Dianne Duvall: IMMORTAL GUARDIANS SERIES

Author:  Dianne Duvall

Series:  IMMORTAL GUARDIANS 
Plot Type:  Soul-Mate Romance (SMR)

Ratings:  Violence—4; Sensuality—4; Humor—3

Publisher and Titles:  Zebra

         Darkness Dawns (2/2011)

         Night Reigns (12/2011)

         Phantom Shadows (10/2012)

         "In Still Darkness" (novella in Predatory, 5/2013)

         Darkness Rises (10/2013)
         Night Unbound (9/2014)
         "Phantom Embrace" in On the Hunt (8/2015)
          Shadows Strike (8/2015)

This ongoing post was revised and updated on 9/19/15 to include a review of Shadows Strike, the sixth novel in the series. That review appears first, followed by an overview of the world-building and reviews of the first five novels and two novellas.   

                    NOVEL 6:  Shadows Strike                    
PUBLISHER'S BLURB:

     U.S. law enforcement agent Heather Lane can read minds. But not the future. The dream of battle and blood that recurs every night must be a fluke, some obscure terror from her own mind. What its significance might be, she can't guess: an attack from seven psychotic vampires at once, only separated from nightmare by an eighth very different immortal. A handsome, brave man fighting at her side, a man she misses when she wakes.

     Then the dream comes true. Heather is flung into a war between predators and protectors of humanity, the man from her dreams beside her again. Except now that she's awake, she isn't sure she can trust Ethan, or the shadow organization he represents. The U.S. military doesn't trust either of them. But against an onslaught of evil like the one that's coming, it will take everything they have just to survive. 

MY REVIEW:
     The book is set a year after the events of "Phantom Embrace," and I kept feeling that I must have missed a novella or a novel because of the big time gap. For example, Marcus and Ami's baby girl, Adira, who was still in utero in "Phantom Embrace," is already a toddler. Early in the book, we learn the identity of the traitor inside the Guardians network who supplied the vials of sedative to the enemy. That entire situation is handled off the page, and rather off-handedly, which is puzzling because it has been a major element in the plots of the past few books. Once the traitor is out of the way, the plot focuses on the villainous Other, Gershom, who is one of the Others, a mysterious, powerful, narrow-minded group from which both Seth—leader of the Guardians—and Zach have defected. For his own reasons, Gershom is determined to trigger Armageddon and destroy mankind. 

     But wait…we have time for a romance before the world ends. This time around, Immortal Guardian Ethan (who formerly was in love with Lisette) finds his soul mate in Heather Lane, a human woman with telepathic abilities, meaning that she is a gifted one (good news for Ethan!). Although the Publisher's Blurb states that Heather is  "a U.S. law enforcement agent," that is absolutely incorrect. She is a private consultant who has done some interrogation work for various police departments and for the military, posing as a facial action coding system (FACS) specialist. As Heather explains to Ethan, "I read minds for a living. But everyone thinks I read facial expressions."

     As the story opens, Heather is determined to get at the meaning of a dream she has had nearly every night for an entire year. In the dream, she is sitting in a chair in a clearing in the middle of the woods when a gang of vampires bursts from the forest. They attack her, but then a very different kind of supernatural man comes to her aid and fights at her side. On this particular night, Heather's dream comes true when the vampires, followed by Ethan, surge into the clearing. Eventually, the Guardians get to the bottom of why Heather has this and other precognitive dreams, but for the moment, Heather and Ethan spend some time falling in lust/love with one another. 

     The action part of the plot focuses on attacks by vampires on several covert U.S. military units. The Guardians are sure that Gershom is behind the attacks, but at first they can't understand his purpose. Eventually, all becomes clear, and the book ends with the requisite battle between Gershom's vampires and the Guardian forces. The final chapters have a number of surprises that will affect the action in the next books. Problematically, just as with the traitor in the ranks, all of the scenes featuring the villainous Gershom are off the page.

     The plot is full of twists and turns, and most of them work. But in the final analysis, the reasons given for two vampire attacks on Heather and Ethan (early in the book) didn't entirely make sense to me. Duvall has a character explain this several times, but no…it still isn't clear why someone (who shall remain nameless in this review) has enough magical power to mentally coerce large gangs of vampires to attack but not enough power to control those vamps in any way once the attack begins. 

