Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh

Elena Deveraux and Raphael's 2nd book





Archangel's Kiss (Guild Hunters book #2)

By Nalini Singh

Book Blurb:
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find that she has become an angel-and that her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, likes having her under his control. But almost immediately, Raphael must ready Elena for a flight to Beijing, to attend a ball thrown by the archangel Lijuan. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan's power lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena...

The second book, Archangel's Kiss is just (if not even more) exciting than the first Angel's Blood book.

With the exciting conclusion of Angel's Blood, the story left our heroine hunter, Elena in a very precarious medical condition. Elena awakes after a year long coma and discovers that she is now an angel. Here's what I loved. She awakes but it takes her time to become physically healthy again. It is so awesome and so much more realistic ( I know angels and vampires but still) that she needs to build her strength. She needs to train all over again and she needs to learn to fly. I would have been so annoyed if she woke from her coma and BAM she is fully ready to be in action and takes flight like nothing happened. Right away, Archangel's Kiss earned my respect. 

The entire story takes place in a secret Angel world called, the Refuge. This angel domain is a place of retreat hidden away from the mortal world. It should be a perfectly safe place to allow Elena to heal and train. Unfortunately there is an angel who wants to be escalated to the position of an archangel and in doing so, causes a ripple effect of destruction among all the other archangels. Archangel's Kiss was like a  mystery with the readers trying to guess who the culprit was. 

The angels of this Guild Hunter series can be wicked cruel. These are not the religious God fearing type of angels. These angels have slaves, territories and some of them are very depraved. Even Elena's archangel, Raphael has some wicked cruelness but so far it doesn't seem to be unjust. Even in book 2, Elena and Raphael are still very much exploring their feelings towards each other. They have such a pull to one another that the one definite thing is quite clear; they are soul mates and by the end of Archangel's Kiss, there is no doubt how solid their love is for one another. 

Nalini Singh has created an extraordinary cast of secondary characters. On one page you can't stand them and then on another, you feel a bit sorry for them. It is a very interesting read because besides Elena and Raphael, it is hard to put your finger down and label any one of the characters. 

Raphael's group of warriors, known as the Seven, have now been all introduced by the end of Archangel's Kiss. The relationship between the reader and these Seven need to still grow because once again, Nalini Singh is very careful to only write the bare minimum about these warriors. A great formula because they all hold my interest and she could very easily create books entirely based on each of the secondary characters. I am so curious about each and every one. I also like that the group of protectors are taking their time on deciding how they feel towards Elena. They are not quick to trust. They are completely true to Raphael and they will do anything for him, even protect Elena with their lives. 

The villain in Archangel's Kiss was hard to nail down precisely because the reader was kept in the dark most of the book not really knowing who exactly they were. There is also an amazing sub story about the most powerful Archangel and a puzzle regarding the mystery of her power. Is she evolving or is she devolving? And finally, Elena's nightmares really escalate. As the reader, you are just dying to read where all of that is leading. Freaking loved this book, Archangel's Kiss. 

Teaser: drip drip drip, Elena's first flight, nasty deaths, walking dead (the reborn)