Book Review: Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh

Anyone else see it?

First off, the cover irks me. Not all of it, just the guy's face. There is something off in the proportions or maybe in the coloring. But the rest seems okay. When I had seen the cover online a while back I had thought it was a draft mock up of what the cover and I was really rather surprised to see that was the real cover when I got the book. I am mostly shocked because before this all of Singh's covers have been excellent. I know it's a stupid thing to get hung up on but these days book covers are practically an art form.

I am surprised as well that I think I enjoyed this book than the other Guild Hunter novels thus far. Despite previously being showed as some kind of creepy masochist Dimitri ends up being rather likable. He has some depth and shows emotions way more than Raphael ever did. Although in this book you get a better idea at what Raphael is thinking, which sorta seemed weird that he was more human in this book than the ones where he is actively in love but whatever.

The plot is fluff. The climax actually is for a whole other thing than what the two main characters have spent most of their time doing. The whole book was hunting down and finding the people that hurt the girl and then at the end some other dude is there to be a bad guy. Unrelated bad guy is strange.

I am sorta half and half on this book. We got to see some more interesting things about all the vampires and angels but the plot was a little lose.

The Rule of Three

It might just be me but in find that the third book in the series is always the best book. The third book is also always the book with the crazy person. You might be in a position to doubt me on this but I come baring proof.


Example number one: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This was the book and the movie that really got people excited. The actors finally know what they are doing and we start to believe them.The story of Harry starts to come together and he gets a father figure, a father figure who is a little off his rocker. 


Example number two: Dance with the Devil by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Some might argue that this is the fourth book but it really the third. Julian's book was written outside the series and was incorporated later when the idea was put together. Anyway Zarek is pretty much stark raving mad and super hot for it. He does crazy wood cravings because he runs out of things to do. Granted his ending was a little dull they all were in this series. True there might be a bigger following for some of the other characters but Zarek happens to be the only true badass among a bunch of posturing characters that just want their nails done and for some one to hold them. And then at the end of the book he gets to be a god and spends all of his time messing with his half brother for the sheer fun of it. He nearly kills the guy several times just for giggles. You try being sane after spending five hundred years in Alaska by yourself.

Example number three: Kissed by Ice by Nalini Singh. Judd might not be completely out of his mind but you have to admit some one that never talks is a bit on the creepy side. Also he can explode your cells with his mind. Also who doesn't want their own personal assassin? I mean I would have so much fun with that. This was also the first book with a wolf changeling so its way better.


Example number four: Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs. This is the book where we finally see some Adam/Mercy romance. The law is laid down. Also the murder is like completely off his rocker and on a power trip.


I can't believe I am about to say this.....Eclipse. It was the only one with a real threat as far as conflict goes. Granted it all happened off screen but Vicky was short a few marbles.

The Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter. He cuts himself because he needs the pain and his girlfriend can see heaven and hell. I mean there isn't a character that is sane in this series. We are rocking the crazy boat here.


A few others include lover Unbound, Dangerous in Diamonds, Scoundrel in My Dreams, The Duke Most Wanted, Wicked Deeds at Winter's Edge and If You Deceive.


My point is we loved the guys that are just a few doughnuts short of a dozen. And they always get the third book in the series.

Book Review: Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

Think about your favorite food. You know that one you crave on bad days and you reward yourself with when something good happens. Now think about that one time that you ordered that food or made it and yet it didn't go down the same. Maybe your stomach hurt or you were already full or you made it wrong but forced yourself to eat it anyway. Kiss of Snow is that for me. Its a series a love by an author I adore and yet it left a funny taste in my mouth.

I am some issues but nothing major. I don't connect to the romance, something it just a little bit off about it. It feels a little bit more like a guardian and minor relationship than a romantic one. Its a bit forced. We all know about the age difference and the characters never stop talking about it. Sienna really doesn't hold her own against Hawke, not in a real way. He sounds like her dad some times and she acts like an angry teen which is what she is.

