Fresh from a tidal wave of recently released vampire romance novels following successes like Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, it’s now been whispered that angels are soon to be the next big thing. Nailini Singh’s Angels’ Blood couldn’t be more perfectly timed for lovers of supernatural romance.

Elena Deveraux is one of the best vampire hunters around. In a world where the existence of vampires and other supernatural beings is common knowledge amongst the human race, angels and Archangels rule as powerful presidential figures, feared by every living thing that claps eyes on them. Vampires are ‘made’ by these powerful creatures and, in much the same fashion as moody teenagers rebelling against their parents, they often run away. Elena’s job is to capture and return them to their rightful owners.

When we meet Elena, she has perfect control over her life. Her reputation is well earned and no job ever seems out of reach. Until now.

When the beautiful but dangerous Archangel Raphael hires her, Elena knows this is a life or death situation. Completing her given mission (finding an archangel gone bad) seems impossible but failure is not an option if she wants to hold on to her life. Raphael’s reputation for destroying any creature that crosses him leaves the hunter in constant fear yet, at the same time, she can’t help but notice the undeniable chemistry between them.

Determined to focus on what seems like an impossible assignment, Elena must get ready for the job of her life while also trying not to succumb to Raphael’s unrelenting seduction games.

Singh’s sexy and romantic story set amongst a New York backdrop run by angels is the perfect read for lovers of supernatural and fantasy romance. The idea of vampires as beings created by angels and used as ‘slaves’ of some sort is an interesting and fresh new take on the genre. Angels having this power over the creatures we’ve become obsessed with instantly gives them a strong command of the story as beings not to be reckoned with.

The descriptions of them as almost too beautiful to look at is quite reminiscent of those we’ve already heard of vampires but their control over humans and other supernatural beings immediately puts them at an advantage and gives them a thrilling new power we’ve never seen before. When characters are able to control the story in this way, the reader knows they’re on to something good.

Singh’s writing is steamy, passionate, and, at times, quite erotic. The undeniable chemistry between our two central characters is apparent from the start and, as more seemingly minor characters begin to involve themselves in the story and complicate things, we are always left on edge wondering whether they will finally give in to temptation. Elena stubbornly refuses to let an Archangel show that he has power over her – even though that could mean her death – while Raphael is struggling with his own problem: a growing conscience.

There is already a huge community of fans that love paranormal romance. These stories seem to have a Mills & Boon way of introducing a lonely character who finds raw passion that she’s afraid of at first. Elena’s quite a strong, independent character, refusing to let the ‘good-looking man in charge’ take whatever he wants as he’s used to. Though it’s clear she’s fighting a losing battle as her lust and temptation begin to prove too much.

Fans of supernatural and fantasy romance are going to love this book. It has everything you’d want when looking for a good bit of action-packed intimacy. Far from being too smutty, it has the right amount of sexiness, desire, and intensity needed with a good dose of eroticism thrown in to get your heart racing.

Angels’ Blood is the first in Nalini Singh’s exciting new Guild Hunter series which is sure to be a must-read and a breathtaking introduction to a soon-to-be popular fantasy figure.

Reviewed by Ceri Padley

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