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Angels' Blood (Guild Hunter, #1)

Nalini Singh

Start date: January 1, 2024

Finish date: January 31, 2024

Discussion: Challenges: What's the Rush

Why we're reading this: Part of our group series (re)read: Guild Hunter …more
[close] Part of our group series (re)read: Guild Hunter

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Challenges: What's the Rush

* 2025 Series Read: K.N. Banet's "Jacky Leon"
By Steph , Serious series addict · 103 posts · 33 views

last updated Sep 26, 2025 08:29PM

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* YEAR-LONG CHALLENGES
By Steph , Serious series addict · 1 post · 389 views

last updated Aug 17, 2010 11:14PM

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What Members Thought

Feb 28, 2010 Alisha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Second read-through (March 14 - 16, 2012):
Glad I decided to reread this before catching up with books 3 and 4; this story was pitch perfect. It's just as amazing as I remember it; perhaps moreso, because I was still enthralled whilst knowing what the outcomes would be. Singh had several books under her belt before she wrote this tale, so it's not surprising that it suffers from no weaknesses common to series openers. Love it!

Review from first read-through (April 22 - 23, 2010):
Magnificent book, ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Jan 17, 2011 Katyana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ass-kicking-women, favorites, fantasy, pnr, uf

Oh wow. This book was truly fantastic. I can't believe I waited so long to read it!

I loved it. The rich backstory, the complexity of the characters, honestly, I can't think of a single complaint. I simply can't wait to go deeper into this world! ...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Paula Phillips rated it really liked it

Wanting a novel that has that sense of Gothicness, Romance and Action-Packed with a hint of Fun and Sexiness ?
Then Angel's Blood , the first book in the Guild Hunter Series by Nalini Singh is right for you.

Meet Elena Deveraux , I think I've been watching too much Vampire Diaries ,either that or reading too many Kelley Armstrong books as both their main female characters are called Elena. Elena Deveraux is a Vampire Hunter , she's the best at what she does and has been rewarded greatly for it. W ...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Nairabell rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal-romance, 4-star, read-in-2012

Elena Devereaux is the best vampire hunter in the world, but even she may not be good enough for her latest assignment. She has been hired by the dangerous, and beautiful, archangel of New York Raphael to track down an archangel gone bad. This job will place Elena at the centre of a killing spree unlike any other...and put her at risk of falling for her employer's charms, either of which could mean her death.

This is the first book in the Guild Hunter series and, as a big fan of the author's Psy- Elena Devereaux is the best vampire hunter in the world, but even she may not be good enough for her latest assignment. She has been hired by the dangerous, and beautiful, archangel of New York Raphael to track down an archangel gone bad. This job will place Elena at the centre of a killing spree unlike any other...and put her at risk of falling for her employer's charms, either of which could mean her death.

This is the first book in the Guild Hunter series and, as a big fan of the author's Psy-Changeling series, a book I expected great things from. I definitely wasn't disappointed as the world building is just as unique and complex as that of her other books, taking vampires and angels in innovative new directions. Angels are the creators of vampires and as such own them for the first hundred years of their existence. Elena's job is to retrieve those who attempt to break that contract.

The storyline is cleverly plotted and well paced, although at times the density of the world building made it difficult for me to stay caught in the storyline. Unlike the Psy-Changeling books, this series stays with Elena and Raphael for more than a single book so their backstory isn't covered fully leaving lots undiscovered. I was a little annoyed that only snippets of Elena's history are revealed which means that the storyline will continue in the future books, but ends up being frustratingly incomplete in this installment.

Elena is an interesting lead character. As I mentioned before her traumatic past isn't fully revealed which leaves the reader only able to partly understand her, although her relationships with her friends (good) and family (bad) do explain a lot about her motivations. Likewise Raphael is fascinating and it is great to see him both acting normally and within "the cold", a side effect to a method of angelic communication. The cold removes all traces of humanity from Raphael and leaves him as a very scary being.

There were a few background characters that managed to steal scenes throughout the book: Raphael's right hand vampire Dmitri whose seductive scent keeps Elena on her toes, and Elena's bad boy hunter friend Ransom who adds a cute sideline as he realises he's fallen in love with his latest fling. The other character I loved was Illium who is the most accessible angel introduced in the book.

The villain of the piece Uram is incredibly disturbing and leads to some particularly horrifying scenes that place this book a lot closer to a gritty urban fantasy than a romance. Some of the scenes are quite graphic which I wasn't expecting, although they do fit within the storyline and aren't excessive.

The ending is outstanding and entirely not what I was expecting at all. I can't wait to see where the storyline goes next!

All in all this was a great read and I'm looking forward to Archangel's Kiss.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
Cover: 7/10

Overall: 44/50 ...more

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Dec 02, 2010 Lara rated it liked it

Wish I could give this one another 1/2 to 3/4 a star. It was definitely better then 3, but not quite a 4. I flew through the 1st 3 quarters of this book basically glued to the pages, but along the way I found myself waiting for something else to pull me in deeper and it never happened. So....obviously I enjoyed this book WAY more as it started and it definitely fell flat to me somewhere along the way although I have dificulty trying to figure out what happened. Regardless I will definitely read ...more

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