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Argeneau #1
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Wanneer Lissianna Argeneau op haar verjaardag een vastgebonden man in haar bed aantreft, wil ze meteen haar tanden in hem zetten. Helaas blijkt de aantrekkelijke Gregory Hewitt niet haar toetje te zijn, maar de psycholoog die haar van haar bloedfobie moet genezen.
In zijn benarde positie beseft Greg hoe dom het was om zichzelf vrijwillig uit te leveren aan een nest bloeddorstige vampiers. Hij heeft maar één doel: zo snel mogelijk ontsnappen aan deze krankzinnige familie. De bloedmooie Lissianna stelt hem echter al snel voor een dilemma: wil hij zijn leven opofferen voor een eeuwigheid met haar?
360 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 25, 2005
1323 people are currently reading
27231 people want to read
About the author
Lynsay Sands
126 books12.3k followersLYNSAY SANDS is the nationally bestselling author who is known for her hysterical historicals as well as the popular Argeneau/Rogue Hunter vampire series. With her witty and charming personality, Sands describes books as, “Waking dreams or stories, tales to amuse, entertain and distract us from everyday life.” She’s been writing stories 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. Visit her official website at www.lynsaysands.net.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,148 reviews
May 26, 2022
PROS:
- A few solid ideas (like the anemia thing in the beginning).
- Great opening.
CONS:
- Writing that gave me second-hand embarrassment.
- Hasn't been proofread/edited enough; too many errors.
- Terrible foreshadowing; Chekhov's gun much?
- Thesaurus abuse and neglect.
- Little "showing" and too much "telling".
- Bland story.
- Poor character development and the man is an airhead.
- Too many useless minor characters.
- Absolute trash (which some people might like).
- Obvious villain.
- No chemistry.
- Misogynistic, sexist, and objectifying.
- Bad dialogue.
COMMENTS:
Let me preface this by saying that I love trashy smut so I am in no way a prude. I can see the appeal of trashy romance novels—you just want to be thrown into unrealistic worlds sometimes. However, poorly and irresponsibly written smut never sits right with me.
I normally finish books but I put myself through too much halfway through and received a migraine because of this book. This rarely happens and it would have happened with Twilight. At least that book was so bad, it was laugh-inducing. This book was just plain bad. I expected a lot out of it because of all the high ratings it was given. Even so, who wouldn't be interested in a vampire book where the vampire suffers from a fear of blood? I was excited when I started but became disappointed after the page 13 when the cousins were introduced. It felt like Sands was trying give them unique personalities but it didn't take.
What I meant by "showing vs telling" was that I want to be shown what the characters look like with details versus just telling the audience that they're attractive. The only character that was "shown" was Lissianna and her mother. The description was very vivid—to the point of being male gaze-y. The women in the book were described to be "overdeveloped" and there were so many things wrong with this book that played on double standards. For example, it hinted how women should be dependent on men but not too dependent or else they'll look desperate??? There was also no chemistry between Greg and Lissianna after their first meeting and Greg was objectifying her every chance he got. He was kidnapped by strangers and, instead of worrying about his life after being physically restrained and tied up, he fantasized about kinky shit. Not only that, but for one horrifying moment, he thought he was r*ped by Lissianna after he'd blacked out and. Instead of worrying about being taken advantage of, he thought he'd taken Lissianna's virginity??? This scene played into the whole "men can't be r*ped" bullshit and that's simply not true. There was nothing here for me to root for these two.
This book had so many useless characters that felt like they were there just to fill in some pages; it wasn't even to move the story along. Chapter 5 was especially painful to read. Each of the eight cousins went into Greg's room to ask that he not be mad at Lissianna for holding him hostage and each begged him to cure her phobia...ONE. BY. ONE. None of them explained what the phobia was until Lissianna visited him last...I'm going to scREAM!!!!! Even then, after about a hundred pages in, Greg was still unable to guess the glaringly obvious fact that Lissianna and her family were vampires! Even when they spoke about feeding, mind reading, and Greg being dinner IN FRONT OF HIM !!! Lissianna even bit him during their encounter prior to the conversation (which was actually very well written so it was a nice break from the shitty prose) and what did he think? He thought it would leave a nice little hickey!!!
There were a lot of attempts at humor, poor foreshadowing—it just felt like it was trying to do too much while achieving very little. It didn't feel like the book was proofread at all; none of the writing was refined. There were errors in every chapter as well as incomplete sentences. There were times when she abused the thesaurus and times when her thesaurus collected dust like quit with the "mental kicks" and "grimacing" and use different words or don't use it at all!
Great marketing device (cover, synopsis, etc) but the book was a huge disappointment. I think Sands was just writing it as she went along and had no idea how the story would develop. She slapped together a weak trashy book full of cliches. Maybe it'll be fun for some, but it was an outdated and boring read for me. That'll teach me not to take trashy paranormal romances seriously.
- A few solid ideas (like the anemia thing in the beginning).
- Great opening.
CONS:
- Writing that gave me second-hand embarrassment.
- Hasn't been proofread/edited enough; too many errors.
- Terrible foreshadowing; Chekhov's gun much?
- Thesaurus abuse and neglect.
- Little "showing" and too much "telling".
- Bland story.
- Poor character development and the man is an airhead.
- Too many useless minor characters.
- Absolute trash (which some people might like).
- Obvious villain.
- No chemistry.
- Misogynistic, sexist, and objectifying.
- Bad dialogue.
COMMENTS:
Let me preface this by saying that I love trashy smut so I am in no way a prude. I can see the appeal of trashy romance novels—you just want to be thrown into unrealistic worlds sometimes. However, poorly and irresponsibly written smut never sits right with me.
I normally finish books but I put myself through too much halfway through and received a migraine because of this book. This rarely happens and it would have happened with Twilight. At least that book was so bad, it was laugh-inducing. This book was just plain bad. I expected a lot out of it because of all the high ratings it was given. Even so, who wouldn't be interested in a vampire book where the vampire suffers from a fear of blood? I was excited when I started but became disappointed after the page 13 when the cousins were introduced. It felt like Sands was trying give them unique personalities but it didn't take.
What I meant by "showing vs telling" was that I want to be shown what the characters look like with details versus just telling the audience that they're attractive. The only character that was "shown" was Lissianna and her mother. The description was very vivid—to the point of being male gaze-y. The women in the book were described to be "overdeveloped" and there were so many things wrong with this book that played on double standards. For example, it hinted how women should be dependent on men but not too dependent or else they'll look desperate??? There was also no chemistry between Greg and Lissianna after their first meeting and Greg was objectifying her every chance he got. He was kidnapped by strangers and, instead of worrying about his life after being physically restrained and tied up, he fantasized about kinky shit. Not only that, but for one horrifying moment, he thought he was r*ped by Lissianna after he'd blacked out and. Instead of worrying about being taken advantage of, he thought he'd taken Lissianna's virginity??? This scene played into the whole "men can't be r*ped" bullshit and that's simply not true. There was nothing here for me to root for these two.