     Except for a few extra plot twists, this book has the same general format of all the others in the series: a relatively smooth romance, a lot of vampire battles, and too many saccharin-sweet scenes of camaraderie at David's house. (In this book, those scenes are driven by cute little Adira as she coos and drools her way from one big, tough Guardian to another.) I like the series well enough, but after six books and two novellas, it's hard to work up much enthusiasm for the same repetitive vampire battle scenes we've been reading since the series began. The vampires are pretty much the only boots-on-the-ground enemies these Guardians have, so the battles are always the same because these vamps are all crazed, violent, non-sentient beings who know only one way to fight: growl, claw, snarl, bite, hiss, slash…and repeat. 

     These books would also be more engaging if some of the Guardians and their mates had a few flaws. What makes Phantom Shadows the best book in the series so far is the fact that its lead character—Bastien—is such a flawed hero. With the exception of Bastien and Roland, the rest of the Guardians and their mates are all so unrelentingly Mary Sue/Gary Stu that they aren't very interesting. I'm hoping that in one of the future books, Duvall finds it in her heart to give Aidan a soul mate. Poor guy…he has been waiting a long, long time! Click HERE to read or listen to an excerpt from Shadows Strike. Just click on either the cover art or the "Listen" icon.

                   WORLD-BUILDING                    

     Duvall has created a world in which the Immortal Guardians protect humankind from evil vampires. Not a very fresh concept, but Duvall adds a twist by giving the Guardians most of the same traits as the vamps: sun sensitivity, blood-sucking fangs, day sleep, and the usual super-strength and speed. Interestingly, their fangs siphon the blood from the source directly into the Guardian's bloodstream. As one Guardian explains to his soul mate, “…our fangs behave like IV needles, drawing the blood in and carrying it directly to our veins.” (from Darkness Dawns) 

     Vampires can consume only blood. Guardians eat regular food, but they must supplement it with blood once or twice a week. The vamps drain any available humans for their blood, but the Guardians take blood only from the most despicable of criminals (e.g., pedophiles, child-pornography peddlers) or from the vampires’ human minions...because, after all, they are the good guys.

     In this world, vampirism is a toxic virus. If a normal person is bitten, he or she becomes a vampire and is slowly driven into blood-lust madness by the effects of the virus. But, if the human who is bitten is a gifted one—that is, if the person has the right DNA and a special magical gift—he or she will become an Immortal Guardian instead of a vampire. As one Guardian explains, "Every human has forty-six DNA memo groups that provide the blueprints for his or her existence. According to our researchers, gifted ones have seven thousand." (from Shadows Strike)

     The Guardians' magical gifts include such talents as healing, seeing ghosts, and telekinesis.  Since the gifted ones supposedly come from one common ancestor, they all have similar physical characteristics, including black hair, brown eyes, and a large stature (in other words, really big, tall, dark, and handsome dudes!).

     Later in the series, we learn of a mysterious group called the Others. Here, Seth, leader of the Guardians, describes that group: "Others are the eldest immortals on the planet, As such, we possess incredible power. Power that can alter the world if we wield it. But we decided long ago that we would not, under any circumstances, interfere with the natural course of mankind. We believed—and had good reason to do so—that any interaction with humans would alter that course and inevitably bring about Armageddon." (from Shadows Strike).

     Click HERE to go to a page on the author's web site where she provides a glossary of terms and a list of character descriptions. Click HERE to go to a page on the author's web site with links to excerpts. Click HERE to go to a page with links to character interviews and free series-related short stories.

Here are the soul-mate couples (so far):
   > Roland and Sarah Bingham (novel 1)
   > Marcus Grayden and Amiriska (Ami) (novel 2)
   > Sebastien (Bastien) and Dr. Melanie Lipton (novel 3)
   > Richart d'Alençon and Jenna McBride (novella 3.5)

   > Etienne d'Alençon and Krysta Linz (novel 4)

   > Lisette d'Alençon and Zachariah (Zach) (novel 5)

   > Yuri Sokolov and Cat Seddon (novella 5.5)

   > Ethan and Heather Lane (novel 6)

                  NOVEL 1: Darkness Dawns                    
     Set in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina, the first book, opens with Sara Bingham, a beautiful human woman, in her backyard planting a vegetable garden just before dawn. Suddenly, she witnesses some men in the near-by woods who are fighting viciously to subdue another man. When the thugs leave their victim staked to the ground, Sara rescues him, thinking that she has stumbled onto some type of gang war. 

