Archangel's Shadows by Nalini Singh

Archangel's Shadows (The Guild Hunter, #7)

by Nalini Singh

Return to the sensual and painfully beautiful Guild Hunter world, with a new novel about sacrifice, loyalty and the choices of love that can shatter the heart.

In the wake of a brutal war, the archangel Raphael and his hunter consort Elena are dealing with the treacherously shifting tides of archangelic politics and the people of a battered but not broken city. The last thing their city needs is more death, especially not a death that bears the eerie signature of an insane enemy archangel who cannot - should not - be walking the streets. This hunt must be undertaken with stealth and without alerting their people. It must be handled by those who can become shadows themselves ...

Ash is a gifted tracker and a woman cursed with the ability to sense the secrets of anyone she touches. But there's one man she knows all too well without a single instant of skin contact: Janvier, the dangerously sexy Cajun vampire who has fascinated and infuriated her for years. Now, as they track down a merciless killer, their cat-and-mouse game of flirtation and provocation has turned into a profound one of the heart. And this time, it is Ash's secret, dark and terrible, that threatens to destroy them both.

Nalini Singh, the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling 'alpha author of paranormal romance' (BOOKLIST), returns to her stunning world, as it braces itself for destruction.

Reviewed by Melanie on

5 of 5 stars

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My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

Archangels’ Shadows starts pretty much where the previous book left off. This is a series that must be read in order or you will be lost at part of what is going on in the story. While you don’t have to have read the anthology of Guild Hunter shorts in Angel’s Flight, I highly recommend it. There is a story in it that covers our hero and heroine of this book, so I think it adds to the story. Plus there are a ton of great stories in Angel’s Flight anyway.

Where the last book, the focus was back on Raphael and Elena, this one focuses on Ashwini and Janvier. Ashwini is a member of the Hunter’s Guild and has abilities where she is able to feel most people’s emotion and thoughts through touch. Because of this, she has spent time in a mental hospital as a child because her family didn’t know how to handle her “gifts”. She also has a brother and sister who play a critical role in Ashiwini’s life.

Janvier is a vampire, young when you compare him to most of the other immortal or nearly immortal characters in this series. He’s under 300 years old. He’s a cajun who has taken a liking to Ashwini, who he calls Ashblade. Ash spends a lot of time tracking Janvier for the Guild only for him to make good right before she is ready to take him down.

Janvier and Ash are working together to track a killer. The weird thing is, the dead look like they’ve been mummified, but have only been dead for a short period of time. It is a case where they search one clue after another. Not real fast paced action that we saw in the previous book.

We also get to see a lot of Naasir. He is a vampire who is one of Raphael’s Seven. He isn’t a normal vampire. He has hints of an animal to him, the same way Venom has hints of a snake. Naasir is definitely a predator. He spends a lot of time helping Janvier and Ash. The three have a very close relationship, though there is nothing sexual between Naasir and the other two.

We also have the overall story arc. Elena’s mother-in-law makes a surprise visit. Elena is trying to manage reconstruction to a building for the legion. We get to see Honor and Dimitri, who are great together.

This is a series that has a humor, even if it isn’t a laugh out loud type of funny. You’ll find yourself chuckling frequently. There is action and suspense. There is romance and some pretty hot scenes. The characters and world are very well developed. Nalini Singh is a master at the worlds she creates with loveable characters. She is able to make you fall in love with characters that appear to be cold and emotionless.

Narration
I love Justine Eyre’s narration of this series. She fits the characters perfectly. She is really good at keeping the emotion blank for the angels, but showing the emotion when you have the mortals who actually have emotions.

There are also several different accents that she masters well. I love listening to her do Janvier’s cajun accent. It might not be perfect, but it really worked for him. She also really brought out the feralness of Naasir.

I like to thank Tantor Audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 October, 2014: Finished reading
  • 21 October, 2014: Reviewed