This book had so many useless characters that felt like they were there just to fill in some pages; it wasn't even to move the story along. Chapter 5 was especially painful to read. Each of the eight cousins went into Greg's room to ask that he not be mad at Lissianna for holding him hostage and each begged him to cure her phobia...ONE. BY. ONE. None of them explained what the phobia was until Lissianna visited him last...I'm going to scREAM!!!!! Even then, after about a hundred pages in, Greg was still unable to guess the glaringly obvious fact that Lissianna and her family were vampires! Even when they spoke about feeding, mind reading, and Greg being dinner IN FRONT OF HIM !!! Lissianna even bit him during their encounter prior to the conversation (which was actually very well written so it was a nice break from the shitty prose) and what did he think? He thought it would leave a nice little hickey!!!
There were a lot of attempts at humor, poor foreshadowing—it just felt like it was trying to do too much while achieving very little. It didn't feel like the book was proofread at all; none of the writing was refined. There were errors in every chapter as well as incomplete sentences. There were times when she abused the thesaurus and times when her thesaurus collected dust like quit with the "mental kicks" and "grimacing" and use different words or don't use it at all!
Great marketing device (cover, synopsis, etc) but the book was a huge disappointment. I think Sands was just writing it as she went along and had no idea how the story would develop. She slapped together a weak trashy book full of cliches. Maybe it'll be fun for some, but it was an outdated and boring read for me. That'll teach me not to take trashy paranormal romances seriously.
May 8, 2017
This was a pretty good read for the first book in the series. A little slow, I started to get a little bored a few times but over all enjoyable.
June 14, 2023
Grundsätzlich bin ich offen für jedes Genre; ich lese gerne querbeet. Ich glaube allerdings, dass dieses Genre bzw. diese Thematik (Liebesgeschichten mit Vampiren) nichts (mehr) für mich ist.
Den Anfang fand ich noch ganz amüsant; es gab einige unterhaltsame Episoden. Mit der Zeit hat mich die Geschichte aber immer mehr verloren und ich habe gemerkt, dass meine Aufmerksamkeit nicht mehr beim Buch blieb. Ich fand es zunehmend langweilig.
Den Anfang fand ich noch ganz amüsant; es gab einige unterhaltsame Episoden. Mit der Zeit hat mich die Geschichte aber immer mehr verloren und ich habe gemerkt, dass meine Aufmerksamkeit nicht mehr beim Buch blieb. Ich fand es zunehmend langweilig.
Read
August 27, 2012I think I read this one a looong time ago. GRIN
Lynsay
Lynsay
November 26, 2010
This story is marketed as being funny, light and cute. I prefer my PNR books to be on the dark and dangerous side, but I needed to read a "Q" book to finish the RRRC's A-Z Book Challenge and A Quick Bite was the only one I had on my TBR - for years, I might add - so I decided to finally give it a chance.
Lissianna Argeneau is a 202-year-old vampire who happens to be, gasp!, hemaphobic. That's not a good thing considering what she is. Concerned about her future, her mother Marguerite decides to give Lissi "the best birthday gift ever": Dr. Greg Hewitt, a 35-year-old psychologist who specializes in phobias. Marguerite is sure he'll be able to cure Lissi's phobia so she can leave a "normal" vampire life.
From the awkward moment they meet, Greg and Lissi feel attracted to each other, but nothing good can come out of it because (1) she's a vampire, (2) he's a mere mortal and (3) he'll have his memory erased as soon as he cures her phobia. Naturally, nothing goes according to Marguerite's plan, and Greg and Lissi find themselves running for their lives. But who's after them? Her wacky family? An unsuspected vampire hunter?
That wasn't a bad setup, but I'm afraid Ms. Sands didn't make it work for me. I didn't laugh at any of the attempted jokes, I hated Lissi's silly cousins (to the point that I lost track of who was who), I didn't care for the numerous one-dimensional secondary characters and I didn't feel any sexual chemistry between Greg and Lissi. They were both nice enough - well, they weren't annoying - but I didn't feel any love between them. They had a strong connection, I grant you that, but it only veered into the friendship zone - at least, that's how I felt.
Simply put, there was no character development in this book. Lissi was unbelievably imature for her age. I don't care if she was considered extremely young in vampire years. Come on, she was 202 years old! She should have been way wiser than she was. I just don't get it. Unless... Do vampire brains develop at a slower rate than mere mortals'? Does vampire blood affect their learning curve so bad that 200-year-old vampires act and talk like teenagers? *groans*
Greg was another "problem", as I couldn't understand his actions. He was kidnapped, tied up and left without food or water for hours, and took it all in stride. Sure, he had a hissy fit at first, but then calmed down and became the most complacent kidnapped victim of all times. Puh-lease! And when he found out that those deranged people who had kidnapped him were vampires, did he freak out? Of course not! He simply sat down with Lissi - actually, he was tied up to the bed, but at that point, he couldn't care less - and listened attentively while she recited History of the Vampires: Origin & Evolution. Gah!
To be fair, I thought the explanation for the origin of the vampires devised by Ms. Sands was unexpected and interesting, but I didn't like the way she explored that concept. When all was said and done, I got the feeling that the Argeneau vampires were just like any regular mortal human with a few enhanced characteristics to make them different. For a PNR, this book was the most un-PNR I've ever read.
So, as you might have guessed by now, I didn't like this book. It had some good parts - mainly when Greg and Lissi were on their own and away from her wacky family - but those few and far in between moments weren't enough to make up for everything else. Overall, this was a very disappointing read to me.
Lissianna Argeneau is a 202-year-old vampire who happens to be, gasp!, hemaphobic. That's not a good thing considering what she is. Concerned about her future, her mother Marguerite decides to give Lissi "the best birthday gift ever": Dr. Greg Hewitt, a 35-year-old psychologist who specializes in phobias. Marguerite is sure he'll be able to cure Lissi's phobia so she can leave a "normal" vampire life.
From the awkward moment they meet, Greg and Lissi feel attracted to each other, but nothing good can come out of it because (1) she's a vampire, (2) he's a mere mortal and (3) he'll have his memory erased as soon as he cures her phobia. Naturally, nothing goes according to Marguerite's plan, and Greg and Lissi find themselves running for their lives. But who's after them? Her wacky family? An unsuspected vampire hunter?
