Archangel’s Blade

by Nalini Singh

Published by: Berkley Sensation

My Rating: 

The severed head marked by a distinctive tattoo on its cheek should have been a Guild case, but dark instincts honed over hundreds of years of life compel the vampire Dmitri to take control. There is something twisted about this death, something that whispers of centuries long past…but Dmitri’s need to discover the truth is nothing to the vicious strength of his response to the hunter assigned to decipher the tattoo.

Savaged in a brutal attack that almost killed her, Honor is nowhere near ready to come face to face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel’s right hand, and who wears his cruelty as boldly as his lethal sensuality…the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.

As desire turns into a dangerous compulsion that might destroy them both, it becomes clear the past will not stay buried. Something is hunting…and it will not stop until it brings a blood-soaked nightmare to life once more…

My Review:

I am learning to never, ever doubt author Nalini Singh.  I have been a long-time fan of the Guild Hunter series.  Let’s see there’s angels, vampires, paranormal investigators known as the guild, and HOT romance all rolled together with amazing writing and distinctive characters.  I don’t really know why it took me so long to get to Archangel’s Blade, I think that I just loved Elena and Raphael (main characters of the first 3 books) so much that I was wary of branching out to a new character.  However, after hearing such amazing reviews, I picked up Archangel’s Blade, and I couldn’t put it down.  In fact, Archangel’s Blade may just be my favorite book in the series.

Dmitri is a dark character, he is violent, powerful, and the most dangerous being in the Archangel Raphael’s territory, next to Raphael himself.  Dmitri himself is no angel, he is a vampire and leader of the seven, Raphael’s personal guard and security.  To counter Dmitri is the heroine of this story, Honor.  Honor is a guild hunter who is on her first real case after being tortured, beaten, and bitten by a group of vampires.  Honor bears scars both physical and mental from her two month period of torture, but she is determined to find the vampires responsible and get justice.  From the minute they meet, Dmitri and Honor feel a strange chemistry between them, but Honor is broken, and Dmitri has closed himself off from everyone.  Working together forces them to change, Honor must heal and Dmitri must face his past and look forward to his future.

I love Honor as a heroine, even being broken, as she begins to mend, she stands up for others, doesn’t cave to Dmitri, and she still maintains her sense of compassion and justice.  She is a heroine that I came to admire and love, and I just wanted Dmitri to get his act together to deserve her.  As I have said, I was wary of Dmitri, he is a dark character, one that is not easy to like.  However, as his history is revealed, and his emotions are rocked, his strength of character is shown.  He still has standards, he stands up for women and children, and his protectiveness of Honor proves that Dmitri is more than a dangerous vampire.

I could go on and on raving about Archangel’s Blade, but I want other readers to go out and enjoy this book as much as I have.  Archangel’s Blade is unique.  Even though it is book 4 in a series, it is the first book about a new set of characters.  Therefore, if readers have not read the first 3 books, they could pick up Archangel’s Blade and still enjoy the book as a stand alone.  I do recommend reading the entire series, not only will this fill in gaps in the circumstances, but the entire series is fantastic.

Here is the reading order and the buy links for the Guild Hunter Series:

• Book 1: Angel’s Blood  Amazon 
• Book 2: Archangel’s Kiss Amazon
• Book 3: Archangel’s Consort Amazon
• Book 4: Archangel’s Blade Amazon | Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository