This was not for me. I struggled 3 times to get into this. I just couldn’t get through the few chapters. The writing felt clunky to me and forced.

This book was tough to get through. I put it down more than once, ambivalent about finishing it.

Our main character doesn't read like the independent, all-powerful, serenely confident immortal I think the author was trying to portray. Mostly, Malinalli gives horny, insecure, confused, angry, attention-starved human adolescent. And not a very smart one at that.

Our villain, Hernán Cortés, once the most legendary and fearsome of all the Spanish conquistadors, has inexplicably decided that his afterlife's calling is a business venture peddling beauty products.

There is also smut. It is pure comedy.

Explaining a certain song in order to portray the mood of a scene falls totally flat in the written word, dear. Please stop with the oddly-specific playlist. JUST DESCRIBE the mood.

Ultimately, neither the characters not the plot felt believable, relatable, or compelling in any way. A final stake in the heart (ha) -- several spots throughout the book where the author seemed to have missed a word or made a poor grammatical choice that an editor ought to have caught.

Malinalli is Le Malinche, the former Mexican interpreter for Hernán Cortés, who helped play a role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. This story is a twist on if these two characters had really become vampires instead of dying and how their past history together would influence a bitter rivalry and quest for vengeance against the wrongs committed.

V. Castro had a great concept to bring history and a vampire story about her Latina roots to the modern world. She was very descriptive in her world building, and each of her characters had their own personalities.

I wanted to like this story. It seemed like an interesting plot, and the characters had potential, but it was hard to get into the story. It kept jumping around, and the flashbacks didn't seem to correlate with what was going on in the present. The main character, Malinalli, constantly had a rambling inner dialogue and seemed very naive for being a centuries old vampire. There were more nautical sea references during the erotic scenes than a sailor's retelling of one of his voyages.

Overall, I felt like I had to push through this one to get to the end. It seems like it was left open to possibly have a follow-up adventure with Malinalli and Alex, so there may be redemption for these characters yet.

This story is written so beautifully. I love many of V. Castro’s books. This is no different. This was such a great take on vampires.

Thanks NetGalley for the Arc

This book was a tough one for me. There were times that it was a bit tough to follow and continue because the character would ramble and ponder a bit much. I feel like a lot of it could’ve been condensed. On that note, I really loved the story line, the history behind it and her fantastic way of making such a good idea behind a story based on her fantasies in her mind. I love that about Castro, she takes you to so many worlds and pulls you into her characters and their feelings. She put a lot of heart into this book for sure. There were some beautiful moments in the book and also some entertaining points. There were some parts that might offend people but I’m not judging any of the sex scenes, that part doesn’t bother me. I just had an issue with some of the repetition of the character’s thoughts. I rated it 4/5. Thank you NetGalley and publishers!

3.25/5

I was really excited for this book - I mean this book gives off Latinx Queen of the Damned vibes. It was an interesting , dark historical fantasy tale about avenging an Aztec Vampire, and the attention to detail was unmatched in this novel, as Castro makes it a point to provide historical details and context to characters, thus providing them with detailed and interesting backstories.

I think there were questionable writing choices at some of the spicier scenes, specifically at how certain body parts were described and believe it could've used another round of editing or something as the book felt incomplete at times despite me enjoying my read through of the book. It felt like more of a Paranormal Romance book as opposed to a Horror-Romance book.


Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Whew look at that pretty lady! So this is a dark historical fantasy set in a vampire filled world that is ruled by powerful matriarchs. As the cover and title honestly suggest, this is an erotic story as it seems most vampire novels these days and I found it okay. My fault as this isn't typically a book I'd read but the cover enticed me. The writing was a little weird and the plot itself lulled but hey I gave it a try and I now know who I can recommend this to :) MY ENEMIES!!! just kidding, probably my aunts.

This is a really cool take on a vampire story. Immortal Pleasures follows an ancient Aztec woman turned vampire. It's a mix of modern day and flashbacks to when she was enslaved and impregnated by Cortès and how she became a vampire. In the modern timeline, she buys and sells antiquities and is looking for love while also being hunted. I really like the world-building, the way this puts a different spin on the genre, and the complexities of the main character. And there is a lot of commentary on cultural artifacts and their relationship to colonization which is done reasonably well.

