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Vampires Are Forever

Lynsay Sands

Published 2008     361 pages

Summary (from the book jacket)

Vampires don’t exist… do they?
Inez Urso is beginning to have her doubts. Her business associate Thomas Argeneau has some interesting traits, like an allergic reaction to the sun, excellent night vision, and not much of an appetite for food.  And to top it all off, he just tried to bite her neck… but maybe that was a sign of passion.  If so, she'd be happy to experience more, despite her determination not to mix business with pleasure.

He’s been waiting forever for a woman like her…
Well, if not forever, at least two hundred years. Inez is the most beautiful woman he's seen in centuries. Those luscious lips, seductive curves, and her elegant neck… he just couldn't resist the temptation of one little bite. Now Thomas will do anything to convince her that only an immortal like him can satisfy her all night long…

The Review

Vampires Are Forever is Lynsay Sands’ eighth novel in the popular Argeneau vampire series.  For anyone not familiar with the Argeneau series, these vampire romance novels exist at the lighter end of the paranormal spectrum.  Full of humour and fun these novels rival the works of authors such as MaryJanice Davidson and Michelle Rowen for comedy and laughs but with a much stronger emphasis on romance.   (If you are already familiar with the premise for the Argeneau series you may want to jump the next couple of paragraphs….) 

The Argeneau family are Canadian vampires and throughout this romance series various members of the family have found true love in the form of their lifemates.  They are not really vampires in the traditional (undead) sense of the word.  They are given the traits of vampirism by the advanced technology (nanos) present in their bloodstream.  They prefer to refer to themselves as immortals and, with the nanos healing any illnesses or wound that they sustain, they are extremely long-lived. 

A lifemate is the one person that an immortal cannot mind read or use mind control on and is the perfect match for an immortal.  Usually a lifemate only comes along once in a lifetime so finding a mate is a major event in the long life of an immortal.

Although characters from previous novels return as supporting characters in later novels each story is a stand alone story and can be read out of series order.  I think my own journey through the reading order of this series started somewhere in the middle, went back to the beginning and then jumped to the end! 

Vampires Are Forever is the story of Thomas Argeneau finding his lifemate in the form of Inez Urso, a vice president of Argeneau Enterprises.  Fans of this series will be pleased to note that Bastien and Terri, Etienne and Rachel, Lucern and Kate plus Vincent and Jackie all return to take part in this story too.  The only regular character from this series who is conspicuous by her absence is Marguerite, but then she would have to be absent - since the search for the missing Marguerite is the major plotline for this book!

After seven hundred years as a mother and house wife Marguerite decided to get herself a job.  No admin or secretarial work for her though!  She jumped straight into the deep and took a job as a private detective.  Her first job involved her travelling to London, where she promptly went missing.  Thomas has travelled to London to find out what has happen to her and Inez is asked to help him find his way around.  It isn’t long before they have a tip that Marguerite is in Amsterdam and they are soon hot on her trail.  

Early on in the story Thomas discovers Inez is his lifemate, so not only does he have his hands full with the search for Marguerite he also needs to convince Inez that they are meant to be together for eternity.  This is a solid basis for the novel’s plotline yet the execution of the story didn’t really fully do this plotline or its characters justice. 

For a fair chunk of the novel, not a lot happened that was very meaningful - either in regard to the relationship of Thomas and Inez, or the search for Marguerite.  Thomas and Inez spent a lot of time travelling and sitting in cafes drinking cappuccinos.  Without going into too much detail and spoiling the plot for readers who haven’t yet read Vampires Are Forever this novel also feels almost unfinished.  There are several major issues that are not resolved by the end of the story, such as: How will someone dedicated to their career adjust to being dedicated to their lifemate instead? And, where is Marguerite? 

Thomas and Inez’s relationship may never be fully resolved but the answer to the question of “Where is Marguerite?” will soon be available in the form of “Vampire, Interrupted” the next novel in this series.  These gripes aside Vampires Are Forever is not a bad book - established Argeneau fans will be pleased to get a new fix of their favourite characters but I’m not sure that this book will win over new fans.

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