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Angels' Blood
by
Nalini Singh
alternative history, paranormal romance in a Kindle edition that was published by Berkley Sensation on March 3, 2009 and has 372 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon, Audibles.
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Must Love Hellhounds, Kiss of Snow, An Enchanted Season, Archangel's Blade, Angels of Darkness, Lord of the Abyss, Desert Warrior, Angels' Flight, Tangle of Need, Play of Passion, Archangel's Storm, Wild Invitation, Heart of Obsidian, Archangel's Legion, "Hide and Seek", "Making Dinner", Shield of Winter, "A Conversation", "Home", Angels' Pawn, "New Year's Kisses", Night Shift, "Weapons Training", "Zoë's Workshop", "Wild Night", Archangel's Shadows, Archangel’s Enigma, Shards of Hope, “Fairy Balloons”, “An Unexpected Guest”, Allegiance of Honor, "The Song of the Wolf", Silver Silence, Archangel’s Heart, Archangel’s Viper, Ocean Light, "Elena's School of Horror", Cherish Hard, "Ain’t No Party Like A Bear Party", Archangel's Prophecy, "One Night At The Refuge", "Secret Things", Rebel Hard, Rock Hard, Wolf Rain, "Clean and Dirty", "Wolf School", "Naya’s Most Important Visitors", "Grocery Shopping", "The Cannibal Princess", "A Gift for Kit", "Movie Night", "Kaleb and Sahara’s Meeting with Sascha and Lucas", "Housewarming at the Orchard", "Christmas in the Kitchen", "Stalking Hawke", "Romancing Drew", "Sunday Morning", "Rowan", "Baubles & Ben", Wild Embrace, Love Hard, Rock Addiction, "Music Awards", Rock Courtship, "Rock Courtship Memo"s, Rock Redemption, "Sunshine", Rock Wedding, "With This Memo", "That Lip Ring…", A Madness of Sunshine, "Beary Tiny Ghosts", Alpha Night, "A Wedding Breakfast", "Poker Night", "Knives and Sheaths", "Seedlings", "Star Kissed", "A Walk on the Cliffs", "Wild Cat Blues", Slave to Sensation, Caressed by Ice, Visions of Heat, Kiss Hard, Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's War, Archangel's Sun, Archangel's Light, Archangel's Resurrection, Last Guard, “A Perfect Moment”, "Music in the Rain", Storm Echo, Resonance Surge, "Mate", “New Year’s Eve”
First in the Guild Hunter paranormal romance series with an alternate history and revolving around Elena, a mortal Hunter Born in New York City.
Angel’s Blood has a slew of awards from the 2010 All About Romance (AAR) Annual Reader Poll for Most Kickass Heroine, the 2009 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award (RT Award) for Urban Fantasy Protagonist, the 2009 P.E.A.R.L. (Paranormal Excellence Award for Romantic Literature) for Best Fantasy/Magical Romance, and nominated in 2010 for the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Adult Novel.
My Take
Elena has got some mouth on her, challenging an archangel — and good for her! I do love how assertive she is and how protective she is of herself and those for whom she cares.
It’s an amazingly complex world and culture of humanity and the supernatural that Singh has created. A very compelling one in which archangels rule, and along with the angels, consider themselves above all others with a chilling secret.
Raphael’s Seven increase the complexity while Elena’s fellow hunters provide relief. Then there are Lijuan’s walking dead.
Singh slides us into the story with the end of one of Elena’s hunts and then drops us into the world of Raphael. I love that contradiction of terror and chutzpah. Singh portrays the cold of Raphael beautifully.
Then Singh makes it even more complicated with Elena’s family history. I wanna smack someone! Of course, Raphael also has a complicated family history. Just goes to show that it doesn’t really matter what your background is, we share commonalities.
Singh is primarily using a third person dual protagonist point-of-view from Elena’s and Raphael’s perspectives.
I cannot believe the nerve of Elena’s father! Michaela is just as bad, maybe worse. It’s hard to gauge.
It’s a tale of love and the violent interaction of two species. Full of action with a wide range of characters. All at a medium pace that occasionally ratchets up to fast.