That said, there are a couple of things to be aware of. First, chapter 1 is extremely info-dumpy and lot of the content could have been more smoothly woven into the story. But I can forgive a first chapter being like that. The other thing is that this has quite a lot of explicit sex, but it's not generally written in a sexy way, if that makes sense. I THINK this might be intentional given the story, but there were descriptions that had me kind of cringing. I sometimes read erotic romance so I don't have a problem with the content (though some readers might), but the way it's written doesn't read like a romance novel. So heads up. Overall, I did like this, though it wasn't entirely what I expected. I think if you go in with the right expectations, it might work out better. And I would read more in this world if she decided to continue the story.

I’ve enjoyed V. Castro’s work in the past, but unfortunately Immortal Pleasures was a bit of a miss for me. The premise and gorgeous cover absolutely drew me in, and I was so ready to read about a vengeful vampire queen laying waste to the men who have wronged her. Sounds great, right?

Immortal Pleasures is not that. In the present day, we follow Malinalli as she seeks to find a pair of Aztec skulls that have a special link to her past. The skulls take a backseat when she meets Colin, a young Irish author, and the two spark a romance. That romance consumes almost all of the first half of the book, and I found it really hard to care about. I did enjoy the second half of the novel more than the first, but again a lot of time was spent on a rather unnecessary romance.

I did enjoy the writing style and the moments we spent in Malinalli‘s past. That part of the story was interesting, especially New York in the 70s, and I’m curious to see if Castro will revisit this world in the future. Even though this one didn’t work for me I’ll continue to read from this author in the future.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for a review copy.

I really loved the story line, it was really intriguing. But it was slow and then the end was really short lived. I enjoyed the history of the characters.

Things I thought were done very well:

The reframing of indigenous/settler interactions through the reclamation of La Malinche as a woman who did what she had to survive. The use of Cortés as the symbol of conquest was written so well, especially in relation to the oppressive nature of language translation (reminded me a lot of Babel and the “every act of Translation is an act of betrayal” idea). The chosen settings were a great way to highlight the juxtaposition of the settler/indigenous relationship.

What missed the mark for me:
At times it felt like there was just too much going on. With biological warfare against vampires and the involvement of the beauty industry and literature and etc etc. I understand the implications of including all of these themes but it just felt overdone. The “spice” was also a bit of overkill for me. I acknowledge Malinalli’s sexual prowess as part of her character but it felt like the spice scenes were random and sometimes unnecessary!

Overall I do think this book is worth reading, ESPECIALLY if you love stories reclaiming indigenous narratives through horror and fantasy!

Immortal Pleasures is a hard book to review; there’s a lot I liked about it, but it was also kind of jumbled and strange. It features various real historical figures, plus one from the Bible, fashioning them here as centuries-old vampires. We have Malinalli (famously known as La Malinche), Hernán Cortés, John Hawkins, and Judas, all battling with or against each other in modern-day Dublin and London. It’s a fascinating premise for a book, even if the execution is a bit different than I’d hoped.

Most of the book is told from Malinalli’s perspective, 500 years after she became a vampire in 16th century Mexico. In extended flashbacks, we get to see what her life was like as a human in the 1500s, forced to work alongside Hernán Cortés as a translator. After becoming a vampire, she didn’t want to inflict harm the way the Spanish invaders had; she simply wanted to retreat and undo the wrongs done to her homeland. But now, in the 2020s and working to reclaim stolen artifacts, she’s in Dublin to retrieve a pair of Aztec skulls from her lifetime. Malinalli is looking for love, with two consecutive love interests here, but she’s also being hunted by an evil man from her past: none other than Cortés, now a vampire himself.

The first part of the book is rather slow and feels distracted from the main plot. Malinalli finds a human boyfriend, Colin, while staying in Dublin, and it slows down her mission to get those Aztec skulls back. Much of the first 40% of Immortal Pleasures focuses on her ill-fated relationship with Colin. It’s very noir, with tons of gratuitous sex scenes that feel oddly uncomfortable. I read a lot of romance novels, many of them with steamy scenes, so I’m not opposed to on-page sex in general. But here (as in another recent book, The Emperor and the Endless Palace), the sex scenes feel voyeuristic and weirdly depicted. Honestly, a lot of the parts with Colin and their sexual encounters could have been eliminated or at least cut down a bit.

There are two real plots in the modern-day portions: First, Malinalli is finding herself all these centuries later and hoping to finally find love; and two, Cortés is hunting her down with a battle looming in the near future. Both plots will converge eventually, with a mysterious vampire named Alexander there to join forces with Malinalli.

