Angel's Blood, the first of a new paranormal romance series by Psy-Changeling writer Nalini Singh - a preview was included in the ARRC goodie bag and it looks very promising!

Cracktastic and delicious. Angels create vampires; angels give off "angel dust" which is tasty and orgasmic.

The pecking order: Archangels, angels, vampires, humans. Ten archangels rule territories around the world keeping the vampires in line and think very little of humans. The vampires are made by the archangels and are contracted for their first 100 years to serve a master as they fully gain control.

Elena, a human, is a born hunter working for the Guild. They are hired by the vampire masters to hunt down and return the vampires that have run away, and often destroy humans in their feeding frenzy.

Archangel Raphael is in control of North America. He hires Elena, against her wishes, to track down the Archangel Uram, whose age and wish for more power has caused him to turn into a super vampire and a twisted killer.

The archangels are for the most part beings to be feared but Elena doesn’t like to stand down for anyone and draws more of Raphael’s interest. She doesn’t want to be his next sex pet, but is incredibly turned on by him. The story contains sexual tension and an element of romance, but the hunt for Uram is a much larger part of the book.

I enjoyed the fact that the story is unique but had a difficult time relating to Elena and what she was experiencing. I normally feel a connection with the female lead, but not this time. The story was unique enough to hold my interest and I'd like to see what happens in the next one.

The big bad in this story is taken care of, but a new one has emerged which will be tackled in the next book, Angel’s Kiss, Apparently the series follows Elena and Raphael. ( )

I really like the psy changling series and didn't read closely enough to realize that this was the start of a new series. So maybe we started on the wrong foot, but I've read better novels about angels. Especially the wonderful Samaria series by Sharon Shinn. These characters didn't have that sort of magic. Elena meets Raphael, he gets her to do things she doesn't want to, is cold and indifferent... it all felt a bit predictable and there wasn't enough new energy for me to commit to this book. I also keep forgetting to write it here, so something about it is slipping away as soon as I stopped reading about it. there's another book of that world coming, maybe it will be better... I still just Singh as a writer. ( )

In Singh's alternate universe, Archangels rule the world and are the creatures who create vampires. In return, the vamps have to serve the angel for 100 years. Some vampires however, object and go on the run, killing and causing mayhem. Enter the Hunters, who go after these renagades. Elena is hunter born and is considered the best hunter in New York. When an archangel goes bad, she is called in by the Archangel of New York. Strong and fierce, Elena is no match for the sexy angel who has hired her.

I really liked this book. It took a bit for me to get into it, but once I got the world she was building it was great. This is the first in a series. ( )

Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh turned out to be more of a romance than an urban fantasy. It was SFF type with angels being some kind of winged super beings, but not associated with heaven.

It was set in modern day NYC. The angels made vampires as their minions and in repayment the vamps had to serve the angel for 100 years. Some tried to run out on their contracts, so the vampire hunters would find them and return them. Once vamps filled their contracts they were free to live like humans, as long as they didn't kill people.

The story has the Archangel of NYC contacting the POV, the best vampire hunter in the Guild to hunt something different and worse than a vampire. Of course sparks fly between them and there is a lot of flashing eyes and heaving loins.

It was a quick read, the writing wasn't bad, some good characters and a mildly interesting story, though with lots of cliches. ( )