'Tangle of Need' Psy-Changeling #11 by Nalini Singh

 Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past - one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another.

For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle.

Their coming together is an inferno...and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realise that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

Riaz Delgado is adjusting to his SnowDancer home. It’s not easy for Riaz, who spent a good deal of time as a lone wolf, and who is also struggling with the fallout of finding his unattainable mate.

Riaz was on a mission in Venice when he met Lisette, a beautiful Frenchwoman working in the sinking city. His wolf knew her immediately – he felt the bone-deep knowledge that she was his, the woman he was destined for. Unfortunately for Riaz, Lisette is happily married to her husband, Emil, and aside from a heightened awareness of what lies between them, she is unaware of the mating bond. And that’s the way it has to be. Riaz will never fulfil his mateship with Lisette, will never jeopardize her happiness for his own – and as a consequence, Riaz’s gut roils at the thought of touching a woman who is not his mate. He has not had skin privileges for a year, so disgusted is he at the thought of being with anyone who is not his destined mate. . .  until he meets Adria.

Adria Morgan is making a new home for herself in SnowDancer too, after her disastrous long-term relationship with a submissive male wolf came to an ugly end. As an alpha female and senior soldier, Adria is still coming to terms with the power plays and inadequacies that made that relationship crumble, and she’s still feeling very fragile in the aftermath... Which is why the last thing she needs is an attraction to alpha wolf and Lieutenant, Riaz Delgado.

Riaz feels the same way, and is thoroughly disgusted at the lustful reactions Adria ignites in him. What starts as sneering and sniping between the two quickly combusts into a heated and love affair that neither of them is prepared for.

‘Tangle of Need’ is the eleventh book in Nalini Singh’s paranormal romance, ‘Psy-Changeling’ series.

Last year Ms Singh released the most-anticipated book in her ‘Psy-Changeling’ series – finally telling the story of alpha wolf, Hawke, and his young Psy-X sweetheart, Sienna Lauren. It was, hands down, the most complex and celebrated book in the series; and many fans wondered where Ms Singh could possibly go from there, I would hazard a guess that many fans even wondered if there was any need for further exploration? A ten-book series is no small feat, and when your tenth book is also centred on the most-anticipated pairing of the entire series, few fans would have begrudged Ms Singh going out on the high-note of Hawke’s HEA. So a lot is riding on ‘Tangle of Need’, to establish the longevity of an already immense series, and to discern if fan’s interest will wane now that everyone’s favourite character has had his time in the spotlight. Well, I can safely say that Ms Singh assuages everyone’s doubts and fuels the series fire once again in this eleventh book.

‘Tangle of Need’ is primarily centred on the romance of Riaz and Adria – exploring their complicated affections and love-hate relationship. These two are an interesting coupling, particularly for how their relationship answers some questions about the entire ‘Psy-Changeling’ universe and the complexities of the mating bond. Riaz and Adria are explosive simply because they start out hating one another – they raise each other’s hackles, and there’s an instant chemistry on the page simply for how they rub each other the wrong way. And, yes, it is a textbook case of ‘the lady doth protest too much’ – which is always an interesting premise to any romance. But the real conflict between Adria and Riaz is in the fact that Riaz has already found his mate – and it’s not Adria.

Riaz met Lisette in Venice, and felt the mating bond tugging them together. Unfortunately for Riaz, Lisette is happily married to her husband, and as such Riaz would never jeopardize her happiness for his own. As a side note; I was unclear whether or not Lisette was human or wolf. She was in Venice working with the wolves, but it seemed as though she was unaware of the mating bond (making me think she was human). She acknowledges that she felt an odd pull towards Riaz, but if she had been wolf surely she would have known what it was, beyond the odd quirk of being attracted to this strange man? Regardless, the hurdle for Riaz and Adria is that their attraction and growing affection is happening, despite knowing that Riaz has a mate bond with another. . .  it’s an interesting conundrum that Singh has written, and very much unlike anything explored in the ‘Psy-Changeling’ series thus far. I really liked this romantic complication – it’s sort of the antithesis to lots of cliché love stories in the paranormal romance genre, where writers will so often depend on the ‘mating bond’ and ‘ethereal-unintelligible-spiritual-something-magical’ connection between two people to explain why they love each other. For Riaz and Adria, they’re coming together in spite of Riaz’s ‘bond’ with another.

It’s a juicy little conundrum, and as such I wish Singh had explored it more in depth than she did. Towards the end of the book Lisette is thrown as a literal spanner in Riaz and Adria’s budding relationship – and that was the moment things got really interesting for me. I would have liked it if Riaz/Lisette/Adria had been a more thoroughly explored triangle throughout the book, instead of marginally towards the end.

But fans will be happy to learn to ‘Tangle of Need’ is not just Riaz and Adria’s love story. They actually share the spotlight with, none other than. . .  Hawke and Sienna!

