Angels' Blood: Book 1 (The Guild Hunter, #1)

by Nalini Singh

Justine Eyre (Narrator)

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 she's been set 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. Because when archangels play, mortals break...

Read by Justine Eyre

(p) 2010 Tantor, Inc

• ISBN10: 1409140830
• ISBN13: 9781409140832
• Publish Date: 10 February 2011 (first published 3 March 2009)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Edition: Unabridged edition
• Format: Audiobook (MP3)
• Duration: 10 hours and 30 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

have been underneath a rock since 2009, I guess, because I wish I had read this book/series sooner. Now I’m making time to darn it because I have been in a reading rut and needed something to get me out of it. Thank goodness for Angel’s Blood because I’m out of that rut, and I’m now obsessed over Nalini’s Guild Hunter series. I read this book so fast that I’m already having withdrawals. Thank goodness for having the next couple of books in the series on hand; otherwise, I would be driving my family crazy. (especially the husband)The minute I started reading Angel’s Blood, I knew I was not going to get anything done. The very first page had me hooked into this world that Nalini Singh created. There is nothing new about me loving to kick-butt female characters because I prefer heroines that can handle their own, other the damsel in distress. Elena is that character in this book, and Nalini got me liking her the minute she stood up to Raphael (the archangel). Oh, how I LOVED Raphael in this book. He was one lethal, sexy archangel that I loved following in the story.

Elena is a Guild Hunter who hunts vampires that the archangels want back who try to run from their duties. Elena has been tasked though to hunt down an archangel that has gone rogue. She’s going to be tested and put through a lot during this mission because she has the sexy, dark archangel making sure she doesn’t screw up. In the meantime, she’s trying to resist his charms, and Raphael is trying to resist losing his angel powers to a human that intrigues him. Nalini creates a different world where nothing is what it seems. There are archangels in the world that try to keep everything in order, but it’s kind of hard when one of them goes rogue. In comes the importance of the Guild Hunters who help in the matter of the rogue vampires and now rogue archangels. Elena is the strong female lead in the story that will steal the show with her personality, and Raphael is the dangerous archangel that you will either love or hate. In my case, I LOVED him!

I loved how Nalini made the story from different points of view so that the reader can follow Elena and Raphael in the story. It made the story very well with the back and forth between the characters. I also enjoyed the ending. I expected the conclusion but was still blown away with how Nalini ended it. Okay, I admit it was an explosive ending. Now I need to find time to read the next books in the series back to back with no interruption. I must convince the husband to let me have 3 to 4 days by myself to read them. Ha…we’ll see how it goes. He did allow me to have my birthday weekend last year to read a series. It was my birthday wish, and he knew I instead read books then have an actual birthday present (but he still got me a fantastic birthday present) =)I give this book five full moons (ten if I could) and highly recommend it to UF/PNR readers out there.

(Re-Read/Listened to this book again in 2019. This book always gets me out of a reading rut.)

[Angie]

Boring.

[liz089]

Re-read 2020.

Was in the mood to read this one again, glad I did. Maybe this time I will continue with the series ! Love the MC and the world.



I liked it, the whole angel shizzle was kind of cool. Raphael 3 Slightly shocked by the amount of erotic porn stuff though ^^

[celinenyx]

Though paranormal romance has dropped in popularity, Angels’ Blood was published in its heyday by Nalini Singh, whose Psy-Changeling series is a fan-favourite. Though Angels’ Blood is sometimes called urban fantasy, this book is very much a romance. Unlike urban fantasy it is not plot-heavy, leaning instead on the back and forth between the two main characters for tension.

Elena is a Guild Hunter. Human with a little bit of extra pizzazz, she hunts vampires who break their contracts with the angels who create them. When she is contracted by an Archangel, Rafael, she knows she might not survive this next mission.

Ms Singh is a good writer, and the short chapters in Angels’ Blood will keep you reading. Though there is barely anything happening plot-wise in the first half of the book, the sparks between the main characters are interesting enough to propel the story forward. When the book finally does dive into some action, Singh shows a bit of gruesome imagination that will appeal to horror fans. Many of the scenes in the book reminded me of early Anita Blake books by Laurell K. Hamilton, who combined gore and romance in a similar way. The Guild Hunter universe is ruthless, and we are not allowed to forget it for a moment.