That wasn't a bad setup, but I'm afraid Ms. Sands didn't make it work for me. I didn't laugh at any of the attempted jokes, I hated Lissi's silly cousins (to the point that I lost track of who was who), I didn't care for the numerous one-dimensional secondary characters and I didn't feel any sexual chemistry between Greg and Lissi. They were both nice enough - well, they weren't annoying - but I didn't feel any love between them. They had a strong connection, I grant you that, but it only veered into the friendship zone - at least, that's how I felt.
Simply put, there was no character development in this book. Lissi was unbelievably imature for her age. I don't care if she was considered extremely young in vampire years. Come on, she was 202 years old! She should have been way wiser than she was. I just don't get it. Unless... Do vampire brains develop at a slower rate than mere mortals'? Does vampire blood affect their learning curve so bad that 200-year-old vampires act and talk like teenagers? *groans*
Greg was another "problem", as I couldn't understand his actions. He was kidnapped, tied up and left without food or water for hours, and took it all in stride. Sure, he had a hissy fit at first, but then calmed down and became the most complacent kidnapped victim of all times. Puh-lease! And when he found out that those deranged people who had kidnapped him were vampires, did he freak out? Of course not! He simply sat down with Lissi - actually, he was tied up to the bed, but at that point, he couldn't care less - and listened attentively while she recited History of the Vampires: Origin & Evolution. Gah!
To be fair, I thought the explanation for the origin of the vampires devised by Ms. Sands was unexpected and interesting, but I didn't like the way she explored that concept. When all was said and done, I got the feeling that the Argeneau vampires were just like any regular mortal human with a few enhanced characteristics to make them different. For a PNR, this book was the most un-PNR I've ever read.
So, as you might have guessed by now, I didn't like this book. It had some good parts - mainly when Greg and Lissi were on their own and away from her wacky family - but those few and far in between moments weren't enough to make up for everything else. Overall, this was a very disappointing read to me.
January 2, 2020
Lissianna Argeneau has hemaphobia, she faints at the sight of blood. It’s not the worst of phobias, you’d think, but Lissi is a vampire, so this phobia makes her life extremely difficult. Vampires don’t feed the old-fashioned way anymore, they use bagged blood. But Lissi can’t stand the sight of it, so she has to ‘feed off the hoof’. She hates the hunt, let alone the dangers of it. It’s not easy to find someone healthy to feed off, someone who is not on drugs or alcohol.
So when Lissianna finds a hot man tied to her bed, she thinks he’s her birthday present from her mother.
Except, Dr. Gregory Hewitt is here to cure her phobia, not to be a dessert.
But when someone is that delicious and tempting like Greg, it is impossible to resist taking a quick bite.
I used to read a lot of PNR, and I probably would have liked it more years ago. Though the origin of the vampires is very interesting and unique, I expected more from the story: more humor, more steam, more action, and a much better developed romance: true life mates – oh, come on… haven’t we heard this enough? Of course, this book was published more than ten years ago, and by now the destined mate thing has got old.
All in all, it’s not bad, but I don’t think I’ll continue the series for now.
So when Lissianna finds a hot man tied to her bed, she thinks he’s her birthday present from her mother.
Except, Dr. Gregory Hewitt is here to cure her phobia, not to be a dessert.
But when someone is that delicious and tempting like Greg, it is impossible to resist taking a quick bite.
I used to read a lot of PNR, and I probably would have liked it more years ago. Though the origin of the vampires is very interesting and unique, I expected more from the story: more humor, more steam, more action, and a much better developed romance: true life mates – oh, come on… haven’t we heard this enough? Of course, this book was published more than ten years ago, and by now the destined mate thing has got old.
All in all, it’s not bad, but I don’t think I’ll continue the series for now.
June 1, 2017
I know I may talk a little more than is healthy normal about the coming robot apocalypse. It's just that I don't think people are taking this whole robots-are-going-to-kill-us-all thing seriously enough. They keep making creepier robots every day. Did anyone see that robot on The Tonight Show? Holy crap. That thing is definitely planning on murdering someone. Probably Jimmy Fallon.
By the way, can we talk about the fact that "Sophia's" designer must have been male? Is there any other reason that she had to have such large breasts? I'm guessing they aren't extra battery packs, or any other reasonable explanation. Just a robot-designer who had a dream...
Why am I on yet another robot rant when I am talking about a vampire book? Because this vampire world has the best explanation for the existence ever - nano robots in their bloodstream. These tiny robots cure disease, make them stronger and faster, stop cell degeneration, but feed off of their blood. So, they need to drink blood to replenish.
In other words:
The robots have transformed the humans into blood-thirsty killers! See? It's part of the master plan that all robots have!
I knew it!!!
So, although the romance was okay, but a little bland because the two main characters were about as exciting as milk (NOT chocolate milk). I loved the world where tiny micro-robots were the real killers.
I also loved the Argeneau family and their dynamics, so I will continue this series happily. See? The robots have gotten to me. I'm totally on board.
By the way, can we talk about the fact that "Sophia's" designer must have been male? Is there any other reason that she had to have such large breasts? I'm guessing they aren't extra battery packs, or any other reasonable explanation. Just a robot-designer who had a dream...
Why am I on yet another robot rant when I am talking about a vampire book? Because this vampire world has the best explanation for the existence ever - nano robots in their bloodstream. These tiny robots cure disease, make them stronger and faster, stop cell degeneration, but feed off of their blood. So, they need to drink blood to replenish.
In other words:
The robots have transformed the humans into blood-thirsty killers! See? It's part of the master plan that all robots have!
I knew it!!!
So, although the romance was okay, but a little bland because the two main characters were about as exciting as milk (NOT chocolate milk). I loved the world where tiny micro-robots were the real killers.
I also loved the Argeneau family and their dynamics, so I will continue this series happily. See? The robots have gotten to me. I'm totally on board.
August 19, 2024
Give me a book where the hero is kidnapped and tied to a bed and I will give it five stars
January 25, 2020
This book was very silly and ridiculous, but lots of fun and exactly what I was in the mood for!
January 1, 2021
Lissianna and Gregory
January 18, 2011
Loved this one. I have so many new series to read cos of developing a love for yet another romance genre, but I have to say this will be one of my favourite series if they are all the same as this.
It was a light refreshing read, with none of the 'usual' formula romance angst etc. Unlike other reviewers, I liked the concept of the vamps coming from Atlantis. I am completely new to this genre and it's all fantasy/paranormal/romance to me anyway, so if the book is entertaining and keeps me reading I'm not too hung up on the details of their 'world' as it's all make-believe anyway.
I loved the humour. I am always a sucker(!) for a book which is fun to read and this was. I thought the whole phobia thing was hilarious, but would have liked to have seen it resolved (not sure if it is in upcoming books??).
Overall I loved the whole thing. The sex was hot, the romance was yummy and the characters were entertaining. No-one in the book annoyed me (which is great from mpov). Anyway, I loved it and will definitely be continuing with this series. (I have SOOOOOO many to start!)