There is a side romance between the healer Lara and the teacher Walker that has way more depth and and emotion but is only given a couple of chapters. I wish they had a full book because there is so much more going on because Walker has a daughter and had some serious damage done by the girl's mom. I want more of them.

On the other hand I loved the fact that we finally got to see Sasha have her baby and it was a great moment. I am now really interested in what is going on about The Ghost and the war with in the Psy.

I am sad. I wanted to love this book. I tried to love this book. But I just had a funny tasting mouth when it was over.

Book Review: A Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh

Okay I am just going to get this out there, this book combines kidnapping and memory loss in order to create a relationship. Anyone else see something strange about that?

Anyway, this is probably my least favorite of the series. There are no changelings in it, yes the make an appearance but I was kind of expecting more of them seeing as they are a focal point of the series. This and the book following are basically here to a) show characters that are not part of the packs and what is going on with the world and b) had filler before Hawke because the chick he dug was still kind of illegal there for a bit. You think I am joking but I am not.

The romance in this book worries me. More than a little bit. I don't really have much more to say. There was a god deal of side plot and information that was not relevant to the main characters. They fail to assassinate the dude. Then she all most dies, but some kids fix her brain before they take her off the feeding tubes. Which is not explored or explained in depth. That worries me and seems way more interesting than what ever else happens.

Book Review: Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh

Alright I am going to come out and say it, I don't feel the romance in this series. I feel the sex, oh yeah. But there doesn't really seem to be the right kind of emotions from both characters. Elena seems to be defending herself a lot or trying to get things done her way. And mr. angel spends all his time talking about how weak she is and how is scares him.

I don't know if I believe them to be a couple in the truest sense. I mean he turned her into and angel because he loved her so much, but he hardly ever does anything that makes sense. And yes i get the fact that supposedly him being immortal and having thousands of years to be set in his ways means something. I am sorta disappointed because I have seen Singh write tough love stories where there are issues with people feeling emotion.

Also I am getting the feeling that the fault with this series is that it is a series.  I have been going back in her other series and I have found that I like it a lot better. I think the issue is that she doesn't have the experience writing the depth of character it takes to carry one set of characters through several books. Both of them feel very surface level. She is pretty much drawing out what she normally would have in one book and turning it into several. She doesn't really introduce new characters or situations, its pretty much the same-ish plot in three books.

Book Review: Angels' Blood and Archangel's Kiss by Nalini Singh

This book came out a while back and at the time I didn't want to read it because I was annoyed that the author was taking time away from her other series. Also I was annoyed as well because the cover of the first book has this woman with crazy white hair on it, and at the time I was in one of my extreme blond hating phases. But then a few days ago I gave in and read the books.

Blood starts off with the story of how Elena (birth name Elieanora, which is just crazy) gets stuck working for the Archangel of New York. Elena is a Guild Hunter, some one who finds vampires that try to skip out on their contracts with their angel masters and brings them back to their masters. In this world there are these extremely powerful angels that live in tandem with the vampires they create, and the humans they rule over.

Seeing as I read the second book first because the library is mean. The first book has a way more intriguing plot. There is a crazy murdering Archangel on the lose and they want to use Elena to find him. They are following the trail of blood trying to stop him before he get enough power to start over throwing other archangels.  Raphael, the Archangel of North America is dealing with a lot of tough issues including the fact that his attraction to Elena makes him more compassionate.

There are some funny side moments with friends and family of Elena. But the book follows a well paced plot. The romance is a little stiff. I don't really know if it comes through a whole lot. Mostly I got sex appeal out of this. Raphael is a little too over bearing, but not in stalking way like is now commonly assumed, but in the "I rule an entire continent and have lived for centuries, I will break you like a twig if you so much as sneeze wrong" kind of way. The end battle was pretty epic.

