Scan barcode
coffiend's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lisa_me's review against another edition
5.0
4.5♥s
Survival Is On The Line
[For the uninitiated, a glossary of terms used in the Immortal Guardians books and in this review is located on Dianne Duvall's Web site at http://www.dianneduvall.com/immortalguardians.htm.]
Sebastien Newcombe was the villain from [b:Darkness Dawns|8804062|Darkness Dawns (Immortal Guardians, #1)|Dianne Duvall|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883828s/8804062.jpg|13678210] who believed he was a vampire. He was the nemesis of the hero of that book, Roland Warbrook, and led a vampire attack against the Immortal Guardians. To top things off, he once killed an Immortal Guardian.
And then he found out that he, himself, is an Immortal.
When Phantom Shadows opens, Bastien has been with the Immortal Guardians for two years. He hasn't been accepted by the Immortals, and that's okay with him. He hasn't accepted himself, either. He's an uncooperative, disruptive, bad boy.
But there's one person Bastien wants to be around, and that's Dr. Melanie Lipton. Melanie studies vampires, and has two of Bastien's former followers under her friendly care. Bastien makes every excuse he can to see Melanie when he visits the vampires. The attraction between them is on a slow burn until Melanie gets a peek into Bastien's private--very private--thoughts. Instead of being offended, she ups the game and wants to act upon those thoughts.
Melanie sees noble qualities in Bastien when no one else does. Although he might have been playing for the wrong team in the past due to a tragic oversight and misunderstanding, Bastien is an Immortal at heart. For the cause and people he believes in, he's honorable, protective, and loyal. She's a doctor who wants to do no harm, and yet she's also kick-ass when necessary.
A threat to the Immortal Guardians is growing, and Bastien proposes a controversial solution. You won't be able to turn the pages quickly enough as Melanie is put in mortal danger, Bastien goes into protective overdrive, and events explode. Literally.
The overall story arc continues in Phantom Shadows, with Ami's tormentor from [b:Night Reigns|10430194|Night Reigns (Immortal Guardians, #2)|Dianne Duvall|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348896979s/10430194.jpg|15334636] being involved in attacks on the Immortal Guardians. Favorite characters are featured. Seth is at his lethal best. He and David are scary good. Marcus and Ami have parts to play, as do Roland and Sarah. In a book of many battles, one of the biggest bombshells is the one dropped at the end. Stay tuned ...
Dianne Duvall says that an Immortal Guardians novella will be in the Predatory anthology, which will be released in May 2013. She's working on Immortal Guardians #4, which is Etienne's story. It will be out in September 2013. We can all look forward to it!
In the meantime, treasure Phantom Shadows!
Survival Is On The Line
[For the uninitiated, a glossary of terms used in the Immortal Guardians books and in this review is located on Dianne Duvall's Web site at http://www.dianneduvall.com/immortalguardians.htm.]
Sebastien Newcombe was the villain from [b:Darkness Dawns|8804062|Darkness Dawns (Immortal Guardians, #1)|Dianne Duvall|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883828s/8804062.jpg|13678210] who believed he was a vampire. He was the nemesis of the hero of that book, Roland Warbrook, and led a vampire attack against the Immortal Guardians. To top things off, he once killed an Immortal Guardian.
And then he found out that he, himself, is an Immortal.
When Phantom Shadows opens, Bastien has been with the Immortal Guardians for two years. He hasn't been accepted by the Immortals, and that's okay with him. He hasn't accepted himself, either. He's an uncooperative, disruptive, bad boy.
But there's one person Bastien wants to be around, and that's Dr. Melanie Lipton. Melanie studies vampires, and has two of Bastien's former followers under her friendly care. Bastien makes every excuse he can to see Melanie when he visits the vampires. The attraction between them is on a slow burn until Melanie gets a peek into Bastien's private--very private--thoughts. Instead of being offended, she ups the game and wants to act upon those thoughts.