I liked a lot of the history and reexamining of historical figures here. There is some great discussion around colonialism, reclaiming what’s been stolen from Indigenous cultures by invaders, continued racism, female sexuality, and more. However, so much of Immortal Pleasures starts to feel very random. Reimagining La Malinche and Hernán Cortés makes sense; throwing in John Hawkins is an interesting if unexpected choice; adding Judas (yes, that Judas, from the Bible) to the mix is kind of baffling? As the battle draws closer and the story reaches its climax and end, it kind of all falls apart. Like there was too much going on, too much being woven together, with ends that feel too sudden or convenient… I wasn’t sure how to feel by the end.

All in all, Immortal Pleasures offers up really interesting ideas and discussions, but the way it all comes together is at times perplexing, at times uncomfortably strange, and at times just too convoluted. I enjoyed it to a degree, and will continue to think about certain aspects of it, but I can’t say I’d want to reread it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. And I really wanna take a moment to emphasize how thankful I am to receive copies from publishers, even when I don’t end up liking the book. Reading and reviewing is my favorite thing to do and these copies make that possible. 💜

My Selling Pitch:
Imagine reading Hernan Cortes teams up with his gay bestie, John Hawkins, the father of the slave trade, to launch his vampire facial skincare line. Also featuring Judas, yes like from the Bible Judas, as our insta-love interest to little miss girlypop shoves a stick of butter up her asshole so it can wink like a sea anemone.

And being like, yeah, this should be published.

Truly, one of the worst things I’ve ever read. It will probably be my worst book of the year, and it is so firmly on my do-not-read list.

Pre-reading:
Sorry to this cover, but she looks like an AI Sim dislocating her hip. Vampires are so back, baby. I know nothing about this book only that it involves vampires and that I’ve been seeing it everywhere.

Thick of it:
I wanna go to Ireland.

Immediately no. DNF. It’s giving YA dear diary. It’s giving performative woke. (But you know who doesn’t DNF books? This stupid bitch.)

Sun of Blood and Ruin primed me for this lol. What are the odds?

This writing is so stilted.

There’s nothing sexy about this.

This feels like Ali Hazelwood’s Bride, but way worse.

I know I am extremely biased, but tell me this isn’t Colin O’Donoghue.

Oh, the insta lust is insane.

This is so cringe.

This is author insert wish fulfillment.

This is unreadable. I’m at 5%. Oh no.

Bee movie pussy. Get me out of here.

This is so poorly written.

How does he suck you with his eyes and his stubble, girlypop? (You gotta appreciate the irony of me nitpicking grammar when I write like this.)

This is so bad. I might actually DNF.

What do you mean bull rider precision? There’s no precision to bull riding.

I feel like saying pots of gold exist about the Irishman is not great optics.

Oh look, his name is Colin. They didn’t even try to hide it. This is Colin O’Donoghue. And like I get it. I’m also obsessed with that man.

Your great revenge plan is paying people for artifacts they stole? Make it make sense.

This book thinks it’s sexy and feminist, but it is not.

copal

I like how she’s like he’s a good man because he owns an old bookstore, and I’m like girlypop, have you met extreme horror men?

That’s funny. I was literally wondering if Tabasco came from Tabascans, and then I was like don’t write that down. That’s so out of pocket, Samantha. Don’t be culturally insensitive. But turns out I’m just an etymologist.

Do you think she can eat period blood? (This is never addressed and that feels like a crime.)

You’re joking. The villain is Hernan Cortes. Who okayed this book?

She’s a sex worker because she’s a #StrongIndependentWoman. She’s got AirPods.

And girlypop just left her defenseless and passed out on a bench. #Feminism.

This is unreadable. (Take a shot every time Samantha hits a wall in this book and writes this and yet continues on.)

Imagine you’re the publisher and you’re like yeah, I’m gonna publish a book where Hernan Cortes checks his email.

Wow, he has a gay friend? What an ally. I hate it here.

I’m sorry his gay friend John Hawkins. The man who established the slave trade.

I have no words. How was this published?

Oh my god, and now he’s Jeffree Star.

You’re telling me someone read Hernan Cortes and John Hawkins team up to make a skincare line out of vampire juice and said send it to the presses.

How is this not satire?

She paid her $400. She can definitely make more than that in a week. What do you mean?

I literally don’t know how I’m gonna finish this.

