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Archangel's Sun
by
Nalini Singh
alternative history, paranormal romance in a Kindle edition that was published by Berkley on November 24, 2020 and has 366 pages.
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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, Angels' Blood, Archangel's Kiss, Archangel's War, Archangel's Light, Archangel's Resurrection, Last Guard, “A Perfect Moment”, "Music in the Rain", Storm Echo, Resonance Surge, "Mate", “New Year’s Eve”, Archangel's Lineage, Visions of Heat, Mine to Possess, Hostage to Pleasure, Branded by Fire, Blaze of Memory
Thirteenth in the Guild Hunter paranormal romance, alternate history series and revolving around the archangels who rule the world. The couple focus is on the Lady Sharine, a.k.a. the Hummingbird, and Titus, the Archangel of Africa. If you’re interested, there is a chronological listing of the Guild Hunter books on my website.
My Take
It’s a start that has me crying. Sharine is so broken, it’ll make your heart cry — she does evolve in her character arc. She’s beloved by almost everyone who knows her. Especially Aodhan who calls her Eh-ma, an affectionate term of respect and love. There follows blips of happiness with more of sadness that kept me crying for Sharine. All her losses, the abandonments, even when she found the very young Raphael’s broken body. It’s these experiences that makes her so ideal in situations where people are hurting so very much.
It’s Singh’s use of third person dual protagonist point-of-view with perspectives from Sharine and Titus that provide us with so much information.
There’s a brief back history on Sharine’s parents that will make you sad as well. More history includes the evolution of those living on earth, from angels to humans. Those flashbacks about Aegaeon are also sad but illuminating to Sharine. The flashbacks surrounding Charisemnon are . . . horrifying. Even worse are his journals that Sharine finds. The angel she finds.
When Titus is told that the Cadre are sending him the Hummingbird to help him, he’s roars his disbelief. It is too funny how furious he is and yet he can’t say a word against her, as she is such a treasure to angelkind. More issues include the massive infestation of reborn he and his people are battling and those troops of Charisemnon’s who have come over to him.
It’s the misconceptions of each other that bring both frustration and humor into the story. Titus is in awe of her and yet wants to invite her to his blankets. There is no question in the minds of Titus’ people, and they pull out all the stops for Sharine’s visit.
Sharine is finding her position in the village outside Lumia is good for her. She’s regaining cognition, command, and courage, scouting information as she crosses the desert. From Titus’ attitude towards her, she’s also getting a slap to the face. It’s a huge leap in her character arc. Illium, too, has major issues.
Intellectually, it’s understandable that angels don’t think much of humans — in the pejorative and approbative senses. Emotionally, I wanna rip them, much as Elena does, lol. It’s never Sharine’s way, though. She’s always treated every being with the same courtesy.
I do enjoy Singh’s descriptions of her characters. She really makes you believe in them, feel for them. She’s also good at painting a picture of the feelings of the people under individual archangels. Whoa.
Ya gotta love how Titus handles his territory and people, that he respects people who have skills he doesn’t. A kind and just ruler. His complaints about his sisters will feel too real. Lololol, Titus insists that the mortals are head of the line for food, and the shot of Raphael lifting a wall into place, has Charisemnon’s former people realizing they’d better dig in and help.
I gotta say, I love that women angels are painted as just as capable of being a warrior as a male angel.
I do love re-reveling in Illium’s rejection of his father.
Archangel’s Sun is a very active blend of characters and action, each true to themselves, if one is rather late in coming to that truth. Sharine does enjoy the barbs she sends Titus’ way. He’s too male in his view of women. I think I need to re-read this story tonight . . .
And Titus is looking forward to Elena’s next block party — if Sharine comes too.
The Story
Accepting the request to watch over Morocco and Lumia after events in Archangel’s Heart, 9, Lady Sharine feels the recovering warmth of the people.
Titus must stop the reborn from spreading across the world. Titus can’t do it alone, but of the surviving powerful angels and archangels, large numbers are wounded, while the rest are fighting a surge of murderous vampires.
There is no one left . . . but the Hummingbird. Old, powerful, her mind long a broken kaleidoscope. Now, she must stand at Titus’s side against a tide of death upon a discovery more chilling than any other. For the Archangel of Disease has left them one last terrible gift . . .
The Characters
The Lady Sharine, a.k.a. the Hummingbird, is an incredible artist and a broken woman, er, angel. Illium, aka Bluebell, is her joyous, blue-winged son who is regrowing his wings since events in Archangel’s War, 12. The cruel Aegaeon, a self-absorbed Ancient archangel is his absent father. The artistic Raan had been her beloved for too short a time. Tanicia, the most senior; Trace, a vampire from Raphael’s court; and, Farah make up Sharine’s leadership team in Morocco.
