Angels' Blood (The Guild Hunter, #1)

by Nalini Singh

[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.

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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.