What do you think?
Rate this book
Guild Hunter #15
Archangel's Resurrection
11 hours, 24 minutes
New York Times Bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into the dangerous, haunting world of archangels…and a love that is legend.
For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved. Locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak, it is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.
Eons later, it is the Cascade of Death that wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent…only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected?
Only one thing is clear: this is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance. The final song for Alexander and his Zani…
New York Times Bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into the dangerous, haunting world of archangels…and a love that is legend.
For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved. Locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak, it is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.
Eons later, it is the Cascade of Death that wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent…only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected?
Only one thing is clear: this is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance. The final song for Alexander and his Zani…
Audiobook
First published October 25, 2022
613 people are currently reading
4584 people want to read
About the author
Nalini Singh
248 books26.7k followersI've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There's no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.
I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).
So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.
I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).
So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 725 reviews
August 16, 2023
edit6: god, why was this even written.
edit5: The blurb is out and it's official - > Alexander & Zanaya are next!
The history between them sounds very intriguing 👀 tho i am wondering why she chose these two in particular to focus on next. There are more established characters waiting in the wings *cough* and there are sequels to be written.
edit4: AND WE HAVE A COVER
IT'S ALEXANDERRR
didn't expect that at all 🤔
please can he be with caliane 👀
edit3: ohhhh we have a title
ARCHANGEL'S RESURRECTION
please let this be about The Legion coming back
oh
or maybe nadiel has been reborn? 👀
just let it be anyone but would feel like groundhog day
__________________
edit5: The blurb is out and it's official - > Alexander & Zanaya are next!
The history between them sounds very intriguing 👀 tho i am wondering why she chose these two in particular to focus on next. There are more established characters waiting in the wings *cough* and there are sequels to be written.
edit4: AND WE HAVE A COVER
IT'S ALEXANDERRR
didn't expect that at all 🤔
please can he be with caliane 👀
edit3: ohhhh we have a title
ARCHANGEL'S RESURRECTION
please let this be about The Legion coming back
oh
or maybe nadiel has been reborn? 👀
just let it be anyone but would feel like groundhog day
__________________
October 23, 2022
4.5 stars - Reviewed for
Wit and Sin
What happens when love isn’t enough to keep two angels together? That’s the question in Archangel’s Resurrection . Archangels Alexander and Zanaya have loved each other for millennia, their passion as furious as their breakups. It’s an endless cycle of love and heartbreak until Zanaya Sleeps, leaving Alexander alone. Now a Cascade unlike any other wakes Zanaya and Alexander is there. That eons have passed makes no difference in their love, but they can’t continue on like they have always done. For this time is their last chance to get it right.
Nalini Singh delivers a love story of two stubborn souls who have to learn from their past in order to make a relationship work. I absolutely loved seeing Alexander and Zanaya from youth to present. They are Ancients and their history is vast and complicated. It was a delight seeing Alexander as a young angel; how he learned, formed friendships that lasted through time (including that with Caliane). Zanaya, though centuries younger than her love, has just as long and storied a history. I was delighted by the first half of the book, getting to see their pasts and just the sheer history of their lives. They are millennia older than the angels we’ve come to know and love and I was fascinated by the worldbuilding Singh did. Both Zanaya and Alexander have a different perspective from the other angels we’ve seen so far.
Whether their love can survive is never a question for Alexander and Zanaya. It’s if they can live with each other. The natural repellant that comes from two archangels being in such close quarters is not their only problem. They clash as fiercely as they love and now, in the present, after Zanaya is deeply wounded in battle it has come to the final chance for the lovers. They have to work at their relationship; sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not. No matter how stubborn they both are, I liked that they worked for their happily ever after. They own up to their faults and learn to grow. And through it all is a core of love that shines bright.
There’s a darkness lingering in the background thanks to the aftermath of Lijuan’s reign of terror, but that comes second to the love story. I won’t spoil the overarching plot except to say it’s OK but not incredibly exciting if you’ve been reading the series. For me personally, I’ve had about as much of Lijuan as can hold my interest and I’m more than ready to move toward something new. I was far more interested in the new characters we meet who are near and dear to Alexander and Zanaya. And I definitely enjoyed getting a different take on the archangels and their nature from the perspective of two Ancients. I finished Archangel’s Resurrection a well-satisfied reader and I’m very much looking forward to seeing where Singh takes the Guild Hunter series next.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
*****************************************
Pre-Read Thoughts:
Fingers crossed this is Illium and Aodhan part 2!
July 2022 update: It's not - it's Alexander and Zanaya. Don't get me wrong, I'm still looking forward to this book. But I really, really wish Singh had finished Illium and Aodhan's story (or at least the first part of it) before moving on to a different couple.
What happens when love isn’t enough to keep two angels together? That’s the question in Archangel’s Resurrection . Archangels Alexander and Zanaya have loved each other for millennia, their passion as furious as their breakups. It’s an endless cycle of love and heartbreak until Zanaya Sleeps, leaving Alexander alone. Now a Cascade unlike any other wakes Zanaya and Alexander is there. That eons have passed makes no difference in their love, but they can’t continue on like they have always done. For this time is their last chance to get it right.
Nalini Singh delivers a love story of two stubborn souls who have to learn from their past in order to make a relationship work. I absolutely loved seeing Alexander and Zanaya from youth to present. They are Ancients and their history is vast and complicated. It was a delight seeing Alexander as a young angel; how he learned, formed friendships that lasted through time (including that with Caliane). Zanaya, though centuries younger than her love, has just as long and storied a history. I was delighted by the first half of the book, getting to see their pasts and just the sheer history of their lives. They are millennia older than the angels we’ve come to know and love and I was fascinated by the worldbuilding Singh did. Both Zanaya and Alexander have a different perspective from the other angels we’ve seen so far.
Whether their love can survive is never a question for Alexander and Zanaya. It’s if they can live with each other. The natural repellant that comes from two archangels being in such close quarters is not their only problem. They clash as fiercely as they love and now, in the present, after Zanaya is deeply wounded in battle it has come to the final chance for the lovers. They have to work at their relationship; sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s not. No matter how stubborn they both are, I liked that they worked for their happily ever after. They own up to their faults and learn to grow. And through it all is a core of love that shines bright.
There’s a darkness lingering in the background thanks to the aftermath of Lijuan’s reign of terror, but that comes second to the love story. I won’t spoil the overarching plot except to say it’s OK but not incredibly exciting if you’ve been reading the series. For me personally, I’ve had about as much of Lijuan as can hold my interest and I’m more than ready to move toward something new. I was far more interested in the new characters we meet who are near and dear to Alexander and Zanaya. And I definitely enjoyed getting a different take on the archangels and their nature from the perspective of two Ancients. I finished Archangel’s Resurrection a well-satisfied reader and I’m very much looking forward to seeing where Singh takes the Guild Hunter series next.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
*****************************************
Pre-Read Thoughts:
Fingers crossed this is Illium and Aodhan part 2!
July 2022 update: It's not - it's Alexander and Zanaya. Don't get me wrong, I'm still looking forward to this book. But I really, really wish Singh had finished Illium and Aodhan's story (or at least the first part of it) before moving on to a different couple.
November 14, 2022
Update 10/25/22
Check out my INTERVIEW with the talented (and soooo nice) Nalini Singh! She even answered a question about Illium and Aodhan that I think you'll all want to know the answer to.
And now for my review:
During the war in Archangel's War, Zanaya was bitten by Lijuan and fell, and that’s more or less where this book starts. Alexander watches that moment in disbelief, unable to do more than catch the archangel he thinks of as his Zani and wonder if this is her end. He gives her into the hands of the half-Sleeping, half-awake archangel Cassandra. Though Cassandra is a foreseer, she can’t answer Alexander’s question about whether Zanaya will ever wake again. Alexander is devastated; his relationship with Zanaya was on-again, off-again but he has always counted on her being in the world and he doesn’t know if he can exist in it if she doesn’t.
A short chapter in Cassandra’s viewpoint follows, a murky prophecy where a sickly green infection colors the future and there is only one tiny chance, a diamond strand of small possibility for something better. Cassandra can’t change the future but she has influenced it, and so this is the only timeline in which Elena has survived. Hope remains, but it’s fragile, and the chapter ends with a cryptic prophecy: “Lovers fall and lovers rise. The river stops flowing. This time will be the end.”
We then flash back thousands of years earlier, to Alexander’s birth and childhood. Alexander is a much beloved child with caring parents and an affectionate older brother, Osiris. Unlike his shy parents or his brother who studies the world around him, Alexander is a boisterous, focused and strong for his age. He is enrolled in training and there he befriends Callie, a slightly older girl. She is of course, Caliane, who will grow up to be an archangel.
When his mother is assaulted by a more powerful angel who pursued her against her wishes, Alexander’s choice to seek help from an archangel’s general not only protects the family, it also brings him to the attention the general, Akhia-Solay, who places him under his command and provides him with further training and opportunities.
The incident is a defining one. The lesson Alexander takes from it is that power matters, that it’s worth holding and using to protect others and to fight for what’s right and just. Over the centuries that follow, Alexander rises in power, becoming an admired and handsome general. He takes lovers, but no one means the world to him and he doesn’t anticipate that anyone ever will. This expectation is confounded when he meets a black-skinned, silver-haired young angel named Zanaya.
Though young, Zanaya is already fierce and determined. She grew up in the hinterlands, where her father abandoned her mother after he tired of her. Zanaya’s mother became desolate and desperate, and Zanaya decided that she would let no man have that kind of power over her, that she would always belong to herself.
When she meets golden-haired, silver-eyed, three-thousand-years-old Alexander, Zanaya discovers she is not immune; his beauty, power and danger sing to her soul. And when he rejects her—not because he doesn’t feel the same way but because he can’t give in to the feeling for fear of reshaping someone too young—Zanaya decides that no matter what, she will end her obsession with him.
As the centuries pass, Alexander’s brother Osiris loses himself in his experiments and gets out of touch with the world. Caliane ascends yet she and Alexander remain friends. When the Archangel he serves, Esphares, begins to become unstable, it is Alexander who must make him see that he needs to retreat into Sleep. And then—unexpectedly, because he’d given up the notion that it would ever happen—Alexander also ascends.
Zanaya’s obsession doesn’t die, and when Alexander becomes an archangel, she is angrier than ever at the possibility that he’ll never be within reach. No matter how many lovers she takes, half of her will belong to man she’s never touched. But her best friend, Aureline, has the insight that Alexander feels just as strongly and is waiting for her to grow into her power.
When Alexander and Zanaya finally become lovers, their relationship is passionate and intense. Through more centuries, through Zanaya’s own eventual ascension, two things are always apparent: No matter how many times their fights tear them apart, Alexander and Zani will keep returning to each other, and the real bone of contention between them will always be Alexander’s need to protect Zanaya and Zanaya’s need to remain independent and strong, to belong to no one but herself.
