Night Unbound

Listened for Review/Purchased (Tantor/Audible)
Overall Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 4.25

Audio Rating: 4.50 (not part of the overall rating)

First Thought when Finished: I loved Lisette and Zach in Night Unbound by Dianne Duvall!

Story Thoughts: Going to admit that I love the romance part of Night Unbound. It was refreshing that words like love and support were early (for romance) to raise their hand in this story. It made me fall in love with the romance more than I expected too. As for the forwarding of the overall arc of the series. I felt this was a bit of filler novel but important filler. A lot happened but we only moved forward a bit. That being said, at no point was I bored during listening to the story. It was show more well worth the time.

Character Thoughts: Second admission: I liked Lisette in the previous books but I wasn't sure I could handle her as the lead in a full-length novel. I was wrong. In fact, it was a little frustrating when the story wasn't about her and Zach. I loved them together. Zach has always been swoon-worthy to me. He is one of those broken but healing characters I love to love. However, falling in love with them as a couple stunned but pleased me.

Not writing spoilers but why you can't skip this: Two very important pieces of information come out during this book. Also if we don't find a way to save Cliff I am going to cry (that isn't a spoiler as he is infected but I say this every book since Bastian).

Audio Thoughts:

Narrated By Kirsten Potter / Length: 13 hrs and 21 mins

This is a series that I will only listen to on audio. Kirsten + Dianne = great author/narrator pairing. Kirsten outdid herself this time--her numerous accents were dead on!

Final Thoughts:Now counting down to the next one! show less

*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Lisette D’Alençon is an Immortal Guardian. Young compared to many Guardians, she is a kickass French hottie that has been around a couple centuries killing vampires. Her twin brothers, also Guardians, have found love and she’s feeling down. She’s lonely and wonders if she even deserves love after accidentally turning her brothers into Guardians all those years ago. And then Zach comes into their lives. Mysterious, powerful, secretive and, also, apparently not on good terms with Seth, the leader of the Immortal Guardians. Seth has told her Zach is off-limits. Stay away or risk his displeasure. But Lisette can’t stay away and Zach is drawn to Lisette. Is show more it just lust or is it more? And is Zach the one who betrayed Seth or is it someone else?

Darkness Dawns (book 1) was one of the first books I reviewed for Kensington. I read it and was enthralled. I love this series. I mean, I really do. For realz! I have said it before and I’ll say it again and not give a fuck that I’m repeating myself, it has everything I love in a book. Humor, paranormal elements, sexy steaminess, action, multiple POVs, twisty plot, sexy steaminess (did I say that already?), a wonderful cast of characters and a great world. Plus, it’s set in my own backyard here in North Carolina. I like to pretend I’ll run into a Guardian some evening. *stares off into space, drools a little* Where was I? Oh, yeah. This one even has a bit of a mystery to solve and the possibility that one of the Immortal Guardians has turned traitor. Say it isn’t so!

The gang is back in Lisette and Zach’s romance. There are even a few new guys. I went into this book with trepidation because these two characters have had very little page time. I had no feel for them and didn’t know if I could connect. I was right to be worried because I didn’t connect as well as I have in the past with the main love story characters, but this book is plenty long enough and I came to love both of them once I got to know them. Now, I’m sitting here impatient for the next book. Who finds love next? Seth? David? Ethan? Or will it be new guy Aidan? My vote goes for Aidan even though he’s new. I need Seth to be alone a bit longer though I know that’s cruel. And I really want Chris to find someone to love. He may be human, but he deserves someone who’ll take care of him since he’s too busy taking care of the Guardians and the Network to take care of himself. Make that happen! *ahem* If that’s ok with you, Ms. Duvall. Plus, we still need to find the person responsible for creating the super vampires, discover what the hell the Others are and how Marcus and Ami’s baby is doing. Plenty of fodder for many books to come, I hope!

So many good quotes in this book that I have to add a few. The whole scene with Zach in bad shape at Lisette’s is quote worthy, but I’ll just add this one...

“Bastien nodded to Ethan, then stared down at Zach. After a few moments he looked around. “Where’s the shovel?”
Ethan coughed to cover a laugh.
“I didn’t kill him!” Lisette nearly shouted.
Bastien shifted his gaze to Ethan.
Ethan held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t kill him.”
“He isn’t dead,” Lisette snapped. “And I’m not into rough sex!”
Bastien stared at her. “Ooookay.””

Chris to Bastien:
“”And you are supposed to be serving as guard. Seven vampires live across the hallway. What are you going to do if a couple of them have psychotic breaks and try to escape while you two are having a quickie?”
“Chase them down bare-ass naked and give the human guards an eyeful.”
“I don’t know about you,” one of the vamps said in his room, “but I’m pretty sure even total mind-fuck madness wouldn’t make me risk that guy chasing me down and tackling me while he’s naked and has a hard-on.”

“Seth glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. “Now what’s wrong. You’re scowling again.”
“I don’t know,” Zach said, puzzled. “For a moment I just felt this peculiar…I don’t know…non-murderous connection to you or something.”
“It’s called kinship, asshole.”
“Ah.”” show less

I really enjoyed getting back into the Immortal Guardians series and the rich, imaginative world that Dianne Duvall has created. I'd been eagerly awaiting this book since I finished Darkness Rises, and Night Unbound did not disappoint.

I was so happy that this book was about Lisette, especially now that both of her brothers have found love. After feeling guilty for centuries for accidentally turning her brothers, she really deserved to find her own Happily-Ever-After.

Zach has always been so mysterious in every instance that he has appeared in the series, and it was great fun finding out more about him. Lisette changes everything for him and pulls him out of the ennui that he had been feeling, although I suspect that he had already show more started doing that by helping Seth out in previous books. Although we do find out more about how he and Seth met and what they are (or could possibly be at least), there are still a ton of questions left I'd like to find the answers to and I'm hoping the next book answers a little more.