The Story
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she’s the best—but she doesn’t know if she’s good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear — 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 doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break…
The Characters
Elieanora “Elena” Devereaux is hunter born, born with greater strength and a nose to hunt down vampires. Her sister, Beth, is married to the selfish Harrison Ling, a vampire. Jeffrey Devereaux, a wealthy businessman, is their arrogant, hateful father. Marguerite, a Parisian, had been their mother until the massacre in which Ariel and Mirabelle were murdered. Gwendolyn is his second wife. Geraldine is Jeffrey’s personal assistant.
The Hunters Guild
Sara Haiz is the director of the Guild in the US and Elena’s best friend. She’s married to Deacon, a former Slayer and gifted weaponsmaker. Zoe Elena is the baby daughter. Their current Slayer is a monster of a dog. Hunters include Ransom Winterwolf with his extensive street contacts; the prescient Ashwini, a.k.a. Ash, Ashblade; the extremely strong Hilda; Kenji; and, Rose. The Cellars is a secret hideaway where the crippled Vivek rules.
Nyree is a librarian who has been dating Ransom — for more than two months! Bill James had been Elena’s mentor until he went nuts.
The Tower is . . .
. . . central command for Raphael, an archangel in command of North America. His Seven are his most trusted people and include the terrifying 1,000+-year-old Dmitri, a vampire and Raphael’s second-in-command; the blue-winged Illium; the slit-eyed Venom, a young vampire made by Neha; and, the black-winged Jason, who is his spymaster. Montgomery is Raphael’s vampire butler in the Enclave. Janvier, a vampire, is the Cajun. Suhani is a vampire receptionist at the Tower. Erik was Made yesterday. Bernal was Made a bit older.
The Cadre of Ten rules . . .
. . . the world and is composed of the ten archangels in the world, which includes the fabulous and vicious Michaela, the Archangel of Budapest. The vicious Riker, a vampire, is Michaela’s guard. Uram is a bloodborn archangel and Michaela’s lover who rules parts of Eastern Europe and Russia. Robert Styles is Uram’s assistant. The perverse Charisemnon rules a large part of North Africa. Neha is the Archangel of India and Queen of Snakes, of Poisons. Elijah rules South America and the beautiful and artistic Hannah is his Consort. Zhou Lijuan is the Archangel of China. Titus rules the rest of Africa. Favashi is the Archangel of Persia. The cruel Astaad is the Archangel of the Pacific with his beloved harem. Caliane is/had been Raphael’s crazed mother who has gone into Sleep.
Holly Chang is a survivor, who doesn’t want to survive.
Ambrosia is produced when an angel loves true. Angelfire is the only weapon that can hurt an archangel. The Scourge is an insanity of blood. The Quiet is a type of communication that renders its user a cold monster who knows no mercy. Isis is an angel who had imprisoned Raphael and diverted the course of Dmitri’s life. Anshara is a state of angelic rest when gravely injured. The Angel Enclave is just outside NYC and is an exclusive neighborhood of angels. The Refuge is a secret enclave where angels raise their children.
Mr Ebose is an angel in Sydney, Australia. Jerry, Ebose’s secretary, is a vampire who ran off on his Contract. The Wing Brotherhood is a mercenary company that provides bodyguards. Hunter’s Prey is a popular TV series. It’s producer, S.R. Stoker, is a former vampire hunter. Slater Patalis is/was a crazed vampire serial killer who had a huge impact on Elena’s life. Mr Chernoff had been the humancentric president of a tiny country. Benson was forced out of his home. Some of the humans enthralled by vampires include Sarita Monaghan, a supermodel. Destiny’s Rose is an ancient treasure, carved from a single diamond. Germaine was the vampire tortured in Times Square. Erotique is a by-invitation-only club for upscale vampires. S. Matheson, a vampire, had been punished.
The Cover and Title
The cover is a range of yellows to oranges to browns. At first glance it appears to be flames, but it’s actually an overpowering light against the New York skyline that surrounds an Elena in profile, her white hair curling down her back and wearing a knife, T-shirt, and jeans. At the very top is a testimonial in white with a black outline and the author’s name in the same colors. Starting at mid-torso is the title in a gradient of deep red to a brighter red with a yellow outline. At the very bottom is the series info in white.
The title is the reason behind this story, for it’s Angel’s Blood that sets the action off.
