Angels' Blood

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh

A Guild Hunter Novel

ISBN# 978-0-425-22692-6

Available now

Published by Berkley Sensation

Format: mm pbk., 355 pages

Genres: fiction, paranormal romance

I freely admit to completely skipping Nalini Singh's Psy-Changelings series.  I value plot and world-building over sex so titles like Slave to Sensation and Hostage to Pleasure are more likely to have me running the other way than wanting to read the back of the book.  I ordered Angels' Blood through my library because all the reviews and excerpts I came across sounded very good, but I still wasn't confident enough in it to go buy a copy.  When it came in my hopes went down to almost nothing because there it was on the binding, the devil's mark, my least favorite publishing imprint/line, Berkley Sensation.  The Sensation line has burned me again and again with books full of sex, very little plot, and awful world-building.  The line is probably great for those that love the paranormal romance genre above all others, but it's pretty awful if your first love happens to be urban fantasy.  Surprisingly, I could barely put Angels' Blood down once I finally dared to open it.  So now I have found two exceptions to the Sensation line although I can't remember the title of the other book.

In this alternate reality angels have always been among man, but never so comfortable as to mingle with us.  Vampires also exist, angels make 1,000 a year and each must serve a one hundred year contract before being gaining their freedom.  Guild Hunters make a very good living retrieving runaway and other troublesome vampires.  Elena is one such hunter, the best actually, and after she receives a note from the Archangel Raphael for a morning meeting she may regret her abilities.  Angels are unsettling and awe-inspiring enough, but Archangels must also be ruthless enough to hold their territories while keeping control of their vampires and other angels.  Raphael wants Elena and her natural born hunter senses to help him track a rogue Archangel, but won't tell her how exactly her expertise with vampires is supposed to help.  Almost since their first meeting Raphael has made it clear he wants her, but immortals often break their toys and she doesn't need that kind of trouble.  It's just too bad for Elena that Archangels aren't known for taking "no" as an answer.

I have so many questions after reading this first book.  I hope that at least some of them will be answered throughout the series.  I want to know why toxins buildup in their bloodstream and how they make vampires with it.  I also want to know more about "natural born hunters".  Does it happen when there's an angel or vampire in their ancestry?  I'm pretty much a sucker for angel stories where they aren't beings of light and goodwill so this hit the spot.  Raphael is definitely an alpha and he makes some pretty strong advances towards Elena, but Singh stays away from the "me Tarzan, you Jane" syndrome by having Elena finally give in because she wants to and not a second before.  Highly recommended for fans of paranormal romance that also want a great story, and urban fantasy fans who don't mind a sizzling couple.

Zhye