Ok. I knew I was signing up for erotica first, horror second, but I did not know I was signing up for “lack of plot”
When I read, I am a plot driven reader, but I can appreciate character stories as well. This however, was just kinda sad.

Why does a 500 year old vampire still have body image issues? Why did she just pull up recipes from Pinterest?! WHAT exactly has she been doing for 500 years? Ok, I get it.. vampires don’t need to eat/cook food, but you’re telling me in 500 immortal years (and then however many years she lived mortal), she hasn’t learned to either cook or love herself?

I’m afraid I have to DNF here. I cannot stand the MC, and what I have witnessed thus far.
Also, the plot is zero. It’s all just awkward sex so far.

I do not know what to say. What a whiny useless vampire. Seriously. The only good part about this were the tangents about the natives and the MC origin story. Those were the only actually well written parts of this book. This story alluded to a vengeful powerfull old vampire, with a heartbreaking back story. It ended up being about a lady who cant wait to fall in love with the first man in her way, all the while screaming at the top of her lungs how she will not be used by men. How do you fall in love in litterally 3 seconds, and plan a whole future with someone? How do you preach against being used, while you yourself use others? Come on, what a load of bs. And the whole Judas plotline, does not fit at all, and its as if these so called powerfull old vampired just hatched from their fragile eggs and have never met any other people. EVER. In their whole of existence.
And the villain plotline... very poorly executed, not developed enough. This whole book could have been cut into half, and lost none of the story. NONE. Because character development only happened in the past, and then the vampire discovered modern society and decided to regress into basically infancy.
Also, dont even get me started on the absolutely horrendous sex metaphors. ffs, call things by their names and leave it at that. Ill never see bees the same again, and I singlehandedly blame this author.

DEVELOP BOOKS MORE BEFORE PUBLISHING

This was a great concept but instead of the lush, sensual exploration of what it means to be immortal that you might expect, this was a bizarrely written polemic on 2023 understanding of race coupled with a shallow paddle in the murky waters of collonialism. Not that either of these things were themselves fully explored. Much of the justifiable conversation to be had about these things was tabled in favour of some of the most bizarrely written smut I have ever encountered. (I'm sure butter can be used as lube but the context was not sexy. Nor is referring to your anus as a sea anemone seeking prey).

About halfway through I put my finger on what wasn't gelling for me: this is not a vampire story - it's Sad Girl fic wearing a pair of plastic fangs. Far more focus was trained on Mali's state of mind, her emotional healing and her search for love. All of which might have seemed reasonable if this was a 14 - 40 yr old but with a 550 yr old being just didn't ring true. Not that Mali has done anything with her immortality. Granted vampire strength and speed, instead of wreaking bloody vengeance on the conquistadors, sge spends approximately 4 centuries making baskets in a hut. I know art is therapeutic but in the context of the story it was weird.

I did not care for how this was written. If you're a Red Dwarf fan perhaps you recall Kryton's astonishef and dismayed 'last chicken in the shop' speech. There were choices and that's what they went for? Welk that's how I felt about most of the imagery choices here. In addition it was a very flat told story, all sensual detail drained out of it. (Perhaps Anne Rice has ruined vampire for every one). The dialogue was trite and full of exposition.

Annoyingly, the story had monents where you could see what it could have been. I found myself slipping in and out of liking it but objectively this is not a well written book. Large chunks are as random as the imagery. Judas Iscariot rocks up as a bounty hunter. Hernan Cortez (yep that one) teams up with John Hawkins (slave tradings supply chain management specialist) to create a skincare brand.

Overall this was the wrong kind of weird fir me and while I enjoy sad girl fic at tines, at least go the whole hog and let the MC self destruct. Would recommend Christopher Pike's Last Vampire series, Anne Rice and more or less every other vampire story over this.

The blurb drew my attention and was my main reason for requesting but unfortunately I DNF'd my read as the book really wasn't for me.

