Review of Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter #1) by Nalini Singh

Angels' Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series.

Elena Deveraux is a vampire hunter living in New York City, an area ultimately ruled by the Archangel Raphael.  Her special skills are used to hunt wayward vampires, but now what makes her different from other vampire hunters may mean her end.

In a world ruled by angels, the ten archangels have divided up control of the earth. Raphael controls much of North America and rules from his seat in New York City. Elena knows, just like everyone else, that Raphael is dangerous and to anger him is suicide.

When Raphael contracts Elena for a hunt she doesn't believe is possible, she's forbidden from telling a single person about her quarry—an archangel gone bad. Elena knows she skates on thin ice, but her open defiance of Raphael and his lustful reaction to her make her realize that in doing so she may be asking for her own death when this is over.

I liked this book, but it didn't totally suck me in. I read about half of it in a two-day span, but all told, it took me almost two weeks to get through this book, which for a library book is a long time for me.

However, I did like all the characters. Elena was spunky and didn't hesitate to speak her mind, which is something more people wish they did and makes her likable, and she made me want to root for her with the tenacity and skill she put into hunting Uram. Another thing I liked about her is she didn't hesitate to put herself first. While she'd do just about anything for her friends, she would defend herself when necessary and not hesitate to do it.

Raphael had somewhat human emotions but experienced them just a little differently and thought through them a little differently. I liked that and how it set him apart. He may have looked like a human with wings, but he wasn't, and that was obvious while in his thoughts. The ways others interacted with him, and the way he viewed the other archangels as well as those who served him, brought out both positive and negative qualities. One thing I did like about him was the way he rewarded loyalty and garnered it from those around him.

As the book progressed, more world-building occurred, but it was in fits and spurts where a lot would happen at once, then none for a long while. I think it's better for it to be a slow feed, more and more information as the book goes on, though there will always be points in the book where a lot happens and not much happens due to plot constraints. I did like the world contained within the novel, and it's different from what I've read before, combining elements of paranormal romance seen in many places but rarely together. I mean, angels who make vampires and keep them as slaves? That part of the premise fascinated me from the get-go.

The romance portion of the plot was more background than I expected. Much of the plot focused on the hunt for Uram and the romance was almost a subplot. The romantic tension was a constant throughout, and while their relationship solidified over the course of the novel and they fell hard for each other, that happened between events in the hunt for Uram. That may have been why I had a hard time really diving into it because I picked it up to read a romance, not a paranormal adventure novel. However, now that I understand that the romance may not be foremost, I won't expect it with additional books. Who knows, maybe I'll be surprised.

The descriptions were very good, both detailed and short, which is how they should be—enough so the reader knows exactly where they are without it getting tedious. That seems to be a difficult thing to master for writers. Some cannot grasp this concept at all and leave readers with snapshots of isolated pockets of the world their characters live in. Here, I had an overall picture of this version of New York City along with more detailed locations that were important to the tale. I found it well done. Better than many romance novels I've read.

Dialog is a hard thing to master, and here it was pretty good. Raphael's language was at times stilted, but I think that was purposeful to show his otherness. Elena's sass and spunk came through in her language, and it felt like her tone changed when she slipped into hunting mode. It was still her, but focused and without the extras, which is what you'd expect from anyone. 

Other characters in the story, besides Dimitri and Illium, weren't as distinctive even if they were important. They almost blended together in both language and personality. Sara and Ransom, despite being Elena's closest friends and chosen family, weren't that memorable. I'd actually forgotten who Ransom was and had to think about it for a long moment when he reappeared toward the end. The one character that stuck out to me was the man who ran the underground sanctuary for hunters. He had a lot of personality conveyed in a single chapter. I had hoped he would reappear, but maybe he will return in a later book.

Despite it taking me a while to read this novel, I did enjoy it, and I plan to read more of them. It's a long series, and the end of this one was a fantastic cliffhanger for the next book, both in plot and Elena's character arc. I've got my hold placed at the library, and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Photo Credit Phil Bird via freedigitalphotos.net

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