Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
throughout the reading I honestly considered not finishing this but i kept hoping it to get better. it never did.
well, first, the writing was extremely repetitive and not that good. second, raphael is truly one of the worst mmc I’ve ever read. he has no depth and is so boring, his possessiveness is the worst of all, he treats elena like a pet. i did liked elena but she alone couldn’t make this series good, unfortunately.
I can’t imagine how much the author dragged to make this boring thing last 16 books.
well, first, the writing was extremely repetitive and not that good. second, raphael is truly one of the worst mmc I’ve ever read. he has no depth and is so boring, his possessiveness is the worst of all, he treats elena like a pet. i did liked elena but she alone couldn’t make this series good, unfortunately.
I can’t imagine how much the author dragged to make this boring thing last 16 books.
would let Raphael ********** **** ***** don't @ me
So some zombie action is this one, and no not the sexual kind.... gross LOL
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Elena struggles to adjust as a fledging angel, when an ominous invitation arrives. Elena shows more vulnerability here, especially when acknowledging her weakness but never lost her badass edge of strength. Raphael has 100% claimed her, and their banter is just awesome - playful, sarcastic and sweet. He pushes her to be stronger, but he's also very caring and gentle with her. I kinda loved his bossy protectiveness, and the way Elena stands up to him.
Their chemistry remains explosive, their romance is steamy and sweet, and how Elena made Raphael "just a little bit human" is really endearing, though he still keeps his ice cold edge. I'm really loving them as a couple! The Forbidden City saw some action, and that was kinda cool. And the strong side cast of angels and vampires rallying around Elena is great (though the vamps can be meanies).
Their chemistry remains explosive, their romance is steamy and sweet, and how Elena made Raphael "just a little bit human" is really endearing, though he still keeps his ice cold edge. I'm really loving them as a couple! The Forbidden City saw some action, and that was kinda cool. And the strong side cast of angels and vampires rallying around Elena is great (though the vamps can be meanies).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Murder
2nd read 6 to 8 April 2013
3rd read 23 to 26 February 2014
This was a great addition to the series. This story deals with the aftermath of 'Angles Blood'. Elena and Raphael start to learn about one and other while also dealing with massive changes in both of them. Elena now an immortal with a mortal heart and Raphael dealing with feeling something for another being and by doing so becoming a little bit mortal. We get more insight into the angels and most of the book takes place in ‘the Refuge’. The home of the angels and where the baby angels spend their childhoods.
Raphael is still his big bad self, but he also acknowledges the fact that Elena is changing his way of looking at the world and therefore some of the things that he would of done in the past (such as take away her nightmares) are no longer second nature. He worries as to how she will feel if he were to do it. This is a major development as in 'Angels Blood' Raphael was pretty clear that he would do as he pleased and what he thought best for Elena. Now he does enter her mind on a few occasions when he thinks it's for her own good and they do argue about it. A LOT. But this is still a major development for Raphael and to be honest the only improvement he needed. Cause he is all kinds of hot and alpha and just plain yummy.
I love these two together and it is pretty clear that Elena needs someone as strong as Raphael because she has always had to be so strong and self-sufficient. The surfacing of her nightmares was absolutely heart wrenching and very frightening. It is difficult to wrap my head around the horrors she experienced at such a young age, it proves how strong willed she really is as I think most would be a drooling mess. This was hard reading for me, it was just so horrific and she was so young, every part of me was screaming about how wrong it all was. She went through so much while it was happening and then her father continued torturing her. She has been a victim from the moment Slater entered her family home and she still is in a lot of ways but she would never admit it and would never allow herself to be treated as one. She really is incredible. Jeffery Deveraux is just a very cruel man. We got a very small glimpse in ‘Angles Blood’ at what could be some kind of remorse for the way he treats Elena and in ‘Archangels Kiss’ we get a glimpse as to the man that he was. Floods of tears would describe how I handled this. The fact that he became a cold hearted, cruel and obnoxious a-hole made the whole thing even sadder. Raphael has stated that he won’t kill Jeffery because Elena (even though she shouldn’t) still loves him. I think that this may be one of those times where he should do something she doesn’t want him to do for her own good. Cause Jeffery needs to go down. Maybe not kill. Meme perhaps? Yeah meme would be good.
Raphael also begins to share some of his own nightmares and fears and I think this is important to the development of their relationship. Even as he starts to tell her things he mentions that he either has never spoken of such things or not spoken of them in centuries, him doing it for Elena just shows the importance of the relationship to him. (If you know, Making her an angel wasn’t evidence enough). I loved their claiming of each other with the amber. Both instances were sweet and very Elena and Raphael. No hearts and flowers. Just ‘your mine’.
