Archangel’s Legion (Guild Hunter #6)

Where do I start with this book? How about it falls into the category where I want more than 5 Stars to rate it? It grabbed me almost from the first pages and never let go until the breathless ending. Angels have died, some vampires have contracted an incurable illness, the world is at the brink of war and that is just the start of things. Needless to say, I am officially notifying you that boredom is not within these pages. The romance between Raphael and Elena which we might have forgotten a bit is brought back to us in this novel as a force that is unending and is the type that is \”life is not worth living without you\” becoming a statement of fact and not just a proclamation of love. Most of this novel is spent on a trilogy of plotlines: – The depth of the love of Raphael and Elena – The mystery of who and why concerning the illness/damage to the angels/vampires of Raphael\’s New York – Elena\’s family history and current situation (we get a bit more info on her family\’s past) I say \”most\” because the final few chapters are more action oriented in the typical epic mold, I found the ending of this book on the level of the ending of \”Return of the King\”, high praise indeed folks. I am not going to disassemble the plots in this review since that is why we read books but this is a great book and somewhere in the final 100 pages you will have to remember to breathe it gets so intense. Hang on for a wild ride but the ending would not be as intensive if not for the skillful way Ms. Singh manipulates her readers into the proper mood to make the ending the high mark that it is, well done once more by one of the genre\’s best authors. 5 Stars because that is all I can give, it is worth more, trust me. Bottom Line: This paragraph is almost a repeat of an earlier one but it belongs here. This is what 5 Star reading should be, having you glued to the pages and leaving you with a thirst for more without making you mad that the book ended. A romance for the ages and a overarching story that you can\’t stop thinking about until the next book. Make no mistake; on the 29th of October when this is released, THIS is what you need to be reading. Just a clue, you won\’t understand the title until the last couple of chapters. There are books that are just as good (a very few) but there are none I can say are better, this is one of those that falls into the \”THIS is why I read these books\” category that has a extremely small number of books as its companion. Reviewer\’s Note: I would strongly suggest that any reader start with book 1 of this series to enjoy the excellence of this novel. Series Reading Order: 1. Angels\’ Blood: The Guild Hunter Series 2. Archangel\’s Kiss (Guild Hunter) 3. Archangel\’s Consort (Guild Hunter) 4. Archangel\’s Blade (Guild Hunter) 5. Archangel\’s Storm (Guild Hunter) 6. Archangel\’s Legion (Guild Hunter) 7. Guild Hunter #7 – 2014 8. Guild Hunter #8 – 2015

The Guild Hunter series has never been a favorite of mine; but still I enjoyed the first 3 books and I really liked the 4th installment Dmitris story. Sadly its been going downhill for me from there. The 6th and most recent installment Archangels Legion is very generously getting bumped up to 4 stars. The first 80% of the story truth be told rates only 3 stars. It just didnt capture my interestin fact, I found it pretty boring. Archangels Legion goes back to the Raphael and Elena power couple which I dont have a problem with I just dont love them. Theres nothing wrong with either of themthey just dont ring my bell. Raphael, for all his otherworldly power and remoteness I find kind of cardboard-y. Its nice that hes developing a sense of humor; and I appreciate his devotion to Elena he just doesnt seem to have much of a personality. Fans of the couple will be pleased that Archangels Legion offers quite a few sexy times and intimate moments I just dont feel their chemistry so for me it wasnt a treat. Im in the Guild Hunter series (Dmitri and Honor aside) primarily for the story (and because I have OCD and now Im in deep) and the 6th installment didnt have enough to offer in terms of story to keep my interest. Archangels Legion takes us back to Raphael and Elena in New York and the Cascade is in full effect. Angels are falling out of the sky to their death, vampires are falling to mysterious plague, the Hudson river is churning with blood things are getting real. All of the archangels in the Cadre are growing in strength, gaining new abilities and waiting to see which ones will go bat poop crazy. Humanity is in the cross hairs as the Cascade has the potential to all but erase civilization this go around and set up for a do-over. As the tensions rise and archangels jockey for power; the Queen of death the already bat poop crazy Lijuan makes her move. Unfortunately its a pretty slow build up to her move and things dont really start going down until the 80% mark. With the last 20% of the book rating 3 stars Im feeling pretty generous about the round up to 4. A couple of pet peeves: I realize Raphael is quite the alpha male. I would however be happy to not have to be reminded of his manliness as at every opportunity: A very male, very Raphael smile; a deep masculine murmur; masculine laughter. Message received. He is not at any point in the immediate future going to don a pink tutu and dance Swan Lake on the Tower Roof. I will adjust my expectations accordingly. And finally my other fairly large pet peeve: Elena reverting back to a 12 year old whenever she is in Jeffreys presence. Theres some development in the family history story line – some of Jeffreys inexcusable behavior is put into context -and more opportunities provided for Jeffrey to continue to treat Elena like crap. Hes rude, hes disrespectful and hes entirely too free with his hands grabbing her by the shoulders/upper arms and shaking her until her teeth rattle I believe I counted 2 occasions in 1 book. Now I understand that hes her father; but this is horse hockey. Elena is an immortal hunter-born. On her own she could wipe the floor with Jeffrey. However she is also the Consort of one of the most powerful archangels in the Cadre. If he cant respect her as his daughter, or as a person; then it is high time for her to demand from Jeffrey the respect her position entitles her to even if she has to secure it with her boot on his throat.

