I just realized that I never fully reviewed this. And I probably should since I've actually read it twice already. But I digress.
It's no secre4 Stars
I just realized that I never fully reviewed this. And I probably should since I've actually read it twice already. But I digress.
It's no secret that I love this author and this series. And I really, really enjoyed this book. Viper was very alpha and I liked Ella too. I will admit, however, that I seem to be destined to forever to chase the Knox/Harper dragon with this series. Nothing compares to them. And I also feel like there wasn't as much longing and chemistry as there should have been between Viper and Ella given their history. With Viper being a fallen archangel of his magnitude, I just feel like everything should have been a little...more all around.
Also, I think this was a missed opportunity to start a new spinoff series featuring the Black Saints. Which I hope Wright does. If so, can't wait!...more
This was my first Charity B. book and I really enjoyed it.
I will say that her way of describing things sometimes annoyed me...I'm making this 4 Stars
This was my first Charity B. book and I really enjoyed it.
I will say that her way of describing things sometimes annoyed me...I'm making this up, but something like this: "I wrapped my fluffy pink robe around my shoulders and then pushed aside the lime green lace curtains to look out the frosted window." Or something. But I'm being petty. Moving on.
I really liked the world she created here and her spin on witchcraft and the story of the Fall from Heaven. Being that John Milton's Paradise Lost is my favorite piece of literature ever, this really appealed to me.
And the fact that it was done in one of my smutty erotic books?
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Impressive.
Now I must also say that the whole time I was reading this, I was reminded of Karen Marie Moning's The Immortal Highlander. Both male leads were immortal beings temporarily stuck in the mortal realm...both were invisible a lot of the time...both were super charismatic, etc. I loved that book, so it was fun to read something similar many years later.
But I digress.
The male lead in this book will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea. He does some stuff that had me...well...
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AKA: Really fucking gross.
And yet here was me:
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In fact, I accepted a lot of things from the hero in this book that I wouldn't necessarily always accept from others. But somehow the author made the hero endearing...even when he was doing something seriously disgusting. And to be clear: I'm not talking about his sexuality or sexual interest. I'm talking about stuff that involves...blood. And horns. And crevices. And what he did with Leena (whom I loved by the way). And that's all I will say about that.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this and plan on checking out more from this author.
Shout out to my friend Leigh for bringing this one to my attention and recommending it to me.
PS I wish the author had gone with another title. I feel like this one doesn’t match the quality of the book. But that’s just my opinion, maybe others disagree.
Edited: This book is probably a no-go for safety gang folks, FYI. PM me if you have questions. ...more
I had a really long, gif-filled review for this that I inadvertently deleted when I accidentally and idiotica***Happy Publication Day***
3.75 - 4 Stars
I had a really long, gif-filled review for this that I inadvertently deleted when I accidentally and idiotically hit the power button on my computer.
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I don't see myself being able to replicate what I had written, and I'm also not that motivated to try. Cause I'm pretty irritated right now. So this is going to be sloppy. But hey, at least I'm laying something down.
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I'll do my best.
This is a book that I (and many Guild Hunter fans) have been wanting and anticipating for a really long time. Seriously though, for years. I read book one when it originally came out in 2009. I still have the battered mass market paperback. There is scotch tape holding the spine together. Meaning: I've read it into the ground. And THEN bought the digital copy...but still kept the paperback. Because, you know, nostalgia. And book hoarding. And because I haven't had to move recently.
But I digress.
My point. Aodhan and Illium's relationship and story has been something that has captivated us all since book one. And when Nalini released the blurb for this thing, we all went a little insane.
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A wholly reasonable response in my opinion.
As a result though, I was worried about how all the external and internal buzz of this high would affect my reading experience. All of us readers know the damage bloated expectations can have on what would otherwise have been a great read.
So I tried to maintain an open mind and tempered expectations when I sat down to read this. And I'm glad I did.
After finishing this last night, I thought long and hard as I was unsuccessfully trying to fall asleep (because general insomnia) about what I was going to put in my review for this. After all, this is an ARC and a highly anticipated read.
So, since I already felt unsure about what was the most diplomatic way of trying to say how I feel without making it sound like a gripe...and since I lost the long ass review I tapped out in my quest for said diplomacy, I have decided I am simply going to get right to the point and say what I myself would want to know about this book.
Which is this:
If you are thinking this is going to be a traditional, full-fledged M/M romance story...
