TBR Challenge: ‘ANGELS’ BLOOD’, by Nalini Singh

The topic of this month is Favorite Trope

Published: 2009

Genre: paranormal / Urban fantasy

My Rating: 4 stars

Part of a Series: Guild Hunter #1

I have several favourite topics: amnesia, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, second chance at love.

Therefore, it was easy to find something in my humongous TBR pile that could fit into the theme. There it was, ‘Angels’ Blood’ by Nalini Singh, a book I bought because it was in the 2018 Top 100 of All About Romance.

Paranormal is not my genre. Nevertheless, suddenly I found out that I could not stop reading. I was enjoying the world building, the tension between Raphael and Elena, and two characters bigger than life that clashed one and again and you do not know if they will end up killing each other or fucking each other senseless.

The world building is quite interesting. It is set in NY, but in a world full of certain groups of magical creatures: some of them are immortals —angels, archangels and vampires—and the rest, just human.

The archangels are amazing, so powerful and handsome, they rule over nations. In addition, as they have lived for many centuries, they are wise but full of ennui; they just do not care about humans. Everyone fears them and admires them.

The vampires are ‘Made’, humans converted into vampires by the archangels. They will live forever but there is a prize —they have to be slaves to their angelical masters.

Sometimes, vampires run away from their masters: Here enters de Guild Hunters, humans than know how to search for these vampires gone wild.

The best hunter is Elena, a young woman that can detect vampires by smell.

One day the most powerful archangel in North America, Raphael, calls her. He is a handsome person, powerful, and —as he has lived so many centuries—, nothing surprises him or catches his attention.

That amazing body of Raphael, his muscles, his great wings, duly impresses Elena. Even those eyes, bluest than anything she has ever seen. She is attracted to him in spite of herself. Elena knows that, for archangels, humans are nothing more than toys, no more important than ants for people; they can torture and kill them without blinking or dedicating a second thought.

However, Raphael needs the skills of this vampire hunter. She will have to track not a vampire but an archangel gone rogue, evil, bloodthirsty.

She will undertake the mission, even knowing that the archangels would want to kill her at the end.

This novel follows the topic ‘enemies to lovers’, because Raphael and Elena, although attracted to each other, really clash from the beginning.

He despises humans. He accepts that Elena has to die in the end, because she knows too much. Moreover, she makes him weak.

Elena resists his efforts to control her. A real kick-ass, she will defend herself, even shooting if it is required to get him out of her mind. Raphael is not the only enemy she makes. In fact, so many people want to torture her, and maim her and kill her, and suck her blood that up to a certain point, she just says — “Join the queue”.

Despite being a paranormal novel, I enjoyed this book. I think it can be because the characters are very attractive. I am not surprised that the character of Elena Deveraux won both the annual poll in AAR for the Most Kickass Heroine and the RT Award for the best urban fantasy protagonist.

Her attitude is, more or less —

Are you going to kill me? OK, let’s go and do the job, don’t lose our time with stupid questions about how much you want to kill me. I could be a dead woman, but not yet.

Raphael is your prototypical cold and powerful hero, but in a sense is quite intriguing, he leaves the door open to things that perhaps can make him a little bit human.

There is great sexual tension all through the book although little sex on the page. Everybody acts like horny teens wanting to fuck everybody else. They talk about sex a lot, sometimes with crude words.

I have to recognize that what I was asking myself all time was —how do angels have sex? I mean with those big wings, where do you put them? Which position is the more appropriate...? Look at those wings! They are going to be in the way all the time.

Therefore, if you have ever asked yourself about the sex of the angels, perhaps this book can give you the answer.

(I’m not sure I was quite satisfied).

(I still have doubts).

As paranormal is not my genre, I cannot say that this book was perfect for me. However, it was so enjoyable that I wholeheartedly recommend it.