We get to meet the rest of ‘the seven’ in this one as well. So from the top: Dmitri, Venom and Naasir (the Vamps). Illium, Galen, Aodhan and Jason (the Angels). I am intrigued by all of Raphael’s Seven but Aodhan more so. Mainly because of his appearance and I just know his story is going to have me in tears once it is told. Anoushka refers to him as broken so that about says it all. Naasir is also most intriguing, after the feeding scene I feel I need to know more. Lot’s more.
One of my favourite aspects of this series is the portrayal of the ‘Immortal’. To live forever is something that when asked, a large amount of people would say they wanted. But to be immortal is to become something other than human. There is such a high level of cruelty and violence involved. How do you reprimand an immortal? Prison for 20 years is but a blip for them, the torture and violence used by Raphael and the Cadre seems to be horrific but the more I get immersed in this world the more I come to realise that there really is no other way. As humans life is precious, some use violence and take lives but I think most understand that what we have is very precious and should be cherished.
Uram (before he went batshit crazy) explains to a young and pretentious Raphael (after Raphael asks how humans can really understand love and hate when they live so short a life) how a human must live in comparison to an immortal:
“It is not quantity that matters, Raphael. We flitter away our lives because they’re endless. Humans must live a thousand lifetimes in one. Every hurt is keener, every joy more incandescent.”
I have to say that by the end humans looked pretty good. The world of the immortal was not a joyous place to be and if the possibility of ending up like Lijuan or Uram is what’s on the cards then immortality does not sound like such a good deal. I can’t even get into Lijuan. There are just too many disturbing aspects to her.
Another 5+ jam packed stars from Nalini Singh for me.
The fun is set to continue back in New York in ‘Archangels Consort’. Elena trying to live her new life while retaining her old? Excellent.
3rd read 23 to 26 February 2014
This was a great addition to the series. This story deals with the aftermath of 'Angles Blood'. Elena and Raphael start to learn about one and other while also dealing with massive changes in both of them. Elena now an immortal with a mortal heart and Raphael dealing with feeling something for another being and by doing so becoming a little bit mortal. We get more insight into the angels and most of the book takes place in ‘the Refuge’. The home of the angels and where the baby angels spend their childhoods.
Raphael is still his big bad self, but he also acknowledges the fact that Elena is changing his way of looking at the world and therefore some of the things that he would of done in the past (such as take away her nightmares) are no longer second nature. He worries as to how she will feel if he were to do it. This is a major development as in 'Angels Blood' Raphael was pretty clear that he would do as he pleased and what he thought best for Elena. Now he does enter her mind on a few occasions when he thinks it's for her own good and they do argue about it. A LOT. But this is still a major development for Raphael and to be honest the only improvement he needed. Cause he is all kinds of hot and alpha and just plain yummy.
I love these two together and it is pretty clear that Elena needs someone as strong as Raphael because she has always had to be so strong and self-sufficient. The surfacing of her nightmares was absolutely heart wrenching and very frightening. It is difficult to wrap my head around the horrors she experienced at such a young age, it proves how strong willed she really is as I think most would be a drooling mess. This was hard reading for me, it was just so horrific and she was so young, every part of me was screaming about how wrong it all was. She went through so much while it was happening and then her father continued torturing her. She has been a victim from the moment Slater entered her family home and she still is in a lot of ways but she would never admit it and would never allow herself to be treated as one. She really is incredible. Jeffery Deveraux is just a very cruel man. We got a very small glimpse in ‘Angles Blood’ at what could be some kind of remorse for the way he treats Elena and in ‘Archangels Kiss’ we get a glimpse as to the man that he was. Floods of tears would describe how I handled this. The fact that he became a cold hearted, cruel and obnoxious a-hole made the whole thing even sadder. Raphael has stated that he won’t kill Jeffery because Elena (even though she shouldn’t) still loves him. I think that this may be one of those times where he should do something she doesn’t want him to do for her own good. Cause Jeffery needs to go down. Maybe not kill. Meme perhaps? Yeah meme would be good.
Raphael also begins to share some of his own nightmares and fears and I think this is important to the development of their relationship. Even as he starts to tell her things he mentions that he either has never spoken of such things or not spoken of them in centuries, him doing it for Elena just shows the importance of the relationship to him. (If you know, Making her an angel wasn’t evidence enough). I loved their claiming of each other with the amber. Both instances were sweet and very Elena and Raphael. No hearts and flowers. Just ‘your mine’.
We get to meet the rest of ‘the seven’ in this one as well. So from the top: Dmitri, Venom and Naasir (the Vamps). Illium, Galen, Aodhan and Jason (the Angels). I am intrigued by all of Raphael’s Seven but Aodhan more so. Mainly because of his appearance and I just know his story is going to have me in tears once it is told. Anoushka refers to him as broken so that about says it all. Naasir is also most intriguing, after the feeding scene I feel I need to know more. Lot’s more.