     Sara is the usual paranormal heroine, with a tragic childhood and an inability to sustain a romantic relationship. Roland, the Guardian she saves, has a reputation for being a gruff loner, refusing even to have a human assistant to guard him during his day sleep. Naturally enough, it's lust at first sight for this couple, even after she finds out that he is a fangy bloodsucker. Sara has absolutely no second thoughts about their relationship, so there is zero angst—which is highly unusual for a paranormal romance (and rather disappointing). As Sara and Roland get to know one another, they must contend with continual attacks from a mysterious vampire named Bastien, who wants Roland dead for reasons that we don't learn until the end of the story. As the attacks continue, Roland's fellow Guardians arrive to help him out, and we meet the rest of the cast of characters for the series: Seth, the all-powerful leader; David, Seth's second in command; Darnell, David's human second; Marcus, Roland's best friend; Richart, Étienne, and Lisette d'Alençon—a sibling team of French Guardians; and Chris Reordan, a human in charge of computer data gathering, clean-up, and daytime security for the Guardians.  

     This book also includes a weird time-travel romance scenario that turns up in a single conversation between Roland and Sara and that is developed further in book 2, when Marcus’s story is fully told, but even then we don't get enough details to justify its insertion into the plot. Why insert time travel into a vampire series? Who knows?

     I liked the world-building for the series, but there were a few problems with the editing: misplaced names, comments that didn't quite fit with past events, and so forth. But the biggest problem for me was the incredible amount of space used to impress us with how eco-friendly the good guys are. The Guardians eat only organic fruits and vegetables, no red meat, etc. Marcus drives a Prius. Roland is careful to rip the label off a cat food can before he drops it in the recycling bin. Roland's romantic wedding gift to his bride is a new vegetable garden. They enjoy an organic pizza—no chemical-filled pepperoni and processed cheese for this couple! This organic thing goes on and on and on, and it became a huge distraction for me.  We even learn that Roland uses environmentally friendly dish soap and bubble bath, for heaven's sake! I don't know about you, but I don't read paranormal romance for environmental tips. If Duvall can pull back—a lot—on her environmental message in future books, I may keep reading the series.

     Duvall also has problems with character development. The good guys and gals are almost too "good." After having lived for centuries, one would think that they would have a few flaws that could be explored as part of the story. Although we keep hearing from the supporting characters that Roland has a reputation for being rude, morose, and stand-offish, we never ever see that side of him, so it doesn't seem real. Instead he comes across as a kind, gentle, too-good-to-be-true environmentalist. Depth of character cannot be established solely through comments from bystanders. Characters have to demonstrate their personality traits through their own words, thoughts, and actions as they work their way though the conflict set up in the plot. Unfortunately, this does not happen in Darkness Dawns. Sara is another character who is nearly flawless—and totally one-dimensional. Although Sara has a doctorate in music, there is absolutely no evidence of music in her life. Sara has set aside a whole room for her gym equipment, but there are no musical instruments or equipment anywhere in sight. What's the point in making Sara a musician if there are no musical references in the story? She probably should have been a personal trainer instead. As the story progresses, Sara segues from music-professor, exercise-freak, organic-gardener to kick-ass, sure-shot vampire killer in the blink of an eye, with little or no physical effort or emotional trauma, even when she shoots her first vampires at close range. (Well, she does faint once—when she first believes that Roland is a vampire, but that's over in a flash.) 

     Also—SPOILER ALERT—Sara's "gift" comes out of nowhere. We hear nothing much about the content of Sara's dreams at any point during the story—just that she has trouble sleeping. Then, bam! Her dreaming ability becomes a life-changing talent. I don't think so. For me, the most enjoyable character is Nietzsche, Roland's 40-year-old vampire cat, who takes on raccoons and opossums twice his size. He has more depth than some of the humanoid characters. Click HERE to read an excerpt from Darkness Dawns (scroll down a bit to find it).