When we return to the time of the cascade, we see Zanaya wake and joins the war effort. She and Alexander put their last fight on hold, more or less, and spend a few days together fighting Lijuan’s reborn with Michaela’s help and preparing to meet with the rest of the Cadre in New York.
Alexander wants to get back together, but Zanaya is skeptical that things will be any different this time. She promises Alexander that she'll hearing him out and they'll talk after the battle, but then Lijuan bites her, perhaps fatally, and Alexander has to leave her with Cassandra. He mourns and rages and vows to love her again, forever this time, if he’s given the opportunity. But will Zanaya ever wake again, or will something else awaken in her place?
Besides this main storyline, there are a few other threads here. One is about Alexander’s brother Osiris, his descent into madness and its frightening consequences. Another is about Caliane and Alexander’s long, long friendship. Zanaya has her own best friend, Aureline, and Aureline and another angel’s relationship play out in the background. We see Alexander and Raphael’s respect for each other develop, and we see Alexander’s alliance with Titus across their shared border. And this wouldn’t be a Guild Hunter book without a creepy suspenseful subplot; there is one in the second half of the book.
Something else happens that has me very excited.
Spoiler (only sort of a spoiler):
It’s also in this part of the book that Alexander and Zanaya’s reunion takes place, and they have to resolve their differences and see if they can shape their future relationship to be more unified than it was in their tumultuous past. Can they compromise in a way that diminishes neither of them?
As characters in this series go, Alexander has never been a big favorite of mine. I’m only rarely interested in stodgy heroes, and Alexander is a bit of stuffed shirt. I do understand that a lot of his inflexibility comes with his immortality. He is truly an ancient. But I think it’s also his personality, because I can think of a couple of other ancients who don’t struggle with this character flaw to the same extent. I didn’t come out of this book a lot more excited about Alexander than I was going into it but I have nothing against him either.
I realize this isn’t a ringing endorsement, but happily, I am a reader for whom one satisfying character is enough to make enjoyable, and this book does have a character I can resoundingly endorse: Zanaya. I really loved her fierceness. She was badass, she took no prisoners, and she took none of Alexander’s crap either. The word spirited doesn’t begin to do her justice, but I also never felt that she was behaving with immature feistiness. In general, I was almost always on her side whenever they were in conflict. She was the one who was ultimately more grounded in life.
Their romance was turbulent at times and I have to admit, I never quite got what the glue was that kept them (particularly Zanaya) from moving on after one of their breakups. The best answer given in the book was that they were destined for each other from the moment they first saw each other. “Fate” is an answer works up to a point, and I think Nalini Singh sells it for the most part. I would still have liked a bit more, because I loved Zanaya so much that I wanted to be convinced that she would be happier with Alexander in the future than she would ever be with someone else. I’m not 100% there.
I do believe that about Alexander, though, that no one else could ever mean as much to him. In his soul and in his bones, Alexander is a one-woman man, regardless of breakups and other lovers. He is unswervingly Zanaya’s and in many ways that’s his saving grace. There was never a moment when I felt he didn’t appreciate how special Zanaya was or understand there was no one else like her. He got it. That part of it he got in spades.
This is very much the love of two archangels and the story makes it very clear that (as the author has said more than once, including in our recent interview— see the link at the top) these characters aren’t exactly human. I think this kind of relationship might not hold together between two human beings, but being Archangels, having that kind of power, gives these two the tenacity to make it work in the end.
Their past wasn’t easy, and I don’t think their life together will always be easy in the future, though I do think they’re both ready to have a mellower time for a while at least. I wish I had a clearer idea of the reason they’ll be a completely united front for the rest of their unnatural lifetimes— “this time he’d thought she was dead” isn’t quite enough for me—but I was willing to buy it because I liked Zanaya so much and I wanted happiness for her. And I do think Alexander will make a genuine effort and that he means what he says.
Now to the other characters in the series. Man, I missed them so much. When we last left the Guild Hunter world, Illium and Aodhan had gone from tight lifelong friends to romantic partners. I loved Archangel’s Light—it was easily one of the top two books I read last year—so I was really, really excited by the possibilities in their future and looking forward to another glimpse of them.
I’ll get out of the way what many Bluebell and Sparkle fans are wondering. No, there’s no further developments on in their relationship that we see in this book (but check out the exciting news about them in Monday’s interview). In fact we don’t see them at all in this book, we don’t see any of the Seven at all except for Naasir and that’s in flashback to his childhood. Even Elena only gets a few lines. That was the most disappointing thing for me about this book. But on the other hand, the sort-of spoiler I hid above makes me very excited about future books.
Besides Alexander and Zanaya, the familiar faces we do see are most of the Cadre (including, before the war, Michaela who I’m now convinced will be given her own book), especially Caliane, Raphael, Titus, and to a lesser extent Elijah. Xander, Alexander’s grandson, gets a fair bit of page time too, as does another character we haven’t seen since Archangel’s War and that I wasn’t sure we’d see again anytime soon. There is also a glimpse of Sharine that I really enjoyed.
However, this book is focused very tightly on Zanaya and Alexander, as a larger-than-life, millennia-spanning love story might have to be, and I did love the epic scope of it. It’s a story that’s told to a large extent through Alexander’s eyes rather than Zanaya’s, although we do get her POV. There were times I wished it was the other way around but that might just be because I like her so much.
Overall I enjoyed Archangel’s Resurrection, and now I’m dying for Guild Hunter #16. 3.75 stars.
Comment thread here if anyone is interested: https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o...
Update 10/24/22
Hey guys! I have an INTERVIEW with the talented (and soooo nice) Nalini Singh at Dear Author today! She was generous in answering my questions about the new book, her three series, her writing habits and her favorite books.
Including one about Illium and Aodhan that I think you'll all want to know the answer to. Head over there to read it:
https://dearauthor.com/features/inter...
I'll post my review tomorrow.
Update 8/11/22
I will be doing an interview with Nalini Singh on Dear Author, to coincide with the release of Archangel’s Resurrection and with my review of the book. I asked her SO many questions, including one about Illium and Aodhan. I’ll try to remember to post a link, so keep an eye out for it.
Update 7/16/21
Finished reading. I wish I could review it now, but publishers give out ARCs with the understanding that the books won’t be reviewed until within a week of publication or later. I know not everyone at Goodreads feel the same, but I feel honor-bound not to say much until then.
Update 6/21/22
The Alexander and Zanaya theory is proven correct! But I thought two archangels couldn't be together because their archangelic power won't tolerate another archangel in the vicinity for long (See: Caliane and Nadiel). I wonder how this will be resolved...
Update 5/16/22
The cover is out and I have been persuaded that that is Alexander on it, in which case all my earlier theories were wrong! If that is true than it is probably Zanaya who will be resurrected.
Still hope we get some good Illium / Aodhan scenes in this book, though. I want more of them!
Update 2/16/22
God, that title probably means my theory that Noooooo! *Groans.*
Unless--wait! Maybe it's my other theory that will turn out to be true. That would be much more interesting. Could be the Legion too, of course.
Update 10/9/21
I'm going to amend what I said before. I'm still here for any of those book possibilities but now that I've read Archangel's Light, I'm *dying* for Illium and Aodhan part 2. And part 3. Fingers crossed that we'll get them.
8/30/21
Who could this one be about? Suyin maybe? Elena and Raphael? Illium and Aodhan part 2? Does anyone know? #curious
I'm here for any of them.
Check out my INTERVIEW with the talented (and soooo nice) Nalini Singh! She even answered a question about Illium and Aodhan that I think you'll all want to know the answer to.
And now for my review:
During the war in Archangel's War, Zanaya was bitten by Lijuan and fell, and that’s more or less where this book starts. Alexander watches that moment in disbelief, unable to do more than catch the archangel he thinks of as his Zani and wonder if this is her end. He gives her into the hands of the half-Sleeping, half-awake archangel Cassandra. Though Cassandra is a foreseer, she can’t answer Alexander’s question about whether Zanaya will ever wake again. Alexander is devastated; his relationship with Zanaya was on-again, off-again but he has always counted on her being in the world and he doesn’t know if he can exist in it if she doesn’t.
A short chapter in Cassandra’s viewpoint follows, a murky prophecy where a sickly green infection colors the future and there is only one tiny chance, a diamond strand of small possibility for something better. Cassandra can’t change the future but she has influenced it, and so this is the only timeline in which Elena has survived. Hope remains, but it’s fragile, and the chapter ends with a cryptic prophecy: “Lovers fall and lovers rise. The river stops flowing. This time will be the end.”
We then flash back thousands of years earlier, to Alexander’s birth and childhood. Alexander is a much beloved child with caring parents and an affectionate older brother, Osiris. Unlike his shy parents or his brother who studies the world around him, Alexander is a boisterous, focused and strong for his age. He is enrolled in training and there he befriends Callie, a slightly older girl. She is of course, Caliane, who will grow up to be an archangel.
When his mother is assaulted by a more powerful angel who pursued her against her wishes, Alexander’s choice to seek help from an archangel’s general not only protects the family, it also brings him to the attention the general, Akhia-Solay, who places him under his command and provides him with further training and opportunities.
The incident is a defining one. The lesson Alexander takes from it is that power matters, that it’s worth holding and using to protect others and to fight for what’s right and just. Over the centuries that follow, Alexander rises in power, becoming an admired and handsome general. He takes lovers, but no one means the world to him and he doesn’t anticipate that anyone ever will. This expectation is confounded when he meets a black-skinned, silver-haired young angel named Zanaya.
Though young, Zanaya is already fierce and determined. She grew up in the hinterlands, where her father abandoned her mother after he tired of her. Zanaya’s mother became desolate and desperate, and Zanaya decided that she would let no man have that kind of power over her, that she would always belong to herself.
When she meets golden-haired, silver-eyed, three-thousand-years-old Alexander, Zanaya discovers she is not immune; his beauty, power and danger sing to her soul. And when he rejects her—not because he doesn’t feel the same way but because he can’t give in to the feeling for fear of reshaping someone too young—Zanaya decides that no matter what, she will end her obsession with him.
As the centuries pass, Alexander’s brother Osiris loses himself in his experiments and gets out of touch with the world. Caliane ascends yet she and Alexander remain friends. When the Archangel he serves, Esphares, begins to become unstable, it is Alexander who must make him see that he needs to retreat into Sleep. And then—unexpectedly, because he’d given up the notion that it would ever happen—Alexander also ascends.
Zanaya’s obsession doesn’t die, and when Alexander becomes an archangel, she is angrier than ever at the possibility that he’ll never be within reach. No matter how many lovers she takes, half of her will belong to man she’s never touched. But her best friend, Aureline, has the insight that Alexander feels just as strongly and is waiting for her to grow into her power.
When Alexander and Zanaya finally become lovers, their relationship is passionate and intense. Through more centuries, through Zanaya’s own eventual ascension, two things are always apparent: No matter how many times their fights tear them apart, Alexander and Zani will keep returning to each other, and the real bone of contention between them will always be Alexander’s need to protect Zanaya and Zanaya’s need to remain independent and strong, to belong to no one but herself.
