Awaken the Darkness (Immortal Guardians, #8)

by Dianne Duvall

He awakens encapsulated in dirt with no knowledge of how he came to be there. Riddled with injuries, he can remember neither his past nor who he is. Nor can he remember what he is. But surely no mortal man could survive being buried deep beneath the earth. All he knows with certainty is that the soothing voice and presence of the woman moving around above enables him to endure the agony of his wounds. And he will do whatever it takes to be with her.

When Susan first sees the old two-story house for sale, such warmth and longing fill her that--against all reason--she makes an offer. It will take years of hard work and money she frankly doesn't have to fix up the place. So she can't explain why she bought it. She also can't explain what compels her to spend hours one night, digging in the basement until she unearths a man. A man who still lives and breathes despite having been buried alive. A man whose intense brown eyes glow amber with pain, declaring him far more than ordinary. Susan knows she should keep her distance. He has no memory and possesses gifts that would make most fear him. But as the two work together to unravel the mystery of his past, she finds herself drawn in by his teasing nature and tender touch. So much so that she loses her heart to him even as they find themselves hunted by unknown enemies who are ruthless in their quest to capture them.

• ISBN10: 0986417173
• ISBN13: 9780986417177
• Publish Date: 7 July 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Dianne Duvall
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 260
• Language: English

Reviews

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.The heartbreaking ending in Night Unbound left me curious to learn the fate of two of the Immortal Guardians, Yuri and Stanislav. After learning of Yuri's fate in Phantom Embrace  the story left me wondering what Duvall had in store for Stanislav. In Awaken the Darkness, she provided all the answers needed for closure.

The story begins with a recap of the last events in Night Unbound. Then it fast forward two and a half years later to the discovery of Stanislav buried alive in a basement for that entire timeline. Because of the lengthy period of being buried with no form of sustenance, his body entered stasis mode. He awakens after two and a half long years with no memory of his past. The only thing he knows is pain and loneliness.

Enters Susan Meyer, an author and a telepath. Susan is searching for property to purchase. Somewhere peaceful and which will provide her freedom from the thoughts of others. On seeing the farmhouse, she felt compelled to purchase it, despite its state of disrepair. After moving in, Susan, with the help of her dog, discovers Stanislav and freed him from his underground prison. She nursed him back to health. During this time, the two became close.

This installment focused on Stanislav's recovery, his growing relationship with Susan, and their attempts to learn who buried him alive. The other members of the series appeared near to the end of the story, resulting in a heartfelt reunion. Duvall did not mention much about Stanislav in the previous books. So learning about him in Awaken the Darkness was a treat. Protective, caring and definitely a gentleman all traits which Susan appreciated. Susan was also a wonderful character. Brave, strong and protective. She surely knows how to handle herself, to the dismay of the villains. Also, I loved how she fearlessly came to Stanislav's defense.

The story revealed some interesting tidbits about Susan and how she came to be on the leader of the guardian's radar. We get some action, which of course was intense and brutal. This, along with the humour and the romantic scenes, made for a compelling read. The epilogue evoked a combination of smiles and tears, culminating in a satisfying conclusion. If you enjoy paranormal romance, then this series would make a great addition to your bookshelf.

The narration by Kirsten Potter has become my expectation for this series. She is the voice of the series. I don't believe another narrator could do justice to the series. She does a wonderful job with the characters, accents and all. Her narration breathes life into the story. 

This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

[kimbacaffeinate]

Reasons, Awaken the Darkness, is my favorite book of the series to date. 

• Duvall brings her characters completely to life. She fleshes them out and gives these characters history, baggage, emotions, and family ties. She allows the reader to become emotional connected. The story begins with a prologue.  The Immortals are attacking compound . We feel our hero's pain as one of his own is torn from this world. Then the world goes dark before he awakens in pain and finds himself trapped beneath dirt. He hears a soothing voice and brings him comfort and this is where our story begins.


