BOOK REVIEW - ARCHANGEL'S SHADOWS by NALINI SINGH - GUILD HUNTER # 7 - PARANORMAL ROMANCE - GOLLANCZ

By: Nalini Singh

Published By: Gollancz

Released : Available Now

Details: Paperback from library, 384 Pages

RATING: 4.5 JANVIER, ILLIUM, DMITRI AND NAASIR STARS!!

Blurb: Goodreads

In the wake of a brutal war, the archangel Raphael and his hunter consort, Elena, are dealing with the treacherously shifting tides of archangelic politics and the people of a battered but not broken city. The last thing their city needs is more death, especially not a death that bears the eerie signature of an insane enemy archangel who cannot - should not - be walking the streets. This hunt must be undertaken with stealth and without alerting their people. It must be handled by those who can become shadows themselves...

Ash is a gifted tracker and a woman cursed with the ability to sense the secrets of anyone she touches. But there's one man she knows all too well without a single instant of skin contact: Janvier, the dangerously sexy Cajun vampire who has fascinated and infuriated her for years. Now, as they track down a merciless killer, their cat-and-mouse game of flirtation and provocation has turned into a profound one of the heart. And this time, it is Ash's secret, dark and terrible, that threatens to destroy them both.

Nalini Singh, the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling 'alpha author of paranormal romance' (BOOKLIST), returns to her stunning world, as it braces itself for destruction.


BOOK REVIEW:

I really do adore the Guild Hunter series, but this book took me a lot longer to read than any of Nalini’s books.

I can’t really put my finger on why. I still enjoyed it, but I read several books in between as I was reading, which isn’t something I normally do at all.

Janvier and Ashwini are great characters. I realized I had missed out on their initial meet-and-greet in Angels' Pawn, novella. Maybe that threw me a little. I would advise reading about their meet and greet first. I really enjoyed these two characters, but something was missing for me.

Elena and Raphael are always gorgeous to read, along with Illium, but this time I got so much enjoyment out of reading Naasir.

Honestly in this book I could have read a lot more of him, he really stole the limelight and I loved his banter with Ashwini and his getting to know Elena more.



Even though he’d been riding on top of the car—the maniac—the heavy silver silk of his hair had fallen back around his face in straight strands cut with a choppiness that suited him, and he looked far more civilized than she’d expected. He’d dressed in black pants and a black shirt, with an ankle-length black coat, the stark shade throwing his hair and eyes into sharp focus.



Naasir conveniently let us know how much he wants to find a mate for life and I am so looking forward to that book.

I don’t look ahead, so I don’t know yet if a book has been written or I might be tempted to throw myself at it.

The writing as always is top notch in descriptive and visually seeing scenes through Nalini’s words.

Another great installment, but probably one that was a little slower for me personally, to completely become immersed into the pages.

BOOK REVIEW - ARCHANGEL'S LEGION by NALINI SINGH - GUILD HUNTER # 6 - ADULT PARANORMAL ROMANCE - GOLLANCZ - HACHETTE

By: Nalini Singh
Published By: Gollancz, Hachette
Released : Available Now
Details: Paperback from library, 374 Pages

RATING: 5 RAPHAEL AND A SIDE ORDER OF NAASIR, ILLIUM, RANSOM STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Angels are falling from the sky in New York, struck down by a vicious, unknown force.

Vampires are dying impossibly of disease.

Guild hunter Elena Deveraux and the Archangel Raphael must discover the source of the wave of death before it engulfs their city and their people, leaving New York a ruin and Raphael’s Tower under siege by enemy archangels.

Yet even as they fight desperately to save the city, an even darker force is stirring, its chill eyes trained on New York…and on Raphael. Rivers of crimson and nightmares given flesh, the world will never again be the same…


BOOK REVIEW:

Raphael and Elena are two of my prized characters to read, they are simply all that and a whole lot more.

I’m not going to babble on about plot, as that is not how I roll. You can read for yourself, but I will say the title of this book bringeth something wonderful and fascinating to this series.

Well done Nalini with that imagination of yours.

Shenanigans are going down all over the place in this installment with sub characters like Naasir coming more into the limelight...rawrrrr. He doth tingle my girl parts.

Jeffrey is still being Jeffrey (Elena’s daddy), but we learn more. Eve, Elena’s sis is getting air time and Michaela is still being an uber biatch with a side order of Tasha. *rolls eyes at these vixen wanna-bes*

Raphael has his woman and begoneth you vixens!

This series just has my heart. The characters all pull together to fight the good fight when blood is pouring from veins and villains are being very villainy and there is a mystery/problem to solve.

Nalini writes damn fine action scenes when angels are flying about, or dropping from the sky or having a private dance in the air...*waggles eyebrows*. 