It’s just the constant sexual assault commentary that thinks it’s saying something, but it’s not. It’s all virtue signaling. The fake feminism. I’m getting so angry, and it’s written so horribly. It’s like worse than Wattpad. And you can tell it thinks it’s being really woke and making an impact.

I will be shocked if this is not my worst book of the year.

I’m not a zombie girl.

huipil

caciques

macana

Imagine being a hundreds of years old vampire who’s been seducing men her whole life and still being like what if he thinks my titties are ugly?
Then you eat him, girlypop. Do the math!

I don’t care how you look.
I would hope my man cares how I look. I’m the greatest good he’s ever gonna get.

I am literally begging you not to use anatomical terms in sex scenes. It’s gross.

I HATE IT HERE

Wish I was a freight train baby 🎶

Again, if this is not my worst book of the year.

WHAT IS THIS

Her Achilles heel is nipple play? What’s going on? This isn’t serious. This is so unserious. What’s happening?

How are her fangs not getting in the way of the dick sucking? I’m confusion. Is he that little?

Oh, they’re just instantly in love. OK.

Oh my god, this may be the worst thing I’ve ever read. I read a book about fucking a pumpkin spice latte, and this is worse.

Wow, you drank his blood and now you’re getting him drunk? He’s gonna be a super cheap date.

The sound that just left my mouth was inhuman. What do you mean sea anemone buttholes. What

Is Colin going to die and this is her villain origin story or like what? Also, just make him a vampire. Don’t be a fucking Edward.

This book is literally just sex scenes

Damn, I love Cholula too. I didn’t know that was also named after a massacre. What did Frank do?

Pulque

Cenote

I know I’ve complained about this already, but it’s so repetitive and boring and unreadable.

In nothing but like literally the world’s most standard outfit.

I can’t believe it’s not butter.

God, this is unreadable.

I just-the performative woke is unreal. Like this is why people don’t like it and resist it so much. It’s like insufferable vegans.
You’re also just shrieking to an echo chamber? Like no conservative fuckbag is picking up a book (full stop lol) about an Aztec vampiress. You don’t need to teach the libs that the patriarchy exists.

Take a shot every time these Aztec books bring up jaguars.

He said it once while drunk lmao.

Are we sure this isn’t by the lady who wrote Sun of Blood and Ruin because it’s the same energy? (It is not, but I fully checked.)

Why are these men just carrying around syringes?

He’s known you for like literally five minutes, and she’s like why won’t he tell me his #TragicBackstory? It must be because he’s just such a discerning character. I hate this book.

You have essentially unlimited money and you chose a third-floor walk-up.

I know they told us he’s somebody other than this, but I’m literally only picturing Alexander Hamilton, and it’s making it funny, and if you’re like Sam, that’s so out of pocket, I want to remind you that the villain of this story is beauty guru Hernan Cortes in 2024.

If this Max guy is also a history dude, and I’m just not picking up on it, don’t @ me. I went to public school.

Update: I got curious and googled historical J Alexanders and like maybe he’s this guy Julius Alexander because they mentioned deserts? But I was also thinking Alexander the Great and his library, but where is the J? I don’t know who this man is. I don’t know history. I am just a girl. I am literally just a girl.

He’s Judas. JUDAS.
Literally who published this? Fired. Absolutely fired.
I-
She wrote vampire Judas fanfiction. Are you fucking kidding me. This is unreal.

Paper straws? C’mon.

Tarot card sin

She said Jesus was a vampire. Oh my god, this book is unreal.

I’m the map. I’m the map. 🎶

It’s always a fucking J name.

It’s the way I would love to make a snarky comment as my selling pitch using his name, but it’s like such a spoiler because this comes out of left field, and like I can’t rob people of that, but like oh my goddddd. (Don’t care. Did it. This book can rot in hell.)

This does kind of make me want to read the Bible though and just annotate the shit out of it because I think it would be so funny to read it like a novel, but also I don’t know how long it is, and I don’t think I have that in me. Too much church growing up. It’s like reading and Shakespeare. Fuck your religions very much.

Who else realizes church is literally just like obsessive book club? Religion is so bonkers to me.

That reads a lot like the fetishization of an indigenous person if they can’t communicate and you’re saving them and they thank you by having sex with you. That’s weird.

Same Addie LaRue bullshit history montage through a character’s backstory. It's lazy!

She’s hot shit? This book is hot shit. Like Taco Bell bathroom hot shit.

