A gifted one under the Immortal Guardians’ protection, Nicole has worked hard to land her dream job—that of an Immortal Guardian’s Second or mortal guard—and loves working with Sean. He’s smart. He’s funny. And despite the sometimes dark existence he leads, the two of them laugh a lot. Years spent as a special ops soldier prepared Nicole well, enabling her to keep Sean safe despite his tendency to dive headlong into danger. But can it keep her safe? The enemy they face is determined and shrewd. Uncovering his identity may require new methods of engagement and force her to take a few risks.
Sean hasn’t been immortal long, but he knows the rules. And according to the rules, Nicole is off-limits. She’s his Second. His guard. His best friend. The one person who knows him better than anyone else. Though he loves every minute he spends with her, friendship is all they can ever have... isn’t it? Sean soon begins to question that as the two of them engage in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with the enemy, one that will reveal the true depth of their feelings for each other and drive him to abandon the rules altogether.
Comment: This is the most recent installment in the Immortal Guardians series by Dianne Duvall. I've been following this series from the start, and now also its sci-fi spin off Aldebarian Alliance, and it's been a great fun, for the world building is quite consistent and the plots engaging.
In this story the focus is on immortal Sean (bother to heroine of book #4) and his Second Nicole, although everyone is still dealing with the effects of the past missions. After a failed kidnap attempt on Becca, stepdaughter of Nick (hero book #10) everyone is on alert to why someone is trying to reach Nick. The clues point to a rich old man wanting to discover why Nick seems to not age, but only when Nicole decides to pretend to be Becca to see if another attempt happens, does Sean realize he cares about her way more than he should. The vampires out of control are still an issue as well, and everyone has their hands full with something to accomplish, but will Nicole and Sean see in each other their HEA at last?
The author includes a note in the beginning of this book, to let a new reader be at ease in regards to not feel too much confusion if they had not read all the other books, and you know what, it is quite nice because it did help me to remember some things too! There's even a bonus prologue chapter to let readers be aware where things ended up in the previous stories, but anyone wanting to skip it, could. It's, perhaps, seen as unnecessary for many fans, but for those who struggle to remember every detail, great idea.
I'd say the fun part of reading these types of series where all characters are part of a family/community/team and where the plots might have some loose threads among a bigger picture is that it allows the reader to feel part of it so much more easily. It's a little like following friends and seeing what they are up to, even when not every single character we've met shows up. I had that feeling here, and even though I have enjoyed all books in this series and in the spin off, some books in this series had not been as spectacular to me, and this one, somehow, made me enjoy seeing everyone.
In fact, it felt as if this book offered a non stop action pace, and even when slower types of things happened, it was still interesting. I also liked seeing the POV of Tessa, whom I foresee will be protagonist soon (and I also guess who her romantic partner will be), and that of other characters who might not have a lot of attention, but feel part of the whole. I think the situations they investigate are interesting enough, and apart from the spin off plot and everything related to it, what else can be done now a major enemy was contained? The battle against the "vampires" continues, but I suppose the author will come up with more antagonism at some point.. I only hope her option won't be to "ruin" established situations.
The biggest disappointment in some books, for me, is the main romance. I think the author is wonderful in developing friendships, and I do like some of the hints in books before a pair becomes a couple. Sometimes it's fun to see the banter or the sexual tension here and there before the installment where that couple finally becomes an item. The problem for me is that, often, the romance of that couple in their book is so... bland, without the same hinted tension of before. It also happens many times the couples are friends before they are couples. but even those who aren't and are developing their relationship as the story moves along feel as if they really "need" that person, no matter what they say.
In Nicole and Sean's case, they work together, no one really cares unlike what they thought, which is great, but until they become intimate, they often talk to one another in a funny way, they joke around and one can notice they are way more attracted to one another than what they seem to imply, but... I think I'd have liked them to fight these feelings a bit more or perhaps more scenes with them acting in a way that would let us see that instead of just knowing from their thoughts... to me, this made their relationship change feel as planned as it is really is, instead of being something natural, that had to happen because they could not avoid it anymore.
No comments:
Post a Comment