• Most of our story takes place in an old farmhouse. Her we Susan Meyer an author who is also happens to be a telepath. She, along with her dog are searching for a property with lots of privacy. Susan can read the thoughts of others and is looking for some tranquility. I liked Susan almost immediately. I mean she write,  is a gifted one and a dog lover. BFFs forever. Something about this farmhouse speaks to her, and soon she is moving in.


• Susan and her dog discover our guardian and rescue him. Susan first helps him heal and soon discover he has lost his memory. In the process the two become close and despite their sizzling chemistry they do nothing more than hold hands and exchange a few kisses.  Neither knows if he is already in a committed relationship.  I loved this time the spent alone together and the discoveries they made. Things triggered partial memories like the fact that he speaks several languages and can heal. As they talked, we learned more about Susan's past and I began to make connections. I love how Duvall weaves threads throughout the series.


• Before finding him, Susan dreamt about him and I loved when she connected the guardian to the man in her dreams.  As the two sleep they share a dreamscape and it was pretty dang interesting.


• When our guardian and the rest of the immortals reunite I wept. Oh lord, grab the kleenexes. The emotions and connections. So many feels.


• We get some intense action scenes that would put most action movies to shame. Heart-pounding, near death moments but Duvall weaves in her signature humor with banter, teasing and more. Susan is quite the kick-ass heroine. She knows how to handle a gun and fearlessly defends our guardian. I loved her spunk.


• Healing, reunions and passion made for an addictive tale. We discover a few things and weave threads together in the overall arc before getting an epilogue that made me smile. Now if Ms. Duvall could write faster, all would be well.

This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[EBookObsessed]

Dianne Duvall’s Immortal Guardians is my favorite series hands down. Every character is beloved. Every story is intense, funny, romantic and exciting. If you haven’t read the Immortal Guardians, you are truly missing out!

If you read the IG series, you are among those of us who have been fretting and stressing out for some time now about what fate befell Stanislov during the battle with the mercenaries. We lost one Immortal Guardian and that loss was already devastating. The thought of losing Stanislav as well…well, I know that you too have stayed up nights worrying.

“We feared you hadn’t survived but couldn’t give up hoping…”

That line sums it up for all of us. We have come up with crazy theories and impossible explanations of what could have happened to our missing friend, but what could cause Stan to disappear from even Seth’s transcendent senses?

Once you start Awaken the Darkness, you will finally know what happened to him and the suffering that Stan has endured for the last two and a half years that he has been missing. But Stan was found again by a gifted one named Susan Meyer. Susan is a telepath who heard Stanislav’s pleas for help.

Susan doesn’t know anything about gifted ones or Immortal Guardians, but then again…neither does Stan. Stan has been rescued but he doesn’t know his own name. There is no question that Stan isn’t like everyone else, his glowing eyes attest to that, but he has no idea why.

Growing up as a telepath, Susan understands different, but she always believed she was alone with her peculiar abilities. She is also aware that she should be very afraid of a man with glowing eyes, an ability to manipulate her feelings, and who has no idea who he is, but she can’t bring herself to abandon him when he is so lost and alone.

Romance blooms between them but as long as Stan can’t remember his past, he has no idea if he is married or in a relationship with another woman. He can’t bring himself to be unfaithful to an unknown wife so Stan has to battle his own hormones as well as memory loss.

Danger is coming for them and it won’t wait until Stan is ready for battle. Stan doesn’t know who to trust or who to turn to. He just knows that he will protect Susan with every special ability that he has.

This is the eighth book in the series, which also has two novellas, and each story is a treat. These stories grab your attention from the start and have action from beginning to end, and plenty of humor to still keep it light. The romance is sweet and just as enthralling as fighting vampires with swords. All of the characters are beloved with no special favorites (*cough* Bastian *cough, cough* Zach. Okay, I love those black sheep).

If you haven’t tried the Immortal Guardians, what are you waiting for? You are truly missing out on a remarkable series.

Received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

See more at EBookObsessed.com