Archangel's Kiss

Redonk Nutshell: Hunter-turned-angel Elena struggles to find her footing with her new status amid the threat of her consort's covetous fellow Archangels

Book two in the Guardian Hunter series wins the award for "less cheesiest cover." In fact, I think this cover is kind of badass. I can't say that about any of the others, unfortunately.

Archangel's Kiss picks up more or less right off where book one left us, plot-wise. Elena wakes after a year-long coma to find that she's not a) dead (yay!) and b) a vampire. Instead, she's sporting a pair of kickin hot wings. Turns out her dear Raphael managed to turn her into an angel, a rare, if not unheard of, concept. Which makes Elena one hot commodity. And a huge target to Raphael's enemies.

The main show more conflict in this book is the rising distortion of power of the Archangel of China, who has been reanimating the dead. Lujian, the aforementioned villan, isn't necessarily your average evildoer. In fact, she's not always bad. She's just a bit...off, a common side effect of having lived thousands of years.

Lujian invites Raphael & his consort to her Bejing home, a cunning dare disguised as a ball. Elena works her butt off to re-train her newly formed body. What we get is a lovely treat of some familiar faces, recurring supporting characters that demand our individual attention. There's Illium, the stunning blue winged angel with a charming sense of humor. Venom, the vicious and poisonous vampire with snake like eyes and movements. Galen, the grey winged angel that re-trains Elena with her blades. Jason, the dark and mysterious tattooed angel who serves as Raphael's spymaster. Aodhan, the quiet and diamond like angel that doesn't like to be touched. And of course, Dmitri, Raphael's right hand and confidante, a vampire several hundred years old that is constantly tormenting Elena.

The main points of book two are 1) Elena's recuperation and 2) Lujian's confrontation by the Cadre of Ten. For some people, the focus of Elena's orientation into immortality may drag or seem boring. I saw it as time well spent among Raphael's infamous Seven. We get glimpses into their lives and their pasts, as well as delving into the horrific event that shaped Elena into who she is today. Generally, the dark and morose tone continues on from book one, but this time Elena is an immortal.

And of course, there's Raphael. The pompous, gorgeous, and utterly terrifying Archangel that is slowly but surely evolving into something altogether different with his love for Elena. It's lovely to watch. Hilarious, even, at times.

I enjoyed book two. In fact, it deepened my affection for the series as a whole. Jammed packed with action, humor, and some super smutty angel-time, Archangel's Kiss makes a great sophomore book to the Guild Hunter series.

Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh, 323 pgs, 2/2/10

Rating: B

Romance: 3/5 Raunch: 3.5/5 show less

I LOVE these books! Yet another from Singh that I accidentally read in a day. I just couldn't put it down. The action is well-paced and appropriate, the relationship between Raphael and Elena satisfyingly spicy, and (most importantly, in my opinion) their emotional depth and development as they work through their issues is a breath of fresh air compared to most romance novels I've read. Elena continues to be smart and strong, thriving in her new situation even with Raphael's dominance. The give and take is fabulous. The overarching plot around archangel/vampire/human politics and power is really engaging too. Such a pleasure to read!

Elena is a new angel and has just awoken from a year long coma. But she has no time to get used to this new life – she’s already gained the anger of the Archangel Michaela and she’s not the only angel and vampire in their hidden city with their eyes fixed on the unique, “made” angel.

One of those is Lijuan, the oldest of the Archangels who has long since left her humanity behind in her obsession with life and death. Her actions are even terrifying the other Archangels – and they don’t know if any of them are powerful enough to stop her

Another is not an Archangel – they don’t know who they are. But they do have ambitions for the Cadre of Ten and they’re leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

There is a lot of romance show more tension in this book. There are times when it seems to get in the way of the actual plot of hunting down a monster… but not often. In fact, considering the amount of romance tension there is, I’m surprised at how it doesn’t feel like it gets in the way – because I rarely get that feeling. Even though it’s very very common for Elena to think about how unbearably hot and sexy Raphael is, it never happens at a moment that makes me think “shouldn’t you be worried about other things?” which makes for really good writing – have something be omnipresent but not in the way.