Titus “Tito”, the Archangel of Africa (formerly just South Africa), is also a warrior whose Cascade power causes earth tremors. His mother is Avelina, who had been the First General to Archangel Alexander. Tanae is his troop trainer, mated to Tzadiq, his second-in-command. His much older sisters are another pain. Zuri and Nala are twins and squadron commanders in Alexander’s army; Euphenia “Pheni” is one of the most celebrated harpists; and, Charo of the Tales, who had also been hurt by Aegaeon.
Obren, the newest member of Titus’ forces has a fascination for tech, and Kiama will be some of Sharine’s guides. Orios is his weapons-master. Yash is his steward. Ozias is a warrior-scholar and Titus’ spymaster; Tarik is his foster brother. Elia, a 600-year-old vampire, is the foster mother by choice of the orphaned children. And Titus regrets that she had to be evacuated! Some of Titus’ commanders — Amadou and India — are threatening mutiny. Sira leads a team of healers. Sarouk and Marifa with her flame thrower. Asiah, one of Titus’ scientists, is willing to chance the babe, Zawadi Asmaerah, this last the name of the mother.
Narja is the city where Titus is based, a hub of commerce and trade that had become his battle citadel. In villages in the countryside, Titus has a highly illuminating conversation with a headman. In his village, their Sarra married Pieter. The village of Dojah has few survivors.
Charisemnon’s troops that Titus has inherited
Commander Eryna is in charge of a city and had been stupidly loyal. A junior commander and vampire, Khan, is doing well without help from his commander.
Lumia had been . . .
. . . the repository of angelic art and treasures, a supposed neutral body to oversee the archangels (Archangel’s Heart, 9). Kareem is the stall owner who offers Sharine fresh mint tea.
New York City is . . .
. . . ruled by Archangel Raphael, who has accepted he will always be a child in the eyes of Lady Sharine, who had mothered him and cared for him after his mother beat him so severely. Raphael was also a big brother to Illium.
The Seven are those whom Raphael trusts at his back and include Dmitri, his vampire second-in-command; Aodhan “Sparkle”, a warrior-artist, and another of Sharine’s “sons of the heart” along with Raphael; Jason, his spymaster; Venom; Illium, Sharine’s blood son and Aodhan’s best friend.
The Lady Caliane, an Ancient Archangel, is Raphael’s mother, recently woken from her Sleep (Archangel’s Consort, 3) before the great battle in New York City, and, Elijah, the Archangel of South America, are both in the healing sleep of anshara. Hannah is Elijah’s consort and another artist. Neha, the Archangel of India, woke from anshara a week ago.
Archangel Alexander of Persia is an Ancient and highly approves of the young Titus. Xander is Alexander’s grandson and in one of his squadrons. Archangel Astaad of the Pacific Isles may be in anshara, but Mele, a vampire and Astaad’s favorite, and the other ladies of his court are helping their people and advising Qin.
The Guild Hunters are . . .
. . . a necessary organization of bounty hunters who go after rogue vampires. Sara is its director and Elena’s best friend. She’s married to Deacon, and they have a daughter, Zoe. Njal is in charge of the African Guild that defected to Titus’ side.
An urbane courtier in an archangel’s court, Skarde had been one of Charisemnon’s best intelligence agents. Sacrificed. A young angel is pregnant . . . and infected.
The Refuge is . . .
. . . the stronghold of all angelkind, where they raise and educate their children. The crippled Jessamy is their teacher and Historian and married to Galen, one of Raphael’s who teaches weapons work. He’s also the son of Tanae and Tzadiq. Keir is an angelic healer. Master Carvari had been the music teacher.
The Cadre is the ruling council of archangels. Vampires are created by angels and must be overseen lest they succumb to their bloodlust. The Archangels Michaela, Astaad, Zanaya, and Favashi are with Cassandra, the archangelic prophetess. The Ancient Archangel Akhia-Solary is in Sleep.
The reborn are Lijuan‘s creation, the Archangel of Death, making the walking dead. Charisemnon, the Archangel of Disease, had been her traitorous partner. The touch, the bite of the reborn will make more reborn, even of the dead. Lijuan’s first reborn had been Adrian a vampire, who retained enough of his mind to know what his “goddess” had done to him. Archangel Uram was the bad guy in Angels’ Blood, 1.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a dark brown background of browns in its sky and the rocks on which the black, armored, and be-weaponed Titus stands, his golden wings and arms spread as he stares at the ground. It’s a sun rising in the background that really lights things up. At the top of the cover is an info blurb in yellow. The author’s name is below this in a black outlined white. To the left of the bottom of Titus’ wing is the series info in a black-shadowed white. The title is in a gold-tinged orange and crosses Titus’ thighs.
The title is about the Lady Sharine, for she is Titus’ love, an Archangel’s Sun .
