🎧︎Phantom Embrace is book 5.5 in Dianne Duvall’s exciting Immortal Guardian series. It tells the story of the Immortal Guardian Yuri Sokolov. Yuri appeared in the prior books, but he didn’t play a central role. Despite this, I hoped he would get his happily ever after. At the end of Night Unbound, I lost hope of that happening, but 🎧︎Phantom Embrace restored it.
The events occurring in 🎧︎Phantom Embrace also occurred in Night Unbound, with one exception: the romance developing between Yuri and Cat. Now Yuri and Cat were an unusual couple. Cat was a ghost residing in David’s House. David is Seth’s second in command. Yuri is one of two immortal guardians who possesses the ability to see ghosts. Yuri, doesn’t make it a habit to converse with the spirits as there is always a downside, but for some inexplicable reas0n he is drawn to Cat and soon they are spending lots of time together.
Armed with the information from Night Unbound, the bittersweet ending of 🎧︎Phantom Embrace offered no surprises. There could be no other outcome, seeing that their happily ever after was the objective. Yuri and Cat’s love story is one of hope. Yuri yearned to find that special someone after spending centuries alone. Cat became that person for him. Cat’s past was tragic and since her death, her spirit found no peace, but all that changed when she came in contact with Yuri. They both provided each other with the companionship and comfort they desired.
Despite the circumstances of their unlikely situation, the feelings they shared felt genuine. Their story encompassed the perfect blend of emotion, tenderness and passion, and it made up for my disappointment from the previous book.
I am used to Kirsten Potter narrating the series, so I was a bit disappointed to learn that a different narrator narrated 🎧︎Phantom Embrace. This is my first time listening to Arika Rapson. She did a fairly good job of giving life to the characters and the scenes. She created different voices for each of the character making it easy to distinguish between male and female and being able to determine which character is speaking at any given time. Her accents, however, were a bit off and could have used some refining.
🎧︎Phantom Embrace, with its bittersweet ending, delivered a beautiful story of hope and love.
| Story Evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Plot | |
| Characters | |
| World Building | |
| Writing Style | |
| Pacing | |
| Cover | |
| Narrator (Audio) | |
| Enjoyment | |
| Ending | |
| Overall: |  |
About Dianne Duvall
Dianne Duvall is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series. Her debut novel Darkness Dawns, Book 1, was nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance by RT Book Reviews and for Best Paranormal Romance – Vampire by The Romance Reviews. Night Reigns, Book 2, was declared an “utterly addictive” Top Pick by RT Book Reviews and was nominated for Best Paranormal Romance 2011 by The Romance Reviews. Phantom Shadows, Book 3, was named a Top Pick by both The Romance Reviews and Night Owl Reviews. Her Immortal Guardians novella “In Still Darkness” was released in the Predatory Anthology in May 2013. Darkness Rises, Book 4, was also nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance. Night Unbound, Book 5 in the series, will be released on September 2, 2014. When she isn’t writing, Dianne loves all things creative. When her nose isn’t buried in a book, she is very active in the independent film industry and once even appeared onscreen as a machete-wielding maniac not unlike the vampires she so loves to create in her novels.
- Till Death Do Us Part: Bella Di Corte - April 23, 2024
- When Sinners Rise: Hart De Lune - April 22, 2024
- Wright Kind of Love: K. A Linde - April 18, 2024
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Its always disappointing when they switch narrators and it can really throw off the experience when its mid series like that. I hope the next installment is a better experience for you.
Lovely review Nadene!
Nice review, Nadene, I’m glad it ended satisfactorily for you on a note of hope.
I’ve always wanted to read this author. Someday.
It can be hard when they change the narrator mid-series. This is a series that I do hope to read at some point.
Love this series and so happy to see them coming to audio.
Kirsten Potter is a favorite narrator of mine so I can understand why you’d be disappointed to have the switch. Glad you enjoyed it overall!