stormlightreader 's review for:

Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro

4.0

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"So many adults masking as children bringing more children into the world. Most of the time people have children without any thought. You won’t catch me taking care of anyone." 

As someone who has a developing knowledge of Mexico's history, I found this to be a gentle introduction to some key figures of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. I'm learning a lot about the history of Mexico through books written by authors of Mexican descent, and Immortal Pleasures gave me some of that history with a fantasy twist. 

I found Castro's depiction of La Malinche's story very interesting to read. I liked Malinalli's modern day storyline but her POV detailing past events was my favourite, particularly the flashback of Malinalli's transformation into a vampire. The first romantic interest (Colin) brought out a very animalistic side of Malinalli (

the butter scene

), compared to her second romantic interest (Alex), who seemed to bring out her softer side. I felt like Malinalli flitted quite quickly from wanting a 'no strings' relationship to wanting a 'forever' relationship, which is explained away by the vampiric 'senses' she has. However, Alex and Malinalli probably should've been given more page time than Colin and Malinalli, to make this feel a bit more realistic, but both relationships were essential to show both of these sides of Malinalli. That said, the smut was my least favourite part of the book partly due to Castro's descriptions but mostly due to the fact that I'm not a romance reader.

Immortal Pleasures combines vampires, historical fiction, and a little spice. I also want to read up on the history of La Malinche, as well. I'm definitely missing bits from this review but I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to get to Queen of the Cicadas. 

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. I have pre-ordered a copy.