Review: Archangel's Legion by Nalini Singh

Archangel's Legion: Elena Deveraux and Raphael

(Guild Hunter #6)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

Nalini Singh, the New York Times bestselling “alpha author of paranormal romance” (Booklist) returns to an immortal world of violent passion and lethal power…on the brink of a deadly archangelic war.

Angels are falling from the sky in New York, struck down by a vicious, unknown force.

Vampires are dying impossibly of disease.

Guild hunter Elena Deveraux and the Archangel Raphael must discover the source of the wave of death before it engulfs their city and their people, leaving New York a ruin and Raphael’s Tower under siege by enemy archangels.

Yet even as they fight desperately to save the city, an even darker force is stirring, its chill eyes trained on New York…and on Raphael. Rivers of crimson and nightmares given flesh, the world will never again be the same…

Review:

Archangel’s Legion by Nalini Singh is the fifth book in one of my absolute favorite series, the Guild Hunters Series. In this installment we return to the leading couple of New York, scary ass Raphael and Elena who does his best to keep one of the most powerful beings on the planet sane. N. Singh is a master of her craft, within the first couple of pages you are pulled into the story with the imagery. Singh can create a scene so vivid you swear you can see and smell what the author is describing to you. She just has such an amazing way with words. The book starts in an intimate scene with Elena remembering one of her first meetings with Rafael… He then flies in and they have a moment together before the shit hits the fan. Or in this case birds and angels literally fall from the sky, like its Armageddon or something. This book is full of action and intrigue almost from the start and does not let up until the very end. This book kept me up until 6am turning pages to see what happens next! This series leans more towards the dark and violent but it has its moments of humor as well almost so unexpected that you’re like wait am I laughing?! For me in this book while I love an action packed let’s keep this story moving and there is plenty of that; at times it’s the quiet moments when it’s just Raphael and Elena bared to each other that are some of the best moments on the book.

Raphael and Elena are not a new couple in that this is their fourth book together but they are still learning each other and what makes each other tick. Despite that as separate beings, both very strong willed with abundant personalities that often clash they remain a solid unit. Their love for each other burns off of the pages and fills each other, together, always together. Whether its hosting a dinner party, battling an archangel or plummeting to their sure deaths, its always together. These two rank pretty damn high on my favorite couple scale. I like how that they are unfailingly a unit but they remain themselves. Raphael while more grounded with Elena he’s still a scary ass archangel, THE archangel, alpha supreme, I mean you really don’t get much more alpha then Raphael! Then there is Elena, who is kind of crazy! Not only was she a mortal who tangled with an Archangel in the first book but she remains this fearless, not not fearless, but courageous female that pretty much faces everything head on. She is usually the one running straight for danger. Sure, she is a bit crazy and always running towards what she should be running away from but she retains a bit of innocence even after everything she has seen in life. She refuses to give into the darkness and refuses to let Rafael give into it as well. Throughout this book, Elena proves herself as Raphael’s anchor.

So throughout this book we learn more of Raphael and Elena as a couple but as promised there is tons of action and so much happens in this book. We are entering into a Cascade which happens throughout history where basically the Archangels get a surge in power and typically war breaks out. So for the entire book we are building up to something big, a showdown of epic proportions. As with the previous books Singh will weave several occurrences going on at once to keep you guess on what is really going on. So while one catastrophic event is occurring there is another lingering right around the corner. So the whole book we are building… building… building… towards something huge. So often in a book when we build up to a big show down we are often let down, the author spent so much time building up to it, that the most important part gets the shaft and is over before it ever really began and you are like that’s it?! That’s the big show down? I thought there would be more… In this book, this is not the case, there is an epic battle that lasts longer than I thought it would. You are really pulled into the fight and of course you have to root for the home team! So the epic battle and the ending get an A++++ from me!

So, yes the bulk of this book is Raphael and Elena, but worry not my friends the Seven are still included, there is a battle after all, and what would Raphael do without his Seven by his side? We see less of Dmitri in this book then we have in previous book as well as Jason, maybe because they already got their moment to shine and for a while it looked like many people’s favorite our Bluebell wasn’t going to be in it much as well but he’s Elena’s best friend so worry not ladies he’s still around and he reveals some of his past to Elena that may break your heart a little. Now the big surprise in this book is Naasir, in previous books he is mentioned but rarely seen. In this book he is much more prevalent and man is he intriguing. I like all of Raphael’s Seven but I never knew what to make of the enigma that is Naasir, in this book he makes quite the impact. I am more now more intrigued than ever. Raphaels Seven are quite possibly the most intriguing Guard I have ever read about. Aodhan also plays a bigger role in this book and finds some of his lost humanity in the middle of war. Aodhan makes his own impact although much different from Naasir’s. So I know I just wrote a damn book about this one, but I freak’n loved it! LOL so I’ll leave you now to go forth and read or something.