Review by Helyce – I’m back!

Death of Darkness by Dianne Duvall
Immortal Guardians #9
Paranormal Romance
August 20, 2019

I have been waiting 8 years for Seth’s book.  Since book one in 2011, and in each book released thereafter, Seth-the self-imposed leader of the Immortal Guardians has remained a mystery. One of a small group of beings referred to as The Others, Seth defected from them years and years ago when he fell in love with a human woman. In present day, he leads his Guardians to protect humans from a vampire army raised by another defector of the Others, Gershom.  For several books now, it has seemed that Gershom was always one step ahead of everything Seth tried to do to catch him, losing people he loved along the way. It has been frustrating and I looked forward to the end of Gershom’s reign of terror.

In this book, we see a softer side of Seth. The huge presence and leader demeanor he always maintained is stripped away when he meets Leah Somerson, the owner of a little shop in town.  He is drawn to her from their first meeting, but Seth is hesitant about forming any kind of relationship, even a simple friendship, because it would put her in the path of Gershom who would not think twice about hurting Leah, just to hurt Seth. But he can’t stay away, and as expected, Leah is attacked, and Seth is forced to bring her into his protection and reveal a few of his secrets.

I felt Leah was a good choice for Seth.  She is a strong, self sufficient woman and I loved that she was an older heroine at age 46. The author plays into the expected insecurities of a woman that age and the fact that Seth appears to be in his mid 30s, but it made so much sense that Seth would want to be with a mature, confident woman. Additionally, Leah is one tough cookie.  Her stepfather made sure she could take care of herself, for reasons too spoilery to mention here-reasons that make Leah a perfect fit for Seth.

There is a lot of action in this book, as you can imagine as the fight against Gershom plays out. And through it all, many questions are answered and secrets revealed. I struggled a little while reading this book. Seth felt different to me, and I get that he should. He’s met a woman that he’s interested in-something he has denied himself for literally eons. You’d expect that he would act differently, for sure. There are several scenes where we see Seth in a different light, shocking his brethren to the core at times, and that was great…but I missed Seth the warrior, the leader, the fighter. 

I was disappointed in one explanation revealed in this book and it affected my initial response to this story when I finished it. Since I’ve had time to reflect and re-read some of my old reviews, I realized that the subtle hints were always there. After the bombshell revealed in the final pages of this book, I can already see where some new connections and storylines may go, and I’m looking forward to them. 

If you’re a fan of Kenyon’s Dark Hunters, Lara Adrian’s Breeds, or Elisabeth Naughton’s Eternal Guardians, chances are you will really enjoy Dianne Duvall’s Immortal Guardians series.  

Grade:  B-

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