...adjust your expectations. Because this is just not that.
I know. You are thinking...
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But it's true. And that's okay.
Because while this may not have been quite the...robust M/M Singh romance I was expecting, it WAS a story about a friendship that transcends the definition. And, quite frankly (and practically), I feel like Nalini had to straddle a fine line here. In my opinion, she wanted to write the book she knew her fans wanted, and to which her own characters had led her - an M/M book. But she had to do it in a way that wouldn't be off-putting to her M/F readers who haven't ever dipped their toe into the M/M pool and/or who have really no interest in doing so outside this book.
And so, in that regard, I think Nalini was very successful at pulling it off. What we got here is a slow burn, light romance involving one of our favorite duos of all time. It was true to the characters Nalini has so painstakingly crafted over this series arc. It was beautiful. And I really enjoyed it.
This book jumped back and forth between the present and past pivotal moments in Aodhan and Illium's lives and relationship. If you are a fan of the series and eat up anything and everything Aodhan/Illium (which I am and I do), then you will really enjoy this format and the endless glimpses we get into not only the the lives of Aodhan and Illium, but of a few other key Seven members as well.
I didn't think it was possible, but I love Raphael and his Seven even more than ever before. And I LOVED how stinking adorable Aodhan and Illium were, across all time frames. They were just a joy to read about. In fact, I would read another book about them in a heartbeat. Even if every scene is just them bickering.
All that said, in my opinion, if you go into this this book expecting a fast-paced, hot and heavy M/M romance (in the sense that you have read a lot of M/M before and expect certain things), you are going to be hugely disappointed.
However, if you go into the book ready for a calm, somewhat slow-moving character piece on a friendship and love that transcends romance altogether, you will really enjoy this. Perhaps even more than I did.
XXXXXXXXXX Sooooooo excited you guys. Not only did I get lucky enough to get an ARC for this, but it's gonna be the first book I read on my new Precious Precious!
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Gonna be a great weekend.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
You guys...
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I'm so exited, I can't even form sentences. This is the one we've been waiting and hoping for, folks!...more
If we've been GR friends or if you've been following my for any decent length of time, you'll probably know that I am basically Suzanne Wrigh4.5 Stars
If we've been GR friends or if you've been following my for any decent length of time, you'll probably know that I am basically Suzanne Wright's number one fan ever. I have been reading her since forever and I've read and re-read (over and over again) pretty much everything she's ever written.
My Knox and my Trey Trey have been numero uno and dos in my spank bank for many years now, without much competition...
But Maddox came pretty close here to almost matching my two faves.
Almost.
He can have the silver spank bank medal.
So, thank you Maddox.
I can't wait for all the re-reads will be spending together in the future.
After reading the last book in the series, I wasn't all that excited to read this one, honestly. Which is crazy, because this is one of my a3.75 Stars
After reading the last book in the series, I wasn't all that excited to read this one, honestly. Which is crazy, because this is one of my all-time favorite series and I usually devour each installment the minute it hits my kindle. I liked Titus well enough...however, "The Hummingbird" was kind of always presented as this ethereal, damaged character, whom...well, whom I simply thought of as Illium's emotionally unstable mother.
Also, as I mentioned in my review for the last book, the world-building and the rules of the world, i.e., the Cascade, the war, the Reborn, etc., had become very convoluted and ever-changing and I found it somewhat frustrating.
Thus the reason this ARC sat on my kindle for far too long.
All that said...
I am happy to say I enjoyed this one a lot more. Things are still somewhat ever-changing, but this book felt more grounded to me. There was also less rehashing of things we've already gone over a million times, which has become a habit for Singh in some of the recent books in this series.
I also really liked Sharine. It was interesting to get a little more of her backstory and see her grow and change, especially since she is an Ancient.
But what I was really here for?
TITUS.
I loved him. I could have read about him forever.
So why not five stars?
Whelp...while I did enjoy this, it was also very heavily focused on the aftermath of the Cascade and the war. And by "heavily focused," I mean, we basically spend the whole book cleaning up after the Reborn and strategizing how to eradicate them.
There is some romance, but this book is definitely not overly romance-driven.
Regardless, I still love Singh's writing and the amazing world and characters she has created here. I feel like I am with old friends when I read these books. And, while that feeling might not have been as strong here since we weren't with Raphael and his Seven, I still enjoyed Titus and Sharine together and I was enjoying their interactions with the Cadre.
