Angels' Blood

Guild Hunter, Book 1

By: Nalini Singh

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she is the best - but she does not know if even she is good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, Elena knows failure is not an option - even if the task 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 does not destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just might. For when archangels play, mortals break.

©2009 Nalini Singh (P)2010 Tantor

Nalini Singh versitility is the best!

Would you listen to Angels' Blood again? Why?

There are few writers I return to Laura K. Hamilton was one and Nalini Singh is the other!

What did you like best about this story?

Getting her wings as a result of true love is so beautiful and so befitting for the love-hate relationship of Elena and Raphael.

Which character – as performed by Justine Eyre – was your favorite?

Raphael's slow but ever evolving archangel to slightly human character was my favorite character. He is regal but his love is pedestrian and universal.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

One sitting is what you wish for when listening to this story unfold. The narrator was excellent.

Any additional comments?

More! More! More!

Would recommend!

First off, AMEN for books where the protagonist has a badass, supportive, and fun best friend!! Secondly, Justine does an AMAZING job with accents for the different angels, which makes listening more fun! And Nalini creates a really cool world. Very unique, and the storyline makes sense and doesn’t feel forced. I would say that the main character is sometimes so stubborn at the beginning about little things that it frustrated me, and the Angel was being an ass about things that don’t matter, but if you stick with it, everything starts making more sense as the characters become deeper and more rounded. Oh, and this is (in my opinion) a book that's more about the romance than catching the bad guy, so to speak, but Elena's hunting style is actually super cool. Have fun!

Angels and Vampires - boss and minion

This is a whole different swing on the angels and vampire genre. The book was good, but I'm not sure if I'm up to listening to more. The archangels are mean and are hard to get along with. Everyone is afraid of them because to make an angel angry is enough to get you killed.

I know lots of super ratings have graced this title, but it's just not for me. It wasn't the first time I read it in 2007 and it's still not in 2019.

Slow to get interesting...

I thought the narrator's performance was really good. She does have a lot of vibrato in her voice, but if you can get last that she does excellent job with the characters. I thought the story was an interesting take on Angel's and vampires but it took forever to get really into the story. No action or progression of story until chapter 20. Some steamy moments, no really long sex scenes, so good or bad whether or not you like lot or little of that. I don't know if it's worth a credit but I'm intrigued to see where this goes so I'm going to continue to the second book which seems to continue Raphael and Ellaina's story.

loved it!!!

The story is addictive. I can't wait to read the next book. Nalini Singh is amazing.

Sizzling, Exciting World of Angels Alongside Ours

Awesome world building blend of Angels, Vampires, and Enhanced Humans set against the backdrop of a culture where angels are not only among us, but they rule the world and they are the ones who make vampires. I was enthralled from page one by the voice of the main character, Elena, and the author's ability to draw me in with a blend of a well moving plot and her deft way of drawing the reader right into her Guild Hunter world without slowing the pace. The plot was revealed a bit at a time and I loved the way I learned it as I went just like Elena.

Elena Devereaux is a born hunter. She works for the Guild of Hunters who are paid to bring in vampires who have skipped on their contracts to their makers and/or went on a bloody rampage. Its a dangerous profession, but one she is good at. She takes pride in her work because it is a way to feel better after her cold father cast her out of the family when she didn't conform to his ideas for her. And ever since her mother and sisters were killed by a vampire monster, there is no way she would turn her back on her gift to keep the humans safe.

After her latest bounty is brought in, Elena feels a sizzle of fear when she is called to visit the scariest thing around. She has been requested through the Guild to work directly for the Archangel of North America, Raphael. Angels are cold and far above puny humans, but archangels are a cut above even them. Elena heeds her order to go to Raphael to get her assignment, but coming face to face with him leaves her reeling. Raphael is beautiful. He is also cold, arrogant and manipulative which drives out all submissive thoughts from her brain. The assignment- hunt down another archangel- tells her this is a suicide mission that she won't be allowed to refuse.