The second book follows a similar pattern except the end. I just didn't feel the conflict as much in the second book. At the end of the first book Elena is pretty much dying when Raphael kisses her giving her a infusion of ambrosia, something that only happens when an Archangel truly falls in love. Which as a fun little side effect not only heals Elena's broken back but turns her into and angel.

In the second book its all angel politics and they don't like Elena because she is Raphael's weakness. Also another Archangel invites them to a ball with the purpose of measuring Elena, which is code for try to kill her. So everyone want to kill Elena, and then the end just bottoms out all of a sudden. Yeah a body guard gets a bit beat up but they take out the angel that wanted to kill Elena for the purpose of Raphael being hurt rather quickly. And then the big bad scary archangel dies off screen because Elena flies out of there after they realize it is coming to a fight.

It was really annoying frankly because the entire book was building up to the fact that the Chinese archangel was a bit on the crazy side and could make zombies. She was going to be hard to deal with, problems were to be expected. Then just about nothing happens. I was bored at the finale. Yes I realize that seven archangels versus one would make the fight go faster than just two duking it out like in the first book. But this was kind of a let down.

Also the second book strongly deals with the fact that Elena's family was pretty much butchered by a vampire when she was a child. The reason the vampire targeted her family is that Elena is hunter-born, which means she can smell vampires and is stronger than most humans. So yeah, when she was like eight or so her two older sisters were brutally murdered in front of her and then the vampire forced some of their blood down her throat just to mess with her. Her mother who survived the mess later killed herself.

A great deal of the book was just her having never ending nightmares. I get that it was important to the series but it weighted the book down. Yes there is a third book so hopefully the story will pick back up. Also the romance in the second book was also sorta creepy as well. Now Raphael was pretty much like "you are mine, obey me" and when she didn't he just made people follow her. I don't really know if I believe this romance as a true love kind of thing.

Book Review: Play of Passion by Nalini Singh

So I did it. I finished Play of Passion in time to write this, sadly not in time to make it on the author's web blog. But I can dream. So lets get into the review.

This is Nalini Singh's next installment in her Changeling Psy series. I would be lying if I didn't say that this is perhaps one of my favorite series of all times. This book held true to her standards. Play of Passion follows Andrew and Indigo of the SnowDancer wolf changeling pack. Both characters have been introduced rather extensively in Caressed by Ice and Branded by Fire. The fact that they had been introduced before put Singh in a tough spot.

Drew is an established character. Both of his sibilings have had their own book so readers are aware that he is a prankster and a bit of a tease. Indigo is second in the pack rank to Riley (see my review of Branded by Fire.) so readers know that she is strong woman. I will admit I was worried. I know of authors that have established a character as one kind of person and the second they get their own book they turn out to be some one completely different. I almost was covering my eyes hoping this book would turn out well, and thank god it did. I need to learn to not doubt Singh, she has yet to let me down.

Drew and Indigo have a good vibe and the book works well. Drew remains the silly guy that he was in the previous books and uses that humor to charm and woo his woman. Indigo doesn't turn into a harpie or some kind of hellion but stays the icy person she has always been, but she of course warms to Drew's charm. The political intrigue takes a little be longer to get a move on than in other books, but I  got the feeling that this book was a set up for next book which promises to have more suspense. Indigo does take just a little bit longer to warm up to things than I might have really liked, and there was some vagueness about just how dominate Drew was. The climax also happened rather quickly. I blinked and the all the build up had come to an end. I wont say what happened but a few others might agree that it was rushed.

All in all it was a really good read. Right now I don't feel like it is one of my top favorites of the series, but I suspect that by the second time I read it Play of Passion will join Branded by Fire and Caressed by Ice as one of my favorites. What can I say? I have a soft spot for the wolves and am excited that it looks as if I will be getting more of them. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed the DarkRiver based stories alot, but I have to say that I am biased towards wolves because they are one of my favorite animals.

Play of Passion marks a switch for the series with the rest of the wolf lieutenants being revealed. The next book is supposed to be the story of the SnowDancer alpha and I am so excited I might scream when it comes out.