Rafael is not only an immortal hunk, he has an ego to match. He is used to command, to manipulate and take what he wants. Elena is not a pushover – she is not a “doormat heroine”. She rebuffs him and fights every inch of the way, until they both succumb to their attraction. I don’t like this kind of plot, as it reads as rapey. Even though it becomes clear that Rafael does not influence her mind to make her like him, the fact that Elena thought so is uncomfortable to read. Even more problematic is that throughout the book, Elena accepts that Rafael will probably have to kill her at some point, yet she still finds him attractive. The cherry on this relationshit-cake is the blatant possessiveness, the mutual claiming and controlling behaviour. While I understand the appeal of the possessive partner (it is intended to show how much they care for each other), ultimately it just signals dysfunction and insecurity rather than love.

Angels’ Blood reminded me that alpha males aren’t my jam, nor was the gender-binary language very appealing. Rafael’s actions and especially his sexuality are continuously referred to as male, whereas Elena’s sexual responses are “something essentially female”. Sexuality is not tied to one’s gender identity, but I guess that in the context of the heterosexual romance novel this language makes sense. I did think it was nice that it was hinted that Elena was generally deemed “too much” for her previous partners, whereas Rafael rises up to the challenge. It suggests that she doesn’t have to make herself less, or try to fit into someone else’s preconception of the normal. If only we could have that lovely message in a slightly less mortifying form.

Since this is the first novel in a longer series that follows the same couple, some treads are set out that aren’t brought to a resolution. Angels’ Blood is very much a book of Elena and Rafael’s coming to terms with their feelings for each other, throwing them together again and again until something gives. Though perhaps not necessarily to my taste, Singh writes well and I am interested enough by the hints at the ending of Angels’ Blood to give the second book a try too.

---
Trigger warnings: hero is sexually threatening and their courtship is a minefield of rape triggers. Hero forces heroine to cut herself on a knife early on. Later actual sexual encounters are consensual, but the heroine is prone to saying “stop” while not actually meaning it. Contains childhood (sexual?) trauma, blood, very explicit gore, murder, violence, and an instance of fat-shaming.

[thebookdisciple]

Great start to the series! I really enjoyed the characters and the interesting world Singh has created! The audio was good. The narrator did a good job with all the accents overall (sometimes, it was like she forgot to not use an accent when another character spoke).

[stacey_is_sassy]

I thoroughly enjoyed the audio.

I read this story ages ago and when I saw it offered in the Romance Package decided to refresh my memory. So glad that I listened this time, it gave a completely different experience.

The narrator was fabulous and very easy to listen to. She does multiple accents well and her male and female voices were clear and concise.

The storyline was action-packed, world-building interesting and the love story intense. I want to know more about the angels, vampires and hunters.

I will definitely be listening to more of this series. Another winner from the Romance Package.

[littleread1]

It was ok, good enough to get me to listen to book 2, but not so much that if I didn't have it handy I would go searching for it. The concept is brilliant, but the characters are kind of ... flat? I am not sure. This Raphael just doesn't do it for me.

[EBookObsessed]

Elena Deveroe is a vampire hunter. She hunts down rogue vampires and returns them to their Angel masters.

Elena is Hunter-Born. She can track a vampire by smell, and she always completes her job. Her latest assignment has her terrified, and not because of a rogue vampire. She is to go to Archangel Tower and meet with the Archangel Raphael. Elena knows that you don’t want to be on an Archangel’s radar. Something like that can get you killed. And why would an Archangel need her to track down a rogue vampire? He has an army of angels and ancient vampires who could easily track someone down.

Raphael doesn’t need Elena to find a vampire. He needs her talents to help him find another Archangel. An Archangel who is ancient and powerful and who is now suffering from a virus that is going to drive him mad, and once that happens, the death tolls could be astronomical.

Elena might have more strength and abilities a regular human, and she is no match for an Angel, let alone an Archangel of Raphael’s power. But that doesn’t mean she will let him walk all over her or allow him to use her as a new toy to play with, except no one says No to Raphael.

