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!

We are all happy Sara stabbed Bastian in the Ass...

This story is my favorite of the immortal guardians so far. (Writing this review the month before the release of Seth’s book). I love this because it’s the first sign that Bastian isn’t some huge douchebag that we all wanna throw out a door. Also, this is when everyone else starts to realize that he’s probably not the huge jerk that we all wanna believe in the first two books.
Melanie gives us that hopeful look at him. Seeing Bastian through her eyes is amazing. I remember hearing Bastian walking into the room in the second book and thinking “oh, hell no!” But now that we are full circle, we’ve seen his relationships develop a bit in this book, I can honestly see what started in the previous book with them coming to fulfillment. Their love story is amazing.
Richart, in this book, is becoming more and more in love with his mystery lady (you’ll get to read about her in the novella included in the predatory anthology) and I think that makes Richart really understand and maybe even realize before Bastian what Bastian and Melanie are experiencing.
Seeing Roland and Sara & Marcus and Ami is very amazing. Know how Bastian feels about them is very touching. He really feels like Ami is a kid sister and that’s pretty great.
The dynamic between Seth and David in relationship to Bastian is less complicated than I assumed it would be. I thought it would be more of a complicated thing but, Seth and David know everything. I guess that’s something we should always keep in mind.



GFYDU MTYB DBAD

Love this series!

I love this series and am so excited the next book comes out on audible tomorrow. I was so glad Bastian got matched with Melanie it was a great pair. The narrator does a great job no complaints there at all.

A wonderful paranormal romance

What made the experience of listening to Phantom Shadows the most enjoyable?

There is so much drama,suspense and action in every chapter! This is a very moving love story between Bastian and Melanie.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bastian. Who doesnt love a wounded soul?

What about Kirsten Potter’s performance did you like?

I thought Kirsten Potter did a great job. Loved her voice!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Fast paced romance and danger

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance. I am smitten with her stories and characters. The stories will not disappoint!!!

The Blacksheep

His character is typical of someone that had no guidance. Love the story still. Sebastian is loco on a good way.

Great Book!

I was pleasantly surprised by the continued story. there were times when I burst out laughing.