Review: Archangel's Enigma

ARCHANGEL'S ENIGMA
Guild Hunter #8
Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance
384 pages
Berkley Sensation
Available September 1st
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Naasir is the most feral of the powerful group of vampires and angels known as the Seven, his loyalty pledged to the Archangel Raphael. When rumors surface of a plot to murder the former Archangel of Persia, now lost in the Sleep of the Ancients, Naasir is dispatched to find him. For only he possesses the tracking skills required—those more common to predatory animals than to man.

Enlisted to accompany Naasir, Andromeda, a young angelic scholar with dangerous secrets, is fascinated by his nature—at once playful and brilliant, sensual and brutal. As they race to find the Sleeping archangel before it’s too late, Naasir will force her to question all she knows...and tempt her to walk into the magnificent, feral darkness of his world. But first they must survive an enemy vicious enough to shatter the greatest taboo of the angelic race and plunge the world into a screaming nightmare…

MY THOUGHTS
The Guild Hunter series is an unusual one in terms of overall format, focusing on a single couple in the early books before veering off and giving us one-book romances featuring prominent secondary characters. While falling in love with a primary couple in a series and then having to give up our time with them in favor of others (especially since we do loop back around to them in a later book) might sound a touch off-putting, Ms. Singh makes it work effortlessly, ensuring we’re so invested in this world as a whole that we can do nothing but look forward to whomever is in the starring role.

Archangel’s Enigma sees one of Raphael’s Seven step to the forefront once again, Naasir winning our hearts easily (as has the entirety of the Seven) in previous books with his unapologetic nature. Naasir has teased both those around him as well as readers with hints about what he truly is (something uniquely other from the angels and vampires that inhabit this world) from the background of others’ stories, and proves as delightful in this tale as we’d hoped he’d be. He’s endearingly quirky and blunt, boldly announcing his desire to “rut” with Andi from almost the moment he meets her and rarely allowing polite company to dictate his words and behavior.

Once he learns Andi has made a vow of celibacy, one enormously important to her given the things she’s seen growing up with parents who take debauchery to a nightmare-inducing level, he refuses to let her break it even as their feelings for one another develop and deepen. Before setting off on their assignment, Andi gives Naasir what she believes to be an impossible task, stating that she’ll only break her vow should he be able to complete it (it’s important to note however that she doesn’t give him this task to make him jump through hoops or prove himself worthy, instead it’s more for herself – to keep her desire for him in check by making the reality of a relationship something that will never come to pass). The seriousness with which Naasir takes this task is absolutely adorable, his occasional grumbling about her “stupid Grimoire” when things get romantically tense between them keeping a smile on our faces even as the darkness of this world settles heavily in our bones.

The two of them together are a joy, and given Andi’s vow we get to spend a lot of time with them as they get to know one another emotionally before even the tiniest of baby steps toward physical intimacy are made. While this is the only book that will feature Naasir and Andi as the main couple, it’s best to read this series in order, the overall plot arc regarding the start of the Cascade in previous books continuing to develop in this installment. We’re of course left with a happy ending for Andi and Naasir, but the political climate for the archangels is turbulent at best by the time we reach the last page, and big changes are clearly on the way in future books.

Rating: 4.5/5

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.