Warning:
contains spoilers for previous book Angel’s Blood!
Book Order (Guild Hunter)
- Angels’ Blood 03.16.10 * * * *
- Archangel’s Kiss
- TBA
Book Links
Amazon : Archangel’s Kiss by Nalini Singh : paperback / eBook
This book in 6 words:
too many flashbacks for my liking
Why did I read this? And am I glad I did?
I really enjoyed the first in the series, Angel’s Blood, and was extremely excited to start the next book. I really, really wanted to like this, but unfortunately it didn’t live up to the first book. I think my biggest problem with this sequel was the large amount of time recapping what happened in the last book. I’m not talking about a refresher in the first few chapters, there were multiple references to the same scene over and over through out the entire book. I’m not giving up on the series and will read the next book when it’s released.
EDIT : I changed the star rating from 2-1/2 to 3 stars after thinking about it more. I did like the story and I love the characters. I think I was just expecting more action. If I would have went into it knowing it was a slower more romantic story beforehand, I wouldn’t have been so harsh.
Brief Summary
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find that she has become an angel and that her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, likes having her under his control. But almost immediately, Raphael must ready Elena for a flight to Beijing, to attend a ball thrown by the archangel Lijuan. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan’s power lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena…
– via Amazon.com
Plot/Pacing/Writing Style
I’m really struggling to write this. I LOVED the storyline in the first book and felt like it was really well-paced. While the plot in this one could have been really good, the pacing was terrible. They don’t even go to Lijuan’s home until the last few chapters. It was build-up after build-up that lead to a very quick end.
I felt that too much time was spent in the same past memories. We get to learn more about Elena’s dark past as forgotten memories start to haunt her. Unfortunately we have to read the same drip… drip… drip… memory over and over and over….
Characters
The only reason I was able to finish this book is because while the story was slow, I loved getting to know the characters better. Raphael is dealing with his more human emotions and his nearly losing Elena. We learn more about his family and his own dark memories.
Elena is so used to being the strongest hunter that it is interesting watching her cope with being the weakest angel. She has to learn how to use her body all over again. She is still tough, sassy and sexy while learning how to trust her entire self to someone else.
Recommendations
This is tough. If you liked Angel’s Blood you should read this. While you may not like it as much as the first one (like I did), you’ll still probably enjoy it and will need to know what happens for the next one 
**** Please do not let this review stop you
from reading Angel’s Blood or other books by Nalini Singh!! ****
Do you disagree? Please send me the link to your review so I can share it!
I loved this book but I can definitely see where you would get tired of flashbacks. I think after reading Karen Chance’s Cassie Palmer series when she does huge info dumps in the middle of fight scenes the flashbacks in this book weren’t so bad for me. And since we didn’t know all the past history of Elena and what happened to her family at the hands of a vampire we learn more than in the first book. Though I agree the constant drip..drip..drip.. was a bit much.
@ Heather (DarklyReading) : I ended up changing the rating to 3 stars because I really did like it. I don’t think it was the number of flashbacks, but the fact that it was the same flashbacks over and over. I only wish she would have expanded on them a little quicker.
Thanks for the input! I really can’t wait to read the next one. I just hope there is a little more action
I haven’t read this book. It’s one I might try not sure yet. I’ll put it in my wish list for later.
christine
@ Christine H : I would highly recommend the first in the series, Angel’s Blood!