Final judgement: Buy it. If you like paranormal romances this  is a series you should be reading and this book is one of the better ones. Although I would suggest reading previous books because the political intrigue has been building from the beginning.

E-books Rock

So Play of Passion by Nalini Singh just came out today and thanks to the magic of e-books I got to download it pretty much the minute it became Tuesday. This is why I love my Nook.

Goal is to finish it by tomorrow and get a review up for everyone.

I'm off to read!

Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh

I was busy this week catching up on some work and rewatching some old favorite tv show. So rather than do nothing I am going to talk about one of the books I read awhile back and really loved.

Nalini Singh is perhaps one of my favorite paranormal romance writers to date. Her stories are not simply two people jumping each other and then near the end something happens to make them have to fight to be together. Instead she created a vast alternate world where there are three races: humans, changelings, and psy. Humans are the same but the other two are changes that make the world a different place to live. The changelings are closer to what an animal with human mind capabilities would be, they can change shape but they tend to live in packs or flocks like the animal counterparts, they are also huge advocates of the environment. Then there are the Psy who have mental capabilities that allow them do simple things like x-ray with out a machine all the way to see the future.

In the world about 70 years ago the Psy started a program where all Psy are programed through a training regiment starting at birth to have no emotions. The central plot that carries through the series is the fact that this lack of emotion has created a huge backlash in ways that no one could have forseen. There is a constant threat of war and the Changelings and Psy are locked in a battle dance with Humans struggling to stay in the mix.

Branded by Fire centers around Mercy a leopard changeling and Riley a wolf changeling. Both are the second in command of their respective packs, that have recently formed an alliance. The book opens with the two having back scratching hair pulling good sex in the woods, which is a nice way to start off the book. Then some of the political espionage starts to take place and that is the focus with spurts of Mercy and Riley trying to deal with each other and the issues.

I am all about this book for a few key reasons. Mercy is an in charge kind of woman and she is in a large position of power and she makes it very clear to Riley that if he wants to be with her he is going to have to deal with her power and her family. At no time does she simply whimper and give up everything when Riley says so, she is going to make the rules and he better keep up.

Secondly there isnt this "hold off on the sex until the last possible minute kind of mentality" in the book. No body picks up a romance novel because they hate sex, they pick up romance novels because they want romance and then some hard core grinding, not necessarily in that order. But several authors I like are making me work for it these days and I am not cool with that. This isn't catholic school I want my characters to get down, and oh boy do they.

Third is the epic plots. To really enjoy Branded by Fire one should read the previous books because the political balance and continued struggles. If you haven't just keep reading and try to piece things together.

This book is on my must own list.

There is a good chance I am going to be going over and older book again next week seeing as I am on a bit of a tv kick, or should I say netflix kick. Seriously so much to watch!

Demon From The Dark by Kresley Cole

I love the Immortals after dark series. Why? Here is why:
Consistent references to technology and lifestyle elements that are relevant to this time period.
Broad use of mythology and workings of mythological creatures from all walks of the world.
Women that always kick ass.
Batshit crazy friends that make things better.
Heroes that look great naked.
Characters come back in later books to help newer leads.
Previews of the next leads in current books.

Cole is one of those authors I stalk. Not kidding. Her homepage is bookmarked, I check the site once a week at least no matter what. I have reread every one of her books that I own.

The latest installment follows a witch Carrow who is from the same coven as Mari from Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night. At the end of the last book we saw that immortals around the world were being kidnapped by humans (slightly predictable for a series about immortal creatures that coexist with humans, but it came so late in the game i was not prepared.) Carrow is bribed to go into a demon universe to seduce a Dempire or Vemon (depending on if you ask Nix or some one else.) The bribing is done using her niece, who's mother was killed off screen. Carrow goes and meets Malkom the dempire/vemon she is to seduce. He is very unsocialized and they dont speak the same language which means this is a very dialogue light book for about half of the plot.

