Nalini Singh – Archangel’s Shadows

The seventh book in the Guild Hunter series, published October 28, 2014.
Genre: paranormal romance / urban fantasy
Cover: the poses are strange, especially the man on the motor cycle



Return to New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh's sensual and painfully beautiful Guild Hunter world in her new novel of sacrifice, loyalty, and the choices of love that can shatter the heart.

In the wake of a brutal war, the archangel Raphael and his hunter consort, Elena, are dealing with the treacherously shifting tides of archangelic politics and the people of a battered but not broken city. The last thing their city needs is more death, especially a death that bears the eerie signature of an insane enemy archangel who cannot - should not - be walking the streets.
This hunt must be undertaken with stealth and without alerting their people. It must be handled by those who can become shadows themselves...
Ash is a gifted tracker and a woman cursed with the ability to sense the secrets of anyone she touches. But there's one man she knows all too well without a single instant of skin contact: Janvier, the dangerously sexy Cajun vampire who has fascinated and infuriated her for years. Now, as they track down a merciless killer, their cat-and-mouse game of flirtation and provocation has turned into a profound one of the heart. And this time, it is Ash's secret, dark and terrible, that threatens to destroy them both.


In the war against Lijuan and her people, Ashwini was badly hurt. She was working with Janvier and Naasir behind enemy lines when she was caught after planting bombs in a building in hands of the enemy. But now she is all healed up, and ready for some action. Janvier is not so ready to let her walk into danger again, and he is determined to be with her, every step of the way. He has sworn allegiance to the archangel Raphael, so he can act as a liaison between the Guild Hunters and the Tower.

Ash is sent to question a vet who reported the find of a mummified animal. And with the horror or Lijuan fresh in the minds of the population, this has to be investigated thoroughly. Janvier takes her on his bike, and she really enjoys that ride. So does Janvier, and he sure wants more from her than that, but she has always kept him at a distance. But now, perhaps, it is time to live for the moment. Because Ash knows it can never be more than that. And becoming a vampire herself, is totally out of the question. Due to her powers, of seeing inside a person’s head when she touches him or her, physical closeness is impossible for her. But she has never been able to read Janvier.

When next the mummified body of a woman is found in a dumpster behind a restaurant, the investigation becomes serious. This reeks of Lijuan’s power, did she leave some of her people behind? Ash and Janvier have to go into the underbelly of the vampire world, with the sex and blood clubs, the groupies and junkies who sell their blood for their next fix. Some vampires treat their donor’s with respect, but most of the vampires who frequent those clubs only see humans as cattle. To do with as they see fit. But when they find a likely suspect, he is alibied by the women he is keeping in his home, and who are completely in his thrall.

Then there is the new streetdrug Umber, that really affects vampires, awakening their bloodlust. It has to be stopped before the streets of New York color red with blood again.

In the mean time, Elena has to deal with a visit from her mother in law.
She is also interacting well with the Legion, making them feel at home and getting to know them individually. They are not used to act on their own instead of part of a hive mind, but she makes them more “human”. I loved how she finds out that they love to work with the earth, with plants, and need them around. She puts them to work in her green house.

And then there is Naasir. Elena wants to know what he is, and so do I. I am so very curious about him. He brought Elena a gift, and he only does that to people he likes. The whole Seven attended that evening to find out what he brought, as he has some outrageous ideas on proper gifts. He once brought a bucket of piranha’s...


A great new book in a great series. I loved Ashwini and Janvier together, and I do believe that Ashwini has legitimate reasons for not wanting a relationship. I did hurt for her and Janvier. The mystery part, the evil ones who are behind the drugs and the mummifications, that was very well done as well. I am glad justice was served.
I also liked the part where Raphael showed the vampires in town who really is the boss in town: not them!

I love reading about the other characters in this series, and find out more about their lives after they had their love stories. I can’t wait to read the next one, which I hope is about Naasir. Or Bluebell.

10 stars.

© 2014 Reviews by Aurian