                    NOVEL 2:  Night Reigns                   

    The second book picks up a year and a half after book 1 and tells the romantic story of the Immortal Guardian Marcus Grayden and Amiriska (Ami), a mysterious woman who has superhuman strength and miraculous healing powers, but who is not a gifted one. As the story opens, Seth assigns Ami to be Marcus' second, his human back-up. From the beginning, I had to wonder how Ami could have been living for a year and a half with Seth, David, and Darnell without ever coming in contact with any of the other Guardians. When Seth brings Ami to Marcus' house, he has no idea who she is or that Seth has known her for so long. How could this happen in the close-knit Guardian community? Anyhow...Ami proves to be not only a great second, but a great lover when Marcus eventually gives in and makes a move. Unfortunately, Ami has an extremely tragic history, which she doesn't reveal to either Marcus (or the reader) until very late in the book. 

     And now for the bad guys: The first set of villains are the blood-thirsty vampires under the command of Dennis, a crazy vamp who wants to be king of the world. The second set of villains, who show up late in the story, are far more mysterious, and I can't tell you much about them without revealing Ami's big secret. Let's just say that when Ami tells Marcus, "I'm not from around here" (p. 298), she's not kidding.

     This book has some of the same problems as book 1, but they aren't as severe. We still have LOTS of eco-friendly moments. Here are some examples: Marcus drives a Prius, and Ami drives an electric car—a Tesla Roadster. When Ami packs Marcus a lunch to take along on his vamp-hunting missions, she always includes a healthy, all-organic sandwich and some environmentally friendly, scentless wipes along with the requisite chilled bag of blood. And there's another cat-food-can recycling scene (and another cat). A gratuitous justification paragraph (p. 192) explains that the Immortals are mostly vegetarian because they run the same health risks as humans (e.g., high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, diabetes). Apparently, their bodies waste energy healing them from these diseases, thus causing them to consume more blood, which puts a strain on their human blood donors. To me, this whole concept is kind of silly.

     The most ridiculously manipulative scene in the book occurs on pp. 127-130 when the author has Ami stumbling around on roller skates in Marcus' study for no apparent reason other than to have her trip over a rug and fall into Marcus' arms. (This is the only time that the skates show up in the story, thank goodness.) The Marcus-Bethany (his lost love) story comes up several times, but we get only a few details. Marcus tells Ami about a time back in the 1600s when Marcus' liege lord brought home a woman (Bethany) wearing blue jeans and a tank top. When Ami has a WTF reaction to this, he tells her that Seth sent Bethany back in time. When Ami asks for details, Marcus puts her off, saying, "Another long story and our dinner's almost ready..." (p. 196) Later (on p. 215), Marcus tells Ami that Bethany showed up at some point during the Middle ages and gave him an iPod with a solar recharger. And that is about all we get on the time travel episode. On the author's web site, Duvall says that she has completed a new manuscript telling Bethany's story: "Rendezvous with Yesterday is a time travel romance in which Bethany Bennett is whisked back in time and takes thirteenth century England—and the dark Earl of Fosterly—by storm." Why put that inane story line into this book if you're not going to flesh it out? Maybe to sell another book. I believe that this is just a marketing strategy to sell the Bethany book. For shame, Dianne Duvall!

      Much of the violence comes from the graphic descriptions of battle injuries, like this one: "The wounds that hadn't yet healed stung...as though being inflicted anew. Blood, some sticky, some crusty, softened and liquefied, trailing down his flesh like paint following an artist's brush." (Night Reigns, p. 184) If you are squeamish, consider this fair warning. 

     We learn a few new details about Seth in this book, with wings being one of the new clues to his real identity. This book signals a change in the world building, moving from strictly paranormal to a more science fiction type of plot line. We'll see how that works out. Click HERE to read an excerpt from Night Reigns (scroll down a bit to find it).