Melanie sees noble qualities in Bastien when no one else does. Although he might have been playing for the wrong team in the past due to a tragic oversight and misunderstanding, Bastien is an Immortal at heart. For the cause and people he believes in, he's honorable, protective, and loyal. She's a doctor who wants to do no harm, and yet she's also kick-ass when necessary.
A threat to the Immortal Guardians is growing, and Bastien proposes a controversial solution. You won't be able to turn the pages quickly enough as Melanie is put in mortal danger, Bastien goes into protective overdrive, and events explode. Literally.
The overall story arc continues in Phantom Shadows, with Ami's tormentor from [b:Night Reigns|10430194|Night Reigns (Immortal Guardians, #2)|Dianne Duvall|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1348896979s/10430194.jpg|15334636] being involved in attacks on the Immortal Guardians. Favorite characters are featured. Seth is at his lethal best. He and David are scary good. Marcus and Ami have parts to play, as do Roland and Sarah. In a book of many battles, one of the biggest bombshells is the one dropped at the end. Stay tuned ...
Dianne Duvall says that an Immortal Guardians novella will be in the Predatory anthology, which will be released in May 2013. She's working on Immortal Guardians #4, which is Etienne's story. It will be out in September 2013. We can all look forward to it!
In the meantime, treasure Phantom Shadows!
gray_inbetween's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
mystery_jem's review
5.0
Dr. Melanie Lipton is no stranger to the supernatural. She knows immortals better than they know themselves, right down to their stubborn little genes. So, although a handsome rogue immortal seems suspicious to her colleagues, Sebastien Newcombe intrigues Melanie. His history is checkered, his scars are impressive, and his ideas are daring. But it's not his ideas that have Melanie fighting off surges of desire....
greysun69's review
4.0
⭐️4.5
Immortal Guardians Book 3
Sebastian & Melanie
Dark Knight MMC
The plot continues to thicken! Everything in this series so far has been a treat!
Okay Sebastian! I love him. He’s fucking great. Sweet, but only to Melanie, Ami, and his vampires. Everyone else he freely and happily annoys the shit out of.
“All you’re getting are corpses. When you call the cleanup crew, make sure they bring a fucking bus”. I love me a Touch Her And I’ll Kill You king.
Dr. Melanie Lipton!!! I’m loving all the bad ass women in this series. She’s sexually and romantically forward. Clinically curious all the time but also gives a fuck about people. And takes no shit. The time for wilting flower heroines is over!!
I enjoy, also, being able to keep up with the side character’s stories.
Immortal Guardians Book 3
Sebastian & Melanie
Dark Knight MMC
The plot continues to thicken! Everything in this series so far has been a treat!
Okay Sebastian! I love him. He’s fucking great. Sweet, but only to Melanie, Ami, and his vampires. Everyone else he freely and happily annoys the shit out of.
“All you’re getting are corpses. When you call the cleanup crew, make sure they bring a fucking bus”. I love me a Touch Her And I’ll Kill You king.
Dr. Melanie Lipton!!! I’m loving all the bad ass women in this series. She’s sexually and romantically forward. Clinically curious all the time but also gives a fuck about people. And takes no shit. The time for wilting flower heroines is over!!
I enjoy, also, being able to keep up with the side character’s stories.
erikajay's review
4.0
This is easily my favorite book from this series! I really like Sebastien. He’s definitely a tough guy to like, but he has reasons for his walls being up. I really liked seeing the French twins slowly break down those walls. They don’t even want to like him, but they can’t help it! Bastien’s gift is also really cool. I like that he has to be touching for his empath abilities to work.
Melanie was great! She knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to go after it. She is also sweet and caring towards everybody, even vampires. She’s competent and enjoys her jobs. She can also help temper Bastien’s snarky remarks.
I also laughed quite a bit in this book.
Melanie was great! She knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to go after it. She is also sweet and caring towards everybody, even vampires. She’s competent and enjoys her jobs. She can also help temper Bastien’s snarky remarks.