In "Blood and Ashes," a seductive dark fantasy from the author of "The Haunting of Alejandra," an ancient Aztec vampire named Malinalli roams the modern world seeking vengeance and love. Once known as La Malinche, her infamous legacy as a traitor belies the truth of her transformation into an immortal avenger of conquered peoples. Reclaiming stolen artifacts, she arrives in Dublin to retrieve Aztec skulls tied to her past. There, she encounters two men: a mortal horror novelist who embraces her vampiric nature and an immortal who shares her dark heart. Malinalli embarks on a perilous journey into her deepest desires, blending history, fantasy, and romance in a captivating tale.

Another gorgeous, rich, latina tale from V Castro! It's always a pleasure to dive into her worlds, as I know that I'll find a strong heroine standing tall against anything she must face. This is no exception.

It's a vampire tale like none I've read before (and I've read a lot!), particularly because of the protagonist. Malinalli speaks with a voice that crosses centuries, full of anger and passion that reflect her experiences at the hands of so many oppressors - one of whom is still lurking in the modern world. But not only must she face this ancient enemy, she must face the challenge of a new human man as well.

I knew the story of Cortés only from history books, which are obviously slanted towards the white male point of view. When I realized who V had cast as her lead, I was both shocked and so impressed! Reclaiming a woman from history and letting her tell what might have been. Retaining her humanity, her womanhood and her overall identity while still having to fight... marvellous.

I admit, I was more invested in Malinalli's connection with her new human beau, as it was fun to see how a contemporary intellectual man compared to everything she'd encountered before. The 'baddy' was a bit of a moustache-twirling villain, reminding me of a similar character from old Dr Who; while I understand the need for his plot, I think I'd have been happy if this was primarily about human/immortal relationship.

But as I said, it's always a pleasure to read V's words, and this is another fun, engaging adventure that had me turning the pages well into the night.

1.5* rounded up.

To attempt to sum this up, immortal pleasures follows a 500 year old vampire on her quest to take back stolen artefacts. The blurb makes it sound like an intelligent and harrowing tale of a woman subject to colonisers abuse, emerging from the wreckage as a vampire avenger. Try as it might, it does not paint her as the badass powerful vampire heroine it strives too, but instead describes a woman with 500 years of body issues, a shit tonne of sex described in only the weirdest of ways, and a dash of imperialism flashbacks. She seems to deny the possibility of love before shacking up with two different men in quick succession (one, a human, the other is vampire Judas). She doesn’t come across as strong, just horny. Other reviews have included some quotes of the myriad of strange word choices, but I honestly couldn't pick my favourites (or I guess the worst of the book) to include. Maybe that she can't each hot sauce because she witnessed a massacre? It's honestly not great, and would be more at home amongst equally terrible Wattpad fan fiction. I find it hard to believe this is a published author with MULTIPLE books and awards? It's at best whackadoodle smut and was incredibly disappointing. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

Vampires tend to have the edge on being scary and sexy from Dracula, Angel and Lestat there has been a lot of charismatic pretty people with fangs owning the night. Now in V Castro’s erotic horror tale Immortal Pleasure we have a fascinating lead character who has lived 500 years and crossed continents but it’s a tale with so much packed into it I’m slightly feeling it would have worked better as two books.

Malinalli has arrived in Island for a break before she resumes a search for ancient Aztec skulls – objects that as well of great historical significance have had a personal connection to her. Long ago she lived in the time the Americas were conquered by Cortez and the Spanish Conquistadors. Her life was brutal passed from man to man as an object of desire and forced to work as a translator for Cortez. She however was turned into a vampire as a last act of resistance and has since spent centuries trying to find her own way of living. A chance encounter with a young attractive horror writer sparks emotions Malinalli thought could never have been possible for her. However, lurking in the background is another much more violent vampire – Cortez himself.

Now I’ve been a fan of V Castro for several books now. They’re a skilled horror writer who uses history and explores attitudes to women in interesting ways. I had not quite realised this was a more erotic horror so just be prepared that this particularly in the first half has several strong, explicit and sensual sex scenes. It is not really my kind of thing to read but it is a key part of the wider story. Malinalli is despite living for 500 years at a crossroads and finding Colin a young Irish horror writer who makes her finally find a connection. Sparks fly and for the first time we see Malinalli consider – can she actually have a life of her own?

