Angels’ Blood (Guild Hunter #1) by Nalini Singh
Published: March 3rd 2009 by Berkley Sensation
Review:
The sexy start to the Guild Hunter series, Angels’ Blood introduces Elena, the best vampire hunter in New York.
Myth: 4/5
In a world ruled by ten Archangels, Elena is hired by the Archangel of New York, because she’s the best vampire hunter in his territory.
I was into the celestial hierarchy. In this world, while human governments and rulers exist, the power rests with the ten Archangels. The archangels are supported by angels and in a strange twist, Archangels are the ones that ‘make’ vampires. And then of course there are lowly humans at the bottom of the ladder.
Elena is a vampire hunter, and a good one, because she’s born with inherent abilities. It seems that the traditional role for vampire hunters in this world is to capture and return rogue vampires to their angels. Though sometimes lethal force is needed, it seems a little closer to bounty hunting than say a Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Raphael is pure power. Though she repeatedly describes him as beautiful, it's a beauty that not many see because they first see the danger and potential for death. This of course makes him a perfect counter to Elena, too strong and powerful for mortal men, but still a breakable human to the archangel.
Magic: 4/5
As Elena embarks on this mysterious vampire hunt with Raphael, she has to pull the truth from him. Through this first hunt we learn with Elena the closely kept secrets of the archangels. With age in the archangel hierarchy come new powers. It seems each of the ten have their own secrets and I think we’ll learn about those in sequential books in the series. As it seems like a magical evolution, it’s not always easy to tell which new powers will be good and which will unleash unknown evil.
Overall: 4/5
I really like the archangel/vampire power dynamics and political hierarchy. Singh is painting an interesting world with complex alliances that I can’t wait to further explore.
Other books in the series:
