Search - Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter, Bk 1)

So I finally finished Angel’s Blood! It took me a while to really get into the book. I think that just may be a me thing though, to buy into an Angel being a hero. It does take a while for the story to get set up, and it wasn’t until about page 127 that I had to drag this 8 ½ X 11 book around with me everywhere. On that page, Elena leaves Raphael and note that says something like, “Come and find me angel boy” from that moment on, I finally started to feel a big connection between the two, and found myself planted into a Manhattan future where Arch Angels run their territories.

Packed with action, angel dust (want to get me some of that), and lots of wings, this book, I did enjoy very much. The downfall for me was that I wanted a bit more romance, and wanted it to start sooner in the story. Fair warning for all: they are only together once in the story, but there’s plenty of tension. I really don't want to give too much away.

I am really looking forward to reading more books in this series, and YES, the book does end with a bit of a cliffhanger.

It is a rare treat to pick up the first book in a series and step into a fully developed fantasy world. I am entranced. Wonderful characters, with depth and layers, the good guys aren't completely good, the bad guy, well, yeah, he's really bad. There is a nice array of secondary characters that you want to find out more about. I am not complaining, but the romance here takes a back seat to the world-building and character development. From reading Singh's other books, I would expect the romance to step up in later books, but I won't miss it if she continues to turn out a more urban fantasy series.

I am a little torn in my opinion of this book. I am a certainly a fan of Nalini Signh's work, even her earlier non-paranormal works. This new series, however, is WAY too dark for me. I have a hard time dealing with extreme violence and this book had it in spades. There was tons of blood, guts, and gore, which is not in my comfort zone. In addition, the book focuses much more on the action/story arc than the romance. As a die-hard romance fan, I was a little disappointed in this. The hero is an angel, but he more fits my traditional mold for a vampire: dark, sensual, ruthless, and violent. The heroine, while very brave and spunky, is a little over the top with the whole defying authority act. She frequently comes off as foolhardy and I wouldn't have been the least surprised if she had been killed off at several junctures in the book. But alas, that is not the modus operandi of the romance genre. Overall, a good book, but not my favorite by Mrs. Singh. None-the-less, I will still read the next in the series to see how story continues.

Two stars because the world premise had such promise. Beyond that it was a struggle to finish this book - I even stopped and reread the rave reviews looking for what I was missing. The plot was literally only a few pages in the first 2/3rds of the book with the rest consumed by what I assume was supposed to be the inevitable attraction and developing relationship of the main characters. I thought about just stopping because I was 99% sure of the ending (which also dragged out far longer than it needed to with little purpose or real suspense) but I kept hoping. A disappointing vehicle for a terrific idea.

Boring. Only able to wade thru 65pgs before stopping. No story. Very disappointed.

Not liking the cold-blooded angel spin so much. Normally I can overlook reference to biblical creatures, but this book was a little much. The heroine is b@#$%y and not at all someone I could relete to. Oh, well... I'll try one more of her books and give her a chance.