I can visualize so well her words into this amazing picture in my mind that moves and feels. I simply am there in the page among all the chaos and sexy times...well those sexy times could be a bit awkies.

Now I must quote Aodhan and Illium. Sparkles and Bluebell.

O.M.G! *swoons*

I understand they just have a strong bromance...nothing more, but whahhhh...bless them when you read the whole scene.



The two angels were both tall, but Aodhan was perhaps an inch taller, and now his eyes locked with Illium’s for a long, quiet moment before he lowered his head very slightly. Illium raised his hand, the movement slow, hesitant...and then his fingers brushed Aodhan’s cheek just below the cut that had almost sealed. The first ray of dawn kissed the tear that rolled down Illium’s face, caressed the painful wonder on Aodhan’s as he lifted his hand to clasp the wrist of his friend’s hand.

That instant of contact, the power of it, stole her breath.

Then Illium smiled, said something that made Aodhan’s lips curve—Elena thought it might’ve been “Welcome back, Sparkle”—and they were separating to sweep off the Tower in a symphony of wild silver blue and heartbreaking light.

Swooon.

Another brilliant escapism for me. I really want a pair of wings and be able to find me a hottie with beautiful complimenting wings and maybe have me a private dance. *wink*

Onto Archangel's Shadows...

BOOK REVIEW - ARCHANGEL'S STORM by NALINI SINGH - GUILD HUNTER # 5 - ADULT PARANORMAL ROMANCE - GOLLANCZ - HACHETTE

By: Nalini Singh
Published By: Gollancz, Hachette
Released : Available Now
Details : Paperback from library, 352 Pages

RATING: 5 JASON WITH A SIDE ORDER OF VENOM AND DMITRI STARS!

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through the Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmare… and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion that threatens to drench them both in blood.



BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

“Let me stretch the wings of my heart with you.”

I so enjoy the Guild Hunter series and Archangel’s Storm could quite possibly be my favorite to date.

Why?

Jason.

You have to really pay attention to his character and note how he is written. He isn’t like Dmitri who really commands his audience, he is quieter, yet in a way just as loud.

I loved the pairing of Mahiya and Jason. They simply work so well together. Some female loves could be anybody really, but in Jason’s case, Mahiya matches his quiet, but is also loud in her own way.

I am still not sure what to think of Neha. To be ruled by the Queen of Poisons is a rather frightening thing with her temper and power. I really would rather be living in Raphael’s territory. She is very well written. The scales are always tipping with her character.

I loved seeing a bit of Dmitri and Honor woven through this instalment. I do have a rawrrrrr spot for Dmitri, but Jason is something else. He takes a lot of crafting from a writer’s point.

I love the title of this installment, it is very fitting.

Her breath caught, but she didn’t break the eye contact. “A man who is a storm, who belongs to no one and who will never be tamed. To expect otherwise would be to ask for agonizing disappointment.”

Beautifully written and I adored the ending. It was so apt for a man like Jason.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - ARCHANGEL'S BLADE by NALINI SINGH - GUILD HUNTER # 4 - ORION BOOKS - ADULT URBAN FANTASY PARANORMAL ROMANCE

By: Nalini Singh
Published By: Gollancz, Orion Books, Hachette
Released : Available Now
Details: Paperback purchased, 310 Pages

RATING: 5 Dmitri & A Sideorder of Venom Stars!

Blurb: Goodreads 

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...



BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Love this series!

Dmitri! I have been intrigued by you since the first book.

I loved this instalment where Dmitri takes the lead and shows the reader that deeper guy who has lost so much. There’s like a thousand years of depth that have made him into the sadistic ( is that the right word ) erm vampire he is today.

We learn about his friendship with Raphael.

Hell, we learn a heap about what has made Dmitri tick the way he has.

Enter Honor who has had a shocking couple months, abducted and all kinds of heinous things done to her.

Nalini did a top notch job of putting these two together.

Sure I worked something out because I think it was a bit hard not to, but I LOVED the outcome.

Nalini still likes to show us Illium’s thing he has for Elena. His fixation. This just makes me want to keep reading to find out if she reminds him of that past love because something is up with that.

Venom! Rawrrr you made me swoon near the end. What is brewing? Is there something brewing? I thought the next book might be his, but it is Jason’s. I must wait to see if there is a simmer going on there.

All in all another beautifully written installment, an addiction to this series I must feed every few weeks... until I run out. Then I be bouncy for more releases.

I really should pace myself.

Bring on Archangel’s Storm.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - ARCHANGEL'S CONSORT by NALINI SINGH - GUILD HUNTER # 3 - ORION BOOKS - ADULT URBAN FANTASY

By: Nalini Singh

Published By : Orion Books

Released : Available Now

Details : Paperback from library, 324 Pages

RATING : 5 STARS!