Another fast-paced instalment to this ongoing story and this time we are back again with Raphael and Elena. Theres a lot going on here as events around the city escalate. First, we have the falling where angels drop from the sky followed by a vampire disease that kills its victims quickly. Rivers turn red and strange events occur as the cascade builds in steam and an unknown enemy threatens the city. Theres also an elusive power that threatens to overtake Raphael, Elenas grounding of him the only thing bringing him back from the brink. Raphael is evolving but it might not be fast enough to turn the tide of war to their advantage. I also loved the inclusion of the Legion and cant wait to learn more about these strange new additions. It really brought an extra mysterious layer to everything. Elena and Raphael are closer than ever but are still hitting slight stumbling blocks along the way. Their make-up antics after these episodes were super intense and very hot these two have so much chemistry. We get to dig deeper into certain characters and new players were added. Im sure that Tasha is going to pop up again somewhere in the future that angel has troublemaker written all over her at least Michaela is transparent in her games Tasha hides behind a pleasant persona, hiding her true intentions. Im looking forward to seeing where this goes next so many possibilities. This series is such a real roller coaster ride and is one of my favourites.

OMG! first of all let me make it clear that I love this universe and all the characters, the Good (Elena and the Guild Hunters)the Bad (Ass)(The Angels and Vamps) and even the Ugly (Jeffrey. Elena\’s disapproving and estranged Daddy) and as such I have been looking forward to this book since Nalini announced this on her blog 18 months ago, and I am happy to to say it did NOT Disappoint in ANY WAY! Archangel\’s Legion continues with the theme that things are changing, and not always for the good. It starts with the \’Falling\’ which initially is thought to be a dark rolling thunder cloud, but turns out to be birds dropping from the sky, followed closely by Angels falling to earth. This sets up the tension as what the \’cascade\’ will bring next and also to which other Archangel wields such power that they covet Raphael\’s territory by making subtle and not so subtle threats against Raphael and his Consort Elena. It\’s not only Angels at risk, but the Vampire\’s are being devastated by a disease.. Raphael and Elena race against time to prevent utter destruction within their hold, and whilst this is all happening, Raphael finds himself having strange dreams, and dealing with anger and a personality shift which frightens his beloved Elena. Nalini is a master at weaving stories that keep the reading engaged and guessing as to what will happen next, she makes you care about the all the characters, old and new and also she has the very clever knack of making you re-look at someone behaviour and question what you thought you knew about them and their motives… All the villains are present and correct, Micheala as narcissistic and insincere as ever and Lejaun the Mad as a Hatter Archangel of China, who now thinks of herself as a living God. Both these women (Archangels) continue to be a thorn to the happy couples side, and as the disasters mount in New York, could they and the other Archangels be in league? You can see that Elena and Raphael grow with each new book, Elena testing the limits and boundaries of what it means to be a baby Angel, and to have a relationship with the most powerful being in America, and Raphael has gone from being utterly cold and ruthless, devoid of humanity, to someone who is willing to allow the possibility that Elena makes him more human, and he is Okay with that, which ironically is not so Okay with Elena, but if you want to know why then you need to pick up this book and read it. I cannot wait for the next chapter in this series, and more recently Nalini has announced there will be more books featuring Elena and Raphael as well as the Seven. Oh what can I say about them? We have met the Vampire Dmitiri(Raphael\’s second in command and best friend) who now is happily married to Honor (but still a total bad ass, the playful but lethal Angel Illium (Elena favourite loveable Bluebell), warrior Angel Galen (mated to Angel Jessemy and is Raphael\’s Master at Arms,)fragile and broken Warrior Angel Aodhan (a recent transplant to New York from the refuge where he has essentially been hiding after traumatic events hinted in his past), Raphael\’s Spy Master Angel Jason (who is now living with his beloved Angel Princess Mahiya) The Vampire Venom who can hypnotise with his snake eyes, and is now working alongside Galen in the Angel refuge)and finally the mysterious Vampire Naasir, who we got a fleeting glimpse of in book one, finally makes his appearance in this book, and I for one can\’t wait to know more about him as the series continues. As always when I\’m reading a great book, I never want it coming to end, but all good things must..the silver lining is that Nalini is a fast writer so hopefully in another 18 months, I\’ll be reading the further adventures in the Guildhunter series.