The dynamic is also something I appreciated. Elena is recovering from a long injury and inactivity, even with her being an angel, she has a lot of weakness to work through and a lot of healing to do. She also has major culture shock in being a whole new situation – and being a whole new species – and having to get used to that. I think all of this could have been delved into more though it was all addressed a little – but what I liked was that even though Elena has rarely been so insecure or so weak, yet she still stands up to Raphael. Neck deep in angel politics, threatened from every turn she still refuses to accept Raphael as her master or even as her protector. It’s not that she refuses bodyguards – she’s not foolish or reckless with her independence – but she’s clear, any relationship between them will be a relationship of equals. He doesn’t get to change her, he doesn’t let to control her and he doesn’t get to read her mind; she will be his equal, never his shadow and openly makes it clear several times that she will die before she becomes subservient to him. It’s a wonderful mix of defiance and sensibility.

There are two plots in this book – one the angel who is killing people in an attempt to become one of the Cadre of Ten now there’s an opening and the other Elena having to get ready to go to a ball with Lijuan – the oldest and creepiest of the Archangels with her own agenda. The first storyline is more mixed – the pacing, the action, the need for Elena are all very well done. But the world building behind it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. The angels is committing crimes that all the Archangels find intolerable – and she intended to use this to gain a place on the Cadre of Ten despite not being an Archangel (which has precedence). But… how would that work? “Hey you know that serial killer and mutilator you’ve been hunting for the last year? It’s ME! Now give me a crown!” I just don’t see how this plan ends in a way other than the Cadre of Ten deciding that Nine is actually really good because you don’t have any pesky ties and just nuking the child torturing upstart.

The second plot line worked better as Lijuan is a much more coherent threat and it also builds into the book’s – and, from what I can see – the series’ prevailing themes: Angels become alien as they age and Elena is both Raphael’s weakness and strength by preventing that. Raphael may not develop the same level of disturbing, terrifying powers Lijuan has, but he will and is developing in other ways because Elena is keeping him human. We see over and over examples of angels who are lost to sadism and cruelty as they age, of Archangels committing atrocities because there are so few taboos left in their culture and they’re granted so much autonomy. We’re always reminded of the path Raphael could easily walk down (the path he probably would walk down) and the seeds of cruelty within him

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This book was great! I loved watching Elena go from being one of the strongest and most talented humans around to one of the weakest and most vulnerable angels. It was good watching her learn about the angel world and find her place in it. It was also good to see the relationship between Raphael and Elena grow. Raphael makes most alpha males look a little soft and fluffy. He is immortal (well sort of) and has unbelievable skills and power. He is an object of fear to anyone with any sense at all. But he loves Elena and is willing to compromise for her. Elena is strong in her humanity even though she is now also an immortal angel. She is strong enough for a relationship with equality. She brings her strengths to Raphael.

I like the world show more and mythology that is created. Singh talks about some of the hidden dangers of immortality. So many of the angels have gotten to the point where they have no value for human life and the only thing that interests them is causing pain. Angels are the top predator on Earth and their politics are based on who is the strongest. Elena is a weakness for Raphael and she must quickly learn to defend herself. Luckily, she is a skilled survivor. Both Elena and Raphael have pasts that haunt them. Elena was witness to a rogue vampire coming to her home when she was ten hunting her who then killed her two older sisters in horrible ways and torturing her mother. Her mother later commits suicide. Elena had blocked most of those memories but becoming immortal has stirred them up again in the form of nightmares. Raphael has nightmares of his own. His own father was killed by his mother after he devolved into a blood-craving monster and his mother disappeared. Raphael fears that he too will devolve. You see, immortals do either devolve or evolve over the course of their long lives. Elena's human heart is what will keep him from devolving.

Lijuan is the oldest of the immortals and she has evolved in such a way that she has no interest in humanity at all and is busy creating zombie like creatures who are loyal only to her. She sees Elena as a curiosity to be experimented with. She has so much power that the other angels fear her. But Lijuan is not Elena's only enemy. She dodges many attempts to kill her and a good part of the book is concerned with finding out who is targeting her and stopping them.