That’s right! – Nalini Singh clearly recognized the power of Hawke and Sienna's romance, and has used ‘Tangle of Need’ as their continuing story. As a result, we get plenty of ‘awwww!’ moments between the newly mated Hawke and Sienna, and we follow them in the months following their mating – when they’re still finding their footing with one another (Sienna learning to live with an alpha, while Hawke is trying not to suffocate his new mate with his alpha-ness). It’s a fantastic ongoing story between the two of them – and the Psy-related events of ‘Tangle’ even have me wondering if the twelfth book will continue to follow Hawke and Sienna? Either way; the ongoing saga of Hawke and Sienna is the real, surprising draw-card of ‘Tangle’, and will leave fans very happy and satisfied, particularly because Singh has them discussing the finer details of their marriage and mateship that wasn’t covered in ‘Kiss of Snow’ (everything from kids to Sienna’s standing with the maternal females);

The howl that went up in the clearing was multiharmonic and piercingly joyful, a song that was a gift. Linked as he was to Sienna, Hawke felt her stunned wonder and knew she didn’t realize the significance of the act.
“They’re welcoming you,” he whispered, his chest vibrating with the need to add his voice to the song, “not as my mate, but as their alpha’s mate.” The distinction was important, and when untrammelled sunshine lit up her face, he knew she understood.

As to whether or not the ‘Psy-Changeling’ series has promise beyond everyone’s beloved Hawke? Before reading ‘Tangle of Need’ I was on the fence; half wondering if the series shouldn’t end on the ‘Kiss of Snow’ high note? But, Ms Singh uses this eleventh book to start planting the seeds for new and interesting stories, beyond the wolf SnowDancer and leopard DarkRiver packs.

In ‘Tangle’, the SnowDaner/DarkRiver alliance is approached by the BlackSea clan to join their coalition. Unofficially led by the beautiful Miane Levèque the BlackSea are, as the name suggests, a collective of sea-bound changelings. Now, this is very interesting. In the paranormal genre we’ve had any number of were-animals and changeling animals, but not any from the sea (mermaids aside, in a category all their own). I love that Singh has fun with this new concept, which will surely have fans interest piqued; 

“Jellyfish,” Riaz said, after considering the other inhabitants of the sea. “Seriously, there cannot be jellyfish changelings.”
Hawke turned to look over his shoulder. “What the hell have you been smoking?”

And of course Singh hints that the ‘Psy-Changeling’ series still has life in it yet, not least because Psy Councillor Ming LeBon is still plotting and scheming.

I went into ‘Tangle of Need’ not entirely convinced that Nalini Singh’s ‘Psy-Changeling’ series shouldn’t have concluded with Hawke and Sienna’s much-anticipated and very fulfilling tenth book. However, Nalini Singh has officially convinced me that her beloved paranormal romance series still has a lot of life left in it. I am immensely curious about the new changeling alliance with BlackSea, and the possibility of further side-stories about everyone’s favourite couple; Hawke and Sienna. I went in a little unsure and hesitant, but I finished ‘Tangle of Need’ more curious than ever about the trajectory of this evolving series.

4/5

'Archangel's Blade' Guild Hunter #4 by Nalini Singh

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

The severed head marked by a distinctive tattoo on its cheek should have been a Guild case, but dark instincts honed over hundreds of years of life compel the vampire Dmitri to take control. There is something twisted about this death, something that whispers of centuries long past...but Dmitri's need to discover the truth is nothing to the vicious strength of his response to the hunter assigned to decipher the tattoo.

Savaged in a brutal attack that almost killed her, Honor is nowhere near ready to come face to face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel's right hand and who wears his cruelty as boldly as his lethal sensuality...the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.

As desire turns into a dangerous compulsion that might destroy them both, it becomes clear the past will not stay buried. Something is hunting and it will not stop until it brings a blood-soaked nightmare to life once more...

Dmitri is nearly a thousand years old. In that time he has lived a life of sublime love, irrepressible heartache and vicious rage. Now, he is a vampire warrior. Working for the powerful Archangel Raphael, it is Dmitri’s job to keep his fellow vampires in line, and sometimes even the angels . . .

Honor is a guild hunter and broken woman. A few months ago she was captured and tortured by vampires as a part of an ‘invitation only’ game. When the Guild needs her on a new case, Honor has to decide if she wants to start rebuilding her life, or keep to the shadows. It doesn’t help that her contact on the case is the vampire Dmitri, the most cold-blooded and famous of all Raphael’s vampiric minions.

But there is something about Dmitri. A darkness in him that Honor is both drawn to, and saddened by. . .

‘Archangel’s Blade’ is the fourth book in Nalini Singh’s ‘Guild Hunter’ series. The first three books concentrated on the romance between guild hunter, Elena, and her Archangel lover, Raphael. But with ‘Blade’ we read the first departure from the usual characters. ‘Blade’ is the first, but not the last, book that will concentrate on some of the secondary characters from the series.

Dmitri was an intriguing character from the get-go. He had a few run-ins with Elena in the first three books, and definitely read as a dangerous man, not to be messed with. Well, in ‘Blade’ Dmitri loses none of his edge. He is still terrifying with undercurrents of crazy . . . he has a reputation for enjoying pain and pleasure with his (many) women, and amongst his own kind he has an even more lethal reputation for being Raphael’s unrepentant warrior. I was quite happy to read Dmitri’s vicious streak has been kept intact in this book – rather than watered down for purposes of romance.