They play nice for a while then some demons come. There is struggle, they go back to our plane of existence get recaptured. And from there on you have to read to find out. Not telling.

I loved the book, I really did. The writing is just as good as the previous installments (something that cannot be assumed with most writers) and the characters work well. I was sad that while other characters from the series are in the book the well known ones have about what adds up to four minutes of screen time, while a few characters I forgot existed got moved to main position side kicks. I was stoked to realize that I get Reign's book next seeing as I have been waiting for it for a while now ( I finally got over the pain the wait for Garreth's book caused.)

My one concern or complaint. The sex or lack there of. Romance novel means that I will be getting at least three solid sex scenes in a book. Cole has a habit of making her Heroine's not give it up the first time the guy jones for it, which I appreciate. Some times heroines in these things are just plain slutty. But after this many installments I am starting to get annoyed. The two real sex scenes were it went beyond oral seemed lack luster and rushed in to fit the plot. The plot is great it really is but cutting a few paragraphs here and there of internal dialogue and sex can have its time on stage.

My suggestion, follow Nalini Singh's example in Branded by Fire and give us a treat early on. That could mean having characters that know each other from previous books have a one night tryst that turns into something. But after reading ten books were its nothing but hand jobs and dry humping until the last quarter is getting on my nerves.

Authors I Bookmark part 2

Next on my list is Gena Showalter:

From what I can tell Showalter is one of the more senior writers amongst the bunch. Showalter and Cole also acknowledge each other in their books. Which is why it is no surprise that I am also a fan of Showalter. She has more books under her belt than some of the other authors, and way more series.

Lords of the Underworld, a series about men possesed by deamons and plauged by humans who believe killing them will rid the world of evil, might be one of my favorite series of all time. I have re-read all of the books. I have a personal connection to feeling like the world is against you and I must say the deamon warriors make for a different take. The next instalment is part of a two duo with Cole. The second that book drops I will be talking about it.

Showalter's Atlantis series also proves and interesting. It has a similar amount of species as Cole's Lore but all are contained within one city. Although it seems that the female leads of this series always spend so much time trying to run away.

I dont understand this "RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!" thing that happens in romance novels. If a big pretty werewolfe/dragon/magical creature/man came up to me and was like "people are trying to kill you, quick get in my expensive car!" I would have the reaction something like "of course!" But that just might be because all I do is read these books so I know where that is going, and I like where it will be going. Please some one tell me i am not the only one!

aaaAAnyway, back to Showalter. I find that the majority of her books are conistantly good. The only books I find hard to pick up are her Alien Hunter novels but I will not pass judgement before I read them so wait till then.

The one shortfall of Showalter is that her male leads have a tendincy of the "tarzan syndrome". Its alot of "me tarzan you jane" and "do as I say," which is fine in small doses but gets annoying when its the majority of the book. Luckily only a few of the books have fallen victim so on the whole her books are very readable.

Showalter gets a B+ for her overall score.


And now for my new favorite author: Nalini Singh.

I would like to take a quick moment to point out that I am a big fan of werewolves, I will always pick shapeshifters over all other races. So I tend to do the happy dance the second I find a series based around the idea of shapeshifters. Singh pretty much wrote my version of a wet dream. Her world not only includes shapeshifters but a race of "Psy" with powers of the mind. Her series takes place in the future so that means there are lots fun gadgets that keep the stories interesting.

The latest book Branded by Fire might be on my top ten all favorite romance novels. I simply find the world that Singh creates one of the best out there. I had a little trouble getting in to some of the characters but the political intrigue makes the stories nail bitters even when the two main characters are making gooy eyes at each other for seven chapters at a time. Sometime in the next couple of weeks I will do a full review

But lets go back to the shapeshifters. Singh not only brings in my wolves but she also stirs in leporads. The amazing thing about this is that each group has a set of dynamics, and watching (or rather reading) the two interact might be my favorite part of the series.

Singh's overall score is an A.

tune in next time for more authors to watch.