Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh

Angels’ Blood
by Nalini Singh
copyright 2009

Back Cover:
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux is hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael. But 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.

First Sentence:
When Elena told people she was a vampire hunter, their first reaction was an inevitable gasp, followed by, "You go around sticking those sharp stakes in their evil putrid hearts?"

Simply put, I loved this story!

I loved Angels’ Blood for the strong characters of Elena and Raphael. They each,in their own right, are very strong and intelligent individuals who are powerful within their respective lives. These characters _exude_ strength and passion.

Elena is one tough cookie. She is a vampire hunter who knows how to stand her ground even in the face of fear. I loved her courage, strength and compassion. I loved her smarts.

Raphael, OMG he is something else! I am thinking that Raphael is now at the top of my list of favorite paranormal/fantasy heroes. Heck, he may actually be my favorite. His awesome strength and presence overwhelms each page. He takes my breath away with his strength, beauty, charisma, smarts and power.

Elena and Raphael are fantastic as the pace of their relationship was beautiful. The heat of their passion and desires spark right off the pages. As in all paranormal romances, the physical lust is acted upon but with Elena and Raphael it was not constantly in play. Not once did I feel that their sexual desires where over the top. Neither became overly consumed with one another. Elena and Raphael have chemistry with tremendous spark. I loved reading their story.

The story itself was fabulous. The action and intrigue was fast-paced but not so much that you lost yourself in the action. The story did not feel contrived for the sole purpose of bringing together Elena and Raphael as it had purpose and drive. The twists and turns, while I did not like them all, most certainly kept me reading from page to page.

Angels’ Blood is a fast-paced paranormal romance that captivated me from the first page and had my heart skipping beats along the way.
I loved this story!

I cannot wait for the next installment, Archangel’s Kiss, which is due to be released in 2010.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Side Note: I must admit, I am not a big fan of Ms. Singh's Psy-Changeling series. Sorry to say, they have not captured me. However, the Guild Hunter series has hooked me in with the freshness, appeal of the archangels and most pointedly with Elena and Raphael. I should also note here that there is a bit of swearing and gore. Although, I will say, this did not bother me as I felt it fit the storyline.

I am curious, if you have read the Psy-Changeling books and Angels’ Blood how did you like them? Do you like one series better than the other and if so, why?

The following painting is what first grabbed me and piqued my curiosity for Angels’ Blood. After viewing this painting I knew that I wanted to read this story. This is the image of Raphael that influenced my reading.

Archangel Raphael by =NiAnluain on deviantART

Other Stuff:
Nalini Singh’s blog – I like visiting Ms. Singh’s blog. You can read reviews for Ms. Singh’s books, links to book excerpts and other misc. posts including this one, Tony Mauro - cover artist for Archangel’s Kiss, which I found very interesting as it talked about how one artist (Tony Mauro) creates book covers.

Mom-Musings Blog Note:
This month on Mom-Musings …
You could win one of four books that I am excited about reading in November.
Ends Nov 30th...check this post for details. Open Worldwide.