ARCHANGEL’S STORM (Guild Hunters #5) by Nalini Singh-a review

ARCHANGEL’S STORM (Guild Hunters #5) by Nalini Singh

ARCHANGEL’S STORM is the 5th full-length novel (September 4, 2012 release) in Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunters series. Some background information: Archangels sire vampires, who in turn manifest some of the inherent anomalies likened to their sires: Vampires are made when an Archangel chooses to save a human life or someone requests immortality, but a vampire can also sire one of their own kind. The struggle for power between the different Archangels as well as the hierarchy of vampire guardians and warriors often leads to death and destruction: The Cadre of 10 are the most powerful Archangels and the group of 7 (angels and vampires) answer to the Archangel Raphael.

Jason is one of the group of 7 and Raphael’s spymaster-the darkest of the angels, Jason is rarely seen, blends into the shadows and hides a painful secret about his past that no one knows. When the Archangel Neha’s consort is found murdered, Jason is sent to investigate the death, knowing that Neha’s history with her consort was as infamous as it was deadly. Neha demanded a blood oath and a promise, but Jason refused to tie himself to an Archangel who was once considered mad. His only recourse was to make a blood oath to Neha’s niece Mahiya-the daughter of the sister Neha was known to have murdered at the time of Mahiya’s birth.

Mahiya has known pain and suffering all of her adult life. With the knowledge that her mother was murdered, by her own sister for loving the same man, was made even more dangerous because of her blood connection to both. But Mahiya had an ulterior motive when she discovered that the spymaster was to be blood-bound to her and a motive that Jason would soon realize involved Mahiya’s request to escape the life she is living. But Jason and Mahiya’s search for the person responsible for the murder would lead then to an unlikely suspect and one that could force a war if Jason were to get involved. And the search for suspects would become more complicated as more vampires and angels would turn up dead and missing.

Nalini adds a secondary storyline that continues to grow on the previous relationship between Dimitri and his love Honor. Throughout the novel, we are witness to their wedding as well as Honor’s desire to join Dimitri as part of the family of vampires. Interspersed amongst the death and destruction of the primary story, Dimitri will bring forth a new vampire into the world of Angels and Vampires.

Jason’s has always believed that his early childhood experiences have left him cold and continuously on the edge of madness. He does not believe that he is capable of love or of being loved and in doing so refuses to make a commitment to the one woman who is slowly working her way into his heart. Although he is unable to openly express his feelings of love, in his own way, Jason will discover that Mahiya is the only woman, he will let into his heart and soul. Their similar pasts will show Jason that overcoming the pain will be easier when there is someone to love and show you the way. And protecting Mahiya from her own family will be paramount, when the woman who raised her has promised to make her pay for the fact that she was born. Vengeance and betrayal are bitter pills to swallow especially when family is involved.

ARCHANGEL’S STORM is a fantastic and captivating addition to the Guild Hunters series. Nalini writes a story full of sorrow, pain and passion that you hope that the HEA will be so welcome that you forget about everything that happened in the past-but-HEAs are found in fairy tales and fantasy, and at the end of Archangel’s Storm you know that their whole story has yet to be told.

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Reviewed by Sandy