And, make no mistake, Dmitri is mean. Although in ‘Blade’ he is being drawn and mesmerized by the broken but beautiful Honor, he is still an awful man with a deadly reputation he is scarily proud of. As much as he wants Honor in his bed, and although he likes pain with his pleasure, he doesn’t want her scared with him. So he pushes her. He pushes her to get over her fear and find her anger – by promising to hunt down all the vampires who violated her, and make them suffer . . . slowly.

Honor was a fantastic heroine. She is most certainly damaged. It’s in every aspect of her character – from her skittishness in vamp clubs to her quick draw with a knife when Dmitri gets too close. But we slowly read her rebuilding – a catharsis through violence. However disturbing it may be, reading Honor and Dmitri hunt down her abusers and bond over their torture, it is definitely interesting to track her slow progress back to the strong woman she obviously once was.

As frightening as Dmitri is in this book (and he is frightening – to the point where I thought he was lovely and sexy, but a little too intensely dark and violent for my tastes) – his story is also a slow unraveling of his past. Dmitri has a story about how he became a vampire, and it’s a sad one. He lost everything when his mortality was ripped away and immortality thrust upon him. Throughout the book we read bits and glimpses of Dmitri’s memories of the woman he loved . . .

“Have you never had a woman create such a chink in your armor?” One of Illium’s feathers fell toward the ground but was whipped away and over the water before it could touch the unforgiving concrete. “In all the years I’ve known you, never have you had a lover on whom you placed a true claim.”
“I will watch the roads for you, Dmitri.”
Illium was just over five hundred years old to Dmitri’s near thousand. He didn’t know anything of what had gone on before—Raphael alone knew. “No,” Dmitri said and it was a lie he told with centuries of expertise. “Weakness gets a man killed.”

I adore Nalini Singh’s ‘Guild Hunter’ series. Her twisting and tantalizing of Angel mythology is interesting in itself – but it’s characters like Dmitri and Honor who make the series truly addictive. These characters with deadly pasts who do dastardly deeds for their Archangel overlords. I love it! ‘Archangel’s Blade’ is another darkly seductive installment in this wonderful series, and although the hero was a little too bitter for my liking, I still enjoyed the story of a woman recapturing her bravery at the tip of a blade. Wonderful.

4/5

'Archangel's Blade' will be released in Australia on October 4th 2011

'Kiss of Snow' Psy-Changeling #10 by Nalini Singh

Received from the Publisher

From the BLURB:

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would've been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf. Then Sienna changes the rules and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other's secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight...

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna's darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home and the alpha who is its heartbeat...

Sienna Lauren has loved Hawke from the moment she laid eyes on him . . . alpha-wolf, Hawke, and the SnowDancer pack have become Sienna’s new home since she and her family defected from the cold of PsyNet. But as much as Sienna loves Hawke, she has always known they can never be together. Hawke lost his true wolf mate when he was just ten years old, and there will never be another mate for him as long as he lives. Never mind that nineteen-year-old Sienna is considered a child next to the experienced older alpha, and he has worked hard for many years to ignore the inappropriate spark between them.

Regardless of all these obstacles, the heart wants what the heart wants . . . and Sienna has always wanted Hawke.

Meanwhile, Hawke is hard at work fighting his attraction for the ever-maturing Sienna. She is no longer the awkwardly cold teenager scared of her X abilities. Sienna has grown into a beautiful young woman, who is garnering attention from the young SnowDancer pups (much to Hawke’s chagrin). But regardless of his lust, Hawke doesn’t want to hurt Sienna by denying her the one part of himself that he knows she craves . . . his mating.

While Sienna and Hawke try to control and balance their feelings for one another, the PsyNet looms. Sienna’s dangerous X abilities are hardly subtle, and as the pressure within her grows the Net could discover her whereabouts and the truth about her family’s defection . . .

‘Kiss of Snow’ is the tenth book in Nalini Singh’s ‘Psy-Changeling’ paranormal romance series.

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here! Ever since Sienna first laid eyes on the gorgeous and sadly broken Hawke, readers have been salivating for their story. Hawke and Sienna are one of the few couples in the ‘Psy-Changeling’ series whom we have known would end up together. Their story has been slowly evolving over nine books, reaching a boiling-point when Sienna started dating DarkRiver cat, Kit. In every new instalment, Nalini Singh would revisit Hawke and Sienna’s ever-evolving and complicating feelings . . . from when Sienna realized her girlish crush, to Hawke beginning to notice her womanly changes. Fans have been mapping and anticipating this romance for so many instalments and now it’s finally here! Singh had some high expectations to meet with this couple, and I'm happy to report that she definitely delivers the goods!

Singh had quite a few hurdles to jump before Hawke and Sienna could embark on a romance. For one thing, Sienna was a young girl when she realized her feelings for the much older Hawke, and in ‘Kiss of Snow’ she is still only nineteen. It would feel wrong if Singh jumped right into their romance without at least considering the implications of a younger woman/older man scenario - especially when Hawke has a position of power over Sienna as her alpha. I really appreciated Singh taking the time to explore these difficulties, and reach a compromise between Hawke and Sienna, for readers’ peace of mind.