I also laughed quite a bit in this book.
jbskat's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
magikspells's review against another edition
2.0
My issue with this series is that there’s not a good overarching plot. Like the bad guys get taken down (pretty easily) only for another copy to show up next book. Very silly but at least Bastian was an interesting character and I didn’t have to hear dumb descriptions of Melanie’s breasts everytime she showed up.
kim_brockway_gatehouse's review against another edition
5.0
2018 Review
I'm just re-reading the Immortal Guardian series as book 8 [b:Awaken the Darkness|40043924|Awaken the Darkness (Immortal Guardians #8)|Dianne Duvall|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1525559727s/40043924.jpg|62046802] will be published on 10th July 2018 and I wanted to reacquaint myself with the characters and remind myself of the action so far... Bastien was one of my favourite characters, I'm glad to say my love for his hasn't diminished.
2017 Review
You can read my full review on my WordPress blog, Flora's Musings...
So, what did I like about it?
I have become a definite fan of Ms Duvall’s writing style and find her books very easy to read; she writes intelligent, engaging stories with a collection of well written characters within an imaginative world that mixes fantasy and reality creating a world that I can believe in. The pace of her stories is usually fast and full of action but without being disorienting and I like that she combines a couple of plot lines to run alongside the main romantic story arc. [b:Phantom Shadows|13234487|Phantom Shadows (Immortal Guardians, #3)|Dianne Duvall|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333413488s/13234487.jpg|18431632] did not let me down.
My regular followers will know that I enjoy books where the characters are not black or white, good or evil but a multifaceted mix of positive and negative traits and I like to see them grow through embracing or overcoming their challenges (and oh, boy is that the perfect description of Bastien); the fact that the characters within these pages have been written with personalities that we can see in the real world around us - even though most of them are mythical, paranormal beings - adds that level of believability to this fantasy tale.
I definitely enjoy a story more if the lead female character is intelligent, resilient and has a good sense of humour that’s similar to my own and I wasn’t disappointed here. Melanie was brilliant, what an inspiring woman! I liked the way that all of the characters in this story were written - even the villains of the tale - none of them were flat 2-dimensional creations, they all felt very real. Oh, and like most Brits I do love a bit of banter – this story has plenty of it! I found myself COL (Chuckling Out Loud) throughout, usually Bastien certainly knows how to push people’s buttons and Sheldon is a hoot!
I think I may have reached for the tissues a tad more often while reading this story, but fear not, lovely reader, it’s not all tear inducing. I also loved the fact that the mystery/thriller aspect of this story kept me guessing, the action kept me on the edge of my seat, the blossoming romance made me warm and fuzzy, the banter kept me giggling and the passion set my tummy a-tingling. *oooh*
So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
Nope – even though some of the more violent scene sent my emotions spinning, there is nothing about this book that I didn't absolutely love!!
So, basically what I’m saying is...
I didn’t want to stop reading this book!
It had everything that I look for in a 5 star book; intelligent writing style that’s easy to read, main characters with depth of personality that I can like (or love to hate) and believe in, depth of character in the supporting cast, believable background story and setting and a balanced mix of relationship and/or romance to action scenes and sex scenes.
Due to the graphic nature of the violence and sex scenes, I would only recommend this book to adults who are not offended by this sort of content, so if you enjoy strong alpha heroes and independent capable heroines, tense often traumatic and brutal confrontations and hot lust/romance scenes then give this book a go.
2015 Review
There is nothing about this book that I didn't absolutely love!! Great story, brilliantly written, depth of characters, pace & development of relationships, balance of action, tension, mystery and romance.
I'm just re-reading the Immortal Guardian series as book 8 [b:Awaken the Darkness|40043924|Awaken the Darkness (Immortal Guardians #8)|Dianne Duvall|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1525559727s/40043924.jpg|62046802] will be published on 10th July 2018 and I wanted to reacquaint myself with the characters and remind myself of the action so far... Bastien was one of my favourite characters, I'm glad to say my love for his hasn't diminished.
