"Fantastic continuation to this series!"
**Note: If you have not yet read ANGEL'S KISS, there are
spoilers in this review. ** When we last left Elena and Raphael—the Archangel of New
York—Raphael had made Elena an angel. It's only possible to
make an angel when true love is involved. In order to
defeat the archangel Uram, both Raphael and Elena ended up
wounded. However, Elena's wounds were such that she would
not be able to recover from them. In order to keep Elena
alive, Raphael fed her ambrosia. As our story begins, Elena has just awoken from a year-long
sleep. Of course, Elena can't just wake up and take up her
old life. She must learn how to do everything all over
again as her body adjusts to having wings. And she is in
Refuge—the one place where violence is not to take place.
Raphael knows Elena will be a target, especially since she
is such a new angel and is very weak, and so she always has
a bodyguard everywhere she goes outside of Raphael's
mansion. Once she's a bit stronger, Elena begins training,
not only in learning to fight with wings, but also to learn
how to fly. Not surprisingly, Elena finds Raphael a bit
overbearing with his overprotectiveness and attitudes and
they begin a battle of wills, for Elena will not allow
herself to be ruled by Raphael. She wants a partnership
with him, a true relationship with him, where they belong
to each. Not only is Elena fighting to maintain her sense
of self, but she must also learn to deal with Raphael's
Seven on a daily basis. As Elena is learning what she needs to know, her hunter
skills are needed when one of Raphael's vampires is found
severely wounded. Not only is he severely wounded, but a
Guild knife is found imbedded in his chest—obviously a
warning that Elena is now definitely a target. As if that's
not bad enough, an angelic child is taken and once again,
Elena's hunter skills are needed. Elena does manage to
track the child just barely in the nick of time. In the
midst of all this, the oldest Archangel Lijuan, invites the
Cadre to a ball. Seems Lijuan wants to meet Elena. Now
Elena needs to be up to fighting par by the time of the
ball. And on top of all that, Elena is having nightmares of
her older sisters' and her mother's murder. Will they be able to find out who is behind the wounding of
one of Raphael's men and the kidnapping of a child? Will
Elena be safe? What does Lijuan have planned at her ball?
Will Elena's nightmares stop? Will Elena and Raphael be
able to have the kind of relationship Elena hopes for? ARCHANGEL'S KISS GUILD HUNTERS SERIES BOOK 2 is a fantastic
continuation of Elena's and Raphael's story. Nalini Singh
has managed the impossible—she actually topped ANGEL'S
BLOOD with this story. Not only do we get a look into the
violent and cruel world of the angels, we also get to see
what made Elena into the hunter she became as she is forced
to relive the murders of her mother and older sisters. With
each nightmare, Elena is forced to see a bit more of what
occurred. And with each nightmare, Raphael is there to hold
her and comfort her, giving Elena exactly what she needs.
But Raphael is not without his own nightmares, which he
slowly begins to share with Elena. And while the Cadre does
have to bring another Archangel down, this story is more
about Elena and her past and her growing relationship with
Raphael than anything else. A fantastic series and one I
cannot recommend highly enough. I can't wait to see what
happens next!
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted February 18, 2010
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New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to her world of angelic rulers, vampiric servants, and the woman thrust into their darkly seductive world… Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find herself changed—an angel with wings the colors of midnight and dawn—but her fragile body needs time to heal before she can take flight. Her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, is used to being in control—even when it comes to the woman he considers his own. But Elena has never done well with authority…
They’ve barely begun to understand each other when Raphael receives an invitation to a ball from the archangel Lijuan. To refuse would be a sign of fatal weakness, so Raphael must ready Elena for the flight to Beijing—and to the nightmare that awaits them there. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan holds a power that lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena… Genre: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Angels, Vampires Guild Hunter reading order per author's website:
- Angels' Pawn (e-release, early 2009; this novella is written to stand alone, so it can be read at any stage in the series. Angels' Blood is the first book in the series.)
- Angels' Blood (March 2009)
- "Angels' Judgment" in Must Love Hell Hounds anthology (September 2009)
- Archangel's Kiss (February 2010)
- Archangel's Consort (January 2011)
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