Book Review: Archangel's Resurrection By Nalini Singh

Publication: October 25, 2022
Series: Book 15 in the Guild Hunter Series
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy
Pages: 396 pages

I've yet to come across a paranormal/fantasy fiction that focuses on angels and vampires like The Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh. When I read the first book, Angels' Blood (2009), some years ago, I was captivated and became hooked on this series which led me to explore other literary works of the author. I posted reviews of the first five books of this series on Hive a while back. The world building is superb and relatable. The plots are compelling and the characters are fascinating.

The Guild Hunter series is an alternate realm that focuses on ruling powerful archangels at the top of the hierarchy called The Cadre. Only ten of them can live and rule at a time. If they become more or any 'sleeping' archangel wakes up, it disrupts the leadership and balance of their world.

The Cadre rules apportioned regions of their world with angels next in line as part of their forces followed by vampires. Humans are the lowest on the ladder.

The central characters are Archangel Raphael, the leader of New York, and his consort, a mortal vampire hunter-turned-immortal, Elena Deveraux. Raphael is surrounded by the Seven, his deputies, who are powers in their own right. The author dedicated a book to each of these seven and in other books tells the story of the other archangels.

This book, Archangel's Resurrection is a story of two archangels' reunion, love, revenge, and self-discovery. To fully grasp this story, you may read Archangel's War published in September 2019. This recent release is a continuation of the events in Archangel's War.

The Story

The principal characters in this book are Archangels Alexander and Zanaya.

Alexander, an ancient archangel, first appears in the Guild Hunter series in Archangel’s Enigma (2015) when he's awakened after centuries of 'sleeping' by a cataclysmic weather change called the Cascade. Zanaya on the other hand comes into the story in Archangel’s War (2019) after she wakes from sleep, thanks to the Cascade.

These two archangels have been in love and loved each other forever but their pride/ego put them into an unending cycle of love and separation. They see each other and sparks start to fly again and so do their egos…until Zanaya is attacked and sucked almost dry by the arch-villain, Lijuan. It's uncertain whether Zanaya will rise again.

As the world settles into recovery and healing from the war, Alexander longs to return to sleep but stays awake, watching over Zanaya. Unexpectedly, sunset begins to turn to midnight as a wave of obsidian covers the skies heralding the wake of his love. Zanaya rises but she's different. Is she a friend or a foe? Does she now pose a threat to their world?

Review

Unlike the other books in the Guild Hunter series, Archangel's Resurrection is different because it's focused on Zanaya and Alexander's millennia-spanning love story and of course, there's a villain in this story. Nalini Singh touched on every aspect of the series from different views.

There are flashbacks to millenials before the main characters of the series, Raphael and Elena, ever existed. We meet many archangels that did not appear in the past books and how their actions impacted their world. The author brings the past and perfectly ties it with the present, giving her readers a glimpse into the future to come.

For the romantics, the story is warm and loving. I like that the story is told from Alexander and Zanaya's POV. The real bone of contention between the warrior-archangels is Alexander’s need to protect Zanaya, and Zanaya's need to remain independent and strong. They navigate their relationship from the past into the present. Our main characters, Raphael and Elena, are very much at the centre of this love story.

For the action lovers, there are strategies and battle scenes where the archangels face off with a villain archangel who rose from sleep to cause some chaos in their world. It's riveting and adrenaline-pumping. The way Nalini Singh writes, she immerses her readers in the scenes.

I admire the two archangels and wish they didn't have to wait for many millennials to realise the power of their love. Alexander is tough and practical while Zanaya is fierce, a badass and doesn't suffer fools gladly.

I enjoyed getting to know more about the Cadre and how they work together when emergencies arise. But I was a little disappointed that the author didn't give Raphael and Elena much attention in this book, only a few mentions.

Themes covered in this story include love, magic and prophecies, assault and bullying, revenge and fate.

Overall, I enjoyed Archangel's Resurrection even though the author made readers relive a part of the War (book 12). It's well-written and even-paced. It's a second chance at love and laying to rest the ghost of the past. There's some mystery, action and romance in it. This book can be read on its own, but new readers may not understand much about some of the characters.

I'll give it 3.9 stars out of 5. If you enjoy paranormals, you'll like this one. The next book in the series, Archangel's Lineage, will be released in 2024. I can't wait!

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Note: Quotes in this post are excerpts from the book}}