It was a light refreshing read, with none of the 'usual' formula romance angst etc. Unlike other reviewers, I liked the concept of the vamps coming from Atlantis. I am completely new to this genre and it's all fantasy/paranormal/romance to me anyway, so if the book is entertaining and keeps me reading I'm not too hung up on the details of their 'world' as it's all make-believe anyway.
I loved the humour. I am always a sucker(!) for a book which is fun to read and this was. I thought the whole phobia thing was hilarious, but would have liked to have seen it resolved (not sure if it is in upcoming books??).
Overall I loved the whole thing. The sex was hot, the romance was yummy and the characters were entertaining. No-one in the book annoyed me (which is great from mpov). Anyway, I loved it and will definitely be continuing with this series. (I have SOOOOOO many to start!)
August 5, 2015
A Quick Bite is the first installment in Lynsay Sands's vampire paranormal romance series titled Argeneau. I had never read anything from this author or this series before and I have to admit the popularity and impressive ratings had me pretty excited. This book ended up just being OK for me. I never really felt engaged in the storyline or connected with any of the characters. It was too easy to put the book down while reading and I kind of had a "take it or leave it" outlook. I considered adding it to my DNF shelf, not because it's bad but because there are too many books and too little time to read something that isn't completely capturing you. But I stuck it out...I mean have you seen how many books are in this series????? It's obviously working for plenty of loyal readers.
I should note there were things I did like about A Quick Bite: I liked the fact that the female lead is the vampire while the male lead is the mortal. Usually it's always the man who wears the fangs. I also thought the blood phobia was an interesting addition to the vampire world. I mean, who would have thought lol? But like I said, overall it was just OK. I finished the book but didn't like it enough to continue the series. Two stars.
The Argeneau series includes the following installments as of June 2015:
#1:A Quick Bite
#2:Love Bites
#3:Single White Vampire
#4:Tall, Dark & Hungry
#5:A Bite to Remember
#6:Bite Me If You Can
#7:The Accidental Vampire
#8:Vampires are Forever
#9:Vampire, Interrupted
#10:The Rogue Hunter
#11:The Immortal Hunter
#12:The Renegade Hunter
#12.5:Bitten by Cupid
#13:Born to Bite
#14:Hungry for You
#15:The Reluctant Vampire
#15.5:The Bite Before Christmas
#16:Under a Vampire Moon
#17:The Lady is a Vamp
#18:Immortal Ever After
#19:One Lucky Vampire
#20:Vampire Most Wanted
#21:The Immortal Who Loved Me
#22:About a Vampire
#23:Runaway Vampire
I should note there were things I did like about A Quick Bite: I liked the fact that the female lead is the vampire while the male lead is the mortal. Usually it's always the man who wears the fangs. I also thought the blood phobia was an interesting addition to the vampire world. I mean, who would have thought lol? But like I said, overall it was just OK. I finished the book but didn't like it enough to continue the series. Two stars.
The Argeneau series includes the following installments as of June 2015:
#1:A Quick Bite
#2:Love Bites
#3:Single White Vampire
#4:Tall, Dark & Hungry
#5:A Bite to Remember
#6:Bite Me If You Can
#7:The Accidental Vampire
#8:Vampires are Forever
#9:Vampire, Interrupted
#10:The Rogue Hunter
#11:The Immortal Hunter
#12:The Renegade Hunter
#12.5:Bitten by Cupid
#13:Born to Bite
#14:Hungry for You
#15:The Reluctant Vampire
#15.5:The Bite Before Christmas
#16:Under a Vampire Moon
#17:The Lady is a Vamp
#18:Immortal Ever After
#19:One Lucky Vampire
#20:Vampire Most Wanted
#21:The Immortal Who Loved Me
#22:About a Vampire
#23:Runaway Vampire
April 10, 2018
A Quick Bite was a quick read. Fun enough, but not exactly “fang-tastic”.
I have wanted to take a bite out of this series (wink, wink) for years. I was swept up in the paranormal craze of the late 2000s, from True Blood to the Immortals After Dark, and I heard that Lynsay Sands offered a lighter take on vampires.
The book was humorous, both tongue-in-cheek (Lissianna, our heroine, is a vampire afraid of blood) and laugh aloud (when Lissianna and Greg need to make a quick getaway, she says that they will take “the bike” – and Greg, expecting to fly away on a motorcycle, is dismayed to instead find an actual bicycle).
I didn’t feel that the main characters or their bond were very well-developed, likely due to ample introductions of supporting characters and explanations of the unique vampire mythology. That said, I appreciated that Greg was a different type of hero – more cerebral, easy-going, a good cook, a Beta male who still took charge in the bedroom. And while I thought that Lissianna’s bulb was sometimes too dim - her attempted murderer was the most obvious suspect in the history of obviousness - I did like how she was alternately shy and protective of Greg.
All in all, it was enjoyable enough, but I'm not rushing to read the next installment.
Read for SBTB Best Picture Quarterly Challenge: A paranormal romance.
I have wanted to take a bite out of this series (wink, wink) for years. I was swept up in the paranormal craze of the late 2000s, from True Blood to the Immortals After Dark, and I heard that Lynsay Sands offered a lighter take on vampires.
The book was humorous, both tongue-in-cheek (Lissianna, our heroine, is a vampire afraid of blood) and laugh aloud (when Lissianna and Greg need to make a quick getaway, she says that they will take “the bike” – and Greg, expecting to fly away on a motorcycle, is dismayed to instead find an actual bicycle).
I didn’t feel that the main characters or their bond were very well-developed, likely due to ample introductions of supporting characters and explanations of the unique vampire mythology. That said, I appreciated that Greg was a different type of hero – more cerebral, easy-going, a good cook, a Beta male who still took charge in the bedroom. And while I thought that Lissianna’s bulb was sometimes too dim - her attempted murderer was the most obvious suspect in the history of obviousness - I did like how she was alternately shy and protective of Greg.
All in all, it was enjoyable enough, but I'm not rushing to read the next installment.
Read for SBTB Best Picture Quarterly Challenge: A paranormal romance.
December 14, 2025
A light role reversal that worked
The heroine comes with a full baggage; commitment issues and a life threatening phobia.
The hero is a
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The heroine comes with a full baggage; commitment issues and a life threatening phobia.
The hero is a
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🕮⋆˚࿔✎𓂃 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
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February 16, 2016
4.5 Quick Fun stars :)
A one-time read.Though I did throughly enjoy reading the book and its characters. Looking forward to reading the rest.
A one-time read.Though I did throughly enjoy reading the book and its characters. Looking forward to reading the rest.
February 9, 2010
...and they all lived cheesily ever after...