                   NOVEL 3:  Phantom Shadows                    

     As the book begins, Sebastien ("Bastien") has been living among the Guardians for almost two years, but he's still a hated outsider, untrusted by everyone—everyone, that is, but Dr. Melanie Lipton, the human doctor who works in the Guardians' network headquarters. Bastien and Melanie met back in book 1 when he burst into headquarters in a mad rage, looking for one of his vampires. Even though he was a fearsome sight, Melanie was not afraid of Bastien. On the contrary, she finds herself attracted to him—and vice versa. Their love story is, like those in previous stories, a fairly smooth ride from first attraction to final commitment, although Bastien does have a few interior monologues in which he goes on and on about how he isn't good enough for her. Their love story is really more sweet than passionate, although they do have the obligatory graphic love scenes common to all paranormal romances.

     The action plot centers around the mysterious set of new villains who turned up at the end of book 2. Emrys, the leader of that group, is determined to create an army of mercenary super-soldiers using vampire blood, so he has put together a black-ops tactical force to stake out the city and capture vampires for experimental purposes. Emrys is the man who tortured Ami in book 2, so all of the Guardians are determined to take him down. In an effort to weaken Emrys' efforts, Bastien proposes that the Guardians try to win some of the vampires over to their side. He takes the lead, locating Stuart, a young vampire who agrees to sign on with the Guardians. Unfortunately, that plan doesn't end well, particularly for Melanie. A major battle scene late in the book is full of bloody action and drama, but the requisite climactic showdown at the end is a bit too short and too neat. The story line involving Emrys is resolved by the end of the book, but new problems crop up in the final pages. 

     Once again, we get a bit more information about Seth when he meets up with Zach, another of his kind, and we learn that for some reason Seth has distanced himself from the rest of his people. We also learn that David has some magical powers that he's been keeping under wraps.

     This book is much better than books 1 and 2. The characters of the hero and heroine are more fully developed, and we're getting the back stories of the rest of the supporting cast. Melanie is an intelligent heroine, who doesn't have a single TSTL moment; the flip side is that she is a bland heroine. Thankfully, the environmental theme of the first two books has been scaled way back in this one, with just a few references to the Guardians' diet of organic food and no references at all to their gas-saving cars, although the narration does drawsattention to the fact that the bad guys drive gas-guzzling Hummers. There's no time travel in this story; it's a straightforward paranormal romance with an action-filled plot. This is not a stand-alone novel. The author doesn't provide much of a summary of past events, so a new reader might be confused by all the hatred for Bastien. Click HERE to read an excerpt from Phantom Shadows (scroll down a bit to find it).    

                    NOVELLA 3.5: "In Still Darkness"                      

     This novella, which appears in the anthology, Predatory (5/2013), tells the love story of Richart d'Alençon and Jenna McBride. Click HERE to read my review of all of the novellas in Predatory. Click HERE to read an excerpt from "In Still Darkness."  

                    NOVEL 4:  Darkness Rises                    

     In the fourth book, we get the love story of Étienne d'Alençon, one of three French sibling immortals, and Krysta Linz, a human who has honed herself into a highly effective vampire hunter. One night when Étienne is out hunting, he observes Krysta lure some vampires into an alley and dispatch them quickly with her shoto swords. When more vampires appear on the scene, Étienne jumps into the action to assist her. At first, Krysta believes that Étienne is a vampire because of his fangs and glowing eyes, but she sees that his aura is purple and white, while all the vamps' auras are orange. Naturally enough, Krysta's bad-ass fighting skills are a major turn-on for Étienne even though he fears that she is risking her life every time she engages vampires in battle. In fact, when Krysta claims to have been killing vamps for six years, Étienne can hardly believe it. In order to protect Krysta, Étienne begins to follow her on her hunting rounds each night, grabbing up any vampires who follow her and killing them out of her sight. Krysta soon discovers what Étienne is doing, but she is physically attracted to him (big time), so they just have a bit of a spat and both go home to have lustful dreams about the other. 

     Then, the unexpected happens: One night, just as Étienne jumps in to help Krysta fight off a large group of vamps, someone shoots a tranquilizer dart into his neck and then begins banging away at both of them with high-powered guns. They escape with the help of Krysta's brother, and the main action plot is underway.