There is so much crying in this book without any emotional weight.

Yeah, queen, spit on him! I hate it here.

Judas has a foot fetish.

This is truly the worst book I’ve ever read.

Chapter 16 was way too long without a break.

Does girlypop know bears hibernate cause it’s sounding like no.

Also, we have a running joke that every single book I read has bears in it, so I think I need to start keeping track because this is nuts.

I just want you to know what I’m reading and it’s a sex scene between Judas in a black sabbath T-shirt while he fucks an Aztec translator who has a custom Spotify sexytimes playlist with Purple Rain on it. People read this and paid money for it.

It reads like that Never After series but like way worse and the bar was already in hell for those books.

You’ve known each other for like two days.

Imagine homeboy would rather bury himself alive than be with you, and you’re still like wow, this is a romance for the ages.

Where have you been, Loca? Is anyone else getting Jacob Black vibes? No, just me? OK.

Imagine you’re going to have a showdown with your evil enemy, your greatest nemesis of all time, but you’re like first, I gotta show him my chest tattoo and sweet abs. No homo though.

Is Spain really respected though?

She’s not setting up for a sequel right now. Oh my god.

Post-reading:
I really just have no words for how bad this was.

Calling this author insert Wattpad fanfiction is insulting to Wattpad, but it’s the closest I can get to describing it.

It’s a historical retelling that’s completely tone deaf. Turning the father of the slave trade into a homosexual for diversity points and giving him a redemption arc is inexcusable.

The sex scenes are gross. They use anatomical terms. They compare body parts to sea creatures. They shove butter up assholes. I could’ve gone my whole life not reading that.

The book grossly mishandles rape and sex work. There’s even a scene that feels like the fetishization of an indigenous person because they can’t communicate and he needs her to save him.

The romance is bonkers. It’s insta lust and insta love. Twice. It’s definitely a choice to have your love interest be Judas. I’m not religious. I’m very actively anti-religion because I find it so hateful and harmful to everyone involved. I think you’re gonna have the communities that believe in him pissed for how he’s represented. There is definitely a salacious and kinky little conversation to be had about turning Jesus into a vampire and doing a forbidden romance with Judas, but this author was not equipped to do so. Hand that one to Tiffany Reisz. I’d read the fuck out of that.

The book is repetitive. It reads with a YA voice, but it’s clearly adult. The world-building sucks. There’s no rules for vampires. Everything is in there just for the vibes.

There’s nothing redeemable about this book. I can’t dunk on it enough. I am embarrassed for the publishers that this was produced. I’m just baffled because this had to go through so many people to get published and no one looked at this and was like maybe not?

Also, I was under the impression that this was a horror book. There’s nothing horror about this. This is literally just a historical paranormal romance and a shitty one at that.

Who should read this:
No one
Historical retelling girlies

Do I want to reread this:
Fuck. No. I want everyone who pushed this book forward to tell me what they saw in it. I want everyone who gave this book more than one star to tell me how they justified that after reading about sea creature buttholes. Twice.

Similar books:
* Bride by Ali Hazelwood-paranormal romance, urban fantasy
* The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab-magical realism historical romance
* The Never After series by Emily McIntyre-Disney villain dark romance retellings, cringe but fun
* Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares-magical realism historical romance, Aztecs VS Cortes
* Wings Once Cursed and Bound by Piper J. Drake-urban fantasy romance, magical artifacts
* Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker-YA urban fantasy, queer, performatively woke

This book has so many things I love-- a strong and badass main character, a vendetta, and spice. Unfortunately, the grammatical errors, typos, and lack of organization really hurt the flow and readability of this novel. The plot point of the two male love interests felt like two different stories jammed together and some of the one-lines tried to come across as zingers but when they were executed during a sex or fight scene they just seemed to fall flat or even make me cringe or laugh. All these issues constantly took me out of the story and the world V. Castro was building. I don't want to harp on this point and I'm sure many of the errors have been resolved before publication!

I would still recommend this book, especially for those who love open-door/explicit sex scenes and vampires! This book is sexy. Malinalli is headstrong and so easy to support -- you want her to succeed in both love and revenge. The two love interests are hot, hot, HOT and the villains are despicable and truly horrific. Castro has also created some spectacular side character vampires that Malinali has encountered throughout her travels. Personally, I would love to see this in a movie or TV form, especially the epic final battle. With this book and The Haunting of Alejandra, I'm a lifelong fan of V. Castro and can't wait to see what she writes next.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a tough one to review. I am a huge V. Castro fan and love what I’ve read of her work thus far however, this was far from the case for Immortal Pleasures.

