Book Review: Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro
Mogsy’s Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror, Romance
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Del Rey (April 16, 2024)
Length: 304 pages
Author Information: Website
I probably should preface this review with a caveat: Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro is not going to be for everyone. It caters to a specific kind of reader, perhaps one who is a little more into the spicier side of things than I am. Apparently, the “seductive dark fantasy” blurb in the publisher description just means sex, sex, and more sex with barely a plotline to be glimpsed. But I’ll try to be fair.
First, the story. Centuries ago, when Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez began his colonization of the Americas, he was helped by a Nahua woman who served as his translator. Known as La Malinche, she became branded as a traitor for her part in the eventual conquest and genocide of her own people. This book, however, offers an intriguing twist on history, reimagining her as an immortal vampire who now seeks vengeance on her old enemy. Reborn as Malinalli, she has taken on a personal mission to travel the world and reclaim stolen artifacts to their rightful countries and cultures.
Emotionally though, Malinalli feels empty. Her long years of wandering the globe by herself has made her long for love and connection, a yearning which leads her to Dublin, Ireland where she meets a human named Colin, a horror writer who immediately makes her his muse. The two begin a whirlwind romance, jet-setting off together on Malinalli’s hunt for a pair of Aztec skulls which have deep ties to her own traumatic past. But unexpectedly, fate throws another suitor her way, a fellow vampire who is much older and whose own quest may align with our protagonist’s.
To begin with the positives, I simply adore this cover. Very Queen of the Damned. The premise is also fascinating; I was not very familiar with the historical figure La Malinche, but after reading this book I went down a rabbit hole of looking up more information about her and I always like gaining new knowledge.
Unfortunately, the list of negatives is a bit longer. As alluded to earlier, the vibe is certainly striving to be Anne Rice-y but the writing is subpar with info dumps galore and disjointed prose with awkward, clunky descriptions occasionally resulting in unintentional hilarity especially during the sexually explicit sequences. Malinalli herself is completely unconvincing as a centuries-old vampire who supposedly travels around the world, with the emotional intelligence of someone with far less experience and maturity.
Finally, we arrive at the stuff where your mileage may vary. Obviously, a sexually explicit warning is a given. If you’re thirsting for a racy vampire romance and don’t mind sacrificing plot complexity and character depth for some hot and steamy content, this book could work for you. But those looking for a well-developed story will be left disappointed and feeling hollowed out.
Ultimately, this is a novel with a captivating concept, but subtlety and nuance are not its strongest points, and even the historical element was a bit weak. Still, managing expectations will be the key to your enjoyment. Bottom line, Immortal Pleasures occupies a specific niche of dark fantasy romance which won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but will delight its target audience.
The BiblioSanctum 
Plot and characterization must always come first for me to enjoy any given story, so I guess that this one would not be my proverbial cup of tea. Thanks for the warning! 🙂
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Yeah, I probably would have dnf’ed if I wasn’t so curious about some of the HILARIOUS quotes I saw from other reviews on Goodreads!
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Lol, i hate when immortals act like they have not lived as long as they have
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She was not convincing at all!
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This was one of the strangest books I’ve ever read, purely in terms of style. I was definitely not the target audience!! 😂
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I was not the audience either, but hoo boy, it gave us some doozies!
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I need to try this just to see if I can get through it. I’m so curious after reading a few other reviews like yours😁
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OMG, I would be SO curious to see what you would make of it!
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Ouch Mogsy! I wasn’t tempted but now it’s a decided no!
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It’s definitely a…unique book. That’s all I’ll say, LOL!
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I ended up DNFing this pretty early. Even with arms open for spicy content, I just did not click with the writing, or the incredibly dry infodumping.
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I was prepared for the spciy content but boy and boy, it was like that and nothing else!
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I appreciate the review, this is certainly one I’ll skip. It’s interesting you mentioned the cover being very Queen of the Damned because I kept looking at the cover and trying to think why I thought it looked familiar. Now I know why. 🙂
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Yes, I think the designer clearly wanted to go for that feel – I think the author did too, but didn’t quite nail it 😛
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I love vampire books but for some reason I was a bit sceptical about this one and your reviews made me think that I was right to be so. It’s a shame as the history that you’ve mentioned instantly intrigued me but it sounds as if the execution of it really wasn’t there. Hopefully your next read will be infinitely better.
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I think that’s the most disapionting part – the premise behind the character was very unique but all that rich history was squandered with barely any development.
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Nope, not for me.
Lynn 😀
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Probably a wise decision, lol.
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Heh, not sure I will pick this one up, but I have to say, I have read more laughable explicit sex scenes/books this year than i care to admit (my library has limited options :D) Still amusing, but not necessarily how the author intended. Curious how this one might compare, but maybe not curious enough to find out
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Oh my goosh, this one would be a worthy contender for the most laughable explicit sex scenes for sure!
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I’m digging the cover too. I don’t mind a saucy book, but I have a feeling that cover will be the only thing I’d like too if I should try it.
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For me, the cover was definitely the best part…lol. It was entertaining in parts, but not always for the right reasons 😀
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