When we return to the time of the cascade, we see Zanaya wake and joins the war effort. She and Alexander put their last fight on hold, more or less, and spend a few days together fighting Lijuan’s reborn with Michaela’s help and preparing to meet with the rest of the Cadre in New York.
Alexander wants to get back together, but Zanaya is skeptical that things will be any different this time. She promises Alexander that she'll hearing him out and they'll talk after the battle, but then Lijuan bites her, perhaps fatally, and Alexander has to leave her with Cassandra. He mourns and rages and vows to love her again, forever this time, if he’s given the opportunity. But will Zanaya ever wake again, or will something else awaken in her place?
Besides this main storyline, there are a few other threads here. One is about Alexander’s brother Osiris, his descent into madness and its frightening consequences. Another is about Caliane and Alexander’s long, long friendship. Zanaya has her own best friend, Aureline, and Aureline and another angel’s relationship play out in the background. We see Alexander and Raphael’s respect for each other develop, and we see Alexander’s alliance with Titus across their shared border. And this wouldn’t be a Guild Hunter book without a creepy suspenseful subplot; there is one in the second half of the book.
Something else happens that has me very excited.
Spoiler (only sort of a spoiler):
It’s also in this part of the book that Alexander and Zanaya’s reunion takes place, and they have to resolve their differences and see if they can shape their future relationship to be more unified than it was in their tumultuous past. Can they compromise in a way that diminishes neither of them?
As characters in this series go, Alexander has never been a big favorite of mine. I’m only rarely interested in stodgy heroes, and Alexander is a bit of stuffed shirt. I do understand that a lot of his inflexibility comes with his immortality. He is truly an ancient. But I think it’s also his personality, because I can think of a couple of other ancients who don’t struggle with this character flaw to the same extent. I didn’t come out of this book a lot more excited about Alexander than I was going into it but I have nothing against him either.
I realize this isn’t a ringing endorsement, but happily, I am a reader for whom one satisfying character is enough to make enjoyable, and this book does have a character I can resoundingly endorse: Zanaya. I really loved her fierceness. She was badass, she took no prisoners, and she took none of Alexander’s crap either. The word spirited doesn’t begin to do her justice, but I also never felt that she was behaving with immature feistiness. In general, I was almost always on her side whenever they were in conflict. She was the one who was ultimately more grounded in life.
Their romance was turbulent at times and I have to admit, I never quite got what the glue was that kept them (particularly Zanaya) from moving on after one of their breakups. The best answer given in the book was that they were destined for each other from the moment they first saw each other. “Fate” is an answer works up to a point, and I think Nalini Singh sells it for the most part. I would still have liked a bit more, because I loved Zanaya so much that I wanted to be convinced that she would be happier with Alexander in the future than she would ever be with someone else. I’m not 100% there.
I do believe that about Alexander, though, that no one else could ever mean as much to him. In his soul and in his bones, Alexander is a one-woman man, regardless of breakups and other lovers. He is unswervingly Zanaya’s and in many ways that’s his saving grace. There was never a moment when I felt he didn’t appreciate how special Zanaya was or understand there was no one else like her. He got it. That part of it he got in spades.
This is very much the love of two archangels and the story makes it very clear that (as the author has said more than once, including in our recent interview— see the link at the top) these characters aren’t exactly human. I think this kind of relationship might not hold together between two human beings, but being Archangels, having that kind of power, gives these two the tenacity to make it work in the end.
Their past wasn’t easy, and I don’t think their life together will always be easy in the future, though I do think they’re both ready to have a mellower time for a while at least. I wish I had a clearer idea of the reason they’ll be a completely united front for the rest of their unnatural lifetimes— “this time he’d thought she was dead” isn’t quite enough for me—but I was willing to buy it because I liked Zanaya so much and I wanted happiness for her. And I do think Alexander will make a genuine effort and that he means what he says.
Now to the other characters in the series. Man, I missed them so much. When we last left the Guild Hunter world, Illium and Aodhan had gone from tight lifelong friends to romantic partners. I loved Archangel’s Light—it was easily one of the top two books I read last year—so I was really, really excited by the possibilities in their future and looking forward to another glimpse of them.
I’ll get out of the way what many Bluebell and Sparkle fans are wondering. No, there’s no further developments on in their relationship that we see in this book (but check out the exciting news about them in Monday’s interview). In fact we don’t see them at all in this book, we don’t see any of the Seven at all except for Naasir and that’s in flashback to his childhood. Even Elena only gets a few lines. That was the most disappointing thing for me about this book. But on the other hand, the sort-of spoiler I hid above makes me very excited about future books.
Besides Alexander and Zanaya, the familiar faces we do see are most of the Cadre (including, before the war, Michaela who I’m now convinced will be given her own book), especially Caliane, Raphael, Titus, and to a lesser extent Elijah. Xander, Alexander’s grandson, gets a fair bit of page time too, as does another character we haven’t seen since Archangel’s War and that I wasn’t sure we’d see again anytime soon. There is also a glimpse of Sharine that I really enjoyed.
However, this book is focused very tightly on Zanaya and Alexander, as a larger-than-life, millennia-spanning love story might have to be, and I did love the epic scope of it. It’s a story that’s told to a large extent through Alexander’s eyes rather than Zanaya’s, although we do get her POV. There were times I wished it was the other way around but that might just be because I like her so much.
Overall I enjoyed Archangel’s Resurrection, and now I’m dying for Guild Hunter #16. 3.75 stars.
Comment thread here if anyone is interested: https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o...
Update 10/24/22
Hey guys! I have an INTERVIEW with the talented (and soooo nice) Nalini Singh at Dear Author today! She was generous in answering my questions about the new book, her three series, her writing habits and her favorite books.
Including one about Illium and Aodhan that I think you'll all want to know the answer to. Head over there to read it:
https://dearauthor.com/features/inter...
I'll post my review tomorrow.
Update 8/11/22
I will be doing an interview with Nalini Singh on Dear Author, to coincide with the release of Archangel’s Resurrection and with my review of the book. I asked her SO many questions, including one about Illium and Aodhan. I’ll try to remember to post a link, so keep an eye out for it.
Update 7/16/21
Finished reading. I wish I could review it now, but publishers give out ARCs with the understanding that the books won’t be reviewed until within a week of publication or later. I know not everyone at Goodreads feel the same, but I feel honor-bound not to say much until then.
Update 6/21/22
The Alexander and Zanaya theory is proven correct! But I thought two archangels couldn't be together because their archangelic power won't tolerate another archangel in the vicinity for long (See: Caliane and Nadiel). I wonder how this will be resolved...
Update 5/16/22
The cover is out and I have been persuaded that that is Alexander on it, in which case all my earlier theories were wrong! If that is true than it is probably Zanaya who will be resurrected.
Still hope we get some good Illium / Aodhan scenes in this book, though. I want more of them!
Update 2/16/22
God, that title probably means my theory that Noooooo! *Groans.*
Unless--wait! Maybe it's my other theory that will turn out to be true. That would be much more interesting. Could be the Legion too, of course.
Update 10/9/21
I'm going to amend what I said before. I'm still here for any of those book possibilities but now that I've read Archangel's Light, I'm *dying* for Illium and Aodhan part 2. And part 3. Fingers crossed that we'll get them.
8/30/21
Who could this one be about? Suyin maybe? Elena and Raphael? Illium and Aodhan part 2? Does anyone know? #curious
I'm here for any of them.
October 29, 2023
Kinda disappointed, and sad about the development of this series.
To write a love story that spans thousands of years is no small feat, but I feel the story suffered because of it - thousands of years dragged at times. And the worst of it all, I didn't feel the all consuming love between the couple that would have explained such a timeframe.
In the end, I could have gone without this book. Because the reason why I LOVE this series is Elena and Raphael, and to a certain extent Raphael's Seven. I wish that the author would go back and concentrate on the main cast - I miss them dearly.
For me this book was still solidly written, like all of her books, but it was missing a crucial ingredient. Either because it moved so far away from the heart of the series (the main characters), too many new characters are being introduced that leave me kinda indifferent. Another reason why I'm having a hard time caring for all these new couples. Or the story has run its course, as it is, for me.
What I need is an infusion of the old. The beloved. The reason why parts of this series has been on my re-read shelf for years.
Sometimes the old ways are best, or in this case the old crew.
___________________________________
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.
To write a love story that spans thousands of years is no small feat, but I feel the story suffered because of it - thousands of years dragged at times. And the worst of it all, I didn't feel the all consuming love between the couple that would have explained such a timeframe.
In the end, I could have gone without this book. Because the reason why I LOVE this series is Elena and Raphael, and to a certain extent Raphael's Seven. I wish that the author would go back and concentrate on the main cast - I miss them dearly.
For me this book was still solidly written, like all of her books, but it was missing a crucial ingredient. Either because it moved so far away from the heart of the series (the main characters), too many new characters are being introduced that leave me kinda indifferent. Another reason why I'm having a hard time caring for all these new couples. Or the story has run its course, as it is, for me.
What I need is an infusion of the old. The beloved. The reason why parts of this series has been on my re-read shelf for years.
Sometimes the old ways are best, or in this case the old crew.
___________________________________
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.
November 2, 2022
I was so mad with this book!
First, I think the last six or seven books shouldn’t included in Guild Hunter series anymore, nothing about those exciting hunters in these books anymore.
Second, the romance in this one, not believable and ridiculous.
For thousands years love story in the making, this pair is odd and cold. I don’t feel their romantic feelings at all. She didn’t feel any jealousy at all when he talked lovingly about the son he had and his mother not long after she awakened.
Basically he kind of saying, ‘sorry darling, I probably slept with you millions time but this other woman only needed once and she gave me a kid!’
And her? ‘No hurt feelings lover, we didn’t procreate many, make baby as many as you wanted to’ 🙄🙄🙄
And what silly term of endearment is that? Lover? Seriously 😳🤦♀️
No passion, emotion or any strong feeling in this book whatsoever, I wasn’t talking about their smuts, okay. Everything just feels bland 😐🥴
I couldn’t believe it after Nalini give us Elena and Raphael, my top three couple ever in my romance book.
Third, this is what made me really mad.
The zombies is returning! Well, it never goes away I reckoned.
All those meetings were déjà vu!
Read them in the hundreds of pages from previous books already.
Bloody Li Juan still everywhere. It said she’s dead here but I read the same things in the previous books and her zombies still around! 🙄
The storyline for this series is really unimaginative, predictable and boring.
It should stop after the last Elena and Raphael book, and create different series for these Archangels.
Anyway, it’s all my fault.
I told myself to stop reading this series if the pairing not R&E, I did it until this one. The promised of thousands of years grand romance made me wanted to read it. But I just feel deflated and upset while I was reading it and no, not going to read this series anymore even though with Elena and Raphael, if the storyline still about these bloody zombies.
It have children zombies in here too, wth? Urgh!!! 😡😡
Btw, the two stars rating because I met Raphael and Elena again, here 😘.