In theory, the idea of an ancient Aztec vampire woman reclaiming her name and story to set the record straight is intriguing as hell, but this story was not that at all. There were glimpses of our MC’s Aztec origins and her misconstrued role as a translator for Spanish colonizers however, those flashbacks were essentially used to lay the foundation for Mali’s present-day hatred for our fictional (and IRL) antagonist Hernán Cortez. Truthfully, her “human-day” flashbacks elicited the most emotion from me as a reader, and that’s where the bulk of the story should have lived.

Instead, this story lived in current day London (and Ireland, maybe?), felt incredibly disjointed, and often read like three different stories - one of which was an over the top, steamy romance that quite frankly, diluted Mali’s character and reduced this strong Aztec woman to the very stereotype I suspect Castro meant to counter. Additionally, it felt as though Mali’s story attempted to span one too many time periods. Once we entered biblical times, I truly had no idea what was happening (and not in a good plot twist kind of way).

Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. It may be that I was not the intended audience for this particular piece of work, but it was just too overreaching without a clear point of focus. That being said, I will likely continue to read from Castro’s backlist, as she has done some great work representing the Latinx culture in literature. Pro tip: I highly recommend Mestiza Blood and Queen of the Cicadas for strong Chicana representation!

unfortunately this one isn't grabbing my attention like you would think a story of la malinche as a vampire seeking revenge/reconciliation would hold your attention. everything seems a bit jumbled together and the chapters with flashbacks feel like a completely different book/story compared to the present day chapters/scenes. but as a huge fan of v. castro, i'm still excited to see what else she puts out in the future!!

"Immortal Pleasures" by V. Castro is an intense journey through the life of Malinalli, or La Malinche, a Nahua woman who endured severe hardships before and during Cortés' conquest of Mexico. The novel beautifully portrays her struggle for survival and her desire to protect her people, even after she gains the power of immortality as a vampire. The flashbacks to her past are captivating, but the present-day storyline isn't as strong. Surprising plot twists kept me interested and wanting to continue reading. However, the book's pacing is off, and the promised revenge plot doesn't fully materialize. Overall, "Immortal Pleasures" has ups and downs, but it's worth reading for its unique take on history and vampire mythology.

✨ Review ✨ Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro; Narrated by Raquel Beattie

Thanks to Ballantine / Del Rey, PRHAudio and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

I was SOLD by this concept as soon as I saw it. La Malinche became a vampire, and know known as Malinalli roams the world repatriating treasures and other artifacts taken from her people. Bringing Hernan Cortes and Malinche together in past and present made this an exciting read. I loved how this book portrayed them across time.

This book also had a romance angle. La Malinche falls for a writer while in Ireland, and falls hard and fast. The instalove part of this didn't work for me as a romance and made the writing in these parts not jive for me.

As horror/fantasy and historical fiction this book nailed it for me, but as a romance, missed the mark a bit.

The surprises that come later in the book with new characters and the unraveling of the characters' plans were so exciting, and I couldn't put this one down. I loved how she adapted vampire tropes to consider colonization and exploitation. It might not be my favorite V. Castro book but I'll be thinking about this for a long time to come.

🎧 I alternated between the audio and physical book for this and enjoyed the audio but didn't have a strong preference here for listening vs. reading.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: horror, fantasy, romance, historical fiction
Setting: Aztec empire, Ireland, London - past and present
Length: 11 hours 1 minute
Reminds me of: The Haunting of Alejandra, Certain Dark Things
Pub Date: Apr 16 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ vampires and historical fiction
⭕️ themes of colonization and resistance
⭕️ feminist, anticolonial books
⭕️ retelling of Aztec/Mexican history & lore

This book started off strong with our main character, Malinalli, in the present, telling us the story of her life and how she became a vampire. At a young age, she was betrayed by her own mother and sold to a Spanish conquistador. She had a gift of learning languages quickly so she served as an interpreter to the Spanish as well as a wife/lover until she was no longer needed. Her people considered her a traitor for serving the Spanish but she had no choice. It was either serve the Spanish or die. Her transformation into a vampire is very symbolic as she is focused on revenge that she has earned as well as preventing the further slaughter of her people. In the present, she is a very successful business woman dealing in antiquities. Her focus is on getting back the relics of her people that were stolen by the Spanish.