One of my favourite aspects of this series is the portrayal of the ‘Immortal’. To live forever is something that when asked, a large amount of people would say they wanted. But to be immortal is to become something other than human. There is such a high level of cruelty and violence involved. How do you reprimand an immortal? Prison for 20 years is but a blip for them, the torture and violence used by Raphael and the Cadre seems to be horrific but the more I get immersed in this world the more I come to realise that there really is no other way. As humans life is precious, some use violence and take lives but I think most understand that what we have is very precious and should be cherished.
Uram (before he went batshit crazy) explains to a young and pretentious Raphael (after Raphael asks how humans can really understand love and hate when they live so short a life) how a human must live in comparison to an immortal:
“It is not quantity that matters, Raphael. We flitter away our lives because they’re endless. Humans must live a thousand lifetimes in one. Every hurt is keener, every joy more incandescent.”
I have to say that by the end humans looked pretty good. The world of the immortal was not a joyous place to be and if the possibility of ending up like Lijuan or Uram is what’s on the cards then immortality does not sound like such a good deal. I can’t even get into Lijuan. There are just too many disturbing aspects to her.
Another 5+ jam packed stars from Nalini Singh for me.
The fun is set to continue back in New York in ‘Archangels Consort’. Elena trying to live her new life while retaining her old? Excellent.
Yep. Still love this series! So much happens so quickly. No boring parts..
3.5 Stars
The beginning was good, the ending was epic, but the middle was so boring.
I still love Elena and Raphael and I’m excited to see how their story( and the seven’s stories) continue.
The beginning was good, the ending was epic, but the middle was so boring.
I still love Elena and Raphael and I’m excited to see how their story( and the seven’s stories) continue.
I’m loving these. Idk if I’ll have the patience to continue once I get into other characters stories but there are definitely a few I’ll want to read.
“The longer you live, the more mistakes you make. And the more sorrows you carry.
Nalini Singh (NS) has given us an unusual world with Angels, Vampires and maybe some new big bad coming our way. It is interesting and unusual. Most of this story I like Elena has her new life as an Angel and the Consort to an Archangle but there is so much to learn. One does not simple get wings and learn to fly in a day.
What I Enjoyed:
Elena is a little more timid that she was in the last book but I appreciate that she has to grow into this new role. Just because she is changed into an Angel it doesn’t mean that she knows how to be an angel and just walking around with Wings is harder than one would think. Plus just because you have those wings doesn’t mean that you automatically get the muscles that make them work. A lot of this book is Elena learning how to deal with a very aggressive Raphael and how to be an Angel If that means going to school with the other young angels so be it.
Illium was also a character I really enjoyed. He is freaking adorable and might even have a little crush on Elena. But do not worry it isn’t in a love triangle kind of way. It is simply that he will take care of her if Raphael is unable to accomplish the dead. However Elena is learning that there are some certain etiquettes that shouldn’t be overstepped if you are an angel.
“He wanted to give me a blade? What's wrong with that?”
“Blades,” he whispered, “and sheaths go together. And your sheath will only ever hold my blade.”
I also liked the plot line for this book and how someone is trying to mess with Elena. They are working really hard in the background to create dissention be different Archangels and trying to break apart long standing peace. If Elena doesn’t find the culprit fast it looks like more and more people will be hurt or killed.
I like the building relationship between Raphael and Elena. It is a growing thing and doesn’t happen all at once. But even though they are so far apart in age each has had an experience in their childhoods that shaped them and maybe is one reason that they found something within the other.
“Fathers and mothers,” she found herself saying, “leave their mark, no matter if we’ve known them a lifetime or only a day.”
What Annoyed Me:
It isn’t much but there are some issues. There is a lot of repetition of the ’Come here little hunter...Taste’. Which is finally revealed but it takes multiple flashbacks to get there and that line runs through the story A LOT.
Also a ton of characters are introduced. Yes I get that they will be important later and some even get their own stories but man did I really need to meet them all in this book. I can’t even count the number of characters that were introduced with just a sentence or two to let you know that they have some deep seated past haunting them and I’m sure eventually will get a story of their own. It would have worked better if just one or two were focused on a little more so I could care about them. As is it is all a blur.
And the last nitpicky thing I have is how many times Elena mentioned any of her girl parts tingling or something like that. Even when they weren’t getting hot and heavy her parts were wet, tingling, heating up etc….etc… I could have done with less of that too.
Still overall the world, characters and story are interesting enough that even though I liked the first one a little more I see good things for this series.