Hungry For You: An Argeneau Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Alex Willan is attempting to open a new restaurant but nothing seems to be going right for the oldest Willan sister. From electrical fires to wrong carpet, tile and paint Alex doesn't know if she'll open up her restaurant or go bankrupt first. Her latest problem has her scrambling to find a new head chef after her competitor draws him away with a promise of more money. While on the phone with her sister Sam who called to tell her about another man who Alex must meet, Alex tells her sister her problem and learns she has the solution. The man who Sam wants her to meet just so happens to be a chef from Europe.

Cale Valens was under the impression that his aunt Marguerite wanted him to visit Canada to spend time with the family but her real reason for luring him from Europe was to meet Alex. She believes Alex is Cale's life mate. Having waited his whole life to meet his destined female, Cale agrees to be Alex's chef. One problem. Cale hasn't eaten or cooked food in two thousand years but he will do anything to stay close to Alex. As Cale starts to look into the real reason for Alex's run of bad luck, he will also need to quickly learn how to cook. That is after he learns how to turn on the stove and find out exactly what a spatula is.

Alex is a driven, intelligent woman who just wants to open up her new restaurant but has run into one problem after another. She didn't think she would find her solution in one of the men her sister thinks she should meet. Cale is gorgeous, smart, funny and a great employee and Alex does her best to keep their relationship strictly professional. After a very erotic dream Alex can no longer keep her hands off of him and soon realizes she has lost more than her self control but also her heart. I applaud Alex's restraint because there is no way I could have kept my hands off of Cale. He is everything you'd want and more in a man. What has her holding back is a bad relationship that left her with a broken heart. I couldn't help but feel for her over this and I was glad that Cale held back and took his time with Alex. He was also a lot more honest and upfront with Alex than a lot of the other male vampires were when they found their human mates. He was everything Alex needed him to be. Alex in turn filled a void in Cale's life that most immortals feel after living so long. They were a great couple because you know they love each other without it being shoved in your face.

Figuring out why Alex was having such bad luck with opening her new restaurant was pretty easy to figure out early on but that didn't stop me from enjoying this book. Alex and Cale are a sweet and sexy couple. I'm glad for them but I'm also glad for Alex's sister Sam because she has introduced her sisters to every immortal male she came across in hopes they too would be mates like her and Mortimer (their story can be found in The Rogue Hunter). One of my favorites Justin Bricker is back and just as hilarious as ever. I know I said this in my review for Born To Bite but I really hope this man gets a book. I'd love to read more of him. I really liked Hungry For You because it had the same feel as the earlier book in the Argeneau series that the last few books have been missing. It was light and funny with a romance that is perfect for paranormal lovers. I think fans who have been with this series since the beginning will like the latest installment.

I've given the book a rating on the basis of the story, as it is a great addition to the continuing series. For years I have enjoyed the Argeneau's and their friends as they find love. Thank you Lyndsay Sands for another great story. Cale and Alex do not disappoint!

For those who intend to purchase the book on Kindle, you should know that the poor kindle formatting about which I originally commented has been corrected! I'm not sure if the corrections are due to Amazon or the publisher but it is nice that we were pushed a corrected version.

(I had said originally that you should be aware that the publisher obviously didn't take the time to be sure the product they produced was of good quality. There are several places where spaces between words have been omitted. Simply put, the ommissions detract from the reading experience. These are obvious mistakes that should have been caught by a simple spell check, much less a human proof reader. A quality reading experience is just as important to us Kindle readers as it is to those purchasing the book in print (especially when we pay the same price at release).)

I'm a huge Lynsay Sands fan, first off, and I adore the Argeneau series books. How the main characters meet in this book is a humorous, cute twist, but I found the chemistry lacking at times between them. I think because of the way they meet, it feels a bit too contrived at times, as if the characters are forcing themselves to like the other, even though there is much to like about Cale. Usually, I adore the whole soul mate theme in Sands books, but something didn't click for me here. Cale is a very appealing lead - ancient, bored, and all but given up on finding his one true mate. He's willing to die for his life mate and does indeed put himself in harm's way to protect Alexandra.

But the female character, Alexandra, a chef, bothered me. Alexandra, to me, is a bit too career focused and never appeared truly to want to have a significant other. I have no problem with career-oriented females, but this one didn't seem to want a man in her life at all - men were an afterthought for her and her work was all-consuming. As a jaded woman, she turned her attention to work, which seems plausible. The problem, as I saw it, is she never decided she wanted a man in her life and had Cale thrust at her. It felt forced and even up until the end she still, for me, seemed to fall for Cale simply because he was the one around and they had great sex. Cale's family/friends even went so far as to use mind control to aid in their relationship. Sands never offered a solid reason for Alexandra to fall for him, over her work and over all others - I just didn't feel their chemistry, but perhaps it was more the "restaurant" setting and jaded, career focused, female that didn't work for me. It was okay, and I still adore Sands and her Argeneau clan, but prefer her later books in this series.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 38 reviews  4.1 out of 5 stars