     Krysta and her brother, Sean, each have a magical talent (thus we immediately know that they are gifted ones): Krysta can see people's auras, and Sean can heal with a touch of his hands (although all of the injuries he heals transfer from the injured person's body to his own—and that's a huge problem for a healer). Since the two are gifted, Seth agrees to allow them entry into the Guardians' world.

     Krysta and Sean are soon adopted into the extended family of the Immortal Guardians as the group attempts to figure out the identity of their new attackers. Supposedly, all evidence related to the tranquilizers was destroyed after the big battle that ended the previous book, but somehow this new group not only has the formula, but an army of mercenaries as well. The previous group (under the command of Emrys) captured vamps and immortals in order to cut them apart and try to figure out the secret to their super powers. Seth and David (leaders of the Immortal Guardians) destroyed all computer files, research records, and equipment as well as wiping the memories of the two men who were Emrys' top lieutenants. So…what's going on here? How has this new group learned to make the tranquilizer (which is the only drug that will incapacitate an immortal)? Why is their secret headquarters identical to that of Emrys? Could there be a traitor in the Guardians' ranks? The action plot follows the Guardians as they follow the clues and take down yet another enemy.

     In the meantime, the primary romance plot takes Krysta and Étienne from immediate attraction to lustful glances and sighs to hot love scenes—and finally to their HEA. In a side story line, Étienne's sister, Lisette, is falling for the mysterious Zach (and vice versa). And in yet another story line, the Guardians are worried about Ami's pregnancy and about her friendship with Zach.   

     As usual, the author spends too much time on the whole eco-friendly, organic theme, as she has the characters explain to Krysta that their highly developed senses result in extreme sensitivity to pollution and to artificial food additives and chemicals. That's why they drive hybrid or electric cars and eat only organically grown food. Still, why bother hitting us over the head in every book with an environmentally friendly hammer when it has absolutely nothing to do with the plots?

     By now, the cast of characters is so large that if you haven't read the previous books, you may get confused as to who is human, who is immortal, and who has mated with whom. Therefore, I don't recommend this novel as a standalone. With its interesting characters and suspenseful plot, this is another strong installment in this ongoing series. The characters of both Étienne and Krysta are well developed, and their chemistry is obvious from their first meeting. The single problem I have with their relationship is that Krysta's (and Sean's) distrust of the immortals dissolves much too quickly. After all, the siblings have been hunting (and despising) vampires for years, ever since some vamps butchered Krysta's fiancé right in front of her. Yet, it takes only a day or two for both of them to believe the whole Guardian mythology and trust them as good guys. Other than Krysta's very brief initial distrust, her relationship with Étienne goes very smoothly, with no bumps, no misunderstandings, and no angst. After having over-the-top heroes like Roland and Bastien, Étienne comes across as rather bland and almost too nice to be real. The only small bit of romantic drama comes in the Lisette-Zach story thread, and that romance hasn't even really bloomed yet.

     Everything considered, though, this is a strong addition to the series, and it ends with a cliffhanger involving the identity of the traitor. The next book will no doubt turn inwards for its villain rather than outwards toward external enemies as has been the case in the previous books. Click HERE to read an excerpt from Darkness Rising (scroll down a bit to find it).

                  NOVEL 5:  Night Unbound                    

     In the previous book, Lisette d'Alençon showed signs of romantic attraction to Zach, the mysterious winged man who perches on rooftops, watching over the Guardians. No one but Seth and David know Zach's true identity, and they aren't sharing—not with the Guardians and not with the reader. Seth despises Zach and has warned all of the Immortal Guardians to stay away from him. As the book begins, Seth is certain that Zach is the traitor who has stolen the tranquilizer formula and manipulated the memories of two captive vampires. He beats Zach up, drains away his strength, and leaves him to be recaptured by the Others—the mysterious and violent group from which both Seth and Zach have broken away. The Others drag Zach away for two months of torture, during which he somehow manifests himself in Lisette's dreams and then escapes, falling out of the sky onto the roof of her house, badly injured and unconscious. As Lisette helps Zach heal, their romance begins.

