Customer Reviews

A Bite to Remember (Argeneau Vampires, Book 5)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I finished Lynsay Sands "A Bite To Remember" I was, to my great surprise, *impressed*.

I expected the typical humor romance FLUFF that the former books of the series were. "Love Bites" "Tall Dark and Hungry" "Single White Vampire" and "A Quick Bite" were all enjoyable, but without a doubt, fluff-- cotton candy, cherry soda vampire fare. But the latest in the series really is a "A Bite To Remember" and is all dark, suspenseful, and red blooded as a vampire main course. Much more mature and adult themes in the content. I've read a lot of vamp related fiction that's come out this year, and this one rises to the top with high marks all around. So far it's one of my favorites of this year's crop of new paranormal fiction.

The very mortal PI Jackie Morrisey is called in to find out who is gunning for Vincent Argeneau, vampire, as his business suffers escalating acts of sabotage, from property damage, to injured employees, and now... murder. Jackie is one of the few people in the know about vampires, but her past encounter with an unscrupulous vamp named Cassius has left her on her guard, with good reason. Previous books in the series have focused on the honorable and almost laughably "goody goody" Argeneau vampires, who rarely misuse their powers. Now in the latest book, we see the darker, more sordid side of the coin, when vampires of nastier persuasion use those same powers casually, in ways that demean and destroy. Jackie has been a victim of the petty side of vampire powers, seduced and betrayed, she'd vowed never to let another vampire get to her that way again.

Vincent Argeneau has been slowly withdrawing from life for decades. Something he hadn't really realized until Jackie shows up and shakes it up enough that Vincent can see the difference between really living, and merely existing. Jackie's perception of vampires as selfish b*stards is challenged by the example Vincent presents, and his unexpected innocence about the dark natures that people around him, human and vampire, may act upon. Jackie has a mystery to solve, a client to protect, and it's not just her heart she might lose if she gets too close to Vincent.

Again, this is one of my favorite new paranormal reads of this year. Dark, suspenseful, and the sexual content got to me in the best way. I usually skim Romance Book sex, but this made me pause, rewind, and play over. Hot. *fans self*

Good stuff.

Lynsay Sands has been doing the quirky Argeneau vamps and I adore them. But she is a very talented writer and I feared she'd box herself into just more of the same. I think people read her lighter romances, with their wonderful comedic touches, go "fluff" and dismiss the powerhouse talent she is. The depth of her writing is amazing, but subtle, so people often miss what a high-caliber wordsmith she is. Thus, I am THRILLED to see her cut loose and deliver a different paced Argeneau book. She started to move to darker, but kept trying to correct her story, but once she stopped fighting and went with this flat out dead sexy tale, it's simply amazing!

This is not like any of the other Argeneau tales. They were great. This is great, too, just different. It's darker, sexier and Lynsay at her best. I think she just breathed fresh air into the Argeneau line before they became carbon copies.

Private Eye, Jackie Morrisey has been hired to shield Vincent Argeneau (ladies you have been screaming for ages for Vincent's story. Well, here it is). Seems someone want to kill sexy Vincent, this is becoming clear as acts of damaging his property, then escalating to injured employees and finally to murder. Jackie is not too happy about the assignment. She knows the true nature of the Argeneaus, and being close quarters with the delectable Vincent isn't her idea of fun. She had a run in with a vamp named Cassius. Seduced, used and then betrayed, it left a bad taste in her mouth in more ways than one. She is not about to let Vincent have those sort of powers over her.

Vincent is attracted to Jackie. She makes his centuries old existence new again. As Jackie comes to know Vincent, she recognizes he's nothing like Cassius, and it sees her determined to protect him. Vincent and Jackie are wonderful characters, and their chemistry goes snap, crackle, pop!

Yes, it's different from her Fuzzy Vamps. But then, nothing stays the same. You either stagnate or go forward. Lynsay Sands went forward in style!

VERY Highly Recommended!!

I have always been afraid of vampires since I was a little girl, and so I have never had any desire to read about these scary monsters. Until one day when I when I was at the book store looking for something really good to read...well nothing of the usual fare was very interesting, and so I started looking at different types of books that I normally don't read. And then I came across "A Bite To Remember" by Lynsay Sands, after reading the back synopsis, it didn't seem too scary to me, so I took a chance on it. Now I am very happy to say, that I'm not afraid of vampires anymore! Lynsay Sands explanation of how vampires were created and evolved, really appealed to my scientific mind. Also this storyline's action, mystery, and romance are first rate. This was the first Lynsay Sands novel that I had ever read, and immediately after I finished it, I bought the rest of the Argeneau "vampire" family series. I can't wait for the next book in this series!!!

