Archangel’s Consort by Nalini Singh

Book Stats:

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley; Original edition (January 25, 2011) Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425240134
ISBN-13: 978-0425240137

Guild Hunters series:

Angel’s Blood
Archangel’s Kiss
Archangel’s Consort

Source: Review copy sent by Penguin Canada

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux and her lover, the lethally beautiful archangel Raphael, have returned home to New York only to face an uncompromising new evil…
A vampire has attacked a girls’ school—the assault one of sheer, vicious madness—and it is only the first act. Rampant bloodlust takes vampire after vampire, threatening to make the streets run with blood. Then Raphael himself begins to show signs of an uncontrolled rage, as inexplicable storms darken the city skyline and the earth itself shudders.
The omens are suddenly terrifyingly clear.
An ancient and malevolent immortal is rising. The violent winds whisper her name: Caliane. She has returned to reclaim her son, Raphael. Only one thing stands in her way: Elena, the consort who must be destroyed…

Elena & Raphael are now back in New York City after spending many months at the Refuge for Elena to get stronger, but you don’t become all mighty in such a short period of time, so she still has a long way to go. Seeing her hometown, her people, her “family” and her Guild friends after so long won’t be easy either. Even with the help of Raphael and his Seven, the Guild Hunter is still as weak as a new born and trouble is at bay. Nature is going havoc and a tidal of violence is running among angels and vampires alike. It can only mean one thing, an ancient is awaking. Will this ancient be sane, or as sane as an archangel can be anyway, or completely mad?

I’ll be really honest, I’m not quite sure how I feel about this third installment in the Guild Hunters series. I really like this series and maybe my expectations were too high, but I was slightly disappointed by this book. I think the main reason I felt that way is because I didn’t feel any evolution in the relation between Elena & Raphael. They argued every now and then about Elena’s protection, but overall their relation was a straight line of supporting each other while they both relived painful memories. While it’s what you’d hope from a real relationship, it lacked spice for a fictional one. Even though there was also a couple of sex scenes, I didn’t feel the fiery passion I felt between them in the previous books.

That being said, the secondary characters of this series are fascinating and I’d like to see them have their own spin-off books. I’d really like to know their past, their motivations, their dreams and desires. Raphael’s seven are an intriguing bunch. I read Nalini is currently working on a Dmitri book, so my wish might come true! A new character was also introduced. We’ve heard of her before but we finally get to meet her: Raphael’s mom. Her venue promises some very interesting moments to come in the following book.

Like the previous books, Elena & Raphael work side by side to solve a chain of murder/violence to protect their people. This time it was much more personal for Raphael because his mom was the center element and we got to discover a new side to his personality. We also got new insight on the relation between Elena and her father.

The end was the best part of the book. Action-packed, it kept me on my toes for the last 40 pages or so, and even if the fight wasn’t as spectacular as the end of Archangel’s Kiss, emotions were running high.

Overall, Archangel’s Consort wasn’t bad but I wasn’t impressed either. It won’t stop me from reading the following book as I love the world and the characters, I just hope E&R’s relationship will reach another level.

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Posted by Tynga at 00:39

 Angel, Nalini Singh, Penguin, Review, Vampire  7 People left their mark

Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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