Oddly, I felt like this book was a lot shorter than previous books and I would have been fine with it being a bit longer, which says a lot right there.
***ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***...more
I know it's not "cool" to like SJM books anymore...all the cool kids say she's tired, she doesn't have enough "rep" in her books, she's too t4.5 Stars
I know it's not "cool" to like SJM books anymore...all the cool kids say she's tired, she doesn't have enough "rep" in her books, she's too trope-y, her males are too "masculine," angels and fae have been done too many times before, blah, blah, fucking blah...
I'm not here to rate the literary elements here, people. I'm not here to ferret out any imagined or un-imagined social warrior stances in a barely adult Urban Fantasy book meant for entertainment.
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And this was scrumptious.
Was the beginning somewhat clunky and hard to get into? Yes. But I was prepared. And that should be expected in almost any first in a new fantasy series.
Was it too long? Yeah, probably. But I also wouldn't trade in any of the length and, in turn, lose any of the world/character-building.
Did a lot of the characters remind me of characters from her other books? Sure.
But again, I don't care. At the end of any given day, I am just a basic bitch who reads for ENTERTAINMENT. And I found this book to be 800 pages of a good time.
1) Based on preliminary reviews, I seem to be in the minority in not adoring this book. 2) This being an ARSo, a couple things before I get started...
1) Based on preliminary reviews, I seem to be in the minority in not adoring this book. 2) This being an ARC, I can't really tell you why that is, specifically. Sorry. 3) I am NOT in a reviewing mood today (or just lately in general, actually), but I wanted to get at least something down while this book is fresh in my mind and before I read it again. 4) This review is probably gonna suck ass. Again, sorry.
That said, keep all that in mind when reading this review.
This was me when this ARC hit my kindle:
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Elena and Raphael are one of my spirit animal couples. I ADORE them. And I adore this series.
Now, I am not sure if this was just a case of my expectations being too high or what, but this thing just didn't blow me away...and the ending straight up pissed me off.
But let's back up.
In every one of these books, there is always (1) the grander overarching plot line and (2) a case or puzzle that must be solved within the cover of each specific book.
So here we, of course, had...(1) a case that had to be solved and (2) the overarching Cascade issue...but we also had (3) a sort of "mystery issue" that starts in the beginning...
And ends on a cliffhanger.
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Thus my pique.
Now, said pique is not the sole source of me not loving this book to the fullest.
I also felt like the story moved a bit slowly and the case in this book seemed a little...less than when compared to the of other books.
And yes, okay, I was irritated that the above mentioned issue was hanging over my head for the entirety of the book.
All that said, I still enjoyed this book. It's VERY important that fans read this book. SO much happens here that moves the overarching plot line forward, especially that vexing "issue" I keep diabolically mentioning without fully explaining.
I truly believe this is one of those books I will love and appreciate more upon a re-read and upon creating distance between it and my ridiculously high expectations.
I think if you go in with that in mind, this book WILL blow you away. And it will make you pine for the next installment, like me.
I'm going to keep this brief and vague so as to avoid any spoilers...
In short, I had really high hopes for Venom and Holly.
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We met both 3 Stars
I'm going to keep this brief and vague so as to avoid any spoilers...
In short, I had really high hopes for Venom and Holly.
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We met both of these characters very early on in the series and I just knew both of their individual books would be epic.
Needless to say, you can imagine my excitement when I saw that they were actually going to be a couple in this one...
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Well.
I don't know if it's a result of too high expectations or - ahem - the fact that a lot of the story felt like an Alien/Body Snatchers horror hybrid mystery...
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...but something was just lacking a bit here for me.
And I think that missing piece was the ROMANCE.
There was a lot of fun banter and interaction between Venom and Holly, but there was very little romance - and I don't just mean sex here, I mean just a general sense of romantic connection, sexual tension, just plain INTEREST in each other - for a vast majority of the book.
And when it did finally happen, it felt too late and sudden in the story for me, sadly.
Regardless, I enjoyed this book well enough as far as the overarching plot in relation to Uram, and Holly and I think fans of the series will enjoy it also...so long as they don't expect too much in the love connection department.
But, I saw this on the library shelf...its protective1 Star
Geeeeez.
This was quite the YA train wreck.
And I probably should have known better.
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But, I saw this on the library shelf...its protective and majestic plastic library jacket just gleaming with promises of fantastical wonder...and I was drawn in like the total sucker I am.