First, I think the last six or seven books shouldn’t included in Guild Hunter series anymore, nothing about those exciting hunters in these books anymore.
Second, the romance in this one, not believable and ridiculous.
For thousands years love story in the making, this pair is odd and cold. I don’t feel their romantic feelings at all. She didn’t feel any jealousy at all when he talked lovingly about the son he had and his mother not long after she awakened.
Basically he kind of saying, ‘sorry darling, I probably slept with you millions time but this other woman only needed once and she gave me a kid!’
And her? ‘No hurt feelings lover, we didn’t procreate many, make baby as many as you wanted to’ 🙄🙄🙄
And what silly term of endearment is that? Lover? Seriously 😳🤦♀️
No passion, emotion or any strong feeling in this book whatsoever, I wasn’t talking about their smuts, okay. Everything just feels bland 😐🥴
I couldn’t believe it after Nalini give us Elena and Raphael, my top three couple ever in my romance book.
Third, this is what made me really mad.
The zombies is returning! Well, it never goes away I reckoned.
All those meetings were déjà vu!
Read them in the hundreds of pages from previous books already.
Bloody Li Juan still everywhere. It said she’s dead here but I read the same things in the previous books and her zombies still around! 🙄
The storyline for this series is really unimaginative, predictable and boring.
It should stop after the last Elena and Raphael book, and create different series for these Archangels.
Anyway, it’s all my fault.
I told myself to stop reading this series if the pairing not R&E, I did it until this one. The promised of thousands of years grand romance made me wanted to read it. But I just feel deflated and upset while I was reading it and no, not going to read this series anymore even though with Elena and Raphael, if the storyline still about these bloody zombies.
It have children zombies in here too, wth? Urgh!!! 😡😡
Btw, the two stars rating because I met Raphael and Elena again, here 😘.
October 31, 2022
I wouldn’t have minded if this book had no romance at all. The background story was quiet interesting. Now, how the entire Angel-dom knows about who was in love with who in ancient times and we only learn when the book blurb is released? Why are we the last to know? lol Wouldn’t it be better to know beforehand? A story that builds from book to book is so much more thrilling. Look at Illium and Aodhan. They “danced” since the early books and their love story is so much more powerful. (Or like Qin and Cassandra’s story is building). The anticipation is 🔥🔥
Perfect read for Halloween I must say. It was semi-horror and I enjoyed that part.
*Spoilers*
The best part for me was the rescue of Naasir and his origins. There were some very heartfelt moments in this book. The beginning was soooo slow, but as I said, the story was enjoyable. Not my favourite, but a good read nonetheless. Can I have Illium and Aodhan part 2 now please?? The continuity of THAT story is what I Really want to be reading. No offence to ancients, but I really don’t want to read about their eternal love anymore. Let the young love bloom!
********************
Reaction to book announcement:
Oooh, the desperate housewives started rating this 1 star again? GET A LIFE for God’s sake.
I’m here for the long haul, and since book 14 was perfect, there’s no reason for this not to be. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I&A foreva 🤍💙👨❤️💋👨 🦋✨
Perfect read for Halloween I must say. It was semi-horror and I enjoyed that part.
*Spoilers*
The best part for me was the rescue of Naasir and his origins. There were some very heartfelt moments in this book. The beginning was soooo slow, but as I said, the story was enjoyable. Not my favourite, but a good read nonetheless. Can I have Illium and Aodhan part 2 now please?? The continuity of THAT story is what I Really want to be reading. No offence to ancients, but I really don’t want to read about their eternal love anymore. Let the young love bloom!
********************
Reaction to book announcement:
Oooh, the desperate housewives started rating this 1 star again? GET A LIFE for God’s sake.
I’m here for the long haul, and since book 14 was perfect, there’s no reason for this not to be. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I&A foreva 🤍💙👨❤️💋👨 🦋✨
September 20, 2022
I don’t think I have ever DNF’d a review. But this was not for me. The writing seemed very stilted. I was not interested nor engaged in the story at all. Boring
November 24, 2021
I don't know about you, but I would like this book to be about Keir the healer. I think he's an incredibly interesting character and I would like to know more about him ... and most of all, he's never been in love. If that couldn't be the beginning of a good love story, I don't know either.
But I would also be interested in a book about the Archangel Alexander. That could be very interesting.
And of course I hope that Illium and Aodhan can celebrate a return, I could read several tapes just about them, and I would never be bored.
But I would also be interested in a book about the Archangel Alexander. That could be very interesting.
And of course I hope that Illium and Aodhan can celebrate a return, I could read several tapes just about them, and I would never be bored.
Want to read
October 25, 2022*claps hands firmly like a coach*
ALL RIGHT CHILDREN, BRING ON AODHANxILLIUM B👏O👏O👏K👏 2 👏
They deserve at the very least a trilogy - as the scraping of the very surface of their new relationship shows in AL.
In the very clear words of Singh in the newsletter :
"Illium and Aodhan's story has been five hundred years in the making to this point in time...their timelines are not ours. This book is only the beginning in many ways - there is so much more to come for our Sparkle and Bluebell. "
So it's -->
Aodhan & Illium
Sparkles & Bluebell,
but most of all,
it's
Adi & Blue,
✨🦋
And you can bet you ass I'm here for it.
BRING IT.
💥☄️🌪🔥
ALL RIGHT CHILDREN, BRING ON AODHANxILLIUM B👏O👏O👏K👏 2 👏
They deserve at the very least a trilogy - as the scraping of the very surface of their new relationship shows in AL.
In the very clear words of Singh in the newsletter :
"Illium and Aodhan's story has been five hundred years in the making to this point in time...their timelines are not ours. This book is only the beginning in many ways - there is so much more to come for our Sparkle and Bluebell. "
So it's -->
Aodhan & Illium
Sparkles & Bluebell,
but most of all,
it's
Adi & Blue,
✨🦋
And you can bet you ass I'm here for it.
BRING IT.
💥☄️🌪🔥
September 5, 2022
I received a free copy of this title to read and review for Wicked Reads
ARCHANGEL'S RESSURECTION is the 15th installment in the Guild Hunter series. This cannot be read as a standalone. Even if you've read/reread the entire series, the inundation of past and present characters is still confusing. I couldn't imagine someone new to the series finding enjoyment without knowing the foundation of the world building.
This novel is not a romance, nor is it some complex relationship that evolved over eons. Alexander said to Zanaya. "Our love isn't madness, Zani. The adventures we've had, the discoveries we've made!"
It's too bad in 400 pages, the reader experiences neither discoveries nor adventures between Alexander & Zanaya. If something other than the madness buried with filler had been shown, maybe I'd believe the love that was told.
Commentary added to the review after reading a third, half, and upon completion of the novel. I wrote these parts in an email draft, waited days as I allowed my frustration to abate, then decided to order my thoughts without allowing my emotions to create a harsher review.
Well, it looks like a book but it doesn't read like one...
The format for this novel is the most bizarre I've ever read- and no, that isn't a compliment.
Every scene felt like an introduction. I kept waiting for the story to actually start. Page after page, thinking NOW the story will begin... and it was yet another instance of Singh TELLING the reader what happened instead of allowing the characters to SHOW the story.
Truncated. Zero emotional impact. 1-3 page scenes featuring overly complex world building, that are basically nothing but filler, fused together into hundreds of pages & called a novel.
Millennia covered in the 30% I've read thus far: told in dual-narration. The hero & heroine saw each other TWICE (once from a distance) over a 1000 years, speaking ONCE for 30 seconds (if you cut out the hundred pages of inanity, it would have taken 30 seconds to read too) Then, they see each other, immediately kiss (which was written out for a paragraph) then "dance" in the sky (not fade-to-black, the reader blinks & it's over)
In what is the most drawn-out (a millennia) yet insta-love (30 seconds of interaction & they're having sex) romance ever written.
The next page is 300 years later. 2 pages later, they fight for a page. Next page, they've been broken up for a decade. Next page, two years later & Alexander decides his brother covering all his windows is an important plot point (yes, this scene does tie in but it was also entirely unnecessary and could have been added/written differently)
That was 30% of the novel, minus inane filler & mind-bleeding info-dumpage the reader did not need. There is zero character development (if you wouldn't learn your lessons when you're over 10-20 THOUSAND years of age, you CANNOT, and nothing I'm told will convince me otherwise, especially with no responsibility taken and no closure)
ARCHANGEL'S RESURRECTION is not a free-flowing story. At. All. No emotion. It's basically a list.
Cliff Notes is more detailed.
While I appreciate what Singh attempted to create, I was left frustrated, bored, & confused, while caring very little over the story nor the characters.
I'm at a loss, wondering why the editor didn't say "why are you focusing on that when it has no impact on the overall story?" On. Every. Page. Editors are notorious for commenting "Show, don't tell" This novel was entirely TELL.
I keep waiting for the story to happen. It's the only reason I hadn't DNFed. I keep wondering if there was a method to this madness, which had me turning the page... but when I did, the next page was hundreds of years later, truncated in half a sentence (the reader doesn't even get a full paragraph)
I'm at a loss. At what point will this read as a novel? (Answer, around the halfway mark, but it truly never flows like a novel)
Singh tells us Archangels struggle to be near one another, so the angst should be through the roof between Alexander and Zanaya since they are soul mates, unable to be near one another.
Eons old, Alexander is possessive, jealous, and unreasonable. Slightly younger, but in the grand scheme of things, what is a thousand years among so many thousands of years? Singh states (using all the characters) how unreasonable and stubborn Zanaya is, yet I never saw a single example of this. At. All. It was quite misogynistic to assume Zanaya was the one getting in the way of their happiness by not submitting when they are equals. All they had to do was see each other, do their archangel duties, see each other, repeat. The issues stemmed when Alexander was stomping all over Zanaya's boundaries, with everyone blaming her for being stubborn. Added to that, the reader is to focus on Zanaya repeating history like her mother, but I saw zero obsession on her part toward Alexander, only loyalty, understanding, and love. (You don't want to know what look is riding my facial expression right now)
So this angst/drama was extremely childish. It could have been hard-hitting and emotional if written differently. The fact that it continued for tens of thousands of years makes it all that much more ridiculous, especially since the reader was dragged along on that ride over the eons.
32% now. They've broken up twice & gotten back together twice (Alexander bedding others, because he loves Zanaya SO MUCH) along with a major change for Zanaya. Hadn't seen each other in a century... Wash. Rinse. Repeat... in 2% of the novel. Maybe 2 pages. I'm not exaggerating or being sarcastic.
Epic love story, where the reader has experienced 3 minutes (reading time) of them interacting with one another (95% of which are disagreements), but was told by the author how many escapades they've had with others, which took up more page-time than they've shared. Also told, never shown, so there is zero emotional attachment between the characters or the reader to the characters.
Still 32%. They've broken up and gotten back together innumerable times over 7000 years now (I'm not being sarcastic) & I feel ready for "sleep" myself, as aged as I've gotten reading this.