Blurb : Goodreads

Nalini Singh steps back into the shadows of her heartbreakingly original world where angels rule, vampires serve, and the innocent can pay the greatest price of all ...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 ...

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

How I so love this series.

Raphael is an alpha archangel and he is just everything in a book boyfriend, for me, anyway.

Elena and her new existence as an angel and everything that Nalini brings to the table with what she is going through feels very real.

I love the descriptions that are so detailed of their wings and how they fly, their colours, the intimate parts of the wing. It’s really powerful to read.

I feel like I can feel wings on my back when I am reading.

Good job Nalini!

There is of course a villain and deaths and destruction.

We get more Illium and some Jason and Dmitri ( purrrr)

But there are TWISTS!

Yes!

I love me some twists.

All in all, this was another fabulous instalment in the Guild Hunter series.

Next up I shall be getting my Guild Hunter on with Dmitri.

Gotta say I’m just a LITTLE excited.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - ARCHANGEL'S KISS by NALINI SINGH - GUILD HUNTER # 2 - BERKLEY - ADULT URBAN FANTASY

By: Nalini Singh

Published By: Berkley

Released : Available Now

Details: Paperback, 323 Pages

RATING: 5 RAPHAEL & THE SEVEN STARS

Blurb: Goodreads

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—especially 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.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Yes!

Loved this installment.

Raphael is rawrrrr.

Elena and her archangel make a great couple. Raphael shows us more of himself, what is underneath. We get to see some layers about his life, his mum.

Illium is just gorgeous.

Dmitri...was AWOL. I was missing him.

BUT! We got more of the other sexy angels and vampires that aid Raphael and now Elena.

The villain of this story is...well there are a couple nut cases hell bent on being a thorn in Elena’s side. They play their parts well.

We see more into the whole, drip, drip, drip, memory of Elena’s.

Simply dig this series. I am drawn in and the pages turn.

I have the next two books to read.

If you haven't...then get yourself started on this awesome series.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - ANGELS' BLOOD by NALINI SINGH - GUILD HUNTER # 1 - BERKELY - URBAN FANTASY

By: Nalini Singh

Published By : Berkley

Released : Available Now

Details: Paperback, 339 Pages

RATING : 5 RAPHAEL & DMITRI STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she is the best- but she does not know if even she is good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, Elena knows failure is not an option—even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other—and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt does not destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just might. For when archangels play, mortals break.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I finally got around to starting this series and I must say I am already onto Archangel's Kiss.

I really loved Nalini’s addition to the urban fantasy genre.

Raphael is an archangel and he wants Elena, a guild hunter on his payroll.

Let the shenanigans begin.

Raphael and Elena have a bit of a shoot em’ up beginning. I love how Nalini plays them off each other.

Elena is well liked by her friends and they are there for her. She is tough, not a push over when it comes to temptation and believe me with this line up of sexy angels and vampires...there is a lot to be tempted by.

There is an excellent line up of sub characters to enrich the story line.

Dmitri is a stand out sub character for me. He is one of the Seven.



Dmitri was staring straight at her, his lips brushing the milk-and-cream skin of the blonde’s arched neck, his hand lying perilously close to the soft rise of her breasts. As the door closed, she saw his fangs flash bright. Her stomach twisted in a vicious shock of hunger.

“Would you go to his bed sweetly?” Raphael asked against my ear, his voice an unsheathed blade. “Would you whimper and beg?”

Elena swallowed. “Hell, no. He’s like double-frosted chocolate mud cake. It looks good, you want to eat the whole thing, but in reality it’s too sickly sweet.” Dmitri’s sensual nature was suffocating, heavy, a blanket that repelled even as it attracted.

“If he is cake, what am I?” Cruel, sensual lips against her cheek, her jaw.

“Poison,” she whispered. “Beautiful, seductive poison.”



I loved the world building. 

The villain is a rather disgusting character named Uram. He’s gone off the rails and is doing all kinds of evil and gory things. Very bad archangel who’s got a dual... ummm...personality. If that is the correct wording? 

My eyes leaked a little at the end. I wasn't expecting to get that emotion and I LOVED the twist.

So did not see that coming. ( Just don't look at book #2 cover art) 

Word of the book : exigent.

I had to look it up. Means: urgent, pressing.

Never heard of it and I so want to have some exigent matters to attend to.

A really cool introduction to this series and I am all in. I don't hand out 5 stars easily but I thought Nalini pulled me into her world and I could see it all so clearly. I do love her writing style.

I highly recommend if you haven’t already met Raphael and The Seven, and you like urban fantasy, then pull up a quiet cosy squat and dig in. 

I found this cast vid on youtube and thought it was quite good. A couple characters there I haven't met yet.

Michelle