Immortal Pleasures – V. Castro

jessicamapreviews

April 19

Another book that released on my birthday and more vampires!

Thanks to Del Rey Books for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review

IMMORTAL PLEASURES - V. Castro (Released April 16th, 2024)

I think this is one where you can judge the book by it's cover - this gives the perfect vibes for what's hiding underneath that cover.

Book Description:

Hundreds of years ago, she was known as La Malinche: a Nahua woman who translated for the conquistador Cortés. In the centuries since, her name has gone down in infamy as a traitor. But no one ever found out what happened to La Malinche after Cortés destroyed her people.

In the ashes of the empire, she was reborn as Malinalli, an immortal vampire. And she has become an avenger of conquered peoples, traveling the world to reclaim their stolen artifacts and return them to their homelands.

But she has also been in search of something more, for this ancient vampire still has deeply human longings for pleasure and for love.

When she arrives in Dublin in search of a pair of Aztec skulls—artifacts intimately connected to her own dark history—she finds something else: two men who satisfy her cravings in very different ways.

For the first time she meets a mortal man—a horror novelist—who is not repelled by her strange condition but attracted by it. But there is also another man, an immortal like herself, who shares the darkness in her heart.

Now Malinalli is on the most perilous adventure of all: a journey into her own desires.

My Thoughts: 3/5 stars

Are you a fan of vampires? Historical fiction? Horror? Some spice? Well, look no further because Immortal Pleasures has all of these things. I'll warn you now, if you aren't a fan of some seriously spicy scenes, then this might not be for you.

I loved the premise of this book and bringing the mysterious historical figure, La Malinche, to life. She was the Nahua woman who acted as the interpreter to Hernan Cortés during his conquest of Mexico. Opinions of her are mixed as to whether or not she's seen as a traitor to her own people. What happened to her after has remained a mystery.

Enter Malinalli. La Malinche is reborn a vampire, and in her hundreds of years on Earth, she is determined to find Aztec artifacts to return to their rightful home. I don't think I've ever really wished for a book to be longer, but this needed a lot more to really flesh out the story and not have things feel rushed in parts. I loved the past timeline and seeing Malinalli came to be and everything she has experienced in her time on Earth. The present-day timeline is what felt a little rushed. Otherwise, I found myself lost in her adventures and her conflicting emotions on her human lover and another immortal.