This is the best Urban Fantasy I've read in forever! The originality and the depiction of the world are awe-inspiring. Nalini Singh is fast becoming one of my favorite UF authors. Her books are one of a kind, and this book is no exception.
Angel's Blood is well written in the dual POV of Raphael and Elena, with Elena having 70% of the POV. This book is fast-paced and hard to put down with no boring parts.
This book is set in a contemporary world where Angels are not religious beings but are powerful immortals. The archangels are the most powerful of their kind, and they are only ten of them in the present. These ten rule the world territory by territory. Raphael is one such archangel, and his territory is New York.
The Angels also have the power to make vampires. In return for changing them from human to vampires, the new vampire has to sign a contract to serve the Angel for a number of years. Some of those vampires run away, and that is where the guild hunters come in. Their job is to capture the vampire and bring them to their master. Elena is one of such.
The Angel's powers need more explanation. I know they can do a lot of things but don't know their limit yet. Hopefully, book two will change that. There's telepathy, mind control, telekinesis, etc.
There are two types of hunters in the book- the born hunters can track a vampire by scent while the trained ones only have their learned skills. Of course, Elena is a born hunter.
Raphael hires Elena to hunt an Archangel, something she has never done before. She can't refuse because she wasn't given room to. Despite her fears, she is attracted to Raphael. Raphael is used to getting what he wants, and he wants Elena.
My favorite character is neither of the main characters but Illium, a beautiful blue-winged angel. He is fun and hilarious, and I love his loyalty.
Elena is the definition of a strong female character, and I hope that doesn't change. Raphael is what you'll expect of an alpha male, but he listens to Elena and is willing to change. Despite the cost to him.
It pains me to write this, but someone else has to: this book is freakishly similar to the ACOTAR series. Since this one was published first, it isn't hard to connect the dots. Jason, the spymaster, is just Azriel, down to talking to shadows, and Illium, a beautiful, fun character, is basically Cassian.
