Reviews

Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh

eesh25's review against another edition

3.0

This is the third book that follows the same characters as the first one and I am officially done with Elena. And not "done" to say that I don't like her anymore. I'm just not sure how much substance you can squeeze out of her. And the author trying to stretch her for as long as possible is just making the books drag. And this one dragged a lot.

The plot of the book revolves around strange events happening, like vampires going rogue or constant earthquakes, which signify that an ancient angel that has been sleeping is about to wake. And there's a good chance that the angel awakening is Raphael's mother, Caliane.

We've heard about Caliane in the most vague ways because Nalini Singh loves making things dramatic by giving info in miniscule dozes. But we know that she was a very old archangel who used to be very kind but went psycho after killing her, also psycho, husband. She left her young son, Raphael, to die after a free-fall from a great height. He almost didn't survive and Caliane was never to be seen after that. So her waking is obviously a matter of concern.

And do we focus and her and the problems she's causing before she's even woken up? Yes, we do. Caliane and the strange happenings are a big part of the novel. The problem isn't with that. The problem is with Elena.

We've already read about what happened in Elena's childhood, her strained relationship with her father and how it affects her, and her need for freedom and hunting and how she feels about Raphael. And that means we can move past those things. But it seems Nalini Singh disagrees because we're still being told the same things over and over again. The repetitiveness is getting exhausting. And Elena's meetings with her father and how she gets torn up with one sentence from him (likes of which she's already heard about a dozen times), make her look weak. Move on and focus on the story!

Honestly, Raphael may be an endlessly interesting character who still has many secrets, courtesy of being over a thousand years old, but I just don't think there's much more to explore in his and Elena's relationship. Especially since they seem to forgo talking and skip right to screwing each other's brains out. Many times.

The author needs to acknowledge that Elena's narrative has gotten extremely repetitive and so have her problems. We need more substance than her being depressed over her childhood trauma for the millionth time or crying because her daddy was mean to her again. Either change Elena's narrative and give her new stuff to think about, or give us a new character.

Overall, this was an okay read with some good parts that got buried under all same old stuff from the other books. The pace of the novel was very slow and the plot didn't get the attention it deserved. I'm hoping the next book will be better.


1. Angels' Blood
2. Archangel's Kiss

kathydavie's review against another edition

3.0

Well, for some reason, the "to-read" choice will NOT change to "read" so we'll just take it as my having read it...

Third in the paranormal Guild Hunter series, Archangel's Consort poses a world-ending threat, one aimed particularly at Elena and her family. Raphael's mother is awakening from her millenias-long Sleep and she doesn't approve of Elena's postion at Raphael's side. And Caliane stops at nothing to hurt Elena.

The attacks force Elena into contact with her father about whom she learns disturbing facts. Although to balance things out, Elena and Raphael learn that they have some important issues in common.

I do love how Singh creates a whole new world without really telling us much about the world outside Angel headquarters. However, as much as I enjoyed reading Consort, it didn't feel as though Singh was as involved in this story. There wasn't that same menace I've previously felt amongst the angels and there was a huge lack of fear from the humans when angels did appear amongst them. Nor did the animosity between Raphael's Seven and Elena feel truly heated. And Raphael's confrontation with his mother was much too easy.

I'm looking forward to #4 but not with bated breath...

yodamom's review against another edition

4.0

Starts out a bit slow, she spends time developing the characters more. I really enjoyed the growth between Raphael and Elena. They give and take with each other many times in this book. She has a target on her back and wants to gain her freedom. He need to protect her, his heart. His mother may be waking and the world is going wacky from the power waves. Ilium, Dimitri and Venom really step into the story for an exciting twist.
Fun, exciting and leading to new story line.

opalite_03's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

theaddictedbookworm's review

Mood didn’t fit with the finishing the book

haru's review

fast-paced

4.0

authorrachelcooper's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

joshrrei's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

gillianw's review

3.0

First read Jan 2014

Second read Aug 2021: I skipped all the boring sex scenes and ended up enjoying this one. I find it weird how implacable, over-confident, sexually controlling men used to be all the rage in m/f romances even just a few years ago (maybe they still are - I don’t read much m/f anymore) and weirder still that I enjoyed reading about them. For a time, anyway. Still, I’m reading these to prepare for Illium’s story so I’m on to book 4.

talknerdybookblog's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Representation: Black supporting character, Indian side characters, Chinese side character, supporting character who uses a wheelchair

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• No pushing away
• No separation

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Murder of a child
• Murder of Heroine's family recounted
• Suicide of Heroine's mom recounted 
• PTSD
• Grief
• Gore
• Blood drinking discussed
• Complicated and toxic family relationship
• Parental abandonment
• Murder

Ending:

HFN