This was a rich, fascinating book filled with well-rounded characters. I look forward to following further adventures in the Guild Hunter series. show less

2026 Re Read Review:
Whew....this book was full of sensuality and connection, adventure and thrills and great world building aspects we are seeing. Doing it all chronologically here is really making it hit so different here. I love seeing this stage in Raphael and Elena's relationship. This is the adjustment period after their declaration for each other. Its the learning each other and expectations and how to work within the new reality they are living in. Elena we are seeing is so used to being on her own and making her own choices ....she is having to adjust to the ways of being a consort to a archangel and that some aspects where compromise is key and sometimes misunderstandings happen because their worlds are so different. But they show more learn to adjust and work with each other. But I can say I am NOT ready for most of the series having to deal with the Lijuan villain lol But the romance was PEAK and just as good if not better than I originally remembered it so I am upping my rating to 6 STARS!!!!

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance

My Review



This book continues off pretty soon after the first book. Our heroine Elena is learning how to fight and learning to strengthen her wings so that she can learn to fly. They have two months to have her ready to meet one of the oldest of their kind and the most powerful. And Raphael and Elena need to be ready for any trick she may pull including trying to kill them. Elena is considered a "baby" and weak and can be killed pretty easily. But Elena is just as fierce in this book as she is in the first one. This story isn't as intense in building of plot and suspenseful moments, but it goes on a different take and one that I really liked. We see more focus on the emotional bonds between Raphael and Elena. The sexual tension between these two is enough to start a fire or more, boy these two have some wicked chemistry and see more focus on that in this story. Which is what I loved most about it, was seeing these two really come together in the way they both needed to. The supporting characters were unique and some of them were some bat crazy, we fall in love with a little boy angel and we get more of the "seven" and Elena holds her own where they are concerned. Overall this is a couple to keep your eye one...excited to see what the next book brings to us!! show less

E' semplicemente magnifico, la Nalini - con questo secondo romanzo della serie Guild Hunter - si rinconferma una maestra nell'arte di scrivere urban fantasy adrenalitici, sensuali, romantici ma assolutamente per adulti e lontani dai soliti stereotipati schemi (ormai praticamente infarciti di trinagoli amorosi fra Lui(Buono)XLeiXLui(Cattivo).

Gli Angeli della Singh sono fra i più interessanti, inquietanti e paradossalmente verosimili che io abbia mai letto e, Elena, è una protagonista d'eccezione: semplicemente da adorare.

Romanzo straconsigliato!

Archangel's Kiss
5 Stars

One year after entering a healing coma, Elena Deveraux awakens to discover that Raphael has made her into an immortal angel. As Elena comes to terms with her new body and her new abilities, she must also deal with the machinations of the Cadre of Ten and the atrocities committed by an angel who will do anything to join their ranks, even kill the consort of the most dangerous of archangels …

A sequel that more than lives up to expectations!

Elena and Raphael’s romance is only one of the highlights in this book. Even though, Raphael hasn’t lost an iota of arrogance and may have acquired a healthy dose possessiveness, Elena has no problem holding her own with him. Their relationship is a speallbinding mix of show more off-the-charts chemistry and an emotional connection that makes me sigh out loud . . . *sigh!*

Elena’s character development is also outstanding. The additions to her backstory are doled out slowly enough to encourage curiosity and speculation without the reader losing interest. Likewise, the descriptions of Elena getting used to her wings and struggling with fatigue add an element of realism to a story that is otherwise complete fantasy.

The originality of Singh's world building continues to amaze. Her version of angel kind and their vampire creations is cruel, brutal and violent, but there is also a strange beauty and allure to them. My one small caveat is that the mystery behind the attacks on Raphael’s people is not as developed as it could have been and there are not enough clues for the reader to figure out the identity of the culprit. Nevertheless, the climax is exciting and action packed.

To end with, Justine Eyre’s narration is fantastic although I did have to re-listen to certain sections as the sequence of events became confusing. However, this has more to do with Singh’s writing style than Eyre’s narration.

All in all, a fabulous listen and I’m already done with the next one. show less