If you know me, you know I have an obsession with vampires. I really loved the idea of an Aztec vampire looking for vengeance and love. I really loved all the intricate historical context behind Malinalli's past and her life in the present which made me feel connected to her. However, the rest of the book quickly fell short for me.

V. Castro is a very talented writer with a very unique voice and her prose can be very powerful and beautiful. The way she wrote the character of Malinalli helped me understand who she is, what she has been through, and why she makes the choices she makes. However, I still struggled with the insta love between her and the two male characters. Her character has always been closed up and not willing to be vulnerable so it doesn't make sense. She picks out a human at a bar named Colin, sleeps with him, and next thing she's wondering if he's her soulmate. No girl, he isn't. Colin has barely departed when she's already in love with a vampire named Alexander that she just met. I don't mind spice in my books when it makes sense and is well written but the spicy scenes were a little awkward. Also, I'm having trouble looking at butter. IYKYK. I also expected a bit more fight from a certain character but his defeat was somewhat lackluster and rushed. It feels like there was a lot more to explore that was left out.

Overall, I enjoyed parts of this book, but it did not meet my expectations and left me feeling unsatisfied with how things ended.

[2.5 out of 5] IMMORTAL PLEASURES is about an Aztec vampire named Malinalli who is reckoning with and reclaiming her painful past. Prior to becoming one of the undead, she lived through the Spanish conquest of her people in the 16th century. Sold early in life to another tribe by her own mother, Malinalli eventually finds herself surviving as a translator for Hernan Cortes. Now she spends her time searching for artifacts to reclaim them from the colonizers, her latest hunt being a set of 16th century skulls. Along the way she realizes she might finally be ready to open herself up to more than physical intimacy.

The premise of IMMORTAL PLEASURES is quite interesting and unique. Malinalli suffered immensely at the hands of the Spanish conquistadors. She watched them murder her people and other tribes, either through brute force or disease. To survive, she used her quick mind to learn different languages, eventually serving as Cortes's translator and mistress. This back story leaves a lot of emotion and experiences to unpack.

There's the guilt she has from working as the colonizers' translator, which she acknowledges. But she also sees it as the only thing that kept her alive. She also has to deal with past familial and sexual trauma, which made it extremely difficult for Malinalli to open herself up to anyone. Her mother essentially abandoned her and sold her into slavery. This signalled to Malinalli that she was unworthy, particularly in comparison to the new son her mother bore from a new husband. So, this throws in the not unexpected twist of a patriarchal society. Then she endures years of unwanted sexual advances from Cortes and one other Spanish conquistador. It was nearly inevitable for this to result in a couple of children to whom Malinalli feels little attachment due to her trauma.

After several hundred years, Malinalli finally feels more or less ready to look for more meaningful attachment. She decides to do so while on a business trip to collect two ancient skulls from her past. But what she doesn't quite anticipate is the danger that pops up along the way in the shape of an abominable figure from her past. This encounter literally and symbolically serves as the culmination of retribution and vengeance for her.

While I found the concept promising, unfortunately the delivery left me wanting. It reminded me a little of Interview With A Vampire in that Malinalli narrates her life akin to that of Louis de Pointe du Lac. It jumps from the present to various points in the past, which is easy enough to follow. However, it is not as polished and is incredibly on the nose. It felt like reading a diary used as a draft of a book. There was little finesse with the writing style, just a very matter-of-fact style of story telling. As a result, I found it difficult to become too invested in Malinalli. Several times I thought about not finishing it, but carried on because it's not a very long book.

Another major sticking point for me was that there was almost no plot. Something starts to develop more after about two-thirds of the way through. But at that point I was just trying to finish the book. Moreover, a big reveal about a vampire's identity just felt so unnecessary and out of place, probably because the build up and reveal were so even keeled. And, given the title, a reader might expect some sexual content. I can confirm it is present. However, the descriptions and anticipation left something to be desired. Some of the sexual metaphors used were, frankly, just odd and out of place, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, IMMORTAL PLEASURES didn't really live up to its potential for me. The synopsis sounded so promising, but ultimately fell flat. It lacks the mystique many might expect from a vampire book as well as a a storytelling style that sinks its teeth into the reader. However, I do appreciate the unique perspective from an Aztec vampire when so many other vampire stories that permeate literature are from White Western culture.