Then there’s the fact that Hawke lost his mate at the age of ten. Hawke and Rissa found one another when they were children – their mating was sweet and innocent then, that of very close friends who were glued at the hip throughout their childhood. But they were mates – destined for a lifelong commitment, until Rissa was sadly killed and Hawke’s life irrevocably altered. Hawke has considered himself ‘damaged goods’ since Rissa’s death, believing he will never have another mate. So when he develops deep feelings for Sienna, he feels guilty and confused. He wants Sienna, on a deep physical level . . . but he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to give her his whole self. Sienna likewise understands Hawke’s inability to mate, but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t wounded by what he can’t give her;

Her emotions a tight knot in her chest, she closed the door after he left and walked back into the bathroom to pick up the brush on the shelf by the mirror. “Hawke’s mate is dead,” she made herself say to the woman who was her reflection, her fingers clenching to bloodless tightness around the carved wood of the handle. “He buried his heart with her.”

Even in the face of that harsh truth, the brutal compulsion inside of her refused to be extinguished, to be contained. Like the destructive power of an X, it threatened to consume her until only ashes remained.

I loved the development of Hawke and Sienna’s romance. Like I said, they had a lot of hurdles to jump over – but Singh takes the time to tease out their feelings, bringing them together on an intellectual and emotional level before embarking on an explosive physical relationship. And trust me, their romance is sizzling. Hawke is a demanding and predatory lover, and he wants to completely dominate Sienna on every level. Sienna, meanwhile, is both scared and exhilarated by Hawke’s demands and over-powering love. Coupled with pent-up sexual frustrations that have been brewing over nine books . . . this is quite possibly the most intensely sensual romance of any Psy-Changeling coupling. Yowza!

Towards the end of the novel the plot concentrates on the looming PsyNet danger, and the investigations of the SnowDancer sentinels into Sienna’s dangerous X abilities. At this point the plot becomes very intricate and complicated as Singh discusses the PsyNet, valves, overheating etc, etc. It does become very intense and convoluted, and somewhat detracts from the Hawke/Sienna side of things. But I have a feeling that all of this plot will become pertinent in upcoming books.

‘Kiss of Snow’ is quite possibly the most anticipated ‘Psy-Changeling’ instalment. Nalini Singh had a big task before her when she finally wrote a happily-ever-after for beloved couple, Hawke and Sienna. They had an age-difference and denied mating to combat, but still Singh managed to deliver one of the hottest couplings of the series so far. Hawke and Sienna are intense and sparking – theirs is a heart-palpitating romance that is bound to exceed expectations and cement Hawke and Sienna as the Psy-Changeling couple du jour!

4.5/5

'Archangels' Consort' Guild Hunter #3 by Nalini SINGH

Received from the publisher

From the BLURB:

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux and her lover, the lethally beautiful archangel Raphael, have returned home to New York only to face an uncompromising new evil…

A vampire has attacked a girls’ school—the assault one of sheer, vicious madness—and it is only the first act. Rampant bloodlust takes vampire after vampire, threatening to make the streets run with blood. Then Raphael himself begins to show signs of an uncontrolled rage, as inexplicable storms darken the city skyline and the earth itself shudders. The omens are suddenly terrifyingly clear.

An ancient and malevolent immortal is rising. The violent winds whisper her name: Caliane. She has returned to reclaim her son, Raphael. Only one thing stands in her way: Elena, the consort who must be destroyed…

The world is on edge. Vampires are turning feral and wild storms are brewing. Earthquakes, rising tides and blood-lust vampires are wreaking havoc on cities with no logical explanation . . . except one: an Ancient is awakening.

When an Archangel wearies of humanity and immortality, they go into a deep sleep for years on end. Occasionally they awaken to gauge their surroundings and the changing times, but their slumbers are often millennia long. Until now. One Ancient is awakening, and it just so happens to be Raphael’s mother.

Caliane went to slumber after she lost her mind, and her mate, to madness. So diseased and weary was Caliane’s immortal mind that she almost killed her son, Raphael, before going to ground and into deep sleep.

Now Caliane is awakening, and she is not happy with Raphael’s choice of consort, Elena Deveraux. Elena may be an anomaly as the first made angel in recent memory, but Caliane expected better for her impossibly powerful Archangel son. And when mother isn’t happy, the world knows about it.

This third book reaches a spectacular zenith in Nalini Singh’s ‘Guild Hunter’ series. Raphael and Elena’s past haunts and childhood nightmares are given form and flesh to have a huge impact on their new-found relationship. Raphael was almost killed by his disturbed Archangel mother, only to have her reawaken just when Raphael has discovered new peace with Elena.

Likewise, Elena has been estranged from her family since she was a teenager, but in ‘Consort’ she is unwittingly thrown back into the family circle when some disturbing news surfaces.

Raphael and Elena have already overcome so much – including death and grandiose Archangel’s. In ‘Consort’ they face their biggest threat – their family.

Caliane is the ‘bad guy’ in this book, and the fact that she is also Raphael’s mother is pure genius on Nalini Singh’s part. Caliane is especially frightening because, for a lot of the book, she is in hiding. While she sleeps she wreaks havoc on the world’s equilibrium and incites vampires to blood-lust . . . yet she is a formless villain, tucked away somewhere and slowly coming to wakefulness. She is a true enigma, made all the more terrifying for her unpredictability.

