Angels Blood

I have been looking forward to beginning this series for quite some time, and when I finally picked it up, I hunkered in, turned off my phone, made a cuppa, and prepared myself to fall head over heels...
So, what happened?? I did not enjoy this novel at all, I found the characters to be two dimensional, and not at all even likable. I quickly tired of the female leads constant repeating of how she wanted to kill him, but how hot she was for him, which made her want to kill him more, which of course just made her hotter...yawn
Although I did finish it, I have to say, by about the mid-way point I was beginning to skim the pages, hoping something would take a turn and I would become engaged...it didn't, and I wasn't.
Sadly, I will not be continuing with this series, and although it has gotten consistently good reviews, I won't be recommending it.

(In the event the Chapters/Indigo website deletes my rating, I mention here that I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars/leaves.)

I really enjoyed this one. The world building was well done, the characters were generally enjoyable, and the plot moved along quite well. In general, taken for what it is (i.e. a relatively 'fluffy' read within the urban fantasy genre) this one is definitely among the top few of the pack.

I particularly enjoyed the fact that the angels were not angelic in the traditional sense (i.e. icons of good). In fact, they turned out to be quite scary/creepy, which was one original element within this universe. The actual world building in general was very well done and, while it did use themes which have been used before (e.g. vampires and vampire 'hunters'), these were worked into a highly original universe.

The main character was likeable. I liked the fact that, unlike some other romance and urban fantasy novels, she was able to be friends with other women. In other words, other women were not just 'competition' for all the male attention in the world, which is a common (and highly annoying) theme and flaw in various novels of this genre.

The romantic interest of the main character (i.e. the archangel Raphael) took me a lot longer to warm up to, I will admit. Also, the main character did act rather impulsively on several occasions, which was a teensy bit jarring.

The elements I mention did not, however, prevent this from being a very fun read overall, which I would situate in the top 10% of the urban fantasy genre. Definitely recommended.

Other novels I recommend:
-Dragon Bound, by Thea Harrison
-Stormwalker, by Allyson James
-Daughter of the Blood, by Anne Bishop
-Grimspace, by Ann Aguirre
-On Basilisk Station, by David Weber
-The Demon In Me, by Michelle Rowen
-The Shadow Reader, by Sandy Williams
-Cry Wolf, by Patricia Briggs (see also the prequel story in the short story collection titled, 'On the Prowl')

This book was quite entertaining, and I have to say, Raphael is now on my list of "fictional men I wish I could date". I loved the way the author described the angels. It was in such beautiful detail that I could easily visualize all these beautiful scenes with them. Also, any time there was an injury to a wing, it literally pained me. So... PROS: beautiful imagery with angels, entertaining plot, very sexy main characters, sexual tension to die for. CONS: No character development -if you are looking for a book with some substance, this one probably isn't it. OVERALL: Perfect for a fun and sexy read!

Sometimes the first book in a series can be, to be quite frank, slow and tedious. It is VERY rarely the first book in a series that gets me hooked. It's usually the second, sometimes third book, that finally reels me in. Well, last week I was looking around for something to read, and remembered that Nalini Singh had another series apart from her Psy/Changeling series. Now, I'm up-to-date on the Psy/Changeling series, and I love it, but it also meant that I had already been aware of her other Guild Hunter series for a while now. So I was most definitely avoiding the other series for some reason or another - I do that sometimes. But finally I said "What the heck, Singh's a great para-rom writer, this series should be great too..." Woah, was I not disappointed, although I was disappointed with myself for not reading this sooner. Angel's Blood, book 1 in the Guild Hunter series is great. I loved the characters, the dialogue, the story, everything.

Some authors are terrible at re-inventing the paranormal world. Sometimes its uber cheesy, sometimes it just becomes so complex you get a headache from recalling and thinking things through so much. Don't get me wrong, I like fresh interpretations of the paranormal world - keeps things interesting - but it has to be done properly and in an engaging fashion. Singh, in my opinion, has a great imagination. Her guild hunter series world is so coooool! This particular world includes vamps, angels, and humans. In this world, Angels and Archangels pretty much run the show. They're actually responsible for the creation of vamps. In return for turning a human into a vampire - who by the way have to apply to become a vampire for the most part - vampires are required to serve their maker, the angel, for 100 years prior to going off on their own. Of course you have your rebel vamps who don't want to serve the angels. It is at this point we welcome our guild hunters who are hired by angels to tag, bag, and return their "property" to them. Yes it's a type of slavery I guess, but that's the cost of being awarded immortal life in this world.

Say hello to Elena, our guild hunter series heroine. She's a born hunter, so she comes equipped with a couple of extra perks when it comes to tracking vampires, including the ability to track them through scent. Along with her awesome quick wit in the book, she can kick some serious butt and is VERY good at what she does. Because she is so good at what she does, she gets hired by the Manhattan Archangel Michael for a top secret, pretty much suicidal mission. Michael is a very old, very arrogant, high-level archangel. He'll pretty much fry you on the spot if you breathe the wrong way, and probably would have killed Elena about twenty times over if he wasn't so intrigued by the little human girl. Their exchanges are actually quite entertaining, and although Michael often grinds my gears as a reader, Singh does a wonderful job of being consistent in writing his character and making sure Elena holds her own. This book would not work without a strong heroine - seriously. Anyways, beyond Elena and Michael getting to know one another, they also have to track an archangel gone bad. Yes, Elena's suicidal mission is to find the Eastern European Archangel Uram who's gone to the dark side. Once this is done, Michael has to kill him as only an archangel can kill an archangel.