In my opinion, all of that should have been cut from the novel. If so proficient in truncation, just tuck 2 or 3 pages of a backstory info-dump. It's not as if we actually "experienced" their love story anyway. We were repeatedly TOLD & it wasn't entertaining. Like a sentence every 50 years. Just toss the first third & tell the reader now (Cascade forward)
If all that was meant to form an emotional attachment between the characters, all it succeeded in doing was turning my frustration into anger, along with a strong dislike for Alexander. At this point, after hours of frustration, I'm asking myself why I'm still reading.
34%... Cascade.
Did my impatience pay off? Should I get excited?
This better be where the Cliff Notes end & an actual novel begins.
Zanaya wakes in the Cascade. Seems to be reading as a novel now, but they're bickering during a cadre meeting, which seems like the last thing they'd give af about. Time & place, end of the world is not for petty squabbles, flirting, & Alexander being Alexander (apparently their love was so epic he had kids with someone else. That's super romantic) & Singh is using Zanaya to give us a rundown of Alexander's second & third in command (not sure how Zanaya knows this info- she was asleep and all), as if I'll even remember characters who will NEVER see page-time. (book finished, I was right. Never interacted with them)
50% mark.
There were good parts, even if they were unneeded. The bad parts were all Alexander & Zanaya. He was a good archangel & a horrible lover. She was a strong archangel who had to fight to keep her lover from consuming her identity. Since they're not real people, Singh created this dynamic that ruined the story. It wasn't romantic or star-crossed lovers. It was cringe because of the execution.
The Zanaya I've read doesn't seen unreasonable in any way. Strong. Places down reasonable boundaries. Intelligent. Wise. Empathetic. Compromising. Good-humored.
Why is everyone (Singh) saying Zanaya is bad for Alexander. That puts the onus of his misbehavior on her instead of him taking responsibility for his own actions & emotions.
There's no such thing as mutual abuse. There is the abuser and the one reacting to abuse. Alexander is arrogant, patronizing, jealous, petty, & controlling, let's not blame Zanaya for striking back at Alexander with Singh calling it daddy issues. Ad nauseam, the reader is told they are mutually toxic, blaming Zanaya for being stubborn... I just didn't see anyone but Alexander being unreasonable, as well as being stubborn.
When the book starts to flow linearly, it reads as if this was Singh's original starting point and all I wanted cut from the story was written afterward.
Awakened by the cascade, Alexander is NOT treating Zanaya well- he's ragey yet they're immediately back in bed again, pretending it'll be different this time. It won't because he hasn't changed. If he had changed, he wouldn't be angry
Alexander is angry Zanaya went to sleep. Zanaya did the ultimate in self-care to ensure her existence (If Archangels don't sleep, they will become mad, go berserk on the populous, and then will be put down) So controlling, Alexander thought he should dictate when Zanaya should or shouldn't sleep, as if he knows her body better than her, and the reader was gaslit by Singh to accept this misogyny.
Irony upon irony, funny how no one is mad that Alexander eventually slept. In fact, Zanaya is relieved to discover this. What did Alexander want? For Zanaya to go mad, to where he'd have to put her down? It's like blaming someone for getting medical care. I do not get this "drama" at all.
This circular relationship cycle has destroyed the novel, more so than the storytelling style. The fact that Singh believes this petty nothingness can carry ten of thousands of years of storytelling...
I get Singh wanted this dynamic, but it's not executed well nor is it as dramatic or angsty as assumed. It's childish, ridiculous, because of their ancient age, and unjust as I don't believe any of the burden of fault rests on Zanaya's shoulders, with Alexander being surrounded by people who blame her, including himself.
No matter what happens next, tragedies or miracles, there is no cure to remove the toxicity known as Alexander in their relationship, even if he changes. Tens of thousands of years cannot be erased, especially when he doesn't take responsibility for even a part of the role he played.
There is no actual reason why they're fighting, even if you add in the Archangel Proximity issue, as it's just petty squabbles that Alexander picks at Zanaya.
Alexander (who wanted Zanaya to be his equal- did he though? or was he being patronizing?) is mad because she is behaving as his equal.
Full stop.
How is that a good plot device?
Let's write that out again. He's upset that she won't allow him to control her. He also didn't want to be with her until she was strong enough to hold her own. Now that she is, he's upset she won't bow to his whim...
That's it.
Does that sound like a tragic love story or a story devoid of love and respect? How romantic, healthy, and mature, so let's blame the victim & have our friends tell her she's bad for him. (Zanaya seemed pretty isolated, without her own support system after the first of the novel, always surrounded by Alexander supporters telling her she's bad for Alexander and cadre members)
Zanaya is rightfully mad that Alexander is being disrespectful, jealous, petty, & controlling, so we'll blame her for stepping from a toxic relationship before it imploded. Should she have stayed and allowed it to become war? I know. I know. She should have given in, given up her identity, and become Alexander's consort, and all would be right with the world. So let's blame her instead of Alexander.
M'kay!
Every page is a struggle. Tedious. An overwhelming amount of indigestible, unnecessary filler.
If executed differently, written as a fluid novel, it could have been good.
I barely tolerated this new form of delivering the story during Ilium's novel. But this was all story "telling" & hardly any time where the reader is immersed in a flowing novel as if it's happening around them.
I hope this trend doesn't continue in the next book. In all the books before, we didn't need a millennia of regurgitated backstory formatted like a plot outline, & we don't need it now. I can't get through the books that are written that way.
I recommend skipping this installment. I wouldn't subject myself or anyone else to this, especially since the main plot was told in all the books before. The frustration wasn't worth wading through eons of a toxic, abusive relationship, where the reader is fed crumbs of details for events where we already know the outcome. Maybe just read the last 2o%. That's it.
ARCHANGEL'S RESSURECTION is the 15th installment in the Guild Hunter series. This cannot be read as a standalone. Even if you've read/reread the entire series, the inundation of past and present characters is still confusing. I couldn't imagine someone new to the series finding enjoyment without knowing the foundation of the world building.
This novel is not a romance, nor is it some complex relationship that evolved over eons. Alexander said to Zanaya. "Our love isn't madness, Zani. The adventures we've had, the discoveries we've made!"
It's too bad in 400 pages, the reader experiences neither discoveries nor adventures between Alexander & Zanaya. If something other than the madness buried with filler had been shown, maybe I'd believe the love that was told.
Commentary added to the review after reading a third, half, and upon completion of the novel. I wrote these parts in an email draft, waited days as I allowed my frustration to abate, then decided to order my thoughts without allowing my emotions to create a harsher review.
Well, it looks like a book but it doesn't read like one...
The format for this novel is the most bizarre I've ever read- and no, that isn't a compliment.
Every scene felt like an introduction. I kept waiting for the story to actually start. Page after page, thinking NOW the story will begin... and it was yet another instance of Singh TELLING the reader what happened instead of allowing the characters to SHOW the story.
Truncated. Zero emotional impact. 1-3 page scenes featuring overly complex world building, that are basically nothing but filler, fused together into hundreds of pages & called a novel.
Millennia covered in the 30% I've read thus far: told in dual-narration. The hero & heroine saw each other TWICE (once from a distance) over a 1000 years, speaking ONCE for 30 seconds (if you cut out the hundred pages of inanity, it would have taken 30 seconds to read too) Then, they see each other, immediately kiss (which was written out for a paragraph) then "dance" in the sky (not fade-to-black, the reader blinks & it's over)
In what is the most drawn-out (a millennia) yet insta-love (30 seconds of interaction & they're having sex) romance ever written.
The next page is 300 years later. 2 pages later, they fight for a page. Next page, they've been broken up for a decade. Next page, two years later & Alexander decides his brother covering all his windows is an important plot point (yes, this scene does tie in but it was also entirely unnecessary and could have been added/written differently)
That was 30% of the novel, minus inane filler & mind-bleeding info-dumpage the reader did not need. There is zero character development (if you wouldn't learn your lessons when you're over 10-20 THOUSAND years of age, you CANNOT, and nothing I'm told will convince me otherwise, especially with no responsibility taken and no closure)
ARCHANGEL'S RESURRECTION is not a free-flowing story. At. All. No emotion. It's basically a list.
Cliff Notes is more detailed.
While I appreciate what Singh attempted to create, I was left frustrated, bored, & confused, while caring very little over the story nor the characters.
I'm at a loss, wondering why the editor didn't say "why are you focusing on that when it has no impact on the overall story?" On. Every. Page. Editors are notorious for commenting "Show, don't tell" This novel was entirely TELL.
I keep waiting for the story to happen. It's the only reason I hadn't DNFed. I keep wondering if there was a method to this madness, which had me turning the page... but when I did, the next page was hundreds of years later, truncated in half a sentence (the reader doesn't even get a full paragraph)
I'm at a loss. At what point will this read as a novel? (Answer, around the halfway mark, but it truly never flows like a novel)
Singh tells us Archangels struggle to be near one another, so the angst should be through the roof between Alexander and Zanaya since they are soul mates, unable to be near one another.
Eons old, Alexander is possessive, jealous, and unreasonable. Slightly younger, but in the grand scheme of things, what is a thousand years among so many thousands of years? Singh states (using all the characters) how unreasonable and stubborn Zanaya is, yet I never saw a single example of this. At. All. It was quite misogynistic to assume Zanaya was the one getting in the way of their happiness by not submitting when they are equals. All they had to do was see each other, do their archangel duties, see each other, repeat. The issues stemmed when Alexander was stomping all over Zanaya's boundaries, with everyone blaming her for being stubborn. Added to that, the reader is to focus on Zanaya repeating history like her mother, but I saw zero obsession on her part toward Alexander, only loyalty, understanding, and love. (You don't want to know what look is riding my facial expression right now)
So this angst/drama was extremely childish. It could have been hard-hitting and emotional if written differently. The fact that it continued for tens of thousands of years makes it all that much more ridiculous, especially since the reader was dragged along on that ride over the eons.
32% now. They've broken up twice & gotten back together twice (Alexander bedding others, because he loves Zanaya SO MUCH) along with a major change for Zanaya. Hadn't seen each other in a century... Wash. Rinse. Repeat... in 2% of the novel. Maybe 2 pages. I'm not exaggerating or being sarcastic.
Epic love story, where the reader has experienced 3 minutes (reading time) of them interacting with one another (95% of which are disagreements), but was told by the author how many escapades they've had with others, which took up more page-time than they've shared. Also told, never shown, so there is zero emotional attachment between the characters or the reader to the characters.
Still 32%. They've broken up and gotten back together innumerable times over 7000 years now (I'm not being sarcastic) & I feel ready for "sleep" myself, as aged as I've gotten reading this.
In my opinion, all of that should have been cut from the novel. If so proficient in truncation, just tuck 2 or 3 pages of a backstory info-dump. It's not as if we actually "experienced" their love story anyway. We were repeatedly TOLD & it wasn't entertaining. Like a sentence every 50 years. Just toss the first third & tell the reader now (Cascade forward)
If all that was meant to form an emotional attachment between the characters, all it succeeded in doing was turning my frustration into anger, along with a strong dislike for Alexander. At this point, after hours of frustration, I'm asking myself why I'm still reading.
34%... Cascade.
Did my impatience pay off? Should I get excited?
This better be where the Cliff Notes end & an actual novel begins.
Zanaya wakes in the Cascade. Seems to be reading as a novel now, but they're bickering during a cadre meeting, which seems like the last thing they'd give af about. Time & place, end of the world is not for petty squabbles, flirting, & Alexander being Alexander (apparently their love was so epic he had kids with someone else. That's super romantic) & Singh is using Zanaya to give us a rundown of Alexander's second & third in command (not sure how Zanaya knows this info- she was asleep and all), as if I'll even remember characters who will NEVER see page-time. (book finished, I was right. Never interacted with them)
50% mark.
There were good parts, even if they were unneeded. The bad parts were all Alexander & Zanaya. He was a good archangel & a horrible lover. She was a strong archangel who had to fight to keep her lover from consuming her identity. Since they're not real people, Singh created this dynamic that ruined the story. It wasn't romantic or star-crossed lovers. It was cringe because of the execution.
The Zanaya I've read doesn't seen unreasonable in any way. Strong. Places down reasonable boundaries. Intelligent. Wise. Empathetic. Compromising. Good-humored.
Why is everyone (Singh) saying Zanaya is bad for Alexander. That puts the onus of his misbehavior on her instead of him taking responsibility for his own actions & emotions.
There's no such thing as mutual abuse. There is the abuser and the one reacting to abuse. Alexander is arrogant, patronizing, jealous, petty, & controlling, let's not blame Zanaya for striking back at Alexander with Singh calling it daddy issues. Ad nauseam, the reader is told they are mutually toxic, blaming Zanaya for being stubborn... I just didn't see anyone but Alexander being unreasonable, as well as being stubborn.
When the book starts to flow linearly, it reads as if this was Singh's original starting point and all I wanted cut from the story was written afterward.
Awakened by the cascade, Alexander is NOT treating Zanaya well- he's ragey yet they're immediately back in bed again, pretending it'll be different this time. It won't because he hasn't changed. If he had changed, he wouldn't be angry
Alexander is angry Zanaya went to sleep. Zanaya did the ultimate in self-care to ensure her existence (If Archangels don't sleep, they will become mad, go berserk on the populous, and then will be put down) So controlling, Alexander thought he should dictate when Zanaya should or shouldn't sleep, as if he knows her body better than her, and the reader was gaslit by Singh to accept this misogyny.
Irony upon irony, funny how no one is mad that Alexander eventually slept. In fact, Zanaya is relieved to discover this. What did Alexander want? For Zanaya to go mad, to where he'd have to put her down? It's like blaming someone for getting medical care. I do not get this "drama" at all.
This circular relationship cycle has destroyed the novel, more so than the storytelling style. The fact that Singh believes this petty nothingness can carry ten of thousands of years of storytelling...
I get Singh wanted this dynamic, but it's not executed well nor is it as dramatic or angsty as assumed. It's childish, ridiculous, because of their ancient age, and unjust as I don't believe any of the burden of fault rests on Zanaya's shoulders, with Alexander being surrounded by people who blame her, including himself.
No matter what happens next, tragedies or miracles, there is no cure to remove the toxicity known as Alexander in their relationship, even if he changes. Tens of thousands of years cannot be erased, especially when he doesn't take responsibility for even a part of the role he played.
There is no actual reason why they're fighting, even if you add in the Archangel Proximity issue, as it's just petty squabbles that Alexander picks at Zanaya.
Alexander (who wanted Zanaya to be his equal- did he though? or was he being patronizing?) is mad because she is behaving as his equal.
Full stop.
How is that a good plot device?
Let's write that out again. He's upset that she won't allow him to control her. He also didn't want to be with her until she was strong enough to hold her own. Now that she is, he's upset she won't bow to his whim...
That's it.
Does that sound like a tragic love story or a story devoid of love and respect? How romantic, healthy, and mature, so let's blame the victim & have our friends tell her she's bad for him. (Zanaya seemed pretty isolated, without her own support system after the first of the novel, always surrounded by Alexander supporters telling her she's bad for Alexander and cadre members)
Zanaya is rightfully mad that Alexander is being disrespectful, jealous, petty, & controlling, so we'll blame her for stepping from a toxic relationship before it imploded. Should she have stayed and allowed it to become war? I know. I know. She should have given in, given up her identity, and become Alexander's consort, and all would be right with the world. So let's blame her instead of Alexander.
M'kay!
Every page is a struggle. Tedious. An overwhelming amount of indigestible, unnecessary filler.
If executed differently, written as a fluid novel, it could have been good.
I barely tolerated this new form of delivering the story during Ilium's novel. But this was all story "telling" & hardly any time where the reader is immersed in a flowing novel as if it's happening around them.
I hope this trend doesn't continue in the next book. In all the books before, we didn't need a millennia of regurgitated backstory formatted like a plot outline, & we don't need it now. I can't get through the books that are written that way.
I recommend skipping this installment. I wouldn't subject myself or anyone else to this, especially since the main plot was told in all the books before. The frustration wasn't worth wading through eons of a toxic, abusive relationship, where the reader is fed crumbs of details for events where we already know the outcome. Maybe just read the last 2o%. That's it.
October 24, 2022
Thank you for Netgalley and Berkley Pub for this earc
This book is number 15 in this series and to be honest, I was bored for most of it
I think the big part of it was the fact that the relationship between the main characters happened over the span of a thousand of years and because of it, I really didn’t feel the love.
I didn’t think they were right for each other at all. I get that sometimes you have two strong people in the relationship but every time they would get together, they would just hurt each other more and that’s never healthy. I felt like there was a lot of repetition, every time they had a conversation about how much they loved each other. Like the first 70 percent of this book was just one scene written over and over again with “time gaps” in between.
We did get to see a little bit of what was happening with the rest of the world but it wasn’t enough to save this story.
I also very much couldn’t believe in the fact that after all the “on again. Off again” this time around their relationship would work. Just didn’t sit right with me
This book is number 15 in this series and to be honest, I was bored for most of it
I think the big part of it was the fact that the relationship between the main characters happened over the span of a thousand of years and because of it, I really didn’t feel the love.
I didn’t think they were right for each other at all. I get that sometimes you have two strong people in the relationship but every time they would get together, they would just hurt each other more and that’s never healthy. I felt like there was a lot of repetition, every time they had a conversation about how much they loved each other. Like the first 70 percent of this book was just one scene written over and over again with “time gaps” in between.
We did get to see a little bit of what was happening with the rest of the world but it wasn’t enough to save this story.
I also very much couldn’t believe in the fact that after all the “on again. Off again” this time around their relationship would work. Just didn’t sit right with me
November 24, 2021
As much as I love Illium & Aodhan. They should have stayed best friends. Their friendship shouldn’t have turned into a relationship. I’m hoping the 15th instalment is about Caliane. Maybe Nadiel reincarnates. Fingers crossed 🤞🏽
Want to read
December 5, 202105/12/21
I just finished Archangel's Light and I hope it is about Elena & Raphael with some Illium & Aodhan scenes (like we had Honor & Dmitri scenes in Archangel' Storm) ! I can't wait to know the pairing !
Also, how do I downvote all of the reviews that stink of homophobia...?
I just finished Archangel's Light and I hope it is about Elena & Raphael with some Illium & Aodhan scenes (like we had Honor & Dmitri scenes in Archangel' Storm) ! I can't wait to know the pairing !
Also, how do I downvote all of the reviews that stink of homophobia...?
January 19, 2023
Solid 2 ☆
Listen up peeps as this is gonna be harsh!
Why these characters? Why was their love story told? In all honesty I couldn't care less about these two and there oh so monumental love story that spanned eons. And I couldn't bring up one iota of interest. I remembered Alexander but drew a blank when it came to Zanaya, the Queen of the Nile.
Here we experience the beginning, the Cascade and the last ending of these two characters. 15 books in and I can't tell what and where Ms. Singh is going with this. Haven't we read enough of Lijuan and her madness as the Queen of Death what is left to tell?
I felt no connection to the love these two shared and after so long they were still carrying baggage, come on.
I'll think long and hard on continuing this series you see when they finally get their shite together is is ten years after the Cascade and everyone is at peace. So what now?
I like Cassandra as a character and well maybe she will get a book with Qin.
Listen up peeps as this is gonna be harsh!
Why these characters? Why was their love story told? In all honesty I couldn't care less about these two and there oh so monumental love story that spanned eons. And I couldn't bring up one iota of interest. I remembered Alexander but drew a blank when it came to Zanaya, the Queen of the Nile.
Here we experience the beginning, the Cascade and the last ending of these two characters. 15 books in and I can't tell what and where Ms. Singh is going with this. Haven't we read enough of Lijuan and her madness as the Queen of Death what is left to tell?
I felt no connection to the love these two shared and after so long they were still carrying baggage, come on.
I'll think long and hard on continuing this series you see when they finally get their shite together is is ten years after the Cascade and everyone is at peace. So what now?
I like Cassandra as a character and well maybe she will get a book with Qin.
October 31, 2022
4.5 Stars
Alexander and Zenaya, both archangel’s ruling over different territories have had a tumultuous, epic, on-and-off love affair over the centuries. However, the recent battle with the evil Archangel Lijuan, has had lasting repercussions for Alexander and Zenaya. This time coming together they’re ready to sort things out or part forever.
Archangel’s Resurrection gave us the history of both Alexander and Zenaya, which I was grateful for since I didn’t really know much about either, except peripherally as side characters in the Raphael/Elena books. Each had an interesting, engrossing history and it gave me understanding as to why these two would love so passionately and then ultimately end up parting over and over through the years. I was rooting for these two because it was clear they were meant to be together! I know this sounds angsty, but it really wasn’t.
There’s a lot going on besides the romance. The Guild Hunter series is a fascinating world where a Cadre of ten Archangel’s rule designated territories across the Earth. Lesser angels, vampires, and humans all under their authority. Power, political intrigue, immortals and mortals clashing, good vs. evil; all factors that make these books a riveting read, but it’s the personal relationships that make these stories come to life.
Archangel’s Resurrection is book fifteen in the Guild Hunter series and that does sound intimidating to a new-to-the-series reader, but it’s centered on side characters and those books, IMO, can be read as stand-alones for the most part. Alexander and Zenaya’s story was fleshed out well here, one I thoroughly enjoyed!
A copy was kindly provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review.
Alexander and Zenaya, both archangel’s ruling over different territories have had a tumultuous, epic, on-and-off love affair over the centuries. However, the recent battle with the evil Archangel Lijuan, has had lasting repercussions for Alexander and Zenaya. This time coming together they’re ready to sort things out or part forever.
Archangel’s Resurrection gave us the history of both Alexander and Zenaya, which I was grateful for since I didn’t really know much about either, except peripherally as side characters in the Raphael/Elena books. Each had an interesting, engrossing history and it gave me understanding as to why these two would love so passionately and then ultimately end up parting over and over through the years. I was rooting for these two because it was clear they were meant to be together! I know this sounds angsty, but it really wasn’t.
There’s a lot going on besides the romance. The Guild Hunter series is a fascinating world where a Cadre of ten Archangel’s rule designated territories across the Earth. Lesser angels, vampires, and humans all under their authority. Power, political intrigue, immortals and mortals clashing, good vs. evil; all factors that make these books a riveting read, but it’s the personal relationships that make these stories come to life.
Archangel’s Resurrection is book fifteen in the Guild Hunter series and that does sound intimidating to a new-to-the-series reader, but it’s centered on side characters and those books, IMO, can be read as stand-alones for the most part. Alexander and Zenaya’s story was fleshed out well here, one I thoroughly enjoyed!
A copy was kindly provided by Berkley in exchange for an honest review.
October 30, 2021
Archangel’s Light take 2, watch the mob begging for more of A and I, (more being code for there better be a m/m sex scene or else).
Hilarious the ink is barely dry on 14 and the desperation is palpable.
Hilarious the ink is barely dry on 14 and the desperation is palpable.
October 25, 2022
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
You know how in long standing series there are some couple stories you are waiting on and then others you just aren't as excited about. That is kinda where I am at in this series. I really have a few side stories with some couples I'm super interested in and then there are just the books I'm reading inbetween to get me to those stories. Archangel's Resurrection is the fifteenth book in the Guild Hunter series focusing on two Archangels and their romance that spans eons.
Alexander and Zanaya have been mentioned throughout the series as having an epic love story for the ages. But it isn't all sunshine and rainbows and we, the readers, get to go back to the past to see how these two met and fell in love before being Archangels and how that storybook love is still so broken they couldn't find a way to be together long term. Fast forward to the battle in New York when Zanaya was felled by pure evil and left in Cassandra's care to sleep and heal. Now she is back and she is changed. Alexander and Zanaya will have to find a way to love each other and put aside some of the pains from the past, the challenges that Zanaya currently faces and figure out how to be Archangels in love.
I liked both Alexander and Zanaya individually but spent plenty of time being frustrated with them as a couple as each holds onto things from their childhoods without realizing it. They have much personal growth to go through to be a good couple. Zanaya is the first of the Archangels who were drained in the battle of New York to rise and as such she gives us a glimpse of the challenges the others might face if they wake as well. I did like that interesting aspect of Zanaya's story. But we spend about half the book in the past before catching up to present time and the reawakening. I will say this particular story did drag on a bit for me because of that, but once we got to present time it went better.
Overall, this was not the couple I was waiting to read about. Still they have an overall interesting story and there seems to be more evil out there lurking that will need to be fought. Still something about this felt more like a filler story and I'm just not sure how much longer this particular series can go on.
Narration:
Justine Erye has done the entire series and as always she is fantastic and I can't imagine anyone else narrating the story. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
You know how in long standing series there are some couple stories you are waiting on and then others you just aren't as excited about. That is kinda where I am at in this series. I really have a few side stories with some couples I'm super interested in and then there are just the books I'm reading inbetween to get me to those stories. Archangel's Resurrection is the fifteenth book in the Guild Hunter series focusing on two Archangels and their romance that spans eons.
Alexander and Zanaya have been mentioned throughout the series as having an epic love story for the ages. But it isn't all sunshine and rainbows and we, the readers, get to go back to the past to see how these two met and fell in love before being Archangels and how that storybook love is still so broken they couldn't find a way to be together long term. Fast forward to the battle in New York when Zanaya was felled by pure evil and left in Cassandra's care to sleep and heal. Now she is back and she is changed. Alexander and Zanaya will have to find a way to love each other and put aside some of the pains from the past, the challenges that Zanaya currently faces and figure out how to be Archangels in love.
I liked both Alexander and Zanaya individually but spent plenty of time being frustrated with them as a couple as each holds onto things from their childhoods without realizing it. They have much personal growth to go through to be a good couple. Zanaya is the first of the Archangels who were drained in the battle of New York to rise and as such she gives us a glimpse of the challenges the others might face if they wake as well. I did like that interesting aspect of Zanaya's story. But we spend about half the book in the past before catching up to present time and the reawakening. I will say this particular story did drag on a bit for me because of that, but once we got to present time it went better.
Overall, this was not the couple I was waiting to read about. Still they have an overall interesting story and there seems to be more evil out there lurking that will need to be fought. Still something about this felt more like a filler story and I'm just not sure how much longer this particular series can go on.
Narration:
Justine Erye has done the entire series and as always she is fantastic and I can't imagine anyone else narrating the story. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
October 25, 2022
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the advanced copy! The following review is my honest opinion.
Oh, man, that ominous title got me!
I really enjoy Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series. It's creative and fun, and I'm invested in a lot of the relationships. I was especially hoping that this one would be part two of the 'ship from the previous book, which progressed a lot slower and didn't go as far, romance wise, as the couple's usually do in these books. That being said, when I found out it was Alexander and Zanaya, I was a little disappointed. But I enjoyed this story too, and the long history of "Xander and Zani."
The current timeline plot was good too - a dark force rises from the grave (no spoilers!)... but what I really struggled with was the way this book was structured compared to others. In most of the books, if there is history between the characters, we see flashbacks sprinkled throughout the modern day storyline. In this one, it started waaaaaay back in the day at their very beginning, and the first 40% or so of the book was their history, with minimal reference to the current events. It made for a slow, slow start, in my opinion.
I also struggled with Alexander and Zanaya's on-again, off-again relationship and constant repetition of the issues that they faced in their relationship. It got very tiresome to have the same thoughts and feelings dredged up over and over and over. We got it the first few times.
All in all, I still love this series and will definitely continue, but this one was a weak entry for me. Three and a half stars, rounded down. I absolutely still recommend this series, and don't suggest skipping any, this one included.
Oh, man, that ominous title got me!
I really enjoy Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series. It's creative and fun, and I'm invested in a lot of the relationships. I was especially hoping that this one would be part two of the 'ship from the previous book, which progressed a lot slower and didn't go as far, romance wise, as the couple's usually do in these books. That being said, when I found out it was Alexander and Zanaya, I was a little disappointed. But I enjoyed this story too, and the long history of "Xander and Zani."
The current timeline plot was good too - a dark force rises from the grave (no spoilers!)... but what I really struggled with was the way this book was structured compared to others. In most of the books, if there is history between the characters, we see flashbacks sprinkled throughout the modern day storyline. In this one, it started waaaaaay back in the day at their very beginning, and the first 40% or so of the book was their history, with minimal reference to the current events. It made for a slow, slow start, in my opinion.
I also struggled with Alexander and Zanaya's on-again, off-again relationship and constant repetition of the issues that they faced in their relationship. It got very tiresome to have the same thoughts and feelings dredged up over and over and over. We got it the first few times.
All in all, I still love this series and will definitely continue, but this one was a weak entry for me. Three and a half stars, rounded down. I absolutely still recommend this series, and don't suggest skipping any, this one included.
November 20, 2022
4.5 stars
I'm gonna be honest and say I didn't remember Zanaya at all from previous books.. So after finishing this one I went back to re-read everything.. So far she was mentioned once in book 1.. I'm on book 5 and I shall continue as my memory isn't the best. Several relationships mentioned in this book really didn't ring a bell or were not what I remember and it's triggered my brain into finding the facts.
As for this book, I loved seeing an Archangel and Archangel relationship. It showed the power plays and egos that can take place when two massive forces try to come together. In general I loved it but I did get annoyed that the big bad was the usual one again.. Feels like beating a dead horse by now.. But it did make me wonder what or who comes next!
I love this world and I don't mind revisiting and re-reading until my heart is content.
I'm gonna be honest and say I didn't remember Zanaya at all from previous books.. So after finishing this one I went back to re-read everything.. So far she was mentioned once in book 1.. I'm on book 5 and I shall continue as my memory isn't the best. Several relationships mentioned in this book really didn't ring a bell or were not what I remember and it's triggered my brain into finding the facts.
As for this book, I loved seeing an Archangel and Archangel relationship. It showed the power plays and egos that can take place when two massive forces try to come together. In general I loved it but I did get annoyed that the big bad was the usual one again.. Feels like beating a dead horse by now.. But it did make me wonder what or who comes next!
I love this world and I don't mind revisiting and re-reading until my heart is content.
January 31, 2023
Four and a half
I wasn’t particularly enamoured by this initially as it harks back to the actions of the murderous Archangel of China and truthfully I am very keen for new storylines. I did feel that as interesting as it was getting backstory of Alexander and Zani they both needed to be more open and trusting with each other. Yes theirs is undoubtedly an epic story of passion and I am pleased that the author found a way to finally allow them to accept their mutual love and to finally push forward. I just want to actually look forward and not back at what has already happened. The Cascade has definitely caused many issues and Lijuan and her zombies continue to be a feature of this series which is oddly entitled Guild Hunter and I don’t recall a single Guild Hunter in this book unless I count Elena who is actually now an Angel. If this series continues I will read the next book because I do love this world that has been created but hope for new adversaries and not a rehash of what we have already been told.
I wasn’t particularly enamoured by this initially as it harks back to the actions of the murderous Archangel of China and truthfully I am very keen for new storylines. I did feel that as interesting as it was getting backstory of Alexander and Zani they both needed to be more open and trusting with each other. Yes theirs is undoubtedly an epic story of passion and I am pleased that the author found a way to finally allow them to accept their mutual love and to finally push forward. I just want to actually look forward and not back at what has already happened. The Cascade has definitely caused many issues and Lijuan and her zombies continue to be a feature of this series which is oddly entitled Guild Hunter and I don’t recall a single Guild Hunter in this book unless I count Elena who is actually now an Angel. If this series continues I will read the next book because I do love this world that has been created but hope for new adversaries and not a rehash of what we have already been told.
July 15, 2022
Did I stay up too late reading this in one sitting?
Yes.
Do I have regrets?
Not even a little.
Archangel's Resurrection is a romantic and sweeping romance between two immortal beings that share thousands of years of hope, battle, and temptation.
I loved their winding road to each other and am looking forward to where this series goes from here with all of the surprises coming!
Yes.
Do I have regrets?
Not even a little.
Archangel's Resurrection is a romantic and sweeping romance between two immortal beings that share thousands of years of hope, battle, and temptation.
I loved their winding road to each other and am looking forward to where this series goes from here with all of the surprises coming!
Want to read
October 28, 2021We all agree this is Aodhan and Illium's sequel right? RIGHT???
<3
<3
January 20, 2024
Kitap ne kadar gerekliydi bilemedim. İlk yarı full mazileriyle doluydu zaten. Çocukluklarına kadar indik. 😅
Zanaya ve Alexander'ın hikayesiydi. İlk görüşte birbirlerinden etkilenirler ama Alexander 3000 yaşlarındayken Zanaya daha bebek sayılır. Bu yüzden dikkati üzerinde olsa da zamanı gelene kadar bir harekette bulunmaz.
