Immortal Born

July 1, 2019
A young woman who's taken responsibility for an immortal child finds safety, friendship, and love when the Argeneau clan realizes she's in danger and takes her under their wing. When Allie Chambers befriended her neighbor Stella, she never expected that the woman would be a vampire and wind up dead or that Allie would take de facto custody of Stella's infant son. Four years later, Allie is practically dying trying to keep Liam alive, since he's a vampire too and she's giving him her own blood. She's also been running from the vampires who were hunting Stella, who find her wherever she goes. In desperation, she tries to rob a blood bank, but she faints and is arrested, then is tracked both by her usual pursuers and by the Argeneau family, who track rogue immortals. They quickly realize how little she knows about her son's legacy and how vulnerable she is. Taking Allie and Liam into their protection opens the door for Magnus, a 1,000-year-old immortal, to explain the truth of immortals and woo her as his life mate even as the Argeneau rogue hunters realize that the person who's tracking Allie is a villainous enemy they've been seeking for centuries and that he wants Liam. Sands' latest is typical Argeneau fare, with a slight twist in a human foster mother. Magnus is ultrasexy, and Allie is smart and spunky. But it's disappointing when so much plot depends on ostensibly intelligent people doing dimwitted things--Allie never figures out that she actually has a tracker on her; the Argeneaus are on lockdown but fail to check people coming to the door, etc. Also, Liam is 4 but talks like an 8-year-old. A paranormal romance that asks readers to suspend disbelief a tad too much.

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August 9, 2019

Life for Allie Chambers was altered permanently the night her best friend Stella was killed in an explosion. Stella, a vampire, left her infant son, Liam, in Allie's care moments before her demise. Fearing that the same rogue vampires who were hunting Stella would try to abduct Liam, Allie began a four-year journey on the run with her new son. Literally drained from trying to feed her son the blood he needs to survive, Allie comes up with a desperate plan to rob a blood bank. The caper goes awry, and rogues once again try to capture her son. Enter immortal vampire Magnus Bjarnesen. He has been waiting a millennium to find his life mate, and if Allie shares his feelings, he will stop at nothing to protect her and her child. Magnus's loyalty, however, is soon tested when their lives are threatened once again. VERDICT The latest installment in Sands's long-running "Argeneau" vampire series (after The Trouble with Vampires) can stand alone. Paranormal romance fans will definitely enjoy this tale of immortal love and devotion.--Vicky M. Coffin, Salem Free P.L., CT

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2019
The latest in Sands' paranormal Argeneau series, though returning characters do appear in it, is a standalone tale about the romance between immortal Magnus Bjarnesen and his mortal lifemate, Allison "Allie" Chambers. Magnus is what Allie thinks of as a vampire. But while he and his fellow immortals do need blood to survive, the rest of what Allie believes about vampires proves to be wrong. Those who attack humans for their blood are rogues; these immortals get their blood from a blood bank. Allie is the adopted mother of a four-year-old immortal boy, Liam, after his biological mother sacrificed her life when he was a baby to keep him out of the clutches of the rogue who had turned her. Unfortunately, that rogue is still after Liam. Luckily for Allie, Magnus and his fellow immortals arrive in the nick of time. Sands' unique explanation for why immortals are immortal and why they need blood turns most vampire lore upside down.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)