“There is a legend,” Raphael murmured, his wings flaring out as he tugged her into the curve of his body – as if he would protect her. “That mountains will shake and rivers overflow, while ice creeps across the world and fields drown in rain.” He looked down at her, his eyes that impossible, inhuman chrome blue. “All this will come to pass. . . when an Ancient awakens.”

The chill in his tone raised every hair on her body.

A big focus of this book is on Raphael and Elena’s ghosts. Those memories and pent-up emotions that have been haunting them since childhood are suddenly unleashed – with the appearance of Caliane for Raphael, and a family secret for Elena. ‘Consort’ definitely feels like a book of change for these two – as they shake off the shackles of their nightmares and confront their fears. This is also a book in which their relationship reaches new heights. Elena and Raphael trust each other implicitly, and love unconditionally . . . and because of that, they are not alone in battling their demons.

A shudder passed through him, his hands flexing on her hips as he tugged her to his body. “You hold me to the earth, Elena.”

Able to feel the heated strength of him against her abdomen, she nipped at his lower lip with her teeth, relief a whisper of rain against her senses. “Don’t you forget it.” Moving her hand down to play over the amber he wore on the ring finger of his left hand, she used those same teeth on his jaw. “You belong to me, Archangel. And I look after what’s mine.”

Yes, there’s still a lot of sex and sensuality between Raphael and his true love, Elena. But the real intimacy is in how far these two have come since ‘Angels Blood’ – now they are at a place in their relationship where they can reveal their innermost fears.

As Raphael and Elena reach a new pinnacle in their relationship, Nalini Singh seems to be refocusing on new stories in the ‘Guild Hunter’ series. A big focus in ‘Consort’ is on Raphael’s ‘Seven’. These are seven angels and vampires who form Raphael’s most intimate and trusted circle. These cast of secondary characters have appeared in previous books, but in ‘Consort’ it feels as though Singh is getting ready to tell their stories.

There’s the blue angel, Illium, who loved and lost a human woman many hundreds of years ago. Raphael’s spymaster, Jason, who lives only to serve and has a past of unparalleled horror. Venom, the vampire with snake eyes and a penchant for violence. The brutish Galen, who loves an angel who cannot fly. Aodhan who has a history of brutal violence that still haunts him. And Dmitri – Raphael’s right-hand-man, an old vampire who was turned against his will and betrayed by a female angel.

And it comes as no surprise when a quick blog search reveals the fourth book in Singh’s series will be a departure from Elena and Raphael. ‘Archangels’ Blade’ will have a September 2011 release, and will be Dmitri’s book. As much as I love them, I'm not overly concerned that ‘Blade’ may only feature Elena and Raphael as secondary characters. Dmitri (and all of Raphael’s Seven) is interesting enough, and Singh has peppered ‘Consort’ with enough back-story intrigue, that I am quite excited to read their stories.

Nalini Singh’s ‘Guild Hunter’ series is a sensual delight. The romance between a centuries-old Archangel and his once human (now angel) consort is one of lush romance and exhilarating action. Singh’s series has gone from strength to strength, and in ‘Consort’ it feels like her main couple have reached enough of a satisfying romantic pinnacle that the series can now turn a focus towards the equally fascinating characters who have lurked on the sidelines. . . I say, bring it on!

5/5

'Archangels' Kiss' Guild Hunter #2 by Nalini SINGH

From the BLURB:

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find that she has become an angel-and that her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel Raphael, likes having her under his control. But almost immediately, Raphael must ready Elena for a flight to Beijing, to attend a ball thrown by the archangel Lijuan. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan's power lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena...

This is the second book in Nalini Singh’s ‘Guild Hunter’ paranormal series.

Be warned – there was a HUGE twist at the end of ‘Angels’ Blood’ and no way to write a spoiler around it in this review. . .

'Angels' Blood' SPOILERS AHEAD

Elena Deveraux was a successful Guild Hunter. One year ago she was on the hunt for a maddened Archangel, and almost lost her life in a fight against him. Now, waking from a year-long coma Elena finds herself a made angel. Thanks to her lover and Archangel, Raphael, Elena’s life was spared and made immortal. Now she has wicked black wings, longevity and the interest of every Archangel in the world.

Elena is the first angel to be made (not born) in recent memory. She is an anomaly and has drawn the interest of the oldest and most dangerous Archangel, Lijuan. Elena and her lover, Raphael, have only just found each other, and sacrificed a lot to stay together. Now, they must fight to keep their love safe.

I am in love with Nalini Singh’s ‘Guild Hunter’ series. One of my favourite things about the series is the romance between Raphael and Elena. If you like Jeaniene Frost’s ‘Night Huntress’ books, then ‘Guild Hunter’ is for you. Elena and Raphael found each other in first book ‘Angels’ Blood’, and now the ‘will they or won’t they’ is over. As Raphael repeatedly states, he and Elena are going to be together forever. They are each other’s soul mates, now found, never to be parted. I love a good romantic tension as much as the next person (hello Kate and Curran!) but there’s something equally satisfying about a series HEA couple getting their ‘ever after’ from the get-go.