Sigh, maybe it was because I kept putting off this series, maybe I was just on a book high from having really enjoyed the last 4 books, 3 of which were actually authors I'd never read before, or maybe it just wasn't a great book. I don't know. I wanted to like this book, I really did. I'd read the descriptions and reviews and it just didn't do it for me.
Lissianna Argeneau is a vampire with a serious phobia and at 200+ years old, she needs to get over it. Luckily she comes from a very large and supportive family. Oh and did I mention that they get annoying after a while? There are female cousins and a friend and her one male cousin. Thomas, the sole male was witty enough that they didn't need the scantily clad, over-exuberant cousins. It was kind of funny at first but she went to that well too many times early on and by page 130 I was ready to be done with them.
Dr. Greg Hewitt finds himself surrounded by this family and despite the fact that it is a romance you begin to wonder if they will ever be left alone long enough for the romance part of the book. Finally about 175 pages in or so Thomas gives a push and things start rolling.
By the end of the happily ever after, there were still 60 pages left and then I remembered the very minor sub plot they'd been building throughout the book that I think was supposed to be funny but fell a little flat. Maybe it was because from the first moment it was introduced it was obvious what it was, maybe it felt a little forced, like it was added in to give the story more conflict or maybe it was because I just didn't think it was funny. Who knows?
I think that I would have liked this book with less of her giggling cousins and a more integrated sub plot, I don't know. I know that I'm hoping this series gets better because I've gathered them all from paperback swap and can't see myself sending them back without at least trying 3 or 4 more... and if I still really never get into them, I'll skip to Thomas' book.
In her acknowledgments section the author mentioned that the book was written out of order, so maybe that's why it felt off to me. I'm moving forward with Lynsay Sands and chalking this up to a bad first start.
Sigh, maybe it was because I kept putting off this series, maybe I was just on a book high from having really enjoyed the last 4 books, 3 of which were actually authors I'd never read before, or maybe it just wasn't a great book. I don't know. I wanted to like this book, I really did. I'd read the descriptions and reviews and it just didn't do it for me.
Lissianna Argeneau is a vampire with a serious phobia and at 200+ years old, she needs to get over it. Luckily she comes from a very large and supportive family. Oh and did I mention that they get annoying after a while? There are female cousins and a friend and her one male cousin. Thomas, the sole male was witty enough that they didn't need the scantily clad, over-exuberant cousins. It was kind of funny at first but she went to that well too many times early on and by page 130 I was ready to be done with them.
Dr. Greg Hewitt finds himself surrounded by this family and despite the fact that it is a romance you begin to wonder if they will ever be left alone long enough for the romance part of the book. Finally about 175 pages in or so Thomas gives a push and things start rolling.
By the end of the happily ever after, there were still 60 pages left and then I remembered the very minor sub plot they'd been building throughout the book that I think was supposed to be funny but fell a little flat. Maybe it was because from the first moment it was introduced it was obvious what it was, maybe it felt a little forced, like it was added in to give the story more conflict or maybe it was because I just didn't think it was funny. Who knows?
I think that I would have liked this book with less of her giggling cousins and a more integrated sub plot, I don't know. I know that I'm hoping this series gets better because I've gathered them all from paperback swap and can't see myself sending them back without at least trying 3 or 4 more... and if I still really never get into them, I'll skip to Thomas' book.
In her acknowledgments section the author mentioned that the book was written out of order, so maybe that's why it felt off to me. I'm moving forward with Lynsay Sands and chalking this up to a bad first start.
February 7, 2012
Lynsay Sands is a great author and I think that's why she can get away with a book like this. 60% of the book is introduction to the characters that will get their own books. I know it is hard to introduce your own fantasy world but putting 15 family members in this book was way too much for me, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, one big happy vampire family.
I was extremely disappointed that the hero/heroine got very few minutes together without the family constantly interfering, I mean they walked in 2ce when Lissi was kissing Greg, when she was feeding of him, when they were having sex, and the person interrupting it is not like "oops sorry" and closing the door, no he marches in and starts up conversation. "yeah I know that you are inside my cousin but I have to tell you that we have to go groceries shopping" (that's not a quote from the book just making a point) I guess if you have discovery fantasies this book will rock your world, they are constantly getting caught.
The other thing that was infuriating is the view of the vampires. They are created from Atlantis nano technology/bio-engineering with the main heroine, who is 200 years old knowing nothing about it, like she is not even interested in explaining anything. The mystery that is so alluring when you read about vampires is totally destroyed.
One of the first scenes in the book is Lissi having a birthday party, turning 202. What does she do for her birthday - she stayed home with her siblings/cousins and had a pijama party all dressed up in teddies and their one male cousin, in a child's spiderman pajama. Mind you these are vampires 200-600years old. It was ridiculous that this made the cut for publishing. It didn't make me laugh, it made me sad. I am happy I didn't pay $8 for this book but got it from the library.
If you want funny vampire romance read Kerrelyn Sparks. Don't even attempt this book
I was extremely disappointed that the hero/heroine got very few minutes together without the family constantly interfering, I mean they walked in 2ce when Lissi was kissing Greg, when she was feeding of him, when they were having sex, and the person interrupting it is not like "oops sorry" and closing the door, no he marches in and starts up conversation. "yeah I know that you are inside my cousin but I have to tell you that we have to go groceries shopping" (that's not a quote from the book just making a point) I guess if you have discovery fantasies this book will rock your world, they are constantly getting caught.
The other thing that was infuriating is the view of the vampires. They are created from Atlantis nano technology/bio-engineering with the main heroine, who is 200 years old knowing nothing about it, like she is not even interested in explaining anything. The mystery that is so alluring when you read about vampires is totally destroyed.
One of the first scenes in the book is Lissi having a birthday party, turning 202. What does she do for her birthday - she stayed home with her siblings/cousins and had a pijama party all dressed up in teddies and their one male cousin, in a child's spiderman pajama. Mind you these are vampires 200-600years old. It was ridiculous that this made the cut for publishing. It didn't make me laugh, it made me sad. I am happy I didn't pay $8 for this book but got it from the library.
If you want funny vampire romance read Kerrelyn Sparks. Don't even attempt this book
August 5, 2009
I start this book thinking maybe it will be cute. The description of the book describes the main character Lissianna as a vampire with a tendency to faint at the site of blood. Silly, but not the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Dr. Gregory Hewitt is a psychiatrist who wakes up in Lissianna's bedroom tied up and she wants a bite. Interesting enough to be put on my to-be-read pile anyways.
