[ARC Review] Immortal Rising by Lynsay Sands

In the latest installment of the Argeneau series, Lynsay Sands brings two previous secondary characters front and center as an old threat makes his violent return and almost finishes what he started years ago.

Between hearing everyone else's thoughts and having to survive as an Edentate, a fangless immortal, Stephanie has had a rough life since she was turned thirteen years ago. But, at least she can pass as human. The same can't be said for Thorne, one of Dressler's experiments with feathers for hair and giant wings on his back. In an attempt to live a normal life, Thorne finds himself next door to Stephanie's country home in Canada where he hopes to remove his wings once and for all. Once Thorne and Stephanie connect, both start to envision a future where Thorne is accepted as he is with Stephanie by his side. But just as Stephanie realizes Thorne might be her life mate, a common enemy from their past turns up and threatens everything they hold dear: their families, the immortals, and their newfound love for each other. 

Immortal Rising is the 34th novel in the Argeneau series, and I have to applaud Lynsay Sands for finding new ways to keep this series fresh with each new release. I love this series, but I'll be the first to admit I felt it was getting a little stale around book 20 or so. But this series definitely has new life and Immortal Rising does a fantastic job at wrapping up a character arc that has been many books in the making. That being said, while earlier books in the Argeneau series can easily be read as standalones or out of order (every early book has a nice recap explanation of what being immortal means), by the time we get to Immortal Rising, there is a nice, over-arcing story line that can only truly be understood and appreciated by reading the prior books in the series. 

Sands always does a fantastic job at creating life mates for her immortals, and Stephanie and Thorne's story is no different. I really loved their pairing; while other life mates have had things like food or music in common, Steph and Thorne went beyond the surface when it came to their commonalities. Both of these main characters felt like outsiders: Thorne because he was an experimental hybrid, and Stephanie because she was turned as an Edentate and couldn't function quite the same way as her fellow fanged immortals. I loved that these two people who felt like they didn't belong could find love and a feeling of belonging with each other. 

Immortal Rising is written with the same quick-paced action and hint of mystery that is common in the Argeneau series. With cameos from many of our favorite immortals, this 34th book in the series combines fan favorites yet still creates a whole new story. I loved Thorne and Stephanie, and I was glad to see a larger story arc finally finding its resolution with this novel. Fans of the Argeneau series, and especially fans of the more recent Immortal titles, will not want to miss out on this newest title from Lynsay Sands. 

A huge thank you to the author and Avon for providing a review copy of  Immortal Rising

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Release date: 4/26/22
Format: eARC
eARC provided via: NetGalley

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