It's a great book. There's lots of action, drama, awesome banter between the characters, excellent side characters (Dmitri the vampire, Illium the angel, Sarah the Guild Director to name a few), great romance scenes, and you can't go wrong when Elena takes Michael down a notch or two. I love the world Singh's created, and I'm excited to read what's next for Elena and Michael. I definitely recommend this book to para-rom readers. If you enjoy her psy/changeling series, i'd be surprised if you didn't like this one. And if you've never read Singh, please try one, the other, or both series. Singh brings a refreshing twist to the paranormal romance world that shouldn't be missed.

Enjoy

I already know that was a cheezy title but come on this book was great so it deserves the flamboyant title. So anyway this was the first book I ever read by this author and I thought it was great, I loved the story and the characters, Elena and Raphael were really great together and I'm happy I found this book. All I have to say is if your into the hole angel thing definitley check this book out, it was great it's in my tops. :0)

WOW! Awesome story! At first I really hated the archangel but then he started to warm up to me. This novel I find is a difference kind of romance, a little darker then her changeling series. Elena is cast out from her family at an early age and becomes a vampire hunter. She has an advantage that no other hunter has; she can scent the vampire presence and how long they have been turned. In this novel vampires are created by angels and are employed by them. Archangel Raphael calls on Elena for a job. He wants her to track down a archangel gone bad. At the end the story leaves of making you want more, fortunately Archangels Kiss starts right where Angels Blood leaves off.

The action in this story moves fast, and I mean fast. From what I could gather it takes place over 3-4 days. The author (thankfully) does not go with the biblical angels. In fact I was very happy at the no-religion tone. Here is what else I liked about this one: the pace, writing, the characters and the chemistry. Elena took a bit to get into and the whole poor, unloved rich girl thing could have been a bit cartoonish. It wasn’t. Raphael is perfect. Their scenes were done well; the dark brooding sensuality was well done. Now what I didn’t like: the-formulaic-easy-way-out ending (NO SPOILERS). As I was reading the book, I kept hoping the author wouldn’t do that, at least not in the first novel. She did. Despite that, I will read the next one in the series.

Nalini Singh’s world was unlike anything I’ve ever visited before, filled with such fantasy and creatures unlike what I’d ever read of before that it left my head spinning. I loved every single aspect of this novel, it was electrifying, dazzling, unforgettable. Her concept of angels, archangels, vampires and bloodborns was richly new and enticing. Despite his drawback from humanity, Raphael was not a hard character to love, he had more human traits and tendencies then any of the other archangels and it was refreshing in a world where they had little care for the human lives surrounding them. Elena was the perfect leading woman, a back bone of pure steel, but a heart that melted for those she loved. I absolutely loved this novel, Urban Fantasy at its best with a promise for more action, passion, death and mayhem in the next. This novel spins a web around the readers, sucking them in and thrusting them into a world totally unexpected. Ms. Singh creates that which others could only wish to.

This is the first book I've read by Nalini Singh and I enjoyed it thoroughly, although I have to admit it took me a few chapters to warm up to the story. The main character is Elena. Elena is a vampire hunter, but there's a twist. In this 'reality' vampires are made by Angels and in return must consign themselves to servitude to their makers. Sometimes though, the vamps decide to renege on the deal and that is when the Guild Hunters come in. They hunt down the awol vamps and return them to their masters. As hunters go, Elena is one of the best. This is because she is a natural born hunter - she posseses an inborn talent for sniffing out vamps and following their scent. Unfortunately it is because of this talent that she is chosen by the Archangel Raphael to take on a deadly task - to hunt down a rogue Archangel.

One of the things I had trouble with at the beginning of the book is wrapping my head around the fact that Angels seem to be less than Angelic. Archangel Raphael appears to be closer to a demon than an angel. As well, at the beginning of the book, I found Elena to be a bit too abrasive. She obviously must have grown on me though because by the end of the book I loved her. I also really liked the interaction between Raphael and Elena. There are a few loose ends in the book that didn't get explained to my liking, but since there is a sequel planned, I guess I might get my answers then.

I enjoyed this book, however it's too much of the Twilight Series.
Vampires / Angels / Forbidden love.

Nalini Singh has more creativity in her pinkie finger than most people have in their whole bodies! Leave it to her to create a series where angles are the creators and rulers of vampires. At first I thought, Nah that can’t be, but oh yes it can, and she totally rocked it! I loved the main characters, the story line, the ending, everything! I can’t wait to see where she takes us with this series, if it’s any thing like her other one, even though their nothing alike, its going to be awesome.

Fantastic, this is a new series with Angels being the dominant race over vampires, humans, etc...
I have read all of the Psy series, love Ms. Singh's writing style
and cannot wait for the next book - it doesn't matter what she writes , I will buy it..........
Renata from Montreal

Nalini Singh has come out with a great new series. Angels - what an interesting take on the paranormal. In this series the Angels rule and the Vampires are their servants. This book grabs hold of you and you can't put it down. I read a sneek preview in her last psy book and wasn't sure what to make of it, but am I glad I bought it this weekend. The main character Elena is a strong "kick butt" vampire hunter and is hired by the Head Angel of New York to help with situation that is about to come to ahead. If you enjoy reading Patricia Briggs or Laurell Hamilton you have to get this book!

This is the first book in a wonderful new series by bestselling author Nalini Singh. She has developed an interesting new world in the paranormal genre with some very intriguing concepts. It is unlike any other book on the market. In this world, angels are the bosses and vampires are the minions. I can't say too much without giving too many details on this new world, but I can definitely recommend reading this story. I'm already looking forward to the next book in this world. I would also recommend any of Nalini Singh's stories in her Psy world.