So I start reading it. Lissianna comes from a family of vampires. Her parents, siblings, and friends are all vampires too. It's also her 202nd birthday. She's had some bad luck finding some good food, and arrives early at her mothers for her birthday party. Vampire birthday party. That was strike number one. So she goes up to her room and finds Dr. Gregory all tied up and sexy and decides to open up her present early. She gets interrupted by her mother explaining that the present wasn't for eating, but for curing her phobia with blood. Lissianna sulks and heads back down to the party like a chastised child. That was strike two. The party winds down later and Lissianna and her friends and family are downstairs. All of the females are described as in pastel colored baby doll outfits. Oooookay. The vampires then all gather around asking what do you do at a pajama party. When someone explains they all try to decide which to do first. Should they tell scary stories? Gossip about boys? Riiiiiight. So that would be strike three.
I don't require vampires in stories to be full of angst or anything like that but a vampire pajama party sorta crosses the line for me. She's supposed to be 202 years old for goodness sake. Perhaps the story gets better and less ...ridiculous later but I couldn't really stomach any more after that.
So I start reading it. Lissianna comes from a family of vampires. Her parents, siblings, and friends are all vampires too. It's also her 202nd birthday. She's had some bad luck finding some good food, and arrives early at her mothers for her birthday party. Vampire birthday party. That was strike number one. So she goes up to her room and finds Dr. Gregory all tied up and sexy and decides to open up her present early. She gets interrupted by her mother explaining that the present wasn't for eating, but for curing her phobia with blood. Lissianna sulks and heads back down to the party like a chastised child. That was strike two. The party winds down later and Lissianna and her friends and family are downstairs. All of the females are described as in pastel colored baby doll outfits. Oooookay. The vampires then all gather around asking what do you do at a pajama party. When someone explains they all try to decide which to do first. Should they tell scary stories? Gossip about boys? Riiiiiight. So that would be strike three.
I don't require vampires in stories to be full of angst or anything like that but a vampire pajama party sorta crosses the line for me. She's supposed to be 202 years old for goodness sake. Perhaps the story gets better and less ...ridiculous later but I couldn't really stomach any more after that.
October 3, 2025
REVIEW
Rating: 3/5
POV: 3rd; Dual
Tropes: Paranormal; Vampire/Human Romance; Kidnapping; Age Gap (lol); Forced Proximity; Friends to Lovers
Heat Level: 2/5
Kinks: Biting hehe
Likes:
* Lissi was a sweet fmc. She had such a good heart and I'm glad she was the first fmc of this series.
Dislikes:
* The plot was pretty slow and yet somehow the whole book takes place all in one week lol
Conclusion:
Not too much to say about this one. It has some uniqueness added in for a vampire romance that I hadn't read before. That was enjoyable. I also liked how they made fun of what society assumes about vampires like how they are undead, can't be around garlic, can't be in the sunlight, etc.
However the plot was pretty slow. I started getting bored around 30% and well I started skimming around 75%. Also the whole book is all set in 1 week.
It was fun to have the MMC tied up to a bed a few times lol. I enjoyed that reversal kidnapping.
If I didn't own a bunch of the series I would potentially not continue it but a month or so ago Lyndsay Sands had a bunch of this series on sale (each book was .99cents) so looks like I'll at least give those books a try lol.
3/5
Rating: 3/5
POV: 3rd; Dual
Tropes: Paranormal; Vampire/Human Romance; Kidnapping; Age Gap (lol); Forced Proximity; Friends to Lovers
Heat Level: 2/5
Kinks: Biting hehe
Likes:
* Lissi was a sweet fmc. She had such a good heart and I'm glad she was the first fmc of this series.
Dislikes:
* The plot was pretty slow and yet somehow the whole book takes place all in one week lol
Conclusion:
Not too much to say about this one. It has some uniqueness added in for a vampire romance that I hadn't read before. That was enjoyable. I also liked how they made fun of what society assumes about vampires like how they are undead, can't be around garlic, can't be in the sunlight, etc.
However the plot was pretty slow. I started getting bored around 30% and well I started skimming around 75%. Also the whole book is all set in 1 week.
It was fun to have the MMC tied up to a bed a few times lol. I enjoyed that reversal kidnapping.
If I didn't own a bunch of the series I would potentially not continue it but a month or so ago Lyndsay Sands had a bunch of this series on sale (each book was .99cents) so looks like I'll at least give those books a try lol.
3/5
April 20, 2022
4⭐️
2🌶
A quick bite is the first installment in the vampire novel series by lynsay sands.
Lissi is a vampire who has a phobia of blood. She faints every time she sees blood. Very useful for a vampire. Because of this she drinks the old-fashioned way from the human Self. For 50 years this is no longer allowed and people drink from blood from the blood banks.
Her mother gets Greg to help her overcome her phobia. But actually they are soul mates
I enjoyed the first part. Easy writing style and funny moments in the book. (cucumber in the pants😂)
You read from the third pov what I really liked in this book. That way you got from both of them what they thought and not from one side. The other characters were also really nice and I'm really looking forward to meeting them in the next books.
If you like wonderful funny romance books then I definitely recommend this series to read! You'll have these books out in no time
2🌶
A quick bite is the first installment in the vampire novel series by lynsay sands.
Lissi is a vampire who has a phobia of blood. She faints every time she sees blood. Very useful for a vampire. Because of this she drinks the old-fashioned way from the human Self. For 50 years this is no longer allowed and people drink from blood from the blood banks.
Her mother gets Greg to help her overcome her phobia. But actually they are soul mates
I enjoyed the first part. Easy writing style and funny moments in the book. (cucumber in the pants😂)
You read from the third pov what I really liked in this book. That way you got from both of them what they thought and not from one side. The other characters were also really nice and I'm really looking forward to meeting them in the next books.
If you like wonderful funny romance books then I definitely recommend this series to read! You'll have these books out in no time
January 28, 2009
Not a fan.
I know people will laugh when I say this, but it didn't feel very believable....I know, I know. It's a story about vampires, but they are trying to claim some advanced science from the time of Atlantis made these vampires. Huh? I understand that Atlantis was supposed to be advanced...for their time. To say that they had nanotechnology back in those days? Please! I am fine with vampires being supernatural. They are something you can't explain. When you get into the sci-fi reasoning, I would like it to be plausible. This is not.
The other hard to fathom area was the relationship between Greg and Lissi. Huh? He is kidnapped but doesn't mind so much because he thinks Lissi is hot?
That Lissi faints at the sight of blood just seemed silly instead of ironic like I think it could have been.
I had a lot of other problems with this book, but I don't really want to go into all of them.
I am hoping that since this was the first in the series that maybe they get better as you go. I will try another one. If I feel the same, then I will have to stop. Ugh, I really hate starting a series and not finishing it though. Oh well.
