Veena’s review of Shadow’s Strike (Immortal Guardians, Book 6) by Diane Duvall
Urban Fantasy published by Zebra 25 Aug 15

This series just keeps getting better and better as the Immortal Guardians kick ass and take no prisoners. This book is packed with non-stop action and a host of new characters, which bodes well for the longer term future of this series. Ms. Duvall ranks in my top five authors for urban fantasy. If you enjoy this genre and haven’t discovered her yet, I definitely recommend that you get started, especially as things are heating up.

Heather is a modern heroine well trained in the martial arts and can definitely kick vampire ass with the best of them. She is gifted with telepathy and has had years to hone her secrets and find a way to use her powers. Even though she supposedly as no precognitive powers, she has begun dreaming about an event that takes place in a clearing in the woods not far from her home, which brings her face to face with Ethan, an immortal guardian, and a group of vampires. Finally the event occurs and she and Ethan connect in a very meaningful way.

On that occasion he saves her life, and in a future event that she has foreseen in her dreams as well, she returns the favor. Her selfless deed in putting her life on the line for his changes and reshapes events in ways that could not have been imagined. Her connections through her father, to the top military brass in the country, also bring in new connections for the immortals that allow them to finally gain an edge on the enemies that surround them.

This is a great fast-moving story with a lot of different elements in play. All the usual suspects from the previous novels are there, along with several new ones. I don’t recall when the baby was born, but it’s quite interesting to see how the men relate tot he baby in their midst and how she relates to the immortals and the tensions that affect them.

A lot of surprises and definitely a great setup for the next story arc.  I can hardly wait for the next book in the series.

Grade: A

Summary:

The Immortal Guardians protect the innocent in secret. Sometimes the secret gets out…

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…

No excerpt available.

Other books in this series: