Archangel's Blade (Guild Hunter, #4) in Audiobook Junkies

Aug 28, 2011 Melindeeloo rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal-romance, vampires, favorites

As a fan of Singh's Guild Hunters I am ashamed to admit that I was not looking forward to Archangel's Blade. Raphael's Second, vampire Dmitri, with his taste for pain and the way that he has wielded his deadly sensuality as a weapon in previous books, was just too cruel for me to imagine as a leading man, so I did not expect to like his story. However, the first third of Archangel's Blade was so captivating that even though I still wasn't sold on Dmitri, I found myself turning the pages as Singh As a fan of Singh's Guild Hunters I am ashamed to admit that I was not looking forward to Archangel's Blade. Raphael's Second, vampire Dmitri, with his taste for pain and the way that he has wielded his deadly sensuality as a weapon in previous books, was just too cruel for me to imagine as a leading man, so I did not expect to like his story. However, the first third of Archangel's Blade was so captivating that even though I still wasn't sold on Dmitri, I found myself turning the pages as Singh weaves Dmitri's history and the pain he has carried with him for a thousand years into the two hunts that make up the background story. After that point, Singh begins the subtle shift that manages to turn the monster into a hero, still cruel and violent - because that is necessary when dealing with wayward immortals - but a hero still to his heroine, and to those who have earned his trust and protection.

As much as I was surprised by how much I liked Archangel's Blade, and Dmitri himself once we get an idea of 'who' he really is, I was almost as surprised by Dmitri's heroine Honor. Honor, the Guild Hunter who had been held captive as a blood toy and continuously and violently violated by vampires during her imprisonment, starts out so broken and withdrawn that she is barely functional. It is rare that an abused heroine's return to life and sensuality is handled well in romances, but somehow Singh manages it - and she does it without the repetitive torture filled flashbacks that were a bit distracting with Elena. I think that the reason it works so well here is that Singh doesn't hurry Honor through her recovery - there are breakthroughs, and relapses, and defining moments until finally Honor ends up even 'more' than the person that she was before. And I really liked that somehow, as Honor – with Dmitri's help - tracks down her abusers and slowly regains herself, Honor also gains a power over Dmitri in that she truly 'sees' him for the loyal protector he no longer believes himself to be. For me this re-balancing of power was crucial in allowing me to believe in a happily ever after for the pair.

Like the other Guild Hunter books, Angel's Blade is dark, and has the graphic aftermath of extreme violence but in the end it is an excellent entry to the series and makes me glad that Singh has decided to give us more insight into the Seven. As much as I love Elena and Raphael, I don't mind them moving to supporting roles in order to get more of the Cadre's back stories, and it's exciting to see the foundation being laid for future books. ...more

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Sep 02, 2010 Linda (un)Conventional Bookworms rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fave-series, adult, fave-2011-before

"I know", she said, determined not to let this drive her back into the dark, "but since you have a reputation of enjoying pain, I'm sure they won't be surprised if I give in to the need to stab you"

Honor and Dmitri were so broken it was amazing they could even try to find pieces of themselves to fit back together again!

The searching for vengeance - for both of them, was excrutiating, but filled with so much beauty and wonder anyway. Their romance was far from easy, as they both had so many trust ...more

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Jul 02, 2010 Darcy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pnr, 2011, e-book, angels

I found the second half of this book to be much better than the first half, which moved slow for me. I really liked and admired Honor. She survived such horror and was slowly working herself back to normal. I found it interesting that Dimitri, a vampire, was able to help her succeed in this mission of hers. Of course as things start to reveal, you realize that he is probably the only person that would be able to help her.

I loved how Dimitri's past, his mortal life, was interspersed within the st ...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Jen (That's What I'm Talking About) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-romance, guild-hunters-series

My Rating: 4 stars: Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)

Full review at my blog: http://www.twimom227.com/2011/09/revi...

For the fourth (and possibly best) Guild Hunter book, Ms. Singh steers away from main characters Archangel Raphael and his Hunter Consort Elena, who were the primary focus of the first three books. Instead we follow Raphael’s second-in-command, the ancient vampire, Dmitri and recently abducted Hunter, Honor. Chronologically, this story follows the third book, Archangel’s Consort, My Rating: 4 stars: Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)

Full review at my blog: http://www.twimom227.com/2011/09/revi...

For the fourth (and possibly best) Guild Hunter book, Ms. Singh steers away from main characters Archangel Raphael and his Hunter Consort Elena, who were the primary focus of the first three books. Instead we follow Raphael’s second-in-command, the ancient vampire, Dmitri and recently abducted Hunter, Honor. Chronologically, this story follows the third book, Archangel’s Consort, and readers of the series will recognize several familiar faces.

With the change in character focus, I feel that readers new to this series *could* start with Archangel’s Blade, however, this is such an amazing series, I recommend starting at the beginning where readers witness how cold and cruel Dmitri is. Without softening Dmitri, Ms. Singh indulges us with glimpses into the psyche and heart of a man who will only weep before one woman.

Honor is a special woman as well. After being abducted, tortured and raped by a dangerous vampire, she is paired with Dmitri to work on a case. Without missing a beat, Dmitri carefully pushes Honor, using a restraint he has never shown before, forcing her to face her fears and heal. Although she is frightened, Honor has always felt a bond and attraction to the mysterious Dmitri, and she pushes back, fighting and becoming whole.

I was a bit concerned about Honor and her recovery, but Ms. Singh does, in my opinion, a good job. Honor does not go riding off into the sunset. She starts and stops many times before allowing herself to fall for Dmitri. Her character was developed in such a way that leaves little doubt in her desire and ability to survive and overcome. As Honor herself said she’s not a victim, she’s a survivor.

The characters make this book, but the story is equally intriguing. The plots mingle and move at just the right pace to keep you glued to the pages.

Archangel’s Blade is a fabulous addition to the Guild Hunter series. With the difficult topic of rape/abduction, Ms. Singh gives the story grace and power. I grew to care about Dmitri and Honor and hope that we will see a lot more of them in the future.
...more

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May 22, 2011 Lupdilup rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.1/2 stars
What's up with these covers???, Yes! Don't judge a book by its cover.
A perfect book until the ending, not a cliffhanger, but not worthy of the story, it was like watching a gymnast completely missed the landing after a perfect 10 routine (that's why I'm deducting 1/2 point..lol) or watching your team's quarterback drive the ball for 99 yards just to fumble at the 1 yard, it's not that it was horrible, I just found it very unsatisfying. I loved, loved the book till then, I still think ...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Kathy Martin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Honor is a Hunter who is trying to recover from being kidnapped and held prisoner by some vampires for two months. She was hurt every way a person can be hurt but she survived. When the story begins she is being forced out of her new secure rut and sent to meet with Dmitri because she has a knowledge of ancient languages. A recent vampire corpse was found with a tattoo written in an unknown language.

Honor begins by being very afraid of any vampire and especially afraid of Dmitri. After all, Dmit ...more

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Sep 08, 2011 Marcela (BookaholicCat) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Archangel’s Blade is book four in the Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh.

I usually write a small summary of the book but in this case the blurb will have to be sufficient because I don’t want to give too much away. Also I’m going to try to write this review as spoiler free as possible. Let’s see if I can.

When I learned Mrs. Singh was writing Dmitri’s book I was excited and to tell you the true a bit skeptical too. I couldn’t picture Dmitri as a hero in love and caring for anyone. Dmitri is a ve Archangel’s Blade is book four in the Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh.

I usually write a small summary of the book but in this case the blurb will have to be sufficient because I don’t want to give too much away. Also I’m going to try to write this review as spoiler free as possible. Let’s see if I can.

When I learned Mrs. Singh was writing Dmitri’s book I was excited and to tell you the true a bit skeptical too. I couldn’t picture Dmitri as a hero in love and caring for anyone. Dmitri is a very dark character who punishes and enjoys the suffering of others, so how was Mrs. Singh going to makes us like him, how was she going to makes us change the image we have of him from Angel’s Blood (book one of the series)? But, she did it. She took us on a trip to his past in which we see his core and the events that transformed him, making him the “person” he is now days.
Saying Dmitri is a tortured soul is putting it mildly. He has live for thousand years in anger and resentment to others and towards himself for events that were completely out of his control. The way he lives his life is almost as a defense mechanism against his past and his memories. And seeing him letting “his walls” crumble because of a woman was a very nice experience.

Honor is also a survivor, she was the victim of a very traumatic experience involving vampires, one in which not many will survive with his/her mind intact, but Honor is a fighter and everyday is a milestone to her recovery. Spending time with Dmitri is not an easy task for her on the beginning. He is a vampire to start with, but also he has fascinated her since the moment she arrived to New York, years back, but now after the attack she associates vampires with her attack, so when she is with Dmitri the conflict of emotions is palpable.

Since their first meeting the tension between these two is off the charts. At the beginning Honor is just a prey for Dmitri but when he learns about her past he takes it as his duty to help her find her revenge from her assailants. With every moment they spend together they get closer and closer and start to open to each other about their lives and their past. I really like this approach to their HEA; honesty is the base for any good relationship but sadly after this highlight in the story is when I started to have a problem with a book that was perfect. There were some hints about Honor that I wasn’t sure where they were going but was suspecting it, and when the end came and my suspicions were confirmed I felt a very big disappointment and cheated. I thought the ending didn’t make justice to the romance. It’s also an ending in which the HEA is very subjective therefore not real (in my opinion). I want to tell you more but if I do I will spoiled the book for you. And that is the last thing I want to do. Also my reaction to the end was a very personal one and it may not be the same reaction you would have.

We see some glimpses of Elena and Raphael, they seem to be doing great and I’m happy for that. We also see more of Illium, Jason, Venom and Holly, now called Sorrow. I don’t know if it was me and my wild imagination but I felt there was something between Venom and Sorrow, we’ll see… Illium worries me a bit, he is still too attached to Elena and I have a feeling that is not going to end up well. I hope I’m wrong because Bluebell is one of my favorite characters and I want him to be safe and happy.

Janvier from Angel’s Pawn (0.5 prequel of the series) is mention couple of times I think we will see more of him and Ashwini in the future. It was also said that Aodhan is moving to New York, he is one angel I would love to know better and I can’t wait to see what Mrs. Singh has in store for him.

In general I loved Archangel’s Blade, as always Mrs. Singh writing is spotless, sexy and fluid. If it weren’t because of my disappointment with the end this would have been a 5 Paws book. Anyway Archangel’s Blade is a great book, a book I recommend you to read. It could be read as a stand-alone but I recommend you to read previous books first to have a better image and understanding of the characters. ...more

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Nov 12, 2013 Sunny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: a-1-favorite-series

So much to say about this book. I need time to process. Review to come.

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Dec 14, 2019 Nelle Nazario rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: z-read-in-2019, 2022

This one guts me!!! I love a great second chance romance and Dimitri SO deserved it! This story is so tragic! So many triggers Death of Children, Rape, torture, but along with that an Alpha Vampire falling for not only his true love all over again but opening his heart to a young woman who's like a daughter to him. ...more

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