I know people will laugh when I say this, but it didn't feel very believable....I know, I know. It's a story about vampires, but they are trying to claim some advanced science from the time of Atlantis made these vampires. Huh? I understand that Atlantis was supposed to be advanced...for their time. To say that they had nanotechnology back in those days? Please! I am fine with vampires being supernatural. They are something you can't explain. When you get into the sci-fi reasoning, I would like it to be plausible. This is not.
The other hard to fathom area was the relationship between Greg and Lissi. Huh? He is kidnapped but doesn't mind so much because he thinks Lissi is hot?
That Lissi faints at the sight of blood just seemed silly instead of ironic like I think it could have been.
I had a lot of other problems with this book, but I don't really want to go into all of them.
I am hoping that since this was the first in the series that maybe they get better as you go. I will try another one. If I feel the same, then I will have to stop. Ugh, I really hate starting a series and not finishing it though. Oh well.
December 6, 2010
Seems like I never enjoy these as much as I think I will; I keep hoping for another The Accidental Vampire but no luck so far.
This started out pretty well, with psychologist Greg being kidnapped to be vampire Lissianna's "birthday gift" from her mom. Sands sacrifices character authenticity/plausibility to maintain a frothy, light feeling--Greg is way too mellow about being tied to the bed against his will, over and over again--but I was interested in the story. It all kind of petered out though, and Lissianna is just Too Stupid to Be Undead -- what 202 year old vampire wouldn’t be suspicious of garlic and crosses suddenly showing up where she works, for crying out loud? (Okay, they're not actually dead/undead in Sand's mythology, but I couldn't resist the joke.) I didn't mind the flaws as much as the general dullness.
This started out pretty well, with psychologist Greg being kidnapped to be vampire Lissianna's "birthday gift" from her mom. Sands sacrifices character authenticity/plausibility to maintain a frothy, light feeling--Greg is way too mellow about being tied to the bed against his will, over and over again--but I was interested in the story. It all kind of petered out though, and Lissianna is just Too Stupid to Be Undead -- what 202 year old vampire wouldn’t be suspicious of garlic and crosses suddenly showing up where she works, for crying out loud? (Okay, they're not actually dead/undead in Sand's mythology, but I couldn't resist the joke.) I didn't mind the flaws as much as the general dullness.
May 1, 2020
That wasn't exactly what I was expecting.
There were several scenarios in this book that strained credulity and it wasn't the vampires. So the first half of the book is essentially a struggle to swallow the premise, but once you take that first funky bite the rest of the story goes down fairly smoothly. I'll probably listen to more of these if for no other reason than to see the author's progression through the world.
There were several scenarios in this book that strained credulity and it wasn't the vampires. So the first half of the book is essentially a struggle to swallow the premise, but once you take that first funky bite the rest of the story goes down fairly smoothly. I'll probably listen to more of these if for no other reason than to see the author's progression through the world.
May 30, 2019
3.5 Stars
I’m on the PNR binge and I have seen Lynsay Sands books for sometime. I think there’s 30 books in the series? I like a series that follows one couple, but I’m willing to try something new.
I started A Quick Bite a few times. I finally forced myself to get through it and finish it. Overall, it was a decent read. I’m not sure on the writing style, but I am hoping as I read more and more of the series the writing will become a little more polished.
The downfall of the book is that it’s really slow and there’s a lot of descriptive writing. It takes forever to get to the next scene because you are reading about the surroundings, there’s inner monologue and a lot of just filler word. This isn’t my favorite kind of writing and it would be better for Audio books in my opinion.
What I did like is that it’s a light book and I tend to like to read those books with paranormal books and the steam was pretty good. It’s sprinkled in here and there to keep me really interested.
Lissianna has a condition. She’s a vampire that needs help because she can’t stand the sight of blood. I’m not sure if it should be a big problem because why can’t someone put the blood in a cup for her and call it a day? But okay, I went with it.
Dr. Gregory helps people with issues and he’s here to help Lissianna, the only thing is they start to like each other and it’s really hot.
I really like the connection between Lissa and Greg and it moved the book along even though it was really slow.
I will continue on with the series, but not right now. Sometime in the future.
I’m on the PNR binge and I have seen Lynsay Sands books for sometime. I think there’s 30 books in the series? I like a series that follows one couple, but I’m willing to try something new.
I started A Quick Bite a few times. I finally forced myself to get through it and finish it. Overall, it was a decent read. I’m not sure on the writing style, but I am hoping as I read more and more of the series the writing will become a little more polished.
The downfall of the book is that it’s really slow and there’s a lot of descriptive writing. It takes forever to get to the next scene because you are reading about the surroundings, there’s inner monologue and a lot of just filler word. This isn’t my favorite kind of writing and it would be better for Audio books in my opinion.
What I did like is that it’s a light book and I tend to like to read those books with paranormal books and the steam was pretty good. It’s sprinkled in here and there to keep me really interested.
Lissianna has a condition. She’s a vampire that needs help because she can’t stand the sight of blood. I’m not sure if it should be a big problem because why can’t someone put the blood in a cup for her and call it a day? But okay, I went with it.
Dr. Gregory helps people with issues and he’s here to help Lissianna, the only thing is they start to like each other and it’s really hot.
I really like the connection between Lissa and Greg and it moved the book along even though it was really slow.
I will continue on with the series, but not right now. Sometime in the future.
March 30, 2023
Lissi has a phobia of blood which is strange for a vampire. Her mother finds a psychologist and kidnaps him to cure Lissi of this phobia. Greg, the psychologist, is strong willed and strong minded, Lissi is shocked when she cannot read or control his mind, but it means more than realizes.
This was a bit slow. The author also gave a lot of information. I mean a lot. She also spelled everything out. Usually I have a lot of questions or feel there are gaps in stores, but not in this one. The author made sure the reader knew the backstory of everything.
I liked the creativity of how they became vampires. I am assuming this is not your normal vampire story because while the writing style isn't my favorite and it moved slow in many areas, I still enjoyed it. This is the type of vampire story that I can handle 😁
This was a bit slow. The author also gave a lot of information. I mean a lot. She also spelled everything out. Usually I have a lot of questions or feel there are gaps in stores, but not in this one. The author made sure the reader knew the backstory of everything.
I liked the creativity of how they became vampires. I am assuming this is not your normal vampire story because while the writing style isn't my favorite and it moved slow in many areas, I still enjoyed it. This is the type of vampire story that I can handle 😁
May 18, 2018
3,5/5☆
Un inico de serie muy buena y entretenida. Aunque el principio se me hizo un poco lento poco a poco me fue enganchando.
Se le puede llamar un libro bastante introductorio.
Un inico de serie muy buena y entretenida. Aunque el principio se me hizo un poco lento poco a poco me fue enganchando.
Se le puede llamar un libro bastante introductorio.
