Book Review: Archangel's Kiss

This review is going to be about Archangel's Kiss, book 2 is Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series.

Blurb at the back of the book: 

"Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux wakes from a year-long coma to find herself changed—an angel with wings the colours of midnight and dawn—but her fragile body needs time to heal before she can take flight. Her lover, the stunningly dangerous archangel, Raphael, is used to being in control—especially when it comes to the woman he considers his own. But Elena has never done well with authority.

They've barely begun to understand each other when Raphael receives an invitation to a ball from the archangel, Lijuan. To refuse would be a sign of fatal weakness, so Raphael must ready Elena for the flight to Beijing—and to the nightmare that awaits them there. Ancient and without conscience, Lijuan holds a power that lies with the dead. And she has organized the most perfect and most vicious of welcomes for Elena." http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6582637-archangel-s-kiss.

Before I get into the review I am going to start off by saying that you have to read the first book in this series in order to really understand what is going on in this book and not be confused.

Elena and Raphael: I have to say that after reading this book Elena and Raphael are with out a doubt one of my favourite fictional characters ever, and that includes all of the books I have read and shows/movies that I have watched over the years. I don't even think I have the words to describe just how much I love the character of Raphael that Ms. Singh has created for our enjoyment. I think my favourite thing about this book is the fact that Ms. Singh has decided to continue on with with Elena and Raphael's romance instead of moving on to another character from the first book. The fact that we are still reading about Elena and Raphael and how their relationship has developed and is still continuing to develop since the first book is something i find very refreshing as it is not something we as readers get a chance to experience. 

This continuation makes the relationship appear more real, as readers we get a chance to see them as an actual couple for the first time and their interactions with each other, we see that they are still learning each other as well as learning how to be in this relationship that is something so new to both of them. Throughout the book we see Elena trying and learning that you don't always have to do everything by yourself and that it is okay to ask for help and relay on another once in a while, that she is not alone anymore. We also see that Raphael is learning what it means to really share his life, emotions and secrets with another, learning to really trust someone, something that he does not have a lot of experience with because of the world that he lives in. Throughout the book we also learn more about the angelic world as Elena tries to navigate through it and find out where she fits in it now that she is with Raphael. As the story and their relationship goes on we start to learn more about Raphael's issues with his mother as well as the more about the trauma that happened in Elena's childhood that made her the woman she has become. 

Secondary Characters: In this book we finally get a chance to meet the rest of Raphael's Seven and I have to say that I can very curious about all of them, their characters and their personalities are so different and we are given small glimpses about their own issues so that we can't help but want to read more about them and get to know more. I will admit that I like some more than others, which is nothing against Ms. Singh's writing it is just that some of the Seven and the history that she has developed for them intrigue me more that the others. I have no doubt that once you read this book you too will have your own favourite members of Raphael's Seven. As it is right now i can't wait till she writes a book for Venom, Illium, and Adhoan who are hands down my favourite characters, after Raphael of course. In this book we also get a closer look at all of the Archangel's and their different personalities as well as the different power plays that are thing place within their ranks. 

Overall Feelings: There is so much emotion, and drama within this book it was pretty much impossible for me to put it down for any reason, the more I read the more I wanted to read and to know more about the relationships, the death threats and the over all plot development. For me there was nothing lacking in this book, there was plenty of  love, hate, fighting, laughter, drama, and intrigue to keep you hooked for from moment you start to read and well after you have finished the book. Ms. Singh manages to keep readers interested in the lives of her characters without leaving her readers with going crazy because she left off with a big cliff hanger, readers will continue to read the series not because they have to and because they want to find out what happened, but because they genuinely life reading about these characters and their lives.

Overall Rating: 5 stars out of 5. There was nothing that I did not like about this book.

Again I have to note that there is strong sexual content in this book, more so than there was in the first. It is not just randomly placed in the book but adds wonderfully to the development of the relationship between Elena and Raphael. It is however still graphic, on a scale of 1-5 I would put it at a 3.5/5 but that is taking into account all of the books I have read with sexual content. 

Next Time: My next review will be about book 3 in this series called Archangel's Consort. Enjoy the wonderful world of reading until next time!