Angels' Blood

Ok, I admit it. I read these. Don't judge. ;P
They were a little more raunchy than I generally enjoy reading, that having been said, these are quite enjoyable. Enough so that I continue to buy and read them.
I am constantly surprised in this genre by the lack of repetitiveness and the phenomenally rich worlds I find. Nalani Singh's creativity was a delightful surprise and her writing just keeps getting better.
Just added the latest to my Nook last week and I am looking forward to reading it. ( )

Making my Top 10 List for 2011 reminded me that I planned on re-reading Angel's Blood and Archangel's Kiss prior to reading Archangel's Consort.

I had forgotten how much development and world building went into Book 1, I was so fixated on Elena and Raphael everything else faded into the background. Re-reading reminds me of Dmitri, Holly Chang, and all the fascinating supporting characters I'd like to know more about.

Watching Raphael's evolution is interesting as well, he really is horrific at the start of this book. Can't wait to read Book 2, and of course, anxious for January 25 when I can read Book 3.

Re-read #4: I always skip the opening with Elena's vampire retrieval, when I re-read the story starts with the call from Sara. I tend to skim the visit to the vampire room. Despite enjoying ARCHANGEL'S BLADE (until the final reveal), Dmitri didn't interest me enough to be the main focus of a scene. I do like how he pushes Elena, in all of these books, usually as a "be stronger" tactic (but sometimes just dickery).

Re-read #5: When I'm getting on a plane, facing the long, slow line of people to board, I often find myself hurridly accessing my Kindle app or Dropbox before turning on airplane mode. Just to make sure I have the right book at my fingertips for that long, slow flight. This time around I loaded ANGELS' BLOOD... and then the rest of the series. You never know how far you can get in a plane ride, and once I start reading about Elena and Raphael, I never want to stop... ( )

My brain's too scrambled to write a proper review (ZOMG SUNSHINE WHEEEEEEE), so a bullet list it is:

Awesome:

- No fated mates
- EVERYONE's race is mentioned. None of that "white's the default" crap. Also, the non-white characters aren't sidekicks or comic relief. THANK YOU!
- Vampire hunter heroine is not a killer driven by hatred. She's returning wayward vampires to their angel masters. Really the whole "racism is bad" device had been beat to death in paranormals/UF.
- Plot is smooth, evenly paced and sensical. The archangel Raphael needs Elena's superb hunter skills to help him find and kill a wayward archangel and they find themselves attracted to each other as they work together.
- Extensive world building without info dumping. Why this archangel is bad is divulged in bits and pieces across the whole book. Ditto for how these vampires are different, angel politics, etc.
- Secondary characters were fully formed people. They had flaws and strengths just like the protagonists.

Kinda Meh:

- Hero and heroine are sort of stock characters. Spirited, proud heroine good with knives butts heads with cool, emotionless immortal with powers beyond belief.
- Villain captures Elena before the FINAL COUNTDOWN (cue song) and holds her captive. So obviously done to provide plot exposition that it wasn't suspenseful at all.

Bad News:

- Nothing I can think of.

In sum:

Liked it, but nothing game changing. I'm looking forward to reading the next one. ( )

My first Nalini Singh book and I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series. ( )

im not sure how I feel about this one. angels making vampires? and are angels a different race or a species? and how did they get 'here'?
elena is a vampire hunter. she works for the hunter's guild and tracks down rogue vampires. once caught she returns them to their angel masters. (angels make people vampires in return for 100 years of service.)
elena is forced into accepting a commission from the archangel raphael. one she definitely doesn't want. but the hunt isn't one she can refuse. and the lure of the oh so sexy raphael is too much to resist. ( )