Immortal Nights (Argeneau vampires 24)
Author: Lynsay Sands @lynsaysands
Publisher: Gollancz
Page count: 346pp
Release date: 29th September 2016
Reviewer: Theresa Derwin
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Immortal-Nights-Argeneau-Vampire-Novel-ebook/dp/B01DKPIPJE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481542556&sr=1-1&keywords=immortal+nights+lynsay+sands
At the end of Argeneau vampires book 23, ‘Runaway Vampire’, Dante Notte is ecstatic to have found a life mate who loves him, but is incredibly worried about his kidnapped brother Tomasso.
In the previous book, both twins were abducted by a mysterious group, apparently led by Dr Dressler, who is performing experiments on immortals (vampires) for some unknown reason. After Dante’s mate Mary remembers the name Dressler, and a connection to Venezuela has already been made, Dante, Mary and head of the Argeneau family Lucian, hop a plane intent on tracking down the missing vamps and the culprits behind it all.
In the meantime, Abigail (Abs) Forsythe is having a tough time; having given up medical school to care for her mom, (she has recently lost her to cancer), managing to clear the medical bills, but eating into her college fund to do it. All she has to her name is $200 and a best friend named Jet. Part girlfriend/part brother, Jet (or Jethro) is a lifetime pal who offers her the chance of adventure. A plane trip carrying ‘cargo’ to Venezuela. At a loss, feeling miserable, overweight and full of low self esteem, Abigail agrees. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
Ah, yes, that would be two shady looking men joining the flight and Abigail having to hide in the dark, in the cargo hold. With a naked man. In a cage. Who turns out to be a sexy Italian vampire from the Argeneau group.
Tomasso Notte is Dante’s kidnapped brother from Argeneau book #23 and I’ve been very much looking forward to his story, having encountered him in other books in this enjoyable series.
When Abigail sees him in trouble, she can’t resist helping, taking out the IV of drugs keeping him unconscious and rescuing him. Of course, trapped on a plane and meeting Abigail, Tomasso’s instincts tell him to grab Abigail, his potential life mate who he can’t read, and jump out of a flying plane!
So, like a bad episode of ‘I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here’, Tomasso and Abigail land in a Caribbean jungle and bond as they fight their way to civilisation. The chemistry and humour, as always, is spot on. But what I particularly like about this book, is Abigail’s (and possibly Sand’s) attitude to weight and ‘skinny’ vs ‘fat’ women.
It is clear Abigail is no supermodel; but she is curvy, sexy and all you would want to be, and even after her experiences in the jungle, she remains curvy. As Abigail notes later on in the novel, about two thirds in; ‘Models were not a healthy weight. If a person had to starve themselves or throw up to get the desired weight, it probably wasn’t a healthy weight to be.’ And ‘models were a terrible role model for young girls, and they just made healthy women feel fat.’
Way hey! Well said. I applaud these sentiments. Such thoughts make Abigail a real, believable woman.
As usual, we have a mix of adventure, intrigue and romance. Jet, the brother-figure, remains a solid character throughout the book, and I really hope we get his story later on. He deserves a life-mate. We also get to see two of my faces again; Lucian and Bricker.
After the group are reunited, they face challenges ahead. The story behind the kidnap pigs and Dressler is set to continue.
4/5