Lynsay Sands and the Argeneau Vampires

It is not easy reading paranormal romances, especially vampire romances.

Yes, I do love those gorgeous vampires, but sometimes all that biting and angst can be difficult to take on a long term basis.

So it is with great relief that I discovered the Argeneau family of vampires created by Lynsay Sands.

It is hard to believe that a great vampire story can also make you smile and even laugh.

I bet you wouldn't believe that the Argeneau vampires rarely bite and are never involved in saving the world. The only bites they give are to their mates. What good is a vampire that does not bit a life mate?

You might think that these must be boring vampires. Not in the least. There is lots of excitement as well as romance in these stories.

The Argeneau vampires will appeal to both paranormal romance readers as well as those who love contemporary romance novels with a twist sprinkled with humor.

If you have never read a paranormal romance this series is a great way to get started.

Photo taken by designsbyharriet from her Argeneau vampire collection.

Historical and Vampire

Lynsay Sands writes humorous romances. Humor makes life fun and romance makes life wonderful, combined they make life great.

Sands was born in Ontario, Canada. Much of what I have come to understand about her can be gleaned from her writing.

HIstorical and vampire romance novels are Sands' specialty. Her first book was written in 1997. These books have been translated into six languages and are sold in twelve countries.

I have read three of Sands' twenty historical novels, because I love Scotsmen and these three were highlander romances, but I devoured the entire Argeneau series, which currently consists of 18 books and counting.

Sands has the admirable goal of entertaining her readers. She makes them smile and moves them from their everyday existence to a fantasy world that takes them to places they have never been and introduces them to characters they wish they could know.

Her heroes and heroines are attractive, but not drop dead gorgeous, They are beautiful and handsome to each other, which is the way it should be when you are attracted to someone.

Photo from Argeneau Book site.

Contemporary Vampires with a Long Past

The Argeneaus are a family of contemporary vampires, the oldest and the head of the family, Lucian, was born in 1534 BC, but others are quite young.

This vampire family no longer bites humans for their food. They own a blood bank and they drink their blood from a bag. Only a few of the Argeneaus are incapable of feeding in this manner and are required to take their blood by biting.

The goal of the Argeneau family is to find a cure for this inability to drink bagged blood and so they have a research lab that has been working tirelessly to solve this problem.

Marguerite is the matriarch of this family. She is about seven hundred years old and has the very special ability to find mates for unattached members of her vampire family. She is both loved and feared, since not everyone is thrilled with the prospect of finding their mate.

At first Marguerite finds mates for her children, but eventually branches out into relatives both close and distant. No vampire is safe from her matchmaking. She is quite subtle and rarely does anyone know that she has anything to do with the mates that come into their lives, although they are often suspicious.

The way that the Argeneaus know they have found their life mates is that they cannot read their thoughts. They also begin to enjoy regular food after disdaining it for many years. This family can eat food as well as drink blood, but it is blood that sustains them.

Life is not all romance for the Argeneau family. They do have enemies and sometimes they do have to fight, but they do it less violently than traditional vampires and often following the rule of human law. They can wipe memories, so that helps.

Most of the vampires' mates are human, which poses special problems since humans are unaware of the existence of vampires and the Argeneaus are no exception.

Some of the most hilarious situations arise when an Argeneau vampire is courting his or her human mate. It is not easy to keep out of the sun even if you can stay up during the day. It is also not easy to casually let your lover know that you are a vampire.

Photo from Reluctant Vampire Cover taken by designsbyharriet

There can be humor even in a serious problem and when there is also great tragedy. The author just has to know how to write it so it makes sense and does not belittle the seriousness of the situation.

So it goes with the latest novel in the Argeneau series

May I suggest reading a few of the Argeneau series and then looking at this video to see the characters come to life. There is nothing like adding fuel to the fire.

Give these books a try. They are so interesting and enjoyable that you will not even realize that you are reading a paranormal novel and lighthearted enough to make you glad you did.