comes late in the book and I feel that part was rushed and couldn't really find her quick acceptance believable.  But then again, she had already been experiencing Christian's skills, blacking out after sex, the sex dreams, and of course Christian's ummmm cucumber was it?

*ARC provided by publisher

Review: The Bite Before Christmas by Lynsay Sands and Jeaniene Frost

The Bite Before Christmas

by Lynsay Sands and Jeaniene Frost

(Argeneau Vampires # 15.5 and Night Huntress # 6.5)

The Gift by Lynsay Sands
3.5 Feathers

Following in the Argeneau Vampires series we now get the story of Katricia Argeneau, and forgive me if I was supposed to know who she is, I'm behind on my Argeneau reading; and Teddy Brunswick. Who is Teddy? I thought this was cute. He is the sheriff of Port Henry, he is an older gentleman, close to retiring age. He's never married, and now decides to go on a vacation for the Holidays instead of going to friends houses. Of course he gets help from Marguerite Argeneau, Matchmaker by Excellence.

She just happens to arrange for Katricia to be spending the Holidays in the house next to Teddy. See Marguerite has a good eye for finding people's life mates and as it turns out Katricia can't read Teddy's thoughts.

They end up stuck due to a snow storm and power outage, and even though Teddy knows about vampires he is not the most comfortable around Katricia. He shouldn't be noticing how enticing she looks in those leotards, or is it leggings she calls them?

This was a pretty sweet story but it wasn't anything crazy special. Not a lot of the crazy humor. ut I actually enjoyed it more than the last full length book I've read in the series.

Home For The Holidays by Jeaniene Frost
4 Feathers

OMG This is a MUST READ for Night Huntress fans! In my opinion this story could've been made into a full length book! There was so much potential and I think some things were over-simplified because it was a novella.

However, don't let that fool you. This story rocked! I don't want to give too much away, but basically here's what you can expect: Someone from Bones' past comes back, and brings back with him a curse that Bones's was not even aware of. The whole gang (almost) is under this spell and everyone is basically possessed and it's up to Ian and Cat to save the day.

Yes, Ian plays a pretty big role in this story. I love him! And we even get to see Ian make out with.... I won't tell you who!!!

This story might make you want to kick Bones in the balls, pull Mencheres hair out, kiss Ian to death and comfort Cat.

Purchase Links: Amazon

Review: Vampires Are Forever by Lynsay Sands

Vampires Are Forever

(Argeneau Vampires # 8)

by Lynsay Sands

Paranormal Romance

Inez has been working for the Argeneau family in England for a while, and she has actually been promoted to upper executive position but WITHOUT the required talk about who the Argeneaus are, or more accurately what they are.

So when Thomas goes to England to track down his aunt Marguerite, who has just basically disappeared, and has to rely on Inez's help he finds himself having to explain to her (quickly) what their world is all about. Well, he technically was planning to wipe her memory of all of it, but it turns out she's his life mate!

They go on a wild goose chase, and not just in England, looking for Marguerite. All the while he has to convince Inez to come to terms with the fact that she'll be with him forever.

This book has a very light sense of humor, it was entertaining enough, but not captivating. Definitely something light to read when I'm in between heavier reads. I was actually expecting more out of Thomas's story. He was such a cool character in the other books and I don't think his book lived up to my expectations. Maybe his mate didn't either. But that's just my opinion.

I still feel this will never be one of my favorite series, but its entertaining enough to keep going. And the new sexy covers (well not brand new but latest) do not represent the books. Yes there's some steam, but the series hasn't been what I expected. You know what they... Never judge a book by its cover and all that. 

Purchase from Amazon.com

Review: The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands

The Accidental Vampire

by Lynsay Sands

(Argeneau Vampires # 7)

Paranormal Romance

Find it on GoodReads! 

What can I say? I think these books have just lost that spark I felt in books 2 & 3. Hmmm. This was a totally different setting. Victor (Vincent's dad) who works as an enforcer is sent to investigate who's behind a "Single Vampire" ad. So he travels to Port Henry to meet this mysterious Elvie. If she is a vampire and is advertising herself as such, he will have to bring her to justice for exposing herself.

But she has no clue about the ad, her best friend Mable was the one to post it because she's human and she's getting old and fears that when she dies, her best friend will be left alone. She wants her to have a mate.

Elvie has lived the past 5 years as a totally clueless vampire, sleeping in a coffin, not looking at her reflection in mirrors, not going out during the day. Basically all the Hollywood stereotypes. And everyone in Port Henry knows she's a vampire! What a crazy little town! There's actually a biting ritual for kids birthdays! They get a bite and a cake! LOL

So a bunch of vampires show up as her possible suitors, all there to find out if she could be their life mate. And she learns of all her vampire misconceptions! At the same time, someone is trying to kill her. Except, who would want to kill her? Everybody in town loves her, she grew up with all these people. Must be the out-of-town vamps that are the target.

This book had some funny moments. I loved the bit at the furniture store when she's buying a new mattress and they're all laying on the displays, trying them out. Victor was a bit stiff as a character, but he was much better than Lucian was in the last book. It was actually nice to see as well the relationship between an older human turned vampire and Victor. Even though Elvie looked like she was in her mid twenties, she was actually in her sixties. I also liked the side story of DJ being Mable's mate. And of course I enjoyed reading about Alessandro (love that name!).

After several attempts on her life, I started suspecting who the culprit was, and even though I was right, I didn't see the motive coming. But, then again, you can't read these books for the mystery aspect. 

Review: A Quick Bite by Lynsay Sands

A Quick Bite

by Lynsay Sands

(Argeneau Vampires # 1)

Paranormal Romance

Find it on GoodReads!

I really actually enjoyed this book, even though you might think otherwise by my rating. However, it did not impress me. I don't feel the need to rush and get all the Argeneau books immediately, but I will continue reading the series. It was a fresh/light/fun read.

Please don't go into reading this book thinking you'll be getting the most amazing and complicated storyline. I kept waiting for the twists to come, bu there weren't really any.

It starts off really good, I mean, who wouldn't want to be a part of the crazy Argeneau family, yes, they are all crazy! And they have the perfect birthday gift for Lissiana, a hunky human man tied to her bed! But, wait! Don't rush and bite your present! He's not meant to be dinner, he's your psychologist!

Lissiana Argeneau is a vampire, relatively young at only around 80 years old. But she has a problem drinking blood, well, a problem to drink from a bag only. She can't stand the sight of blood. So she's been drinking "off the hoof" from humans, and her family is ready to help her solve her issue by bringing in a famous psychologist who might be able to hypnotize her and help her overcome it.

But Greg didn't necessarily volunteer or even agreed to do this. He was supposed to be on vacation, and he wakes up in a strange bed, tied to it, and then with a beautiful woman on top of him, ravishing him.

The premises for these vampires and how they came to be, the whole Atlantis idea, and the regenerative nanos, didn't really bother me. I thought, if nothing else, it's quite creative. The storyline was lacking a bit of ummpfhh but it was ok, even though some things were not too consistent and a few others where a bit ridiculous (she gets staked and he thinks: first thing I have to do is go put clothes on! Among other *eye-rolling* moments)

It did make me laugh I admit. When the priest/father kept bringing in things meant to scare vampires away, that was hysterical. He makes the soup full of garlic, and fills her office with crosses!

However, this was a good, enjoyable book and I will continue to read this series.