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But then reality hit.
Sigh.
This thing was about 100 pages too long...while still simultaneously feeling like it was 100 pages too short of actual information.
You know, "INFORMATION," AKA...
WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING ON
The "mystery" of what/who Daniel and all the other keys players in this thing are were withheld until the last 30 pages of this 420+ page jackfest, and not only that, but I felt like we were moving at the pace of molasses.
High viscous molasses. Traveling uphill. On carpet.
I mean FUCK, come on.
I don't know if I should beat my own ass for starting this...
Beat my own ass even harder for finishing this...
Or just call it a day and straight off myself over the fact that I am actually considering reading book two.
Before I get started, I want to say that I love Nalini Singh. She is one of my all-time favorite authors and the Guild Hunter series is one o3.5 Stars
Before I get started, I want to say that I love Nalini Singh. She is one of my all-time favorite authors and the Guild Hunter series is one of my all-time favorite series.
Raphael is my ultimate Hero.
Seriously, there is no one more magnetic, no one more fascinating, and no one more alpha than Archangel Raphael.
I could read about him and Elena in perpetuity.
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That said, I will say that this installment - despite being centered around Raphael and Elena - was surprisingly a lot more slow moving that I expected.
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This book had a "side story" feel to it, meaning that it had nothing to do with the over-arching Cascade story line and there was virtually no forward movement in the lives of any of the characters.
Instead, this story takes place in "Lumia," a place supposedly free from Cadre control, and it centers around some mysteries occurring there, as well as some of the mysteries of Elena's past.
Two years have passed between this book and the last book and I feel like this book's purpose was to show us how Elena has grown in strength, how Illium has dealt with the previous power surges, and how the Cadre is interacting now that Uram has been gone awhile and Lijuan has seemingly disappeared.
In essence, this book felt like springboard filler that is meant to get us ready for some serious Cascade movement in the next book.
I hope.
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Regardless, despite this being a little more...tame then I thought it was going to be, I still enjoyed it; because, as I said, I ADORE Raphael and Elena and reading anything with them as the main focus is going to be enjoyable to me.
There was also some drama between Illium and Aodhan. And if you have read any of my previous reviews on this series, you already know that I would KILL for those two to get together, despite Singh never having done M/M before.
All that said, if you love this series and characters as much as I do - and as long as you don't go into this expecting major Cascade events or lots of action - I think you will enjoy this book.
***One of my TOP FAVORITE books/series of all time***
All the PNR OTT Alpha stars. ALL of them.
As usual, applause to Ms. Wright.
I ADORED this thing. K***One of my TOP FAVORITE books/series of all time***
All the PNR OTT Alpha stars. ALL of them.
As usual, applause to Ms. Wright.
I ADORED this thing. Knox is officially my number one book boyfriend of all time. I just love everything about him. I love that he is basically the most powerful dude on Earth. That he and Harper are fated anchors.
Every. Single. Thing.
I pimp and rec this book to everyone and everyone and am truly Wright's number one fan....more
This is technically book 0.5, but I'm glad I read it after book two because I feel like it made me enjoy it more than I would have otherwise.
Reading This is technically book 0.5, but I'm glad I read it after book two because I feel like it made me enjoy it more than I would have otherwise.
Reading this before book one would have made it lose its punch - I would have been kind of lost as all the world building and character type explanation is done in book one.
So personally, I would recommend this be read after book one, if not book two....more
I'm hemming and hawing to myself in regards to how I want to rate this thing.
On one hand, it was super entertaining and I really liked the main characI'm hemming and hawing to myself in regards to how I want to rate this thing.
On one hand, it was super entertaining and I really liked the main character, Penryn. I also really liked this new take on the whole dystopian/apocalyptic craze - angels taking over the world? Nice.
On the other hand, however, I felt like the world building could have been, well, better. I never really felt like I had a true feel for the state of the world and how the Angels figured into all of that.
Also, I typically prefer a little more romance in my EVERYTHING; however, this book wasn't about that and I didn't expect it, so that didn't factor into my rating.
Regardless, I could have gone for some.
Extra points for crazy, gory what the fuckery, though. Things that make you go ewwwwww. Always a good time in my book.
Long story short, If I had to pay the required $4.35 for the next book in this series, I would probably call it quits here; but being that I get it "free" via KU, imma put it on the back burner.