     Meanwhile, the Guardians are dealing with a new threat. Someone is turning highly skilled military men into vampires and sending them out to capture one or more of the Immortals. These new vamps are extremely strong and well-trained in hand-to-hand combat. Plus, they are armed with darts filled with twice the normal amount of the vampire tranquilizer—enough to knock out an Immortal for days. Lisette finds this out the hard way one night when she is hunting vampires with Zach and gets hit with a dart. Zach fears that she is dying, so he grabs up Lisette and the two uber-vamps and smashes his way into David's house in the middle of a major meeting of the Immortals. It is at this point that Seth and Zach make peace with one another and the reader learns how and why they became estranged in the first place.

     Although there are a few too many repetitious vampire-hunting scenes, this is, on the whole, a tight, suspense-filled plot with some major twists and turns. Each time Seth believes that he has identified the traitor, new information surfaces and his search continues on to the next suspect. There are two climactic scenes near the end of the book: one with lots of guns and explosions and one with a long-overdue, bitter encounter between ancient enemies. Both are connected with the search for the true traitor, who is still on the loose. Once again, we don't find out exactly what or who Seth, Zach, and the Others are, but I keep adding up the clues—attractive, winged men who were originally tasked with observing humans—and this leads me to the Bible, specifically to the Book of Enoch. Somehow, this situation has to include angels, fallen angels, and/or nephilum in some way, shape, or form. Perhaps we'll get the full story in the next novel.

     The romance plot line follows the usual lust-filled path, but with fewer bumps and less angst than some of the romances in previous books. Although Zach has lived for thousands of years, he is still a virgin, but don't worry, he has either been reading sex manuals or watching porn because he knows all of the right moves.

     In the primary sub-plot, the Immortals are worried about the birth of Ami's child, which happens towards the end of the book in one of those screaming birth scenes with major complications. The suspense builds throughout the scene because no child has ever been born with the combination of alien DNA (Ami) and vampire-infected blood (Marcus).

     Although this novel runs long (425 pages), it moves along quickly, with the action scenes and the romance scenes interweaving in a natural manner. Zach and Lisette are a well-matched couple, both strong, brave, and highly skilled warriors who would lay down their lives for one another. Readers who are keeping up with this series will love the fact that we get a bit more information about Seth's tragic background and a few more vague hints about his true identity.

     Click HERE and scroll down a bit to read an excerpt from Night Unbound. Click HERE to read an interview with Dianne Duvall on pp. 24-25 in the September/October issue of BTS Book Reviews, an e-magazine.

                   NOVELLA 5.5:  "Phantom Embrace"                    

     This review of "Phantom Embrace" is taken from my post that reviews all of the novellas in the anthology On the Hunt. Click HERE to read my reviews of the other three novellas in that anthology.

PUBLISHER'S BLURB: 

     Immortal Yuri Sokolov was born with the ability to see spirits, yet he's never seen one as lovely as Cat Seddon, the woman who haunts his home and his dreams. But amid their star-crossed love, a new danger may have Yuri facing a different kind of eternity. 

MY REVIEW:
     Except for the super-quick progression of the romance, this story is quite different from Duvall's usual IMMORTAL GUARDIANS stories, mostly because the heroine is a ghost. Besides David and Seth, only two of the Guardians can see ghosts: Yuri and Marcus. The ghost in this story is Cat, sister of Bastien, who was killed long ago by her husband, a newly turned vampire, while she was pregnant with their child.

    The two-pronged plot follows the development of the romance and the beginnings of another vampire uprising. The romance gives new meaning to the term "dream lovers," and the bittersweet ending will have you reaching for a handkerchief. Fun fact about Yuri and Cat: They enjoy listening to paranormal romance audiobooks together, especially the bedroom scenes.

     Obviously, the yet-to-be-identified traitor within the Guardian network is still up to no good. This time, someone is raising a army of vamps who are highly trained in martial arts and other warrior skills. This villain is also increasing the potency of the tranquilizer that is the only drug that can affect Guardians. 

     Also part of the story are scenes involving Zach, who proves that he is not the traitor, and Lisette, who suffers at the hands of the new vampire army. I'm guessing that this new vampire army situation and the identification of the traitor will play heavily in Duvall's newest novel in this series, Shadows Strike, which I will be reading and reviewing in the next few days.

     In the first few pages of the story, Duvall provides a concise summary of the key events of the series up to this point, so if you need to brush up on your series history, this bit of exposition will come in handy.