Angels' Blood (A Guild Hunter Novel, Book 1) - Nalini Singh

Monday, February 15, 2010

Angels' Blood (A Guild Hunter Novel, Book 1) - Nalini Singh

Description~
Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she's the best—but she doesn't know if she's good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option...even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn't destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break…

I LOVE Nalini Singh!!!

Ok heres the deets. Elena is (in simpler terms) a vampire bounty hunter. She kicks ass and takes names! The head honcho/archangel Raphael wants Elena on his side in bringing down a rouge archangel! Elena is deathly afraid of committing to the task. Raphael can make Elena do things...think things...and could easily kill her. YET they are both strangely attracted to each other. Elena tries to keep her distance but Raphael is drawing her in day by day.

So this arch angel has basically went cray cray and is feeding and killing everything and everyone in site. From what I understood (b/c at times it could get confusing) hes turned into a vamp and is bat shit crazy! This is a big secret among the world that archangels can turn rouge so the need to find him is dire.

Going from murder to murder Elena starts the break under the pressure. You learn she has seen lots of death and blood in her life. Shes also been shoved out of her families life. They think of her as total trash and that breaks your heart! Even though she is a tough Guild Hunter she has a weak heart for the casualties. I liked that about Elena...it made her very easy to relate to. Also you get to meet her best friends that are in the Guild. The relationships between the three friends is very easy and fun to follow.

I love how Raphael was really scared that Elena made him start to "feel". He was beginning to feel that he was starting to break as an archangel and they soon too would have to hunt him down but really it was his love making him feel human. Once he starts taking up for Elena and his feelings are shown past the normal lust Elena falls head over heels in love.

The final showdown was a biggie for me! I was at the edge of my seat with anticipation as to what would happen. And in the end you were holding your breath thinking of what really happened to Elena. I dont want to give ANYTHING away b/c its such an awesome book but lets just say the ending was a surprise to me!

Snippet~
Raphael came to a standstill. “Do you intend to use that knife?” His words were ice. She felt blood scent the air and realized it was her own.

Looking down, she found her hand clenching on the blade of the knife she’d drawn instinctively from the sheath at her ankle. He was forcing her to hurt herself, showing her she was nothing but a toy for him to play with. Instead of fighting, she squeezed harder. “If you want me to do a job for you, fine. But I won’t be manipulated.”

“You might be able to control me,” she said, in response to the silent mockery on his face, “but you need me, Elena Deveraux, not one of your little vampire flunkies. I’m ready to walk away without a backward look, return the deposit you paid the Guild.”

“That,” he said, picking up a napkin and wrapping it around her hand, “is not an option.”

Startled by the unexpected act, she closed her hand to help slow the bleeding. “Why not?”

“I want you to do the retrieval.” he responded.

Relief began to wash through her like the rain she could feel so close. But no, it was his scent, that fresh bite of water. “All I need to start with, is something the vampire wore recently. If you have a general location, even better. If not, I’ll get the Guild’s computer geniuses on tracking public transport and bank records etcetera, while I hunt on the ground.”

“You mistake me, Elena. It’s not a vampire I want you to find.”

That halted her in her tracks. “You’re looking for a human? Well, I can do it but I really don’t have any advantage over a good private investigator.”

“Try again.”

Not vampire. Not human. That left…“An angel?” she whispered. “No.”

“No,” he agreed and, once again, she felt the cool brush of relief. It lasted until he said, “An archangel.”

Elena stared at him. “You’re joking.”

Her stomach curdled at the reference to the Cadre—if Raphael was any example of their lethal power, she never wanted to meet that august body. “Why are you tracking an archangel?”

“That, you do not need to know.” His tone was final. “What you do need to know is that if you succeed in finding him, you’ll be rewarded with more money than you can hope to spend in your lifetime.”

Elena glanced at the bloodstained napkin. “And if I fail?”

“Don’t fail, Elena.” His eyes were mild but his smile, it spoke of things better not said aloud. “You intrigue me—I’d hate to have to punish you.”

Her mind flashed to that image of the vampire in Times Square, that broken mess that had once been a person…Raphael’s definition of punishment.

This book to me is put on a different plane than the other books by NS. The Psy/Changeling series is among my fav out there but this Guild Hunter book I feel is coming in right behind it. It you are looking for something thats not 100% mushy romance but is drenched with action and excitement this one is for you! Now dont get me wrong...this book was HAWT but it was more of a here and there touch. Its nice sometimes to have a break from IN YOUR FACE romance isnt it???


I give this book a total of...