Overall it was a really good read! This series as a whole is one of my favorites, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next one! If you haven't checked it out yet then you should definitely give it a try!

***Review copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review*** show less

When the heroine begins to receive dream visitations from the mysterious but beautiful hero, she knows he's in serious trouble. He appears to her bleeding and broken before suddenly vanishing as quickly as he appeared. But when she finds him on her front lawn on night, she knows she's willing to break the rules to save his life. He's an outcast; hated by her leader but he saved her life. And she feels such a deep and strong bond towards him that she wants so badly and it's enough to risk Seth's wrath to see where it goes. The hero uses his strange but magical bond towards the French female to escape his prison but he's severely wounded and badly injured. As he heals himself, he finds himself in a situation he never has before. He has show more absolutely no idea why this beautiful strong woman is even caring for him let alone considering becoming his lover but he's not strong enough to fight his own feelings. At first they attempt to hide their relationship but they are found out soon enough. From the point of discovery, the hero takes a reluctant involvement in the Guardians world and missions. He does this because of the heroine but in the process the fence begins to mend between himself and Seth. I love my hero's to be strong yet vulnerable and this one is fits the bill perfectly. He's more powerful than everyone but Seth yet he's so tendered and unsure towards the heroine. He attempts that he's a virgin despite being about a thousand years old but he's no fumbling mess in the bedroom. As he said, he's never actually done it, but he's thought about it. The hero and heroine fall in love quite quickly but it felt natural. They knew they had a bond and an attraction despite how bizarre and out of the world they may think it to be, so they allow themselves to discover where it would take them. The heroine yearns for the love her two brothers have found in the previous books and with the hero she has a chance at that. I really really loved this book. The plot line of the vampire army and new enemy I found to be rather weak and predictable though. It's been the same story line for the past 3 books and I find myself getting board-BUT! But the relationship and love between the two main characters more than compensated for this flaw. On a side note if the author does not at some point write a story about Seth I will set fire to the rain!!! Please, please, please give that man a novel! show less

Reviewed by: Rabid Reads. - 3.5 stars

NIGHT UNBOUND is the first installment in Dianne Duvall’s IMMORTAL GUARDIANS series that revolved around a female character, and although Lisette & Zach’s tale was undoubtedly passionate, it didn’t quite measure up to its male counterparts. Some major questions get answered with regards to the main story arc, and there’s no shortage of action or romance, but I failed to connect with the protagonists which caused the love scenes to lack chemistry. After four amazing books, I have no problem with giving the author a mulligan because we’re all allowed one, that’s the rule!

Throughout this series, Duvall has been torturing readers with the origins of the IMMORTAL GUARDIANS, and finally some of show more my suspicions were confirmed. No big surprises on that front, but it was nice to have my hunches validated, especially the ones about Seth. Speaking of which, I did feel like this story was more about him than Lisette, albeit without the romantic aspects. I am getting a little tired of the supersoldiers plot line; the memory wipe / restore trick is getting old even though it does make sense for the author’s eventual end game. I enjoyed meeting the new characters, Ethan and Aidan, and Cliff is quickly becoming one of my favourite underdogs. I also LOVED the shout out to Québec!

I was looking forward to learning more about Lisette d’Alençon, one of the only female IMMORTAL GUARDIANS, because she’s been a bit of a wallflower up until this point. Unfortunately, her role in this story seemed almost trivial at times, and her character wasn’t developed nearly as much as I would have liked. In fact, she came off as ditzy instead of ferocious which was disappointing because it made her pale in comparison to her male team mates. Zach’s another one who’s been lurking in the shadows, and the author was somewhat limited as to what she could unveil without giving too much away about the Others, so I didn’t mind his murkiness as much.

Things heated up quickly between Lisette & Zach which made NIGHT UNBOUND the hottest installment yet! The latter’s telekinetic abilities sure came in handy—no more searching for the elusive g-spot with that card in your deck! However, I did feel like the numerous sex scenes were trying to compensate for this book’s lack of relationship growth, and the result was steam without chemistry. I found myself not really caring whether Lisette & Zach got their HEA because their romance was somewhat eclipsed by this series’ plot arc, and I just wasn’t invested in their love story like I was with previous novels.

If you like a lot of motion in your ocean, then NIGHT UNBOUND is sure to satisfy. show less

You would have thought I'd learn by now, but after each Immortal Guardians book I always tell myself, "There is no way I could possibly love any couple more than XX and XX". Dianne continues to prove me wrong, I truly fall in love with all of them.

Lisette and Zach's attraction started in a previous book so we knew their story was coming for a while. Both have been drawn to each other and things get hot and heavy pretty quickly in NIGHT UNBOUND. I enjoyed getting to know both of the characters more in depth. They really were great together, but I had no doubt they would be going in.

We get a surprisingly large amount of information about Seth in NIGHT UNBOUND. We also see a totally different side of him than we are used to. I really liked show more that side. He is more "human" in my eyes after seeing him interact 2-on-1 with Zach and Lisette.

I know I have mentioned this before, but I can't help but mention it again because it's a huge part of why I love this series so much. I absolutely LOVE that all of the characters from previous and future books are a big part of each book. It keeps the storyline connected and I learn more and more about them all as the series continues. Dianne you have to write faster, I'm going through withdraw already.

* This book was provided free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review. show less

Am I ever so glad I picked this book up on a whim. While I belatedly discovered it's part of a series I won't mind rereading it when I've read the previous books in the series. Good writing, character development and action packed. Can't wait to go back to the beginning and enjoy all the stories I missed out on.