Immortal Ever After

An Argeneau Novel, Book 18

By: Lynsay Sands

Narrated by: Paula Christensen

Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Lynsay Sands delivers a wickedly fun Argeneau novel featuring a vampire ready to claim his mate and the beauty who resists her fate!

A kiss doesn’t mean eternity...

Valerie Moyer doesn’t believe in vampires - until she is kidnapped by a fanged psychopath! After escaping her bloodthirsty captor, she’s through with creatures of the night. Until she finds herself under the protection of the darkly handsome Anders. Not only is she expected to accept that Anders is immortal, but also that she is the woman destined to be his life mate!

...Or does it?

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!

©2013 Lynsay Sands (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Ahhhhh a Vet & an Enforcer become life mates

Lynsay Sands is known to give us awesome listens - so if you are like me (a big Argeneau fan) and have already listened to books 1-17 then you pretty much know what you're going to get. I stopped the book I was listening to and immediately, excitedly and eagerly started this one (I know I know that's a bit sad but hey!).

This has a brilliant start as Valerie escapes her 10 day capture and torture by a bloodthirsty rogue vampire and meets Anders (in walks talk dark & handsome) on the team that saved her, but she's unaware that he's also the very thing that she's just escaped from. Anders realises he's met his life mate and there's instant attraction, bewilderment, humour, friendships, a few tense moments, an exciting delivery and a happy event together with past familiar characters who either make short appearances or are part of the story which all contribute to filling the hours quite happily.

However, on the negative side and I'm really sorry to say that this listen left me slightly disappointed as it just felt a little bit of a watered down version of her usual action packed sexually charged listens. I wanted a bit more passion, more sexual attraction and interaction and more excitement between the two lovers which seemed a little tame. Also, there didn't seem to be much focus/history/involvement in the story on the villains as to the who/what/why's etc. until the very end.

Worth the credit? Despite my negative comments, this was a very creditworthy vampire tale and a good addition to the Argeneau's family tree. These books could all be a stand alone listen as each mentions the origins of their species however they all contain some references to other family members so, to get the full Argeneau 'family unit' effect, I highly recommend them all.

Another Argeneau Installment...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I think it could have been more 'fast paced" and definitely had more of a storyline than half the book describing a dog's habits...or is it just me?

If you’ve listened to books by Lynsay Sands before, how does this one compare?

While I love the Argeneau Series and was eagerly anticipating this lastest installment; this one, unfortunately, fell a little short. It definitely wasn't as entertaining as most of the other novels.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

She definitely could have inflected more emotion in her characters' voices; especially, Anders. His character sounded so monotone.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Maybe a different Narrator.

Great book

I love the Argeneau books this one included. My only problem is with the narrator of this one because she makes Anders sound so wooden & boring. I have also read the book & found it much more involving than this narration. I love Anders & was very pleased that his story has been written. Now I must wait for the next one.

At Book 18, we're all pretty invested...

I'm going to assume that most readers of this review are not new to the Argeneau novels, and have either read them in order from the beginning (as I have) or have read at least a few of the other novels in the past. If you're a first time Argeneau reader, I would suggest you go straight to Book 1 and enjoy. They can be read out of order or as a stand alone, but you lose a lot of what is special about this series if you go that route.

So, speaking to Sands veterans now, we all know she has a template for these novels. For me, it's always the same (and probably should be): Vampire meets human (or other vamp) and recognize that person as their lifemate. It's how creative she gets when she creates the conflict that keep the lifemates apart for most of the duration of the story, if not physically, then at least from getting to the final committment phase, which of course, is where we all know it's heading. The fun of the books is in getting there, and some of them have been more creative than others. This one didn't strike me as one of the most creative.

There was something else missing too. I had a little trouble feeling the heat from Anders. While I really liked Valarie, their passion did seem a bit tame in comparison with some previous relationships with more sizzling chemistry between the lifemates.

However, my few misgivings aside, I still gave it four stars, so my complaints are pretty minor. I enjoyed this book as a really good edition to this series. While there are others in the series that can top it, it's still a enjoyable read with lots of old friends showing up.

About Time

Where does Immortal Ever After rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This was a good story, one I have been waiting on for a while. Anders has been in everyone else's story so it seems as if we got bits and pieces of him all along, but not enough to put him together.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Immortal Ever After?

When Anders tells Valerie he is going home and they will reframe from the immortal intimacy until she has time to think and come to her on decision about them without any pressure. Because the immortal mating is addictive.

What does Paula Christensen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Nothing

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Valerie realized that just like not all humans are bad, not all immortals are either and to judge all by the actions of a few is not fair. And when she realized she felt safe, at home, at peace and in love with Anders.

Any additional comments?

Loved Anders story worth the wait.

GREEN EYES AND ATTITUDE! WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE?

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I've been an Argeneau fan for a long time (Books 1 thru 18), so what's not to like. I definately would recommend ths took if you looking for a story that hold your interest. It has humor, romance and intrigue.

What other book might you compare Immortal Ever After to and why?

"The Reluctant Vampire" compares somewhat with the same person, Paula Christensen, performaning in both stories. The characters had life and were less mechanical.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when Anders told Valerie how he felt.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I tried to listen to this book all in one sitting, it was so arresting in interest.

Another great installment for the series! :D

This book was great! I love this series and have been wanting for Anders to have his own book for a while. He's just so dower that he really needed a lifemate to lighten him up and bring some joy in to his life.

Valerie is certainly up for the job. She's smart and brave and doesn't sit around waiting to be saved...she saves herself a few times in this book (which is refreshing). She meets Anders when she's kidnapped by the rogue vamp. She manages to escape the Vamp and calls in the police. Anders and the other Enforcers come to investigate and find Valerie. She ends up staying at the house of Leigh and Lucian under the pretense of protection the Rogue. In all actuality, Lucian and the others realize that Anders and Valerie are lifemates and keep her around so they can get to know each other.

With some time, Anders and Valerie get to know each other and become close. There are some issues to get past but with some effort (don't want to go in to too much detail) they're able to and I liked the ending very much.

My only complaint... I thought the narrator made Anders sounds sightly nasally (like he's stuffed up a bit). But overall it didn't detract from the story enough to matter.

I'd recommend this book (as part of the series or outside of it..Lyndsay does very well at including enough info to allow the books to be read on their own). 2 thumbs up! :D

Slow start

I almost stopped listening, very so start to the story, but turned out to be very good, found myself laughing at times

amazing

I've read the book, but hearing it made it that much better. Well done Sands!!

Immortal Ever After

Another action packed book by Lynsay Sands!! Love this series and it just keeps getting better and better!! Love the "mallet" scene. Laughed so hard!! Be sure and check out this series you will not regret it!!!

Excellence & Genius xXx

As usual I loved 😍 it as I have all of Lynsay sands books 📚 ❤️❤️❤️ Thankyou x

Another great Argeneau book!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend to a friend, but would tell them to listen to some of the previous audio books in the series first has these give you a greater understanding of some of the long term characters. However it would still be an enjoyable read on its own.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favourite character was Valerie. After everything she went through she remained strong and was considerate to others.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narrator kept a decent pace and really brought the characters to life.