Vampire Vincent Argeneau knows he needs outside help to uncover the culprit sabotaging his film production company. Sight unseen he accepts his cousin Bastien's recommendation and hires expert private investigators Jackie Morrisey and Tiny McGraw to help him. Worse yet, Bastien's mom, Vincent's Aunt Marguerite has left Canada because she believes her nephew is lonely and needs her help. Finally Vincent has a heart attack (that is if vampires could have heart attacks) when he realizes that his sleuth is mortal.

To his chagrin, Jackie knows him to well including the fact that he like his dad need live blood not bagged blood to survive. She also makes it clear that she believes all immortals belong in hell, but will do the job of protecting the vampire and uncovering the identity of the saboteur. Jackie hides from her client that she finds him sexy and desirable. Vincent finds Jackie as the first refreshing thing he has come across since just after he came across. He wonders if she is his life mate and will she accept joining him in the immortality of love.

The latest Argeneau vampire romance (see LOVE BITES and SINGLE WHITE VAMPIRE) is a terrific entry that grips the audience from the moment that Vincent realizes that his cousin sent him a female mortal. This seemingly star-crossed match is great as the paring has some blood issues between them, which in turn keep readers wondering how these soulmates will come together. A BITE TO REMEMBER is a fabulous addition to the world's most dysfunctional vampire family as somber Jackie fits right in the mix.

Harriet Klausner

I agree with some of those who said that this lastest book is a bit darker than the former installments of this vampire series. Needless to say I LOVED Vincent, and thought he was a vampire that most women would die for (no pun intended). I am not only pleased Ms. Sands brought in a few characters from former books, but also introduced many new "sexy Italian" vamps as well. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the next one.

I'm a little confused by all those reviews out there that describe this as a more serious and darker book. I can only assume they don't normally read dark books, especially if they thought this one was one. I would still classify this as fluff. Not that there is anything wrong with a fluff book. They are fun, easy, and quick. Sands most certaintly added in a bit of mystery. I.E. Jackie the P.I. and her partner, Tiny, are sent by Bastien to Vincent in California to discover who is sabotagoing his plays. Although, this is not centered in the writing. The writing mostly is about Jackie's past and why she hates immortals (vampires), Vincent wanting to find his life mate, and how Tiny really loves to cook. The mystery is not much a mystery except to the characters. The reader will figure things out rather quickly on their own. I did like the Itallian crew that came in to help save the day. I'm guessing Sands is getting ready to move on to another family of males. I can't wait to read about the twins, they sound delightfully sexy. I was a bit disappointed. Vincent being the vampire, I was expecting it to be funnier. There was only two times I found the writing cute enough to smile and neither was due to Vincent. One-the twins, Two-the pharmacy delivery boy. You'll see.

So, this is the first in the series I've ever read - I guess I'm going to have to go back and catch up. This was a fairly quick read, but it was entertaining, endearing, and hot all in one. Jackie Morrisey's a PI (ably assisted by 6'5" "Tiny") who's been hired to find a saboteur who has been targeting actor/producer (since the days of Shakespeare), Vincent. Despite her bad history with vampires, his lovingly meddling aunt, and the need for blood "from the source" (thank goodness for deliverymen), Jackie and Vincent's personalities and libidos really click. I'm really happy I picked this off the shelf!

This was the first I've read by Sands. It was recommended by Amazon due to other purchases I've made. I'm glad I went with it. I found the whole book to be wonderfully written from beginning to end. I felt for Vincent in his search for love and I understood Jackie's weariness toward men (vampire men to be exact). I could really feel the emotions of these people and I found myself "helping" them catch the bad guy. I'm looking forward to reading more and I just ordered "A Quick Bite" and can't wait to read that one.

I really did enjoy it. It's a very quick read. I'm not going to write a plot summary since others on Amazon have already did this. I enjoyed the interaction between the characters. However I did feel like there were too many new characters introduced. I wish Ms. Sands would have stayed with just a couple, but I think she wanted to mention some others for future books. I did however enjoy that she made this book a little darker than the others. I enjoy vampire fiction and her previous light hearted books gave me a break but this touch of darkest keeps my interest. I did however feel the plot was simple to figure out and for that I can't give this book 5 stars. I do recommend this book to others looking for something quick, easy and fun to read. It's definitely not a dark, brooding, philosophical vampire book. Enjoy.

Because of her others books I am a fan and this book was funny, and hot and the characters was one that you could believe in and nothing is better than a whole lot of tension and getting to know each other. You will enjoy this book and you will like how it end.