***Possible spoilers for this book - DEFINITE spoilers for previous books***
So I had two options for a review title in my he3 - 3.5 Filler-rific Stars
***Possible spoilers for this book - DEFINITE spoilers for previous books***
So I had two options for a review title in my head when I sat down to write this. My original one was a little...longer. I went with the above option (obviously), but here is what I originally wanted to go with:
3 - 3.5 Raphael & Elena, no Dimitri & Honor, no wait Illium & Aodhan, no hold on I mean Ransom & Nyree, oops no I meant Tanu and Avri, oh wait actually Titus & Keir ok I mean definitely Naasir...Okay fine, everyone OTHER than Janvier & Ashwini STOLE THE SHOW Stars
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Don't get me wrong. Nalini Singh is one of my top favorite authors of all time. She is a brilliant story teller, an expert world builder, and an is-it-PNR-or-UF(???)-MASTER. Her ability to include subtle nuances that serve to create deep characters and an enriched story is unmatched - and all that awesomeness is definitely present in this book.
So to be clear: I definitely enjoyed this book.
HOWEVER...
As alluded to in my ridiculously convoluted review title #2, we get to see all of our favorite peeps and homies. There are awesome cameos by all the above mentioned characters.
But I'm really not joking though when I say that all the other characters stole the show from Janvier and Ashwini, the so-called "main characters" of this book. At least for me.
Dimitri & Honor are ridiculously adorable together. I mean come on, their souls found each after a fucking millennium, people. And Raphael's character is so magnetic he pretty much steals every scene he's in - which is a given. However, the main attention thief in this book?
Naasir.
Seriously, that mo-fo takes entertainment to the nth degree and I loved every single scene he was in.
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I mean just Naasir bringing (view spoiler)[a crazy fly-eating house plant (hide spoiler)] to Elena at a dinner party was more memorable to me than most Janvier/Ashwini scenes.
Even Lijuan - who is supposedly dead, but not really dead - had so much screen mention here it almost drowned them out.
Don't misunderstand me, Janvier and Ashwini are wonderful characters and I really liked them. We have seen Janvier and Ashwini's relationship grow and develop as side characters in other stories preceding this one.
But in my opinion, that's where they should have stayed: on the side.
They were just too buried by the power of the other characters all throughout this book for me.
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Not only that, but a lot of their scenes together involved them investigating a murder. And, honestly, the way some of those scenes were laid out made me feel like Lenny Briscoe and Mike Logan were going to pop up at any moment and pitch in on the case.
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Then we of course had the larger, over-arching story lines that are carried on throughout the series.
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Seriously though, there was so much going on in this story and yet there wasn't...I felt like this book was almost a "filler book" for the series.
Yes, the main focus was supposedly Janvier and Ashwini, but like I said, they didn't even feel like the main characters half the time (to me) and I feel like all this book served to do was further set up Naasir and Illium for their future stories.
And also quite bothersome to me?
Janiver and Ashwini don't even get it on until over 80% into the book!
For real.
Until then, they have one scene in which they toplessly grind on each other like high school freshmen.
But up until that point?
Nada. Zip. Zilch. Nothing. [insert another synonym meaning "the negation of anything"]
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Am I pervert? No. A sex fiend? Perhaps.
Now once again, don't get me wrong. I don't mind it when my stories lack the old slap and tickle, but this is Nalini Singh, people; therefore, I expect my sundae to come fully loaded with whipped cream, nuts, and an optional cherry (this is absolutely an intended metaphor for virginity - the must-have ingredient to the classic romance recipe).
But in this case, I'm thinking that perhaps Rock Addiction and Rock Courtship must have depleted Singh of all her sexy time reserves, because while those books were overwhelmed by superfluous intercourse, this book was like a drought that needed an aqueduct, stat.
But I digress.
Overall, this book was a great addition to the series. I just felt that its punch lacked the power of previous installments; regardless, it's a definite must for the series and is worth reading for Naasir alone.
And PS, it would be AWESOME if Singh ever decided to dapple in a full M/M, because Bluebell and his Sparkle would make the cutest couple EVER. ...more
I swear, nobody does urban fantasy romance better that Nalini Singh. Her world building is out of this world and her characters are awesome. I LOVE RaI swear, nobody does urban fantasy romance better that Nalini Singh. Her world building is out of this world and her characters are awesome. I LOVE Raphael and Elena and I love this series - and this installment did not disappoint. I will read anything Singh writes and I cannot wait for her next one!...more
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