Phantom Shadows

Immortal Guardians, Book 3

By: Dianne Duvall

Narrated by: Kirsten Potter

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Dr. Melanie Lipton is no stranger to the supernatural. She knows immortals better than they know themselves, right down to their stubborn little genes. So although a handsome rogue immortal seems suspicious to her colleagues, Sebastien Newcombe intrigues Melanie. His history is checkered, his scars are impressive, and his ideas are daring. But it's not his ideas that have Melanie fighting off surges of desire....

Bastien is used to being the bad guy. In fact, he can't remember the last time he had an ally he could trust. But Melanie is different - and under her calm, professional exterior he senses a passion beyond anything in his centuries of experience. Giving in to temptation is out of the question - he can't put her in danger. But she isn't asking him....

©2012 Dianne Duvall (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Both characters have realistic and very human emotions, lending them significant relatability. Duvall uses recurring characters from previous titles to continue building her intriguing paranormal world with increasing flair and writerly skill." ( Publishers Weekly)

Awesome story!

Love love love this story it was so good. Sebastian is my favorite Immortal so far. He is fearless, powerful and a romantic. He is like the naughty younger sibling of the Immortals. You never know what he’s going to do next and he is always on Seth’s radar. Excellent well written story ! Can’t wait to read the next one story in the series. I hope you do a story about Seth soon he is beyond awesome!

Love this series

I love the balance the author gives her stories between action and love.. keep them coming

nice, fun listen

I like her stories because the characters all intertwine throughout the series, and it is one continues story arc. each book has a different focus of couple though, so it makes it interesting and continues to keep your interest as the larger picture progresses in each book. definitely will continue to listen to the series

Another great addition to the series! :D

4.5-5 stars

Another great book from a great series! I have to say that IMO, Dianne has knocked one out of the park with this series. So far I love the characters, the storylines are interesting and engaging in a way that keeps me wanting more and the quality of the stories has been maintained as the series continues!

Melanie is a doctor at the Network (the human network that helps the Immortals). She works with the Vampires they have at their facilities, trying to work with them to keep the madness to overtake them and trying to find a cure for the virus that transforms them. She first met Sebastian under less than ideal circumstances but felt an attraction to him regardless.

Sebastian was originally introduced in Book #1 Darkness Dawns as the bad guy. It ends up he's an Immortal that was mis-led, he thought he was a Vampire and had a revenge plot against the Immortals. After 200 years, Sebastian finds everything he believed was a lie and has to face trying to live life as an Immortal among other Immortals who hate his for his past. He doesn't have an easy time of it as every move he makes and every thing he says is scrutinized for fault. Sebastian, being a smart-butt, tends to let his mouth run away with him (I think as a defense mechanism) and so doesn't make friends easily. Sebastian feels an attraction to Melanie but holds back because he fears association with him will cause her problems with her job (since Melanie's boss is one of the folk that doesn't like him).

Sebastian and Melanie meet multiple times while she tends to the Vampire recruits and Sebastian visits them (they used to be part of Sebastian's army from book #1). Things don't really begin for them until trouble starts showing up in the form of a mercenary organization that seems intent on capturing both Vampires and Immortals for examination and profit (think super-soldiers). Sebastian tries to recruit help from the Vampires while the Immortals try to keep both Immortals and Vampires out of the clutches of the mercenaries. During this time, Melanie and Sebastian are thrown together a few times and it becomes apparent that the attraction between them in mutual but Sebastian is determined to stay away from Melanie because being associated with him would soil her reputation and cause her troubles. Melanie doesn't listen and pushes past Sebastian's feeble resistance, knowing they'll both be happier together. Melanie is pretty kick-butt and doesn't let people tell her who she can and can't be with. She fights for it, even if she has to fight Sebastian. Fortunately, she doesn't have to fight too hard before he gives in.

While things are starting to go well between Sebastian and Melanie, the action plot continues to heat up. Just when they think they've had some success, it ends up bringing about an attack on the Immortal , the likes if which they haven't seen for a long, long time. There are losses but they manage to beat back the enemy and pull things out. Melanie is almost killed and Sebastian has to go to some lengths to help her come out of it (and better then she would have otherwise). In the end, the mercenaries seem to have been dealt with and things settle down. Melanie and Sebastian settle in to their HEA (and Sebastian is even on his way to being more accepted by the other Immortals) which I was very happy with.

This was such a great story. I love the heroes of this series but I have to say that so far, I've really loved all the heroines as well and sometimes that's hard to come by. The heroines of this series are all smart, courageous women and Melanie was just another example of this. I love this series and can't wait to see what comes next. This is actually a reread of this book but I found it just as great the second time around. I'd recommend this book. Thumbs up!

Awesome!

I love how each story line weaves into the next and ties them all together, making yoy crave the next book!

amazing read!

duvall continues to out do herself with this series! I cant wait for the next one!! I felt bad fo Sebastian because he was constantly blamed for things but everything turned out ok now that he has melanie in his corner it couldn't be better..

Excellent!!!!!!

This book is so different!!!! sooo sweet. great book. this one is a great book to listen too if u re liked the black dagger brotherhood.

wonderfulbook

this book was wonderful. I keep hoping for more on the twins but have to wait. Bastian was my favorite because I love the underdog

Misunderstood Hero & Compassionate Heroine

I would absolutely recommend this book for those who like a fast paced, action packed, love story with a twist in the paranormal. This book hit all the things I look for in a great novel. Mystery, love, passion, humor, great characters, fast pace, and a story that keeps you up at night wanting to know more.

I love hearing all of the accents of the different characters from around the world. She really does a great job! Even the men's voices are believable and the women's voices are distinct yet realistic.

There were a large number of laughing outbursts and a couple of slightly tear jerking moments. Overall, this book was a pleasure to listen to!

I strongly recommend starting with the first book in the series if you haven't started reading them yet. The first book could stand alone but after that the story builds strongly on the story line of the previous book.

surprise ending

enjoyed getting to know Seth & David better. Looking forward to seeing where the series goes from here.