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Angels’ Blood

Nalini Singh

Published 2009     339 pages

Summary

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 Review

Angels’ Blood is the first novel in the new Guild Hunter paranormal romance series by Nalini Singh. Nalini Singh made her name as a paranormal romance writer, and gained an army of fans, with her popular Psy-Changeling novels – books that are set in a world populated by psychics and shapeshifters where emotion is outlawed amongst the psychic population.

Psychics and shapeshifters may not exist in Angels’ Blood but most readers won’t notice their loss since the Guild Hunter world has gained vampires and angels instead. There are enough vampires in Angels’ Blood to satisfy even the most demanding vampire fan – some of them sexy, all of them dangerous – and yet they are completely out classed in both the sexy and dangerous monster stakes by the angels.

Angels are an intrinsic part of modern day religion and in a world that seems to be increasingly populated with religious zealots, angels seem a bold choice to be both the inhuman villains and the romantic lead character of the story.  However, religion has been firmly left out of Angels’ Blood and these angels are not God’s holy messengers but immortal supernatural beings of unknown origin (they’re highly secretive too) who rule over humanity with the aid of their vampire servants.

The oldest and strongest angels become archangels, beings of immense power who have absolute dominance over all the humans, vampires and angels in their territory. Raphael is the Archangel of New York and is unaccustomed to challenges to his authority. Elena is not only the best vampire hunter in the Guild but a woman with a strong sense of self, and even knowing that to defy an angel is certain death she is unable to just comply with his every wish. Sparks obviously fly when these two alpha personality types meet but Angels’ Blood is much more than just a match of wits between its protagonists.

Raphael is so cold, scary and inhuman that at times it seems impossible to believe he is the romantic hero of this story but he is also the embodiment of the perfect paranormal romance hero. He is a frightening monster and yet he holds an irresistible attraction for Elena, who balances on a knife-edge of danger and desire once she attracts Raphael’s notice.

With its heart-wringing love story Angels’ Blood pushes all the right buttons for paranormal romance fans. With its backdrop of truly gruesome murders, which result in a fast-paced dangerous hunt for an insane angel, it checks all of the boxes for urban fantasy fans too.  

Angels’ Blood is a fantastically, amazingly, good read and it gets the Guild Hunter series off to a great start. It’s not like me to dictate (much!) but trust me on this, if you like paranormal romance you want to read this book.

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