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Casee's review of Archangel's Consort (Guild Hunter Series, Book 3) by Nalini Singh.

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux and her lover, the lethally beautiful archangel Raphael, have returned home to New York only to face an uncompromising new evil…

A vampire has attacked a girls’ school—the assault one of sheer, vicious madness—and it is only the first act. Rampant bloodlust takes vampire after vampire, threatening to make the streets run with blood. Then Raphael himself begins to show signs of an uncontrolled rage, as inexplicable storms darken the city skyline and the earth itself shudders.

The omens are suddenly terrifyingly clear.

An ancient and malevolent immortal is rising. The violent winds whisper her name: Caliane. She has returned to reclaim her son, Raphael. Only one thing stands in her way: Elena, the consort who must be destroyed…

Elena Deveraux is the best heroine in romance right now. Across all genre’s she is the one that rocks it. She’s a vampire hunter. She’s an archangel’s consort. She’s an angel Made. She’s gone from being mortal in Angels’ Blood to being an angel and she’s still Elena. She retained all the traits that made her the heroine that so resonated with me from the first book in this series. She’s still strong and independent. At the same time, she’s softer because she’s in love. She’s learned when to ask for help and she’s learned when to push back. I Archangel’s Kiss. She retained her ability to track vampires and has the unique ability to track angels as well. Returning to New York is something that Elena both fears and is looking forward to. She looks forward to returning to her life as a Guild Hunter, but is worried about how she’ll be received not just by the Guild but by the people of New York. Being the consort of the archangel of New York and being an angel Made is no small thing and Elena doesn’t take it lightly.

Almost immediately upon their return, Elena is called to a nearby boarding school where a vampire has gone into bloodlust and killed a student. Elena is horrified when she realizes it is the school her two half sisters attend. Her and Raphael also figure out that it was not bloodlust that drove the vampire to kill, but something else. Something far more sinister. An ancient is awakening from Sleep and it can be no other than Raphael’s mother, Caliane.

There is no doubt that Raphael and Elena have a strong bond, but their time together has been short. Months maybe. They are still getting used to, well, living together. They are no ordinary couple.

“Setting up a nest, Guild Hunter?” Raphael had asked only last night as he stood leaning against the doorjamb.
“It’s what hunters do.” She had a feeling that deep-rooted sense of home would be even more crucial in this new life. “But,” she’d added, “you’ve already created the nest.” This house, for all its size, was nothing like the cold elegance of the Tower. Here was warmth and beauty, a place where she could collapse in bed and snuggle into the blankets.
“Then what is this?”
“I’m marking out a piece of the house as my own territory.”
A cool pause. “I will not allow you to put distance between us, Elena.”
She’d seen that one coming, was more than ready to hand it. “I need a place where I can slam the door in your face when I’m mad. I’m pretty sure both of us would prefer that place be here and not elsewhere.”
“And will I be invited into this part of the nest?”
“Perhaps.” The tease had gotten her a less than amused look.

For all Raphael’s pushing Elena, she knows when she has to stand her ground against him. It seemed like such a small thing, Elena claiming the solar as her own, but to Elena it was important that Raphael know that just because she might need space once in awhile didn’t mean that she was putting space between them. For all his power, Raphael is just as vulnerable to Elena as she is to him. Of course it isn’t as blatantly obvious, but it’s there all the same.

What I liked about this book in particular was Elena’s unwavering support of Raphael. When he would recede into the shadows and away from her, she would pull him back. Likewise, when Elena would fall into the dark pit that was her father, Raphael would be there to catch her. To say that these two are perfect for each other doesn’t do them justice. They seem like an unlikely couple. Elena with her mortal heart and Raphael with his immortal thinking. There is not another couple that is made for each other more than Raphael and Elena.

When I sit down to review Nalini’s books, I find it hard it really hard to do. It seems as if there is such redundancy. There are only so many ways I can say “this book was awesome!” or “Nalini Singh is amazing!”. To state it simply, Nalini Singh is a master in the romance genre. With each book she writes, she pushes herself higher than before. Archangel’s Consort proves again why she has a place as one of the most recognizable names in romance today. 4.5 out of 5.

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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