“Yes,” he whispered against her mouth. “I think you’ll intrigue me through eternity.”

Now, a big focus of the series is how Raphael and Elena adapt to each other. Elena is still suffering the scars of a haunted childhood, and has never given love or intimacy easily. Raphael is a hundreds-year old Archangel who thought his heart hardened. . . Now, these two misfits have to figure out how they fit together. There’s no doubt that they love each other, but it’s a matter of figuring out the nuts and bolts of their relationship.

I love how Singh combines the sex and sensuality of Elena and Raphael’s relationship with the harder side of being together. Yes, theirs is a ‘happily ever after’, but Singh is illustrating how they have to work for the ‘happily’. It’s especially heart-warming to read Raphael learning about trust and honesty with his once-human Elena.

“Blades,” he whispered, “and sheaths go together. And your sheath will only ever hold my blade.”

It took her a second – desire had fogged up her mind. Her face flamed. “Raphael, that’s –” She shook her head, unable to find the words.

“Fighting is not sexual.”

“Oh?” Eyes full of sea storms, violent and wild and exhilarating.

The action and drama of this book is fantastic. Lijuan is a wicked villain. Not only is she a mightily powerful Archangel evolved beyond caring about petty things like humanity, Lijuan is also fascinated by death. Lijuan raises the dead, and it has been rumoured that she takes them to her bed too. Her scenes are chilling for their subtlety – Lijuan’s double talk and the spymaster rumours that leak to Raphael about her goings on.

Singh’s angel mythology keeps getting better and better, mostly because it’s entirely Singh’s own. Forget cherubs and the Bible – Singh is recreating angels. These winged characters are evil and sensual - conniving and political, and completely fascinating. I love that Singh is using the bare bones of the angel mythology to create a whole new breed of supernatural.

Nalini Singh’s ‘Guild Hunter’ series is phenomenal. Everything about it is utterly unique – from the firmly established coupling to the entirely new angel mythology. I am completely in love with this series.

5/5

'Angels' Blood' Guild Hunter #1 by Nalini SINGH

From the BLURB:

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...

‘Angels’ Blood’ is the first book in Nalini Singh’s paranormal ‘Guild Hunter’ series.

‘Angels’ Blood’ came out in 2009 and has been sitting on my shelf all this time. I don’t know why. I read plenty of enticing reviews of the first two books in the series, and I enjoy Singh’s ‘Psy-Changeling’ series (if only Hawke’s book would hurry the heck up!). But for some reason I stalled in reading her Guild Hunter series.

But then the kind people over at Hachette Australia gave me an advanced copy of ‘Archangels’ Consort’ and it was the final kick in the pants I needed to get stuck into this series. And it’s about bloody time!

Elena Deveraux is good at her job. She may be single, estranged from her family and overly invested in turning her apartment into a hermit’s haven . . . but she at least excels in her line of work. Vampire hunting. Elena tracks the fanged felons and returns them to their rightful owners, the Archangels. For in this world, Angels rule. Countries are divided by the Cadre of Ten – ten Archangels to rule over each country and maintain peace and order, via their iron fist. But when one of the European Archangel’s goes on a killing rampage, Elena is inexplicably called in to help.

Archangel Raphael insists that Elena help in tracking the crazed Archangel, Uram. But Elena is a vampire hunter – and only an Archangel can kill an Archangel. Elena doesn’t know what help she will be in stopping Uram’s maddening rampage, especially when she seems helpless against Raphael’s intoxicating danger. . .

I have to admit, I initially rolled my eyes at this being ‘another angel novel’. . . But Singh is writing Angels like you’ve never read them before. Her angels are base and lustful creatures – inhumanly beautiful and proud of it, these angels wear cat-suit outfits and take human lovers when it pleases them. These are angels who make and mingle with vampires – a sensual race who treat humans like amusing playthings. These are a completely new breed of angels – ones who have human faults and lusts, but are above reproach for their wing-span and impressive powers (invisibility and mind control among them). Singh’s angels have houses in New York and keep human servants. . . Really, these angels have little to no connection to their biblical roots whatsoever. And that is one of the many clever tricks that Nalini Singh writes in ‘Angels’ Blood’.

Conspicuously missing from Singh’s world-building of the Guild Hunter universe is talk about God and religion in relation to the angels. Sure, characters throw the words around – heaven and hell – but Singh never goes into any explicit detail about the inner religious workings of the Cadre of Ten. It even seems as though the Archangels are the highest order – with no God above, commanding them. Raphael himself has a place in the Bible as we know it – Saint Raphael the Archangel – but he bears little resemblance to his healing role in ‘Angels’ Blood’. I kept waiting for the obligatory filler-information about the angel’s background and connection to God. But it never came. Perhaps because Singh’s angels bear so little resemblance to their benevolent good book characters. And there’s no mention of the most famous (fallen) angel of all, Lucifer.

I was quite impressed by how Singh completely departed from the religious connotations of angels. She has really made them her own; a new breed of supernatural beings to be dissected and imagined. Impressive, to say the least. Admittedly when you mention ‘angels’ a whole plethora of images and references bombard the mind – and it is hard, at first, to distance yourself from those holy relics when reading Singh’s book. But at some point you just have to accept that Singh is using the bare bones of the angel characters to build a whole new mythology.

