[Steph’s Review]: Death of Darkness by Dianne Duvall

Death of Darkness
by Dianne Duvall
Series: Immortal Guardians #9
Pages: 500
Published by Independent
Release Date: August 20 2019
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy
Source: Author
Format Read: Paperback
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Seth has led the Immortal Guardians for thousands of years. With them fighting by his side, he has protected humans from psychotic vampires, defeated corrupt mercenary armies, defended military bases under attack, and more. But the latest enemy to rise against the Immortal Guardians has proven to be a formidable one, wielding almost as much power as Seth. His goal is simple. He wants to watch the world burn. And he will use every means at his disposal to accomplish it. Seth and his Immortal Guardians have succeeded thus far in staving off Armageddon despite heartbreaking losses. But they have never before faced such danger. Seth has only one wish: to protect his Immortal Guardians family and ensure the continuation of humanity by defeating his foe. But then Leah walks into his life and sparks a new desire.

Leah Somerson has suffered losses of her own. It has taken her a long time to rebuild her life and find some semblance of peace. Then one night a tall, dark, powerful immortal with what appears to be the weight of the world on his shoulders stumbles into her shop, and everything changes. Peace and contentment are no longer enough. Now she wants more. She wants to find happiness. She wants to erase the darkness in Seth’s eyes and replace it with love and laughter. She knows he’s different in ways that make most fear him. Even some of his immortal brethren keep a careful distance. But Leah will not. Nor will she shy away when danger strikes.

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Before you keep reading, keep in mind that this is ninth book of a series. There may be spoilers below for previously released books, so proceed with caution!

TL;DR – Death of Darkness was everything I wanted and more; it was an action-packed, jaw-dropping, gasp-inducing, and swoon-worthy adventure. Another great book from Dianne Duvall!

When I found out that Dianne Duvall was writing a book about Seth, the Immortal Guardians leader, I was over the moon.

Seth is arguably the most powerful being in the Immortal Guardians world, and also the most mysterious. He’s been a main presence in all of the Immortal Guardians and Gifted Ones books, so naturally, I’ve been ready to learn more about him.

Enter his official book: Death of Darkness.

My first thought:

My second thought:

Dianne Duvall must’ve read my mind, because this book delivered everything I wanted, and more. ESPECIALLY IN THE FORM OF REVELATIONS.

The book gave us an inside look into the depth of love Seth has for all of the people in his life he feels responsible for (and goodness, there are a lot!), and just how utterly selfless, he is. (Not that that’s anything new; but we get to see how exhaustive his life is!)

Seth’s backstory is a sad one, and we get more details in this book that made my heart break even more for him. There is no one more deserving of a HEA, and I’m so happy that despite his tragic past, he was able to finally have something (and someone) wonderful enter into his life.

I loved the chemistry between Seth and Leah; their dynamic was a joy to read. I love seeing a more vulnerable side to Seth, and how well-balanced their relationship became by the end.

Now, let’s talk about the swoony shit, cause lordt, my heart is still reeling.

You think I’m going to just talk about romance-y things? THINK AGAIN.

Aside from the romance (which was steamy and swoony), I loved seeing Seth and Adira interacting in their scenes together. I’m a sucker for kids in books, and the ones in Death of Darkness were utterly adorable, and my black heart grew ten sizes whenever the men in the book doted on them.

Aside from the familial/platonic love happening in this book, there was also plenty of hot, dare I say, earth-shaking steamy love too. I definitely enjoyed seeing Seth dusting off the bedroom moves 😉

Now, this wouldn’t be an Immortal Guardians book without the crew being in imminent danger. And yes, that bastard (and awesome villain) Gershom was at the center of it all. Cue nail-biting:

While yes, I was excited to be in Seth’s head, and yes, I was excited for the fun and sexy times, I kept anticipating shit to go down each time I turned the page. This was literally me every other chapter:

And even though I was expecting shit to go down, I was absolutely, under no circumstances expecting shit to go down the way they did.

The last 15% was shocking, unexpected and altogether fantastic.

Death of Darkness started as strong as it ended. The pacing was perfect; there were no dull moments–thus making it hard to put down. While the ending itself was satisfying AF, the epilogue perfectly sets up what we can likely expect with the next book: MORE AWESOMENESS.

This was a solid 4.5 star read for me, and definitely one of my favorite reads of 2019!