2017 Review
You can read my full review on my WordPress blog, Flora's Musings...
So, what did I like about it?
I have become a definite fan of Ms Duvall’s writing style and find her books very easy to read; she writes intelligent, engaging stories with a collection of well written characters within an imaginative world that mixes fantasy and reality creating a world that I can believe in. The pace of her stories is usually fast and full of action but without being disorienting and I like that she combines a couple of plot lines to run alongside the main romantic story arc. [b:Phantom Shadows|13234487|Phantom Shadows (Immortal Guardians, #3)|Dianne Duvall|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1333413488s/13234487.jpg|18431632] did not let me down.
My regular followers will know that I enjoy books where the characters are not black or white, good or evil but a multifaceted mix of positive and negative traits and I like to see them grow through embracing or overcoming their challenges (and oh, boy is that the perfect description of Bastien); the fact that the characters within these pages have been written with personalities that we can see in the real world around us - even though most of them are mythical, paranormal beings - adds that level of believability to this fantasy tale.
I definitely enjoy a story more if the lead female character is intelligent, resilient and has a good sense of humour that’s similar to my own and I wasn’t disappointed here. Melanie was brilliant, what an inspiring woman! I liked the way that all of the characters in this story were written - even the villains of the tale - none of them were flat 2-dimensional creations, they all felt very real. Oh, and like most Brits I do love a bit of banter – this story has plenty of it! I found myself COL (Chuckling Out Loud) throughout, usually Bastien certainly knows how to push people’s buttons and Sheldon is a hoot!
I think I may have reached for the tissues a tad more often while reading this story, but fear not, lovely reader, it’s not all tear inducing. I also loved the fact that the mystery/thriller aspect of this story kept me guessing, the action kept me on the edge of my seat, the blossoming romance made me warm and fuzzy, the banter kept me giggling and the passion set my tummy a-tingling. *oooh*
So, ummm, was there anything I disliked about it?
Nope – even though some of the more violent scene sent my emotions spinning, there is nothing about this book that I didn't absolutely love!!
So, basically what I’m saying is...
I didn’t want to stop reading this book!
It had everything that I look for in a 5 star book; intelligent writing style that’s easy to read, main characters with depth of personality that I can like (or love to hate) and believe in, depth of character in the supporting cast, believable background story and setting and a balanced mix of relationship and/or romance to action scenes and sex scenes.
Due to the graphic nature of the violence and sex scenes, I would only recommend this book to adults who are not offended by this sort of content, so if you enjoy strong alpha heroes and independent capable heroines, tense often traumatic and brutal confrontations and hot lust/romance scenes then give this book a go.
2015 Review
There is nothing about this book that I didn't absolutely love!! Great story, brilliantly written, depth of characters, pace & development of relationships, balance of action, tension, mystery and romance.
romancejunkie1025's review
5.0
I loved finally getting a chance to see Sebastian in action. His interaction with the other characters in the past have of course been full of angst and anger, begin the bad guy in the first book and then finally learning the truth of what he is. Melanie has always felt a connection with Sebastian and is more than willing to learn more about the enigmatic and dangerously sexy immortal, but she'll have to get him to agree before she has any chance of a relationship with him. Working side by side through the book, they deal with attempting to change the minds of those around them and bring about a change in their very society. The passion between these two is explosive and while it slowly begins to turn to love, Sebastian is reluctant to embrace their love, knowing it may cause some of the other immortal guardians to change how well they treat Melanie. Melanie refuses to allow the opinions of others to keep her away from Sebastian and is determined to keep the immortal hottie for her own. With some very intriguing and intense battles, the world of the immortal guardians is changed forever and this new world will be very Intriguing to learn about in coming novels. Melanie and Sebastian lead us through a heart wrenching and passionate maze of the pitfalls or embracing the differences in ourselves and the similarities in old enemies, so that new enemies can be prevented from destroying both immortals and vampires alike.