It\’s no secret that I\’ve become a bit of a Nalini Singh fan girl since I discovered the Guild Hunter series, I\’m slowly working my way through her Psy-Changeling books too and really enjoying them but Raphael and Elena will always have a special place in my heart. Because I\’m such a huge fan I always have very high expectations when I pick up a new Nalini Singh book and I\’m always slightly nervous that I\’ve built the series up so much in my memory that it can\’t possibly live up to them. Thankfully NS never fails to not just meet but completely surpass my expectations though and with every single book she just makes me love her writing more. It\’s been a while since we had a book where Raphael and Elena were the main players and as much as I\’ve enjoyed getting to know some of the other characters in the series I was incredibly excited to go back to my favourites. I adore everything about this couple, the way they have changed and grown together throughout the series has been incredible to watch. They still have their issues but I love that they always put each other first, they are aware of their own insecurities and personal issues, they know each other\’s triggers and most importantly they are willing to put in the effort needed to make a success of their relationship. They don\’t always agree with each other but they talk things through and even Raphael has learnt to compromise in certain situations. Elena and Raphael are both so much stronger together than they ever could be apart and their relationship is incredibly swoon worthy. I honestly think I could read 100 different books about them and not get bored! As if spending time with Raphael and Elena wasn\’t enough we also get some incredibly poignant moments between Illium and Aodhan, ones that will bring happy tears to your eyes and make you even more desperate to read their stories. I\’m also incredibly curious about Naasir after getting to know a bit more about him. All of Raphael\’s seven have a major part to play in this one along with Elena\’s fellow Guild Hunters so we get to catch up with a lot of familiar faces – I have no idea how Nalini Singh manages to pack so much into her stories but she does it like an expert. There are some epic fight scenes that are described so well it\’s almost like watching a movie (boy would I love to see this series on the big screen!) and the action is pretty much non-stop throughout. I really don\’t want to say much about the plot because I think you\’re much better off going in knowing as little as possible to make the most of the experience. What I will say is that Archangel\’s Legion is a completely and utterly addictive read, it will break your heart, it will make you laugh out loud, you\’ll be shocked, horrified, angry and upset one minute then ecstatically happy and swooning the next. One thing you won\’t be able to do is put the book down for a single second so clear your diary before you start reading! This book is a game changer in terms of the series, it opens up so many possibilities that I can\’t even guess at where Nalini Singh is planning on taking us next but I do know it\’ll be one hell of an adventure. I think I\’d have to say that Archangel\’s Legion is now my favourite instalment of the series and that\’s saying something considering how much I\’ve loved the previous books. I honestly can\’t recommend this series highly enough to paranormal romance and urban fantasy fans, it really is essential reading!

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