Dianne Duvall

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads

I’ve been waiting for another 5-star read from Dianne Duvall ever since I fell head-over-heels in love with Darkness Dawns two years ago. As entertaining as the last few installments have been; they’ve all failed to measure up to Roland’s story, until now. Étienne may not have succeeded in surpassing Warbrook as my favourite Immortal Guardian but Darkness Rises delivers a well-rounded tale that’s sure to satisfy long-time fans of this series.

In this show more installment, readers get to learn some interesting new tidbits about Duvall’s vampires. We discover how the d’Alençon siblings became Immortals and it’s not a pretty tale but I enjoyed reading about it all the same. A few clues about Seth and David’s origins also get dropped and now I’m more curious than ever about their ancestry. I always get a kick out of how environmentally conscious the Immortal Guardians are. I’m surprised that more authors don’t pick-up on what having enhanced senses really means for their characters. There has to be a few downsides to being undead, right? In this case it’s being able to smell the pollution in the air, taste the additives in food and remember what the world was like before the industrial revolution. I love it when an author fully immerses themselves inside of their fictional world!

I found that this book focused more on the overall story arc of this series than on a specific couple like in previous installments which made this novel feel more like Urban Fantasy than Paranormal Romance. That’s not to say that Étienne and Krysta don’t have their moments in the spotlight, because they do, but I also really enjoyed unraveling the multiple plot threads. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book in one sitting but as soon as I opened Darkness Rises there was just no stopping! Duvall also does a great job of setting up the next installment by dropping hints as to which couple will be featured next. *Hint* Only one of the d’Alençon’s tales remains to be told!

Krista was a nice change of pace from the previous female heroines featured in this series. She’s already a vampire hunter which made her transition into the Immortal Guardians world a smooth one. I like how this book’s protagonist starts this story off as a fighter rather than as a victim needing to be saved. I thought her ability was well thought out and helped make her knack for kicking vamp butt more credible because, let’s face it, normal humans wouldn’t stand a chance. I’ve had a mini-crush on Étienne for a while now (ssh, don’t tell Roland!) and I loved how patient and understanding he was of Krista. Alençon is afraid that her dangerous profession might one day get her killed but doesn’t push her into giving it up, instead he compromises. This is as healthy as paranormal relationships get!

The latest installment in Dianne Duvall’s Immortal Guardians series is not to be missed with its complex plot, memorable Roland quotes and high entertainment factor. I loved Darkness Rises from beginning to end! show less

Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.

Rachel is an Immortal Guardian who volunteered to go into space with four others of her kind and 10 gifted ones. They were heading to Lasara to see if they could help the Lasarans with a fertility problem. Ok, it’s much more involved than that, but I’m keeping this short. Anyway, they were happily traveling along when their ship was attacked and escape pods were scattered across the galaxy. Rachel finally comes across a planet she show more hopes will suffice until she can be rescued, but it’s already occupied by people who are in hiding. And she just brought a mortal enemy right to their door. Uh, oh. Now what? A lot of ass kicking, that’s what. Woot!

Hellz to the Yeah times infinity! What a ride! I am loving this series so much! Each book follows what happened to the survivors after the Lasaran warship Kandovar was attacked by the Gathendians. They can all be read as stand alones, but seriously, why would you want to do that? Go back and start at the beginning. You really won’t regret it.

Rachel and Wonick are great characters with tons of personality. The writing flows fast with lots of action and humor. Secondary characters shine and the romance between Rachel and Wonick builds up steam until it explodes into yummy goodness. Wait. That sounds especially naughty. Because it is! Nom nom! I devoured this across three days only because I was in the process of my office renovation. Otherwise it would have been done in one day. I look forward to every single book Dianne Duvall produces. Her Book Release Days are a holiday for me. Or I try to make it so. This year was the exception that I’ll try not to duplicate. If you like your books filled with awesome characters, action, humor, danger, romance, and ass kicking then do not pass this up. Long live Dianne Duvall! show less

Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest

For thousands of years the Immortal Guardians, under the leadership of Seth, have hunted and killed vampires preying on humanity. As technology advances and the human population explodes, this job becomes much more difficult, not only to keep humans safe, but to keep the knowledge of vampires, immortals, and gifted ones hidden. Because unscrupulous people will do anything to learn the secret of immortality and they aren’t worried about show more breaking a law or two or a dozen to obtain it.

Nicole is a Second assigned to Sean, a fairly new Immortal Guardian. They’ve been working well together for about three years and have weathered the takedown of the powerful enemy of the Immortal Guardians, Gershom. When the stepdaughter of Immortal Guardian Nick Beranger is nearly kidnapped by vampires, they need to figure out if this is connected to Gershom, a random attack, or something else entirely.

Holy shit. Dianne Duvall has done it again. I have to admit to being curious and a little wary of what this next book would be about. I mean, the big build up to Gershom and his eventual defeat was huge. So huge. What was going to take his place? Because the Immortal Guardians don’t have enough on their plates keeping the exploding vampire population at bay. Wait…exploding vampires. Now, that would be interesting! Thank goodness they don’t. Explode, that is. Anyway, the excitement and tension in any good suspense comes from having a Big Bad to fight. Thankfully, we get one. There’s mystery, humor, steaminess, and so much action! And that one scene?! Holy fuckballs! That is just sheer brilliance. I love it! I would have finished this in one sitting if I hadn’t kept getting interrupted. Rude!

I love every book in this series and this book is no exception. With all the elements I love in a book I consider it the best entertainment around. As I say with every book that comes out. I swear I’m a broken record. Book awesome! Buy it! Buy all the books! Do it now! Seriously though, you won’t regret it. show less

Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.

Simone is an Immortal Guardian who was asked to accompany Prince Taelon, Lisa, and their baby Abby back to his home world of Lasara. With her are 4 more Immortal Guardians and 10 gifted ones. The gifted ones hope to find love matches amongst the Lasarans and help repopulate their world after a virus released by the Gathendiens makes them sterile instead of killing them. Something the asshats had tried to do on Earth but instead of dying, show more the virus caused some humans to become vampires and others (gifted ones) to become Immortal Guardians. When the Gathendians attack the ship, Simone and all of her friends are scattered in escape pods. Simone promises revenge and that’s when the Tangata with Janwar and his crew show up. Let the fun begin.

Oh, holy shit. I love all the books in this series and the Immortal Guardians, but Simone may just be my favorite character yet. And that’s saying something. Dianne Duvall crafts books that bring all the emotions to the table. There’s the excitement of battle, tension, steaminess, friendship, love, grief, and vengeance with delightful humor expertly threaded through it all. I never tire of the variety of situations that come up in each book, but there are two in this one that I just had to read several times and I’m sure I’ll go back and read several more. The characters are so life-like I expect them to step off the page. The dialogue flows smoothly, the plot is tight, and each book in the series can be read as a stand alone. But why would you deny yourself the sublime pleasure of hours of entertainment obtained by reading the books that came before? You wouldn’t so I know you’ll take my advice and start with Darkness Dawns and work your way all through the line up. Lose yourself in these worlds and don’t look back. Trust me. show less