In Still Night by Dianne Duvall

DDuvall-In-Still-Darkness

DDuvall-In-Still-DarknessHave I mentioned before that I have a love/hate relationship with novellas? I tend to skip them, unless it’s the author’s normal routine. So when I happened to come across Dianne Duvall’s novella In Still Darkness (#3.5 in her Immortal Guardian series), something she hasn’t done for this series before, I almost passed it up. I’m glad I didn’t, because I actually enjoyed this novella. Though I still have that same ‘wish it was a novel’ feeling.

It s not the first time Immortal Guardian Richart d Alencon has saved a human life from eternal damnation. Usually, he moves on, a nameless savior like a ghost in the night. But this time he can t seem to forget the woman who rewarded him with a sensuous kiss after he rescued her from a trio of vampires. While Richart knows that loving a human can only bring trouble, the taste of forbidden lust is too great to resist

Jenna never imagined she’d end up a single mom working overtime to put her son through school. But she might have daydreamed once that a devastatingly gorgeous Frenchman would sweep her off her feet. Now that a package of tall, dark, and handsome seems intent on doing just that, doctors are telling her she may not have long to live. But Richart is telling her just the opposite. All she has to do is abandon her humanity

I’m a bit sad that Richart and Jenna’s story is so short. Everyone else got an entire book, that they don’t just doesn’t seem fair. This is why I don’t like novellas, lol, I always feel like the characters get cheated somehow. For instance, I never felt all that connected to Jenna. I’ve always liked Rickart so I didn’t need much from him or the world they live in. Jenna seems nice and all, but there wasn’t enough time with her for me to have an opinion of her.  I can’t even say if her and Rickart are a good fit, which is disappointing. Their love story was hard to ‘see’ for me, since there is very little time watching them grow. For this alone, I really really wish this had been a full novel instead.

However, technically, In Still Darkness was a full story so these two weren’t cheated. In fact, time passes enough so that Rickart and Jenna’s relationship doesn’t start over night.  I personally prefer this setup, so this made me happy. As for the rest of the story line, plenty was going on to keep the ball rolling nicely. We get to see a couple favorite characters like Roland and Sarah plus there were run ins with vampires, which is always entertaining. Other than wishing for more, every other aspect of this novella kept me enthralled.

My aversion to novella’s aside, In Still Darkness captivated my attention from start to finish.  There was intrigue, romance, and action aplenty for this short story.  It really did its job of entertaining me, even if it was lacking in enough character building for my taste. And though I can’t say that I would have missed all that much if I had skipped reading this, I’m glad I gave it a shot anyway.

Read order:
Darkness Dawns
Night Reigns
Phantom Shadows
In Still Darkness
Darkness Rises
Night Unbound

About Nikki R 120 Articles
SAHM of 2, happily married bookworm, blogger and aspiring author. If I could read/write all day, every day, I would. Luckily I have a very understanding, and patient, husband who lets me get away with it as much as possible. Now if only the kids would understand my obsession, and the house would clean itself, then I'd be all set.