Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh

Dmitri and Honor's book





Archangel's Blade (Guild Hunter book 4)

by Nalini Singh

Book Blurb:
The severed head marked by a distinctive tattoo on its cheek should have been a Guild case, but dark instincts honed over hundreds of years of life compel the vampire Dmitri to take control. There is something twisted about this death, something that whispers of centuries long past...but Dmitri's need to discover the truth is nothing to the vicious strength of his response to the hunter assigned to decipher the tattoo.

Savaged in a brutal attack that almost killed her, Honor is nowhere near ready to come face to face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel's right hand, and who wears his cruelty as boldly as his lethal sensuality...the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.

As desire turns into a dangerous compulsion that might destroy them both, it becomes clear the past will not stay buried. Something is hunting...and it will not stop until it brings a blood-soaked nightmare to life once more...

This review is written with the assumption that you are all caught up in the series. Archangel's Blade could be a stand alone read but I would not recommend it. 

Talk about two tortured characters! Most times when I read a story and there is a heavy back story, it is usually one character battling personal demons and the other character is trying to help with the healing process. Not the case with Archangel's Blade. Both of the protagonists, Dmitri and Honor are fractured and reeling from deep wounds.  Quite honestly, I wasn't sure how they were going to heal each other. There are some wicked scenarios in Archangel's Blade that are pretty gruesome. I'm glad I'm done with the series for now. I need a break. 

Archangel's Blade was very well written and the intense story line kept my eyes glued to the pages. It was a page turner for sure. 

The only information that the readers know about Dmitri going into Archangel's Blade is the few tidbits that have been shared in the previous books. Dmitri is a vampire now and you just know that there is a wicked back story.  To bring the readers up to date on his previous life, there are a series of flashbacks that Dmitri experiences. I'm not a fan of flashbacks (in any story). The reader is fed bits and pieces and you need to use these snippets to puzzle together his mortal conclusion. It takes the entire book to do so. Heartbreaking best describes Dmitri's previous life as a human. That is all I can say about that. 

Even though Honor is a Hunter from the Guild Hunter organization, she is a new character that was not introduced in any of the previous books. Right away you understand that she has suffered a recent personal atrocity and she is still in the clutches of healing. She is a strong woman and it is easy to admire how hard she is trying to heal herself. 

As Dmitri and Honor team up there are two mysteries woven into Archangel's Blade. One is about a mysterious decapitated head with an unknown but distinctive tattoo and the other is trying to solve who and why Honor was brutalized. Both of those stories run parallel to each other. Additionally mixed in to the book are Dmitri's flashbacks coupled with strange dreams that Honor is experiencing. There is an awful lot going on in Archangel's Blade. 

Although Elena and Raphael (from the first 3 books) are present as secondary characters in Archangel's Blade, I really missed them. I do love them. I'm pretty sure that if this book 4 was another story about Elena and Raphael, I would have been just as happy to continue reading about them. 

You would not think that Dmitri and Honor would have been such a great pair together. With his dark side and her trying heal from the dark forced upon her, they seemed to be a mismatched pair on paper. However, it worked. I enjoyed them testing each other's limits and I enjoyed reading about Honor earning her life back. Dmitri didn't turn out to be a crutch as I expected but rather Honor was just brave enough to do it on her own. The ending is where I decided to downgrade Archangel's Blade from a 5 down to a 4. This explanation is going to be bit hard without spoilers but lets just say, I didn't like the ultimate "fix" for Honor. This whole story I was routing for her and I was disappointed. The finale with the accumulation of his flashbacks and her dreams certainly left me scratching my head and feeling a bit let down. That is not what I personally wanted for Honor. I am pretty sure fans of the Guild Hunter series will strongly go against me on my disappointment but it was how I felt at the end. 

Teasers: great use of honey, Holly turned to Sorrow, a mother's love gone really really bad, wild flower memorial

Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh

Eleana & Raphael's 3rd book





Archangel's Consort (Guild Hunters book 3)

By Nalini Singh

Book Blurb:
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux and her lover, the lethally beautiful archangel Raphael, have returned home to New York only to face an uncompromising new evil…

A vampire has attacked a girls’ school—the assault one of sheer, vicious madness—and it is only the first act. Rampant bloodlust takes vampire after vampire, threatening to make the streets run with blood. Then Raphael himself begins to show signs of an uncontrolled rage, as inexplicable storms darken the city skyline and the earth itself shudders. The omens are suddenly terrifyingly clear.

An ancient and malevolent immortal is rising. The violent winds whisper her name: Caliane. She has returned to reclaim her son, Raphael. Only one thing stands in her way: Elena, the consort who must be destroyed…

As I progress through each book does it get predictable that I say, "Oh this one was my favourite."??? Because I think that Archangel's Consort may be my favourite yet.  

I love that although Raphael and Elena have been together since the first book, Angel's Blood, this third book is when I truly see them as married. Well, as married as angels get. I do like the spin on the word "Consort" and how it all just wraps up in a nice perfect package. Elena and Raphael are very much in love and I'm loving how much they are in love! 

The entire book, Archangel's Consort, is a story where Raphael's very ancient and powerful mother, Caliane is waking up from a "sleep".  It appears that due to how old and ancient Caliane was she started to go insane when Raphael was just a young angel. As a result, she put herself to sleep secretly hidden away. This self induced "sleep" is a gamble on whether she'll wake even more mad or cured of her madness. Regardless when Caliane does fully wake, she will be the most powerful archangel that ever was. As the reader, you are never quite sure how this state is going to turn out. Are all the catastrophic world events that are occurring on each of the continents leading up to her wakening? Is that an indication of how crazy Caliane is going to be?  Nothing was ever written the ancient texts to base this event on. 

Elena is still quite weak in terms of how an immortal angel gauges strength. She can't fly for long distances yet but she is a fighter and she is giving it everything she has to be 100% healthy and independent. She is frustrated with herself because as a Guild Hunter, she was one of the strongest. It is a complete table turn for her to have to rely on being saved or watched over. I could feel her frustration. I absolutely loved that even though she hated being so dependent, she was still wise enough to realize she needed assistance and didn't do stupid things. Oh how I hate when authors make their heroine do stupid things. I could hug Nalini Singh for making Elena so brilliant in that respect. 

The readers have now all been introduced to Raphael's "SEVEN". These brave warriors are a combination of vampires or angels. They are Venom, Jason, Galen, Nassir, Aodhan, Dmitri and of course my favourite (as well as everyone else's) Illium. Wonderful secondary characters that I am sure we will get treated to each and every one of their books. I'll bet you a nickel that Illium's book will be last because he is the fan favourite. I love how each of these characters are loyal to Raphael (and even Elena through Raphael). Excellent set up for more books!

I look forward to more and more of these wonderful adventures. I am starting Archangel's Blade next. 

Teasers: An Angel "dance" over the ocean, sister Eve surprise, "I live Elena. Because of you."

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)