October 10, 2021
If you're looking for a paranormal romance this isn't a great book. But if you're looking for a fun and cute romance with a loooot of family dynamics, this is definitely for you. I loved it how nice the characters are. That's why my rating was good, I did not consider it the paranormal side of it.
PS: maybe I wouldn't have read this book if not for the audiobook, but the audiobook was great.
PS: maybe I wouldn't have read this book if not for the audiobook, but the audiobook was great.
January 31, 2024
No sé si porque suelo leer las novelas de una tacada y esta la leí a cachinos o qué, pero me supo a poco.
Hay humor y no está mal. Es fresco, es divertido, con un toque a lo chic-lit, es ligero y ágil... pasé un buen rato leyéndolo, no lo voy a negar, pero a lo mejor se le fue un poco la mano en lo de "ligero". Entretenida, pero tampoco es para tirar cohetes.
Hay humor y no está mal. Es fresco, es divertido, con un toque a lo chic-lit, es ligero y ágil... pasé un buen rato leyéndolo, no lo voy a negar, pero a lo mejor se le fue un poco la mano en lo de "ligero". Entretenida, pero tampoco es para tirar cohetes.
September 3, 2022
3.6 ⭐
Nie wiem skąd ale mam sentyment do wampirów.
Nie wiem skąd ale mam sentyment do wampirów.
November 11, 2016
Lissianna has an unusual problem for a vampire - she faints at the sight of blood! As you can imagine that makes life extremely difficult for her and her family are all worried about how hard it is for her to feed. Her mother decides to take matters into her own hands and she kidnaps a psychologist who specialises in phobias so that he can help Lissianna get over her fears. Things start to go wrong when Lissianna wrongly assumes that Greg is her dinner rather than her doctor but surely one quick bite isn't going to do any harm?
I've been wanting to try the Argeneau series for such a long time now so when I was offered a review copy of A Quick Bite I was really excited and couldn't wait to get started. I'm a huge paranormal romance fan, it's one of my go to genres and I'll never get tired of reading about vampires and other creatures that go bump in the night. I picked this up expecting a fairly light and funny read along the lines of Katie MacAlister's Dark Ones series and I have to say for the first couple of chapters I thought that was exactly what I had got but unfortunately the humour got old very fast and I ended up hating most of the characters.
Lissianna is a 200 year old vampire but along with her cousins (some of whom are even older than she is!) she acts like a 12 year old tween most of the time. They were all just so incredibly childish that it was hard to take any of them seriously and I ended up getting really annoyed with all of them. The way they all kept spying on Lissianna and Greg was just creepy and so was the way everyone could read his mind and know that he was constantly thinking how hot she was. I just got very tired of all the erection jokes! On the subject of Greg I thought is reactions to the situation he found himself in were completely unbelievable. He wakes up in a strange house tied to the bed after arriving in very unusual circumstances yet he's more interested in the thought of being the beautiful stranger's willing sex slave than he is about trying to escape. We get told a lot about how attracted they are to each other but if I'm honest I just didn't feel the chemistry between them, it all felt very clinical and there wasn't enough of a build up for me to feel invested in their relationship.
Although this story is mainly focused on the romance there was also a bit of a suspense plot in the background with someone attempting to murder Lissianna. That could have added something to the book and made it much more interesting apart from the fact that a five year old would have been able to tell you who was behind the attempt pretty much the first time we met their character. It was so completely obvious that the perpetrator might as well have been walking around with "I'm a Vampire Hunter" tattooed across their forehead yet Lissianna didn't once think to question their weird behaviour. To put it politely Lissianna is an idiot, I think this quote says it all:
Lissianna shook her head, thinking it was rather amazing she'd survived to reach two hundred if she'd made many mistakes like that over the years.
Honestly I'm not sure how she made it to 200 either, she made so many stupid mistakes when it came to feeding that I stopped counting them but I feel like I spent half the book rolling my eyes at her.
I'm just so disappointed that this book didn't work for me because I had such high hopes for it in the beginning. I am kind of tempted to give the next book a try though, first books in a series can always be a bit hit and miss and since this series is still going strong after 24 books have been published there must be something good about it. So I may give it a second chance at some point but unfortunately I don't think I'll be in any rush, not when there are so many other books on my TBR pile that I'm actually excited about reading.
Source: Received from Gollancz in exchange for an honest review
I've been wanting to try the Argeneau series for such a long time now so when I was offered a review copy of A Quick Bite I was really excited and couldn't wait to get started. I'm a huge paranormal romance fan, it's one of my go to genres and I'll never get tired of reading about vampires and other creatures that go bump in the night. I picked this up expecting a fairly light and funny read along the lines of Katie MacAlister's Dark Ones series and I have to say for the first couple of chapters I thought that was exactly what I had got but unfortunately the humour got old very fast and I ended up hating most of the characters.
Lissianna is a 200 year old vampire but along with her cousins (some of whom are even older than she is!) she acts like a 12 year old tween most of the time. They were all just so incredibly childish that it was hard to take any of them seriously and I ended up getting really annoyed with all of them. The way they all kept spying on Lissianna and Greg was just creepy and so was the way everyone could read his mind and know that he was constantly thinking how hot she was. I just got very tired of all the erection jokes! On the subject of Greg I thought is reactions to the situation he found himself in were completely unbelievable. He wakes up in a strange house tied to the bed after arriving in very unusual circumstances yet he's more interested in the thought of being the beautiful stranger's willing sex slave than he is about trying to escape. We get told a lot about how attracted they are to each other but if I'm honest I just didn't feel the chemistry between them, it all felt very clinical and there wasn't enough of a build up for me to feel invested in their relationship.
Although this story is mainly focused on the romance there was also a bit of a suspense plot in the background with someone attempting to murder Lissianna. That could have added something to the book and made it much more interesting apart from the fact that a five year old would have been able to tell you who was behind the attempt pretty much the first time we met their character. It was so completely obvious that the perpetrator might as well have been walking around with "I'm a Vampire Hunter" tattooed across their forehead yet Lissianna didn't once think to question their weird behaviour. To put it politely Lissianna is an idiot, I think this quote says it all:
Lissianna shook her head, thinking it was rather amazing she'd survived to reach two hundred if she'd made many mistakes like that over the years.
Honestly I'm not sure how she made it to 200 either, she made so many stupid mistakes when it came to feeding that I stopped counting them but I feel like I spent half the book rolling my eyes at her.
I'm just so disappointed that this book didn't work for me because I had such high hopes for it in the beginning. I am kind of tempted to give the next book a try though, first books in a series can always be a bit hit and miss and since this series is still going strong after 24 books have been published there must be something good about it. So I may give it a second chance at some point but unfortunately I don't think I'll be in any rush, not when there are so many other books on my TBR pile that I'm actually excited about reading.
Source: Received from Gollancz in exchange for an honest review
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