And even if you are clinging to the common conception of angels, the character of Raphael and his relationship with Elena will soon banish such connotations. Raphael is lust personified, and erotic danger. He is a frightening being, powerful and old beyond comprehension. Elena is equal parts terrified and drawn to him – and it makes for a spicy and complicated romance.

Her face shifted, becoming less and less of this world, a caricature of angelic features, paper-thin skin over bone glowing from within. “There are some humans – one among half a billion perhaps – who make us something other than what we are. The barriers fall, the fires ignite, and the minds merge.”

He stayed absolutely silent.

“You must kill her.” Her pupils had expanded to devour the irises, her eyes black flame, her face a burning skeletal mask. “Unless and until you do, you can never be certain when the barriers will fall again.”

“What happens if I don’t kill her?”

“Then she will kill you. She will make you mortal.”

Elena is a wonderful match for Raphael’s cocksure self. She is a fiery heroine who doesn’t back down and never gives in. . . and Raphael is utterly perplexed by her. I loved these two together; Nalini Singh writes a heated duck and parry between them, a complicated tango that reaches a romantic crescendo by book’s end. . . while also creating a whole new cliff-hanger for them. Brilliant.

I found it interesting that, throughout the book, Nalini Singh offers little information on some major aspects of the story. As I said before, there is no information given on the Archangel’s religious connections. Furthermore, Elena is haunted by a nightmare from her childhood that Singh literally delivers in drips and drabs – a menacing ‘drip, drip, drip’ permeates Elena’s memory in moments of distress. These loose-ends are never tied up (obviously, this is a series after all) but they’re not even acknowledged as being open-ended. They are simply dead-ends; if you don’t like the lack of religious world-building, tough. I was impressed by how unconcerned I was by these gaping holes in the story – yes, it would have been nice to know if the Archangels are acting on the word of God, but I wasn’t overly concerned by the lack of information by book’s end. The action and romance is enough to pull you along in the story – heightened enough to distract you from the more nitty-gritty absent details.

I was really impressed by this first book in Nalini Singh’s ‘Guild Hunter’ series. And yes, I am kicking myself for not reading it back in 2009. The action and romance of the book carries the story, especially when Singh’s world-building seems to be a lesson in ambiguousness. Elena and Raphael have a heated and complicated romance, and set amidst angel politics it makes for addictive reading.

5/5

'Branded by Fire' by Nalini SINGH

From the BLURB:

When a brilliant changeling researcher is kidnapped, DarkRiver sentinel Mercy, a cat, and SnowDancer lieutenant Riley, a wolf, must work together to track the young man - before his shadowy captors decide he's no longer useful. Along the way, the two dominants may find that submitting to one another uncovers not just a deadly conspiracy, but a passion so raw that it'll leave them both branded by fire.

I sort of slacked off with this series. I read up to ‘Hostage to Pleasure’ and then left ‘Branded by Fire’ sitting on my TBR shelf. Well, then Mandi (i.e.: Ms. Smexy) had to go and say that Riley and Mercy made the list of her top 10 sex scenes of 2009. How could I resist?

I loved Mercy and Riley! They have an ‘opposites attract’ relationship, that works so well because their strengths and weakness compliment each other very sweetly. Singh did a great job of writing two very distinctive characters, with just the right amount of hot-headedness mixed with steamy sparkage;

He bit her lower lip.

Her eyes snapped open. “Kiss it better.”

“No.” He nipped her again. Sharp. Sexy. “You make me so fucking insane, I want to mark you all over. So everyone knows you’re mine.”

The leopard growled in her throat. “Not yours.” She was her own person, a predator same as him.

“We’ll see about that.” This time, he dipped his head… and bit her neck in a suckling kiss that made her moan and thrust her hand into his hair, tugging him back.

‘Branded by Fire’ is the 6th book in Singh’s Psy-Changeling series.

I have a confession to make – I skipped over all the bits concerning the Psy council. I do the same thing with J.R. Ward’s ‘Blackdagger Brotherhood’ series and any scenes concerning the ‘lessers’. I can’t help it! When the leading man and lady are so compelling and steamy it’s such a struggle to get through all the boring villain bits. Luckily Singh and Ward do the same thing of filling the reader in on the bad-guy’s developments by having the main characters recap the intel they’ve gathered.

‘Branded’ has a really interesting second love story told alongside Mercy and Riley’s relationship. Wolf Alpha, Hawke, has been a bit of an enigma since the start of the series. We know very little about his personal life – except that he was once mated, and his young mate died, and he’s been single ever since. We also know that the one person who gets under Hawke’s skin is Psy teenager, Sienna Lauren. Hawke and Sienna are constantly at each other’s throats – he tries to keep her in line, she questions his authority. They’re very sparky – and it has been obvious for some time now that there was more to their snarky battles than met the eye. In ‘Branded’ Hawke reluctantly admits that he is aware of Sienna’s teenage crush (she’s 18), he also maintains that she is a child and he would never take advantage of her infatuation. Meanwhile, Sienna reveals that she knows the futility of her feelings for Hawke – since he is adamant that he will never mate again. Sienna confesses that her feelings for Hawke are wreaking havoc on her Psy-shields, and she volunteers to stay with Lucas’s leopard pack to regain her equilibrium away from the Wolf Alpha.

