Love Bites

Written by Lynsay Sands

Narrated by Lisa Flanagan

Book two in the nationally bestselling Argeneau Vampire series, where true love is good from the first bite to the last!

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 created a life mate. If he turned this stranger...But what choice did he have? 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 in 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 in his bright silver eyes said they’d be spending a lot of time together. She just hoped he tasted as good as he looked.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Apr 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9780063312548

Lynsay Sands

Lynsay Sands is the nationally bestselling author of the Argeneau/Rogue Hunter vampire series, as well as numerous historicals and anthologies. She’s been writing since grade school and considers herself incredibly lucky to be able to make a career out of it. Her hope is that readers can get away from their everyday stress through her stories, and if there are occasional uncontrollable fits of laughter, that’s just a big bonus.

Reviews for Love Bites

[NNEAMAKA PAYNE · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another sweet little story, this one taking us gently through the experiences of a newly turned vampire named Rachel Garrett for at least half of the novel. Then the Bad Guy who started the story off, by axing Rachel so she had to be turned to save her life, returns for an elaborate encore and, surprise, there really is some action in the last hundred pages!

This is the second of thirty or so installments of the Argeneau series, centered so far on a loving vampire family in the Toronto area that consists of Marguerite Argeneau, her adult daughter and sons, and their cousin Thomas (who seems to enjoy being comic relief). Marguerite's more than 700 years old, and her kids were born a century apart, following a rule of one child per century to prevent vampire overpopulation, which would soon exhaust their food source (namely us).

So despite the frenzied efforts of the Bad Guy, whose name is Pudge (I pause to let you take that in; his real name, which he hates, is Norman, and his mother was Norma), this is really mostly a paranormal romance just like book #1 and probably the whole series, one couple per book I presume.

The couple in this case is Rachel (of course) and Etienne Argeneau, age 300 and some and unmated so far, as required for all vampire romances. These guys just can't seem to find love, can they, until we're introduced to them! Then it's all out--each one will meet his/her life mate one after the other as we watch, ending centuries of loneliness.

I have to say, though, in this case it takes a whole book for these two to work out that they're life mates, even though it's obvious to Mama Marguerite and all readers from early on; can we say both slow and hot burn? The extensive and graphic sex scenes have the value, I guess, of confirming that vampire sex is comfortingly like human sex but much, much more so. Yet the groan-worthy plot devices of romance novels show up too, for example the Romantic Misunderstanding (lovers can be remarkably stupid in fiction, not at all like real life, eh?).

I raised the first book from three stars to four for two special features that I thought were truly praiseworthy; this book continues exactly one of those features, so I'm rounding up from 3.5 this time. The idea is that vampires are simply the product of Atlantean science, which developed self-replicating nanobots to heal injuries; once injected, they turned out also to cure all disease and prevent aging, and all they need to do that is a little blood.

So when a vampire is injured, as often happens in these books, the "nanos" go to work with rapid healing, drawing on the vamp's blood supply, which has to be replenished quickly. In normal life, a little blood now and then is necessary to keep the "nanos" humming along. More if the vamp is out in the sunshine, etc.

The "nanos" provide super strength and speed (and sexual prowess), but it still isn't clear to me how the vamps get mind reading and mind control (which allow them to live freely and remain undetected by the human population). One clue comes in this installment, though--Marguerite tells Rachel the mental powers are something she has to develop over time.

Besides century-at-a-time birth control, the other rule that comes with immortality is that a vampire can only turn one person, who may or may not be a life mate. Etienne once wanted to turn a woman he loved but she refused, so he had to watch her from afar as she lived out her life. Then Rachel is mortally wounded (by Pudge, remember) when she takes the axe intended for Etienne. Heroically, he uses up his one and only turning allowance to save her life, and the story begins. I did enjoy it, and you may too--just think "comfort reading."