Anders felt a connection to Valerie from the moment he cradled her bruised body in his arms. But before he claims her, he must destroy the vampire who almost stole her from him forever. His job would be easier if Valerie didn’t fight him every step of the way. Still, Anders loves a challenge, and the green-eyed beauty is worth fighting for!
Comment: And here we are again, at the time for another TBR Challenge post. August is a month dedicated to the theme Series, which can be quite broad. I took it as I did in previous editions (which had the add on catch-up, and that meant to read a book part of a series not finished) and that is why I picked a series I'm behind on, like the Argeneau Series by author Lynsay Sands. I've started reading the series years ago, then I stopped for a while and now I'm trying to keep going again.
In this 18th installment (with already ten other books published after this one) we keep following the adventures of the Argeneau family members, including close and distant relatives.
This is Anders' story, one of the enforcers tasked with hunting rogue immortals that don't live by the rules of those who want to stay protected and safe as the readers have tended to consider the "good guys". In this world vampires exist due to nanos in the blood, a sort of technology with several explanations behind.
Anders has had a long life and the day he helped a woman who saved herself and others from the clutches of a rogue seemed to be just one like the others but when he realized he couldn't read Valerie's thoughts, he wondered if she could be his life mate as all the clues indicated...
With such a long series, it's no wonder I no longer remember much from the beginning of each individual plot and to be very honest I'd need a re-read in order to be fair to some books again. However, the main themes remain the same so I was quite surprised to see this story felt very engaging to me after so much of the same and even more so after some books being a little et down after some time without reading.
The plot of this book is very simple: Anders and other enforcers help Valerie and other kidnapped females after a difficult ordeal and because Anders can't read Valerie's mind, Lucien (hero from book #6) as the head of the family decides Valerie can recuperate in his and Leigh's house so that Valerie could get to know Anders better. The story then focuses on their developing relationship and the steps to catch the rogue guy.
I liked this story because the romance felt well paced. Yes, a little quick at some point considering Valerie's recent negative experience but I still think the details around them were done well enough to give us the impression things were believable, romantically.
Anders had always been a mysterious character mostly because he was just like any other secondary character but I liked having more clues about his past, how he ended up being an enforcer and all that.
As for Valerie, as often (understandably) happens, she is an only child, has no close family and some of her future choices can be done more easily. She seemed to be a good character, a lot of heroine potential and I liked how the author played out their relationship.
I also liked this story better than some because the plot felt full, as if all elements had been considered before being added and the character's interactions, instead of being obviously - an lamely - made to be fun, were simply there and that made a lot of different. I liked being able to just enjoy the story without feeling I should look at it through different styles or types. It was also amazing that Lucien and Leigh (probably my favorite story overall) were a prominent couple here and so much a part of the plot.
I do think some situations are too repetitive and perhaps we could have more than one main story in each book ( the family has a lot of cousins and distant relatives) but I get why this happens like this, while the interest exist in these books. Unlike with other books, the flaws in this one were merely about elements regarding personal taste and choices so this is not a perfect book but not that bad either, if moreover predictable and usual in the series.
But I can say I'll keep reading nevertheless.
Grade: 8/10
No comments:
Post a Comment