Rafael is struck immediately by the impact that Elena has on him. He hasn't felt a thing in over a thousand years, but suddenly the ennui is lifted. He is curious and intrigued by his hunter. Her eyes perceive him differently than others do. But still he needs her to do exactly as he says and needs her special gift to track down an archangel gone bad who has succumbed to the blood. Nobody, not even a feisty Guild Hunter must know what is truly at stake. He will use Elena to track Uram and then he will have to put the archangel down.

The plot is filled by a nice blend of action , character development and relationship building. I like the darker nature of these angels and the vampires living among humans. And as to the characters themselves? I loved meeting and knowing them all from the obvious heroine, Elena to the sultry vixen archangel Michaela. It was pure heat and passion whenever Elena and Raphael shared a scene together. I loved that slow build of tension through the story and the big climactic scene was for the ages. The denouement didn't even let up on the expectation leaving me wondering to the very last page.

Justine Eyre is a favorite narrator and a great match for the book and the characters. Each character distinct and each emotion enhanced. The audio edition makes a good story even better.

So this was a fabulous start to a series and I heartily recommend it to Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance lovers both.

Exciting, intriguing and sexy read

Skilled author who’s words painted vivid pictures and sent heartfelt emotions through me from beginning to end. I couldn’t turn off the audiobook. I finished it the same I started. Summation, it was one of the best books I’ve ever read.🥰

Wow!

There is something about one of the most powerful creatures falling for a human that always intrigues me. Through most of book one you know he is drawn to Elena but you also don't know if he will kill her when his fascination ends. He's pretty cold and remote. I don't know what that says about me that I like that even more.

Elena is one of my favorite kinds of heroines. She one of the best vampire hunters. She a born hunter and can track by smell. She's also very smart and deadly for a human. I like a heroine who can really kick some butt. She can't kick any archangel butt, however that doesn't stop her from standing up to him. She risks his and others wrath that either makes her brave or stupid. Sometimes it was borderline, but I liked it. I like that she didn't take crap from anyone.

I'm very thankful I read the side characters short stories first. When they appeared in this book, I already knew who they were and some of their background. I do believe it helped me enjoy each side character just a bit more. I would highly recommend reading those novellas before starting the series.

I'm listening to the audiobooks and the narrator, Justine Eyre does a very good job with both the female and male voices, plus the multitude of accents in this series. The one thing that can have me not enjoying an audiobook is when a narrator can not do the opposite sex voice well enough. Justine Eyre does not have this problem. I would highly recommend giving the audiobooks a try if you enjoy them.

This fictional world was pretty fascinating and I can't wait to see where this series is headed. This didn't end on a huge cliffhanger but you do know there is more to come with Elena's new life with Raphael. Onto the next book...

Hot, very hot.

Not having read anything but this Author, the reviews are what tempted me to give it a try. I am not a fan of cheesy romances or books of this genre that can be just one sexual escape after another. I mean, come on, how bout a page turning plot that happens to have a hot romantic story to it too. And this is what Singh delivers. This book is sexy and riviting with an interesting original take on the angel/vampire story. I found this writer much better than others like Christine Feehan or Karen Moning who i found utterly predictable and boring. Loved it. So much so that i went out and bought the second of the series (which was equally well written!) Shame on Audible for not carring more books from this series. i have every intention of looking into the psy/changling series by Singh through other vendors. You wont regret dropping a credit on this one.

✫✫ 3.5 - 4 Stars ✫✫

This was my second time listening to this book and I enjoyed it more the first time. I only re-listened to it because it was chosen for my book club and I couldn't remember it well enough for a discussion. This time I think it felt like all the other PNR I've read before. I was enjoyable and full of excitement, Raphael was HOT and a little bit of an Ass in the beginning but I grew to love him. I loved that the author mixes vampires, angels and a special human breed to hunt vampires. The narration was great, I love Justine Eyre but I will say she sounds more like an English afternoon tea kinda women than a young Vampire hunter