Dianne Duvall's done it again. NIGHT UNBOUND, the fifth book in her Immortal Guardians series, will keep you hooked from the first word. I've been hoping for a Zach story since he showed up in the series and Duvall has put together an amazing romance between Zach and Lisette, one of my favourite Immortal Guardians. And Duvall also throws in a lot more information about Zach, Seth, and the Others, which was very satisfying since I find them rather mysterious.
But first, let's talk romance. Lisette and Zach are a fascinating couple because they face different obstacles than the other characters we've seen in the series so far. First, there's the fact that Seth doesn't trust Zach, which means that no one trusts Zach. And while, as readers, we know it's unfounded, it does take Zach time to earn everyone's faith. And he gets some truly awesome scenes as part of his path to joining the team! There are a few laugh-out-loud moments in NIGHT UNBOUND and I enjoyed the unexpectedly lighthearted comedy. On the other side, Lisette knows that helping Zach is traitorous behaviour, given Seth's feelings, and it creates some uncomfortable moments for her. But Lisette and Zach's connection is undeniable and they get a beautiful love story in NIGHT UNBOUND.
Now for the question of the Others, which I was most curious about when I heard that NIGHT UNBOUND would be Zach and Lisette's story. Most of the pairings in the series so far have been Immortal Guardian with human(-eventually-turned-Immortal Guardian), except for Ami and Marcus, who fall under the alien with Immortal Guardian combo category. By the end of their stories, these characters didn't have secrets from one another, if they had any to start, but Zach can't tell Lisette much about his life as an Other because the consequences would be so dire. It's simply too dangerous for her to know everything at this point. For centuries, Seth has kept these secrets from everyone except David, who's been with him forever, and so I was curious about how Duvall would resolve the tension this huge secret creates between Zach and Lisette. Thankfully, her solution is great. It fits the worldbuilding and the characters really well. I won't say precisely what happens since it might ruin things for you a bit but I will say that it's a realistic outcome. Zach and Lisette are together by the end of NIGHT UNBOUND (obvs, this is paranormal romance) but they do address this issue.
NIGHT UNBOUND is a great paranormal romance that also progresses the series story arc about the Immortal Guardians' battles with their unknown enemies. Please don't judge this book by the cover! It really doesn't do Zach -- or the story -- justice because NIGHT UNBOUND will have you on the edge of your seat from cover to cover.
So happy to see that you enjoyed NIGHT UNBOUND! :-)
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