I really loved the Hawke/Sienna storyline (even more so when, in the final chapter, it turns into a potential love triangle), and I was really looking forward to reading their full story. That’s why I was so disappointed to discover that book #7 in this series isn’t about Sienna and Hawke, but two characters I do not remember ever reading about before (Katya and Dev?!). What a rip-off! And then I jump onto Nalini Singh’s website and discover Hawke & Sienna’s story won’t be out until 2011?!?

I really liked ‘Branded by Fire’. I was in the mood for a sexy/smutty read and this book delivered tenfold. I am bitterly disappointed that there is a LONG wait for Hawke and Sienna’s continued story – how frustrating!

3.5/5

'Psy-Changeling' SERIES by Nalini SINGH

In the year 2079 there are three races co-existing on planet earth:

Humans.

Changelings – part humans, part ‘other’ – able to change into animal form at will.

And Psy. In this alternate reality, Psy were a dying race that implemented ‘silence’ in order to stunt their emotions and increase their survival rates. In the 1970’s ‘silence’ was introduced and Psy have thought themselves above their human and changeling counterparts ever since.

Nalini Singh’s ‘Psy-Changeling’ series tells the story of one leopard changeling pack in San Francisco called ‘DarkRiver’, and the packs various Alpha males who begin to crack the stoic exterior of the Psy race, and a few of it’s token females.

I am totally behind the times in reading this series that started in 2006 with ‘Slave to Sensation’. Ever since I became obsessed with the Urban Fantasy genre this series has been cropping up on my radar – Amazon recommended it. Several blogs I read list these books on their ‘must read’ lists, and various chat-boards promise that if you’re a fan of other series like Gena Showlaters ‘Lords of the Underworld’ and Larissa Ione’s ‘Demonica’, then ‘Psy-Changeling’ is right up your alley.

So I finally succumbed.

Singh’s series is nothing new. It follows the structure of several other paranormal romance series, in that the story tracks the various lives and loves of the members of one community. The same way JR Ward’s series follows the lives of each member of the ‘Blackdagger Brotherhood’, or Kelley Armstrong details the adventures of the linked female supernatural’s in her ‘Women of the Otherworld’ series. Singh isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel, but that’s okay, because her ‘Psy-Changeling’ story delivers on the promise of such a tried and tested formula – mainly that readers will get equal parts science fiction and romance.

This series has plenty of Alpha male goodness, and Singh delivers ten-fold on the implied sex and sensuality on the books’ covers.

While these books may look a little trashy and predictable, the interwoven Psy storyline adds a meatier layer of suspense and intelligence.

The Psy storyline reminded me a little bit of the 2002 film starring Christian Bale; ‘Equilibrium’ (seriously, if you’re a fan of this series, check out that movie – great storyline, but more importantly it also has Christian Bale shirtless and buff… you’re welcome).

The Psy storyline works because it adds a layer of mystery to each new book as the DarkRiver pack continue to discover the various cracks and faults in the Psy system. Silence was originally supposed to only eradicate the emotion of rage, to curb violence. But because it was too difficult to pin down and dissolve only one emotion, ‘silence’ instead eradicated all feeling from the Psy race. Come to think of it, the Psy storyline also reminds me of Joss Whedon’s 2005 film ‘Serenity’….

I have to admit that at times the Psy storyline dragged me down and confused me. There’s lots of talk about Tk M-Psy with gradient level 1.5 – sometimes I just tuned out and flipped pages to get to the good stuff. The Psy plot is interesting when it’s the Changeling pack discussing their various discoveries, but less so when Singh let’s us enter the Psy world and get a glimpse of their steely, structured universe.

I did enjoy this series. My favourite DarkRiver Alpha was undoubtedly Clay, and his story ‘Mine to Posess’ was my favourite – mostly because his relationship with his human mate, Talin, was messy and complicated. Clay was a fascinating character, pegged the mostly likely leopard to go ‘rogue’ and possibly one day turn into his animal form and never return to human. Talin was a great match for him – mainly because she wasn’t a perfect, prissy female – she’s a survivor with the scars to prove it.

My least favourite was ‘Caressed by Ice’. This was the third novel in the series, but the first to stray from the DarkRiver pack and instead focus on the leopard’s neighbouring wolf pack, SnowRiver. This book told the story of Brenna who was once abused by a rogue Psy, and her mate, an ex-Psy called Judd. This novel was just a bit jarring for me – I was immersed in the leopard pack, and then had to read about this other Changeling community that was on my periphery, that I really didn’t care about. That being said, I would love to read the story of SnowRiver’s Alpha wolf, Hawke (a wolf called Hawke, I love it!) he intrigued me from the get-go in ‘Slave to Sensation’ and I’m a little surprised that his story hasn’t been told yet…

So, this series isn’t anything especially original. But if you are a fan of paranormal romance and Urban Fantasy then rest assured, this series is for you.

2.5/5