Veena’s review of Night Unbound (Immortal Guardians, Book 5) by Dianne Duvall
Paranormal Romance published by Zebra Books 2 Sep 14
I have thoroughly enjoyed this series so far and appreciate how Ms. Duvall uses the license given by the paranormal genre and her own imagination to paint her world a bit differently from the norm defined by other authors’ vampires and other paranormal creatures prevalent in this genre. This series is like a never-ending story where each book in the series continues the story featuring a new couple finding their happily ever after as the center focus, with the rest of the characters as the supporting cast. The beauty of this model is that it allows us to see the progression in the lives of these characters as though the curtain never dropped at the end of their own story. I like this because it keeps the readers vested in the lives of her characters.
Lisette is fascinated with Zach from the time she meets him, even as she is very protective of her pregnant friend, Aimee, who has befriended him. It is not totally clear what or who Zach is, even at the end of the story, but he definitely has wings. And, besides flying, he clearly has a lot of other powers, so the inference is that he is some type of angel. However, the thing that is clear is that Seth and David, the leaders of the immortal guardians, definitely know Zach and even more definite is that they don’t care for him to the extent that Seth facilitates his capture by others of their brethren.
Lisette is unable to stay away from Zach, and when he disappears from her life, she still sees him in her dreams. When he comes back to her, having escaped from the torture he’s been subjected to, he’s quite the worse for wear. Against all logic, she brings in friends she can trust to care for him, keeping secrets from her siblings and the rest of the group of immortal guardians who are like family to her.
The guardians discover pretty soon they’re being hunted by a well-armed group of vampires, who seem to have an inside scoop on the immortal guardians. Given the dire circumstances, David and Seth declare a reluctant truce with Zach. I love how Zach fills in for Seth in the quest to find who the traitor is in their group and how Lisette learns to keep secrets from her brothers, who have telekinetic powers.
The author is able to infuse the story with a lot of different elements that keep the reader hooked and yet keep it cohesive, so that the reader is carried along with the emerging story, continuing to thirst for more. I will, however, caution new readers to go back and read the series in order, otherwise you will lose a lot of nuances from earlier books.
Grade: B
Summary:
For centuries, Lisette d’Alençon has been a warrior against the dark. She fights alongside her brothers and comrades. But when the dreams start coming, she can’t bear to confess them to the Immortal Guardians’ command. Dreams of a dark-haired man with soft eyes and brutal wounds, a man her heart aches for—and a man she knows has been declared a traitor.
Zach is an exile, a loner. He won’t defend himself against false accusation or grovel to those who should have faith in him. But he’ll damn sure defend the woman who kept him sane against a plague of supervamps that seems to have appeared from nowhere. The Guardians will blame him, and that will make Lisette suspect, too. With life, death and eternity on the line, who can they really trust?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