In many ways this feels like two books rather than one. The first half focuses on Malinalli and Colin with it all in Malinalli’s distinctive voice. She’s smart, self-effacing, sensual and has a sense of humour but also provides a sense of loneliness eating away at her. In regular flashbacks we see her when she was alive and the terrible life she had being a slave for Cortes and whichever noble she was passed to – including bearing children for. We can see through this why she may have steered clear of relationships. The first half is primarily about this internal conflict being finally beaten.

The second half then really expands the concept that also as a vampire is Cortez himself and also we meet the Slave Trader John Mann. So while Malinalli has dedicated her vampiric life to rescuing stolen artefacts we have these two profiting still from loot centuries later. Malinalli, Colin and the really interesting vampire bounty hunter Alexander J (and his origin story is rather huge! Nah not spoiling that) get into a more regular conflict as each plan to stop the other.

All of this is interesting, but the novel feels lopsided neither storyline quite feels allowed to breath and the ideas and histories of these characters feel a little rushed. Colin arrives as a potential amazing love interest but then Malinelli loses interest. It feels a little undercutting he first half’s passion and while great that a character is not falling too much into insta-love and matched up for un-life this felt underexplored as her first proper relationship in a long time. There is a whole world of vampires, secret histories and more to explore that really this could be a very long-running series of magic, erotic encounters, and vampires – there is a long history in the genre of this so as a standalone it feels a little incomplete.

I continue to look forward to V Castro’s stories – this proves they will always surprise where they go next. I think reads who joy what I think some call ‘spice’ will find this quite warming and for those of more standard horror there is still quite a lot to enjoy. Ideally this world and character could be explored again but I think one readers will have to make a judgement call how much these mixed elements will appeal.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

DNF: 12%

I absolutely love Castro's novella Goddess of Filth and the concept of Immortal Pleasures is fabulous. However, there was something missing from the writing in this book. The characters and writing were totally flat, and I struggled to take some of the decisions she made as an author seriously. Vampires are a hard sell for me, and this one just didn't work.

I am a big fan of V Castro’s work and was excited when I learned about Immortal Pleasures. Obviously from the title alone I was aware this might be a bit more spicy than I am used to but I have to say that personally I found Castro’s writing perfectly matched to the genre – particularly that of a horror or paranormal romance.

Malinalli is the perfect vampire in my opinion. She is equal parts alluring and deadly and the thing I adored most is she knows it. On top of this she has a second mission to retrieve artifacts of her people that have been stolen from their homelands. I loved the juxtaposition of her own journey of discovery involving pleasure and lust and her journey to return the artifacts of people.

Obviously this will not be everyone due to the spice, which is very high, but I did enjoy it overall.

"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 (<spoiler>the butter scene</spoiler>), 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 already pre-ordered a copy.

This was not what I expected out of this book. I loved the concept but tit did not deliver. I didn't realize how much smut there was going to be. It was more graphic than I thought it would be.

It was less horror/ paranormal and more romance. Interesting concept none the less.

I have adored V Castro's writing in the past, The Haunting of Alejandra was one of my favourite books from 2023 so I was so excited to read Immortal Pleasures by V Castro as well. The concept of an ancient Aztec woman turned vampire avenging in the modern day, sounded incredible there was so much potential for this to be a five star book from this plot alone but somehow this missed the mark for me.

There is so much smut in this that I probably think it's more romance than a horror book. The writing of the sex scenes were so detailed and frankly disturbing I cringed throughout these scenes. It was a struggle to continue to read at points. The jumps between time without distinction markers made this difficult to follow or connect with the story.

The atmosphere wasn't there and therefore it wasn't the best story from V Castro.

Immortal Pleasures follows an immortal vampire called Malinche who travels the world to give stolen artifacts back to their homelands. Malinche also wants love as she experiences human feelings of pleasure and lust. She arrives in Dublin to search for a pair of Aztec skulls but ends up meeting a horror novelist who is attracted to her darkness. However, there is an immortal who carries the same darkness as Malinche and it is time for her to experience pleasure.

This was enjoyable and I’m giving it 3 stars. I’d recommend this book for fans of this author but also for fans of Aztec culture. It was definitely erotic but I was expecting that. There was some great themes discussed in this such as colonialism and the way identify is taken by colonisers. Personally, I struggled with the writing, it was very I did this… kind of thing with a lot of telling over showing.