{"id":9285,"date":"2014-02-15T04:00:16","date_gmt":"2014-02-15T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=9285"},"modified":"2016-06-22T04:06:04","modified_gmt":"2016-06-22T08:06:04","slug":"review-phantom-shadows-immortal-guardians-3-by-dianne-duvall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=9285","title":{"rendered":"Review: Phantom Shadows (Immortal Guardians, #3) by Dianne Duvall"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0 <\/a>|\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

This series just gets better and better! More action, a deeply intricate plot, kickass paranormal powers, fantastically funny banter and a romance between the snarky Immortal and a sassy heroine. What more could we ask for?<\/p>\n

We all love it when the asshole falls in love, and Bastien is an asshole. Still battling with the bitterness of his past, he has major trust issues. He is ostracised by the majority of the Immortals due to his shady history and his more recent past as their enemy, and is an angry loner who, while still part of the team, pretty much does his own thing and doesn\u2019t give a shit what anybody else thinks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m at Fetzer Hall now and am about to sweep through the soldiers between us like a fucking tidal wave.\u201d
\n\u201cDamn it, we need some of those men left alive to\u2014\u201d
\n\u201cAll you\u2019re getting are corpses. When you send the cleanup crew, send a fucking bus.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He may be totally badass, but he has a soft spot for his friends \u2013 even if they are vampires, and he is developing some pretty intense feelings for Dr Melanie Lipton, a human doctor employed by The Network to conduct research into vampires and Immortals. Melanie is awesome. Strong, intelligent, and feisty, she has been attracted to Bastien since the first moment she saw him, and she\u2019s confident enough to let him know it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like you touching me, even though the cut is stinging like crazy.\u201d
\nHis eyes began to glow. \u201cI thought we weren\u2019t going to go there.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m a grown woman. I can go wherever I want to go.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy would you want to go there?\u201d His tone was pure puzzlement.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d she answered honestly\u2026 \u201cThere\u2019s just something about you,\u201d she said finally, \u201cthat…lures me.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As much as they want each other, Bastien resists her \u2013 trying to keep her away from his bad reputation and therefore saving her from the condemnation from their colleagues that he feels she would be subjected to for just being with him. But that doesn\u2019t stop Melanie from pushing him, and the banter is sensational.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what happened …\u201d
\nYep. She had figured he was obsessing over that. Poor guy. The immortals had really done a number on him, convincing him he was the evil monster they seemed to think him. Now he probably thought kissing her would taint her somehow. She was going to have to do something about that. She just needed a little time to decide what.
\n\u201cI assume you mean the kiss?\u201d she asked innocently.
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cThe warm, wet, pulse-racing, make-me-want-to-strip-you-naked-and-rub-every-inch-of-my-body-against-yours kiss?\u201d
\nHis eyes flared, an involuntary reflection of his arousal. \u201cThat\u2019s the one.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat about it?\u201d
\n\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t happen again.\u201d
\n\u201cYou didn\u2019t like it?\u201d Okay, teasing him was mean, but she couldn\u2019t resist.
\n\u201cYou know I did,\u201d he admitted, voice deepening in a way that sent a sensual shiver through her. \u201cIf my eyes didn\u2019t clue you in, I\u2019m sure other body parts did.\u201d
\n\u201cVery impressively,\u201d she agreed.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bastien\u2019s reluctance to start something with Melanie despite his strong feelings for her is actually really funny. We all know it\u2019s going to happen, Melanie knows it\u2019s going to happen, all of the other Immortals and vampires know it\u2019s going to happen, it\u2019s just a matter of watching the fireworks between them and waiting for him to cave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need you to not do that,\u201d he said, voice low.
\n\u201cWhy?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause every time you touch me I feel how much you want me and it makes me want you even more.\u201d
\nHer blood heated. \u201cI don\u2019t have a problem with that,\u201d she murmured.
\nBastien groaned.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And when it happens \u2013 oh yeah, it happens. Hot and steamy, Bastien has some fantastic moves, and although there\u2019s not as much sex in this book as there has been in the others, it didn\u2019t bother me at all.<\/p>\n

Once again, Duvall has given us a brilliantly functional romance. Yeah, it may take them a little while to get there, but once they do, it\u2019s all on with no game playing, no conflict and no drama. Melanie is a fantastic match for the hard-headed Bastien, and he is beautifully protective over her, and when his playful, teasing, loving side comes out in their private times, it just melted me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t felt this way in a long time, Bastien.\u201d
\nHis smile slowly faded. \u201cNor have I.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not going to refrain from exploring what\u2019s happening between us because others may not approve. It\u2019s too important.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cHe kissed her hard. \u201cI don\u2019t know what the hell you see in me, Melanie, but I am so glad you see it.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As always, the romance is mixed in with a whole heap of action. There\u2019s a new bad guy to take down, and he is pure evil and has his very own squad of mercenaries which brings a whole new level of violence. The Immortals are also still battling vampires, as well as each other, and there is one EPIC scene which brings all of these elements together in an explosively exciting moment, and not everybody will make it out alive.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m loving these books more and more as I read on. I think it\u2019s because I\u2019m getting to know the characters more, they are interacting with each other more, the story is becoming more intricate as we learn everybody\u2019s backstories, and everything is linking together beautifully. The group are becoming more of a family and the banter between them is fantastic!<\/p>\n

\u201cI stole some of your lollipops.\u201d
\n\u201cReally. Well, if you\u2019re in the mood to lick something . . .\u201d
\nShe laughed.
\n\u201cWe can hear you,\u201d Seth called.
\n\u201cSo?\u201d Marcus countered and kissed his wife again.
\n\u201cSo she\u2019s like a daughter to me, jackass.\u201d
\n\u201cYeah,\u201d David seconded. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason I poured thousands of dollars into soundproofing your bedroom.\u201d
\n\u201cHmm.\u201d Marcus sounded thoughtful. \u201cI do believe your family is trying to tell me I should take you to bed.\u201d
\n\u201cThat isn\u2019t what I\u2014 oh screw it,\u201d Seth muttered.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Duvall has created a great paranormal world, and the complexities and fullness of her story seems to be getting stronger. There are some big twists in this book that are really going to impact the rest of the series, and I love the way that it\u2019s all unfolding. And with a lot of questions remaining unanswered, I can\u2019t wait for more.<\/p>\n

4.5 stars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Check out our Immortal Guardians \/ Gifted Ones series page<\/a> for more information on this exciting series – including reading order, reviews and buy links.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audio Review This series just gets better and better! More action, a deeply intricate plot, kickass paranormal powers, fantastically funny banter and a romance between the snarky Immortal and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,9,29],"tags":[391,390,48],"class_list":["post-9285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-paranormal","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-dianne-duvall","tag-immortal-guardians","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Phantom-Shadows.jpg?fit=150%2C242&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-2pL","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}