As Raphael’s interest in Elena becomes obsessive, his closest protectors, his Seven, might just kill her to protect Raphael from himself, and if they don’t get her, the Archangel Micheala might since she wants Raphael for herself.

With vampires, angels, and Archangels all wanting her head on a platter, and Raphael wanting to get into her pants, Elena is pretty sure she won’t be surviving this mission in one piece.

THOUGHTS:
This is all part of my Catch Up by Audiobook experiment which is working very well.

Because I read Archangel’s Storm first, I had some hints of things that happened in the prior four novels. This didn’t effect my overall enjoyment of the story, but the ending wasn’t a surprise.

I will again say, just like with Archangel’s Storm, these are not your halo wearing Angels. These Angels have all the same flaws as humans, anger, jealously, fear…but they have be around loner to perfect them. That makes these books are a bit dark. Raphael hires Elena to track the Archangel who has gone mad and started killing. He doesn’t give her an option to say No, but then he treats her very disrespectfully even when he decides he might be interested enough to have sex with her and then he really puts on the pressure. Yes, he is an Archangel, and she is only human, so he believes she is so unimportant. But why he expects her to fall into his bed when he calls her a toy and treats her so horribly.

On top of this his Seven, which are his closest group of angels and vampires, are all threatening to kill her as soon as Raphael gives the go ahead because she is distracting Raphael and they all indicate how much they are going to enjoy it. If that’s not enough, there is a jealous Archangel who wants Raphael as her lover and she wants to kill Elena too. To the point that Elena snaps with a “get in line.”

I enjoyed it but was a little put off by how badly they all treat Elena, someone they called to help them because of her enhanced-human skills. I was also put off by Elena’s relationship with her father who a rich bastard who threw her out into the street when she wanted to be a Guild Hunter but yet she comes running every time he calls. Dysfunctional!!

See more at http://ebookobsessed.com

[Hixxup]

I finally read this book, I've heard so many great things about it, and well since I love Nalini Singh, I was like yeah I'll read it. I'm glad I did because it was extremely good, I love the details she puts into the angels wings, it's sad that, that's what I think of the most, is their wings lol. No, really the entirety of the book was good, there wasn't a dull moment in it. I agree with the other ladies who have commented about Raphael.... "Ahhh Raphael" total yummy in the body of an angel. Makes me wonder where my Raphael is, lol. There was a graphic or a picture or a quite I saw a while ago that said, that ever woman should have one night with a nab from a book. I whole heartedly agree with this statement and wish it could happen. But since it can't or it's rare I do enjoy them while I read of them in my precious books. Thank you Nalini for your continuous giving of the wonderful men in your books. Oh how delicious they are. :)

[nitzan_schwarz]

Edit June 13 2018: So, GR apparently lost my read date for this one. Big shocker. Anyways, decided to add one based on when I wrote this review because I HATE my books not being in somewhat order and I think I read this one in a day or two, though who really knows anymore. TBH my patient is running out, all the latest changes and bugs have pissed me off big time

3.5 stars

This book and I didn't start on the right foot. I couldn't quite get into it, and I was worried my recent decent into re-read-land has ruined me for any new books.

Thankfully, around 20%, things picked up for me (and the more Raphael lessened the overbearing douche-ness, the more fun I had) and soon I was completely immersed in Elena and her story. I love strong females like Elena, females who also have vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Elena is not perfect; she is stubborn, hot headed and fear makes her stupidly brazen. Her flaws could've gotten her killed ten times over in this novel, had she lived in another Archangel's territory.

Luckily for her, she lives in Raphael's, who finds her fascinating. At first, Raphael annoyed the heck out of me. His hot and cold moments, his condescension, his cruelty and disregard of Elena's thoughts and wants pissed me off. But the more we read, the more I read, the more I realized that Raphael himself didn't quite like who he was becoming, and he had a strong sense of what's right and wrong. That's why he doesn't thoughtlessly kill, and why it upset him when Elena compared his mind control to rape (totally justified). And he did make the effort not to repeat the same mistake.

I am looking forwards to reading more of this series and especially this couple as I found out mid-read that they are the center of most of this series. Their relationship could've used some more build--Singh did a wonderful job illustrating their lust, but not as much to make us fully understand why they fell--but I am excited at the prospect of seeing more of this entertaining couple!