Birlikte olmaları uzun bir süre aldı ama pek birlikte de oldukları söylenemez. İkisi de kendi doğruları olan, geri adım atmayan karakterlerdi. Bu yüzden Zanaya uyuyana kadar bir ayrı bir barışık modda ilerledi.
Günümüzde ise Lijuan'a sebep uyanmış ama ağır yara almıştır. İyileşme uykusundan uyanması ise yine zaman almıştır ve kitabın ikinci yarısı burdan başlıyor.
Kitaba dair açıkçası pek bir olay yoktu. Yazılmış olmak için yazılmış gibiydi. Aradan çıkmış oldu.
Zanaya ve Alexander'ın hikayesiydi. İlk görüşte birbirlerinden etkilenirler ama Alexander 3000 yaşlarındayken Zanaya daha bebek sayılır. Bu yüzden dikkati üzerinde olsa da zamanı gelene kadar bir harekette bulunmaz.
Birlikte olmaları uzun bir süre aldı ama pek birlikte de oldukları söylenemez. İkisi de kendi doğruları olan, geri adım atmayan karakterlerdi. Bu yüzden Zanaya uyuyana kadar bir ayrı bir barışık modda ilerledi.
Günümüzde ise Lijuan'a sebep uyanmış ama ağır yara almıştır. İyileşme uykusundan uyanması ise yine zaman almıştır ve kitabın ikinci yarısı burdan başlıyor.
Kitaba dair açıkçası pek bir olay yoktu. Yazılmış olmak için yazılmış gibiydi. Aradan çıkmış oldu.
October 19, 2022
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
First Impressions
Archangel’s Resurrection is one of my most anticipated releases of the year, this series is on another level, and one of the few Urban Fantasy series I actually truly love. Nalini Singh shows that you can write a UF with a strong focus of romance. This series is always a delight and honestly I went into this one practically blind, I didn’t even know who the main characters were at first, the only thing I did know was that it featured an archangel but that was it. I knew that it probably wouldn’t be a Raphael or Illium installment though, with how this series has been written I expected it to be someone else. I am really happy that we got Alexander’s book. His character we have seen small moments with in previous books and I really wanted to get his romance with his lady Zanaya. This book was so in depth and we really go back centuries of time to get the fullness of his story and I really enjoyed that. It almost had a historical fantasy like feel to some of the book until we get to the current timeline and I think fans of the series will actually be highly entertained by this one here.
Summary
There has always been a epic love passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia and Zanaya, the Queen of the Nile. We see the beginning’s of their stories and how they start out their lives and grow into the beings that they become. We see the instant passion that rises between them and how Alexander is forced to push Zanaya away due to her young years in comparison to him and knowing she needed to grow into herself before anything could ever happen between them. We see the growths of their characters while also building within their relationship. We see the joys and the passions while also seeing the heartbreak, the angst and loss that they both experience. We see the strength of the force of their love that will strengthen them throughout the centuries. We see the rise of their enemies but also the loss of what they suffer but through that suffering we see the growth in their love and truly realizing what they have together and letting go of pass faults and insecurities and embracing their relationship in a way that completes them in a way they haven’t yet discovered….
What I Loved
Archangel’s Resurrection is the 15th installment in the Guild Hunter series. And can you believe that we have reached number 15 on this series??!!! I can’t believe how much this series has grown. And I will say this is one of my favorite installments that didn’t feature Raphael and Elena. There was something so epically beautiful and touches the reader so deeply in reading this story. First what I think really made the difference is seeing their backgrounds from when they are fledglings to full grown archangel’s. I truly adored seeing Alex and Zanaya come together in such a way that adds clear depth to the story and also to the romance itself. Seeing such character growth was worth every moment. I adored this pairing together and the way that they come together and really work through their issues was quite heartfelt. They aren’t the perfect couple but they are the right couple for each other. I really enjoyed the way that they learn and grow in each other and make mistakes in their relationship. This is not a fairytale type of romance, they have their battles and fights that they have to overcome. And even some hurdles where they end up hurting each other even without meaning to. We also see them rise to the occasion of standing together and fighting against true evils. Their romance was so deep and entrenching because we get to see them grow through their mistakes and really capitalize on what they have together and not letting those mistakes define their relationship and in the end its learning to let go of past mistakes and learning to rely on each other and valuing each other as they should. We also get some delightful journeys with past events and characters. My emotions were all over the place with this one and I was so encouraged to see that as it really connects this book to so many of the previous books.
What I Struggled With
I will be honest …..NOTHING….This book just felt so right all the way through!
Overall View
Archangel’s Resurrection is a stunning portrayal that is packed with history, grit, and fierce passions that rise to the occasion! Its a tale that will give the readers thrills and charm and utter depths of emotion!
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
First Impressions
Archangel’s Resurrection is one of my most anticipated releases of the year, this series is on another level, and one of the few Urban Fantasy series I actually truly love. Nalini Singh shows that you can write a UF with a strong focus of romance. This series is always a delight and honestly I went into this one practically blind, I didn’t even know who the main characters were at first, the only thing I did know was that it featured an archangel but that was it. I knew that it probably wouldn’t be a Raphael or Illium installment though, with how this series has been written I expected it to be someone else. I am really happy that we got Alexander’s book. His character we have seen small moments with in previous books and I really wanted to get his romance with his lady Zanaya. This book was so in depth and we really go back centuries of time to get the fullness of his story and I really enjoyed that. It almost had a historical fantasy like feel to some of the book until we get to the current timeline and I think fans of the series will actually be highly entertained by this one here.
Summary
There has always been a epic love passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia and Zanaya, the Queen of the Nile. We see the beginning’s of their stories and how they start out their lives and grow into the beings that they become. We see the instant passion that rises between them and how Alexander is forced to push Zanaya away due to her young years in comparison to him and knowing she needed to grow into herself before anything could ever happen between them. We see the growths of their characters while also building within their relationship. We see the joys and the passions while also seeing the heartbreak, the angst and loss that they both experience. We see the strength of the force of their love that will strengthen them throughout the centuries. We see the rise of their enemies but also the loss of what they suffer but through that suffering we see the growth in their love and truly realizing what they have together and letting go of pass faults and insecurities and embracing their relationship in a way that completes them in a way they haven’t yet discovered….
What I Loved
Archangel’s Resurrection is the 15th installment in the Guild Hunter series. And can you believe that we have reached number 15 on this series??!!! I can’t believe how much this series has grown. And I will say this is one of my favorite installments that didn’t feature Raphael and Elena. There was something so epically beautiful and touches the reader so deeply in reading this story. First what I think really made the difference is seeing their backgrounds from when they are fledglings to full grown archangel’s. I truly adored seeing Alex and Zanaya come together in such a way that adds clear depth to the story and also to the romance itself. Seeing such character growth was worth every moment. I adored this pairing together and the way that they come together and really work through their issues was quite heartfelt. They aren’t the perfect couple but they are the right couple for each other. I really enjoyed the way that they learn and grow in each other and make mistakes in their relationship. This is not a fairytale type of romance, they have their battles and fights that they have to overcome. And even some hurdles where they end up hurting each other even without meaning to. We also see them rise to the occasion of standing together and fighting against true evils. Their romance was so deep and entrenching because we get to see them grow through their mistakes and really capitalize on what they have together and not letting those mistakes define their relationship and in the end its learning to let go of past mistakes and learning to rely on each other and valuing each other as they should. We also get some delightful journeys with past events and characters. My emotions were all over the place with this one and I was so encouraged to see that as it really connects this book to so many of the previous books.
What I Struggled With
I will be honest …..NOTHING….This book just felt so right all the way through!
Overall View
Archangel’s Resurrection is a stunning portrayal that is packed with history, grit, and fierce passions that rise to the occasion! Its a tale that will give the readers thrills and charm and utter depths of emotion!
Currently reading
November 6, 2022Spoilers ahead
I absolutely love this series but I'm really struggling with this one
I don't mind the initial back story, l love seeing how they were before becoming archangels but jeeze talk about a toxic relationship 🤦🏾♀️ SO MUCH BACK AND FORTH grrrrrrrrr I'm about to scream! And time jumps 🤦🏾♀️ millennia has passed for crying out loud. It's also weird because I expect Raphael or Elena or someone connected to the earlier books to make an appearance but so far nada.
Then to really compound matters they break up a couple times and sleep with others......this is a huge no no for me personally 😭
As if that wasn't enough......she went to sleep and she awoke to him as a grandfather 😭
A love so grand it lasts thousands of years should be able to stay celibate ion care if they're archangels ffs!
Continuing on just because I love this series but I'm tired fr.....this isn't what I expected 😭 I want the Raphael and Elena type of love not this crazy ass can't live with you can't live without you bs 🥺
I absolutely love this series but I'm really struggling with this one
I don't mind the initial back story, l love seeing how they were before becoming archangels but jeeze talk about a toxic relationship 🤦🏾♀️ SO MUCH BACK AND FORTH grrrrrrrrr I'm about to scream! And time jumps 🤦🏾♀️ millennia has passed for crying out loud. It's also weird because I expect Raphael or Elena or someone connected to the earlier books to make an appearance but so far nada.
Then to really compound matters they break up a couple times and sleep with others......this is a huge no no for me personally 😭
As if that wasn't enough......she went to sleep and she awoke to him as a grandfather 😭
A love so grand it lasts thousands of years should be able to stay celibate ion care if they're archangels ffs!
Continuing on just because I love this series but I'm tired fr.....this isn't what I expected 😭 I want the Raphael and Elena type of love not this crazy ass can't live with you can't live without you bs 🥺
Read
November 3, 2021I hope it will either continue with Elena and Raphael or new characters. Just no Illium and Aodhan part 2. Alone what I've read for comments. Some want there to be a trilogy of Illium and Aodhan and sex scenes. Damn it, I don't want to read gay books and gay relationships. There are separate books for that, but not here !!!!! That with Illium and Aodhan was a mistake. One could have written a book about Illium and a book about Aodhan. But not about both as a couple !!!!
October 28, 2022
Less of a novel, more of a diary. A very, very, very long and boring diary about a relationship on a rinse and repeat cycle. Written in lacklustre purple prose (is that an oxymoron?), Archangel’s Resurrection tells the story of Zanaya and Alexander over a two hundred and fifty thousand year span (if, we believe that Caliane and Alexander are that old). In an out of love they go, which makes sense, when we're talking a quarter of a million years, but, oh boy, were they a boring couple. He's gorgeous, she's gorgeous (in fact everyone in this book is gorgeous and ethereally shiny). He's honourable, she's honourable. He's all knowing (except when he isn’t) and she is good and strong and wise. He's from a loving home, she's the child of a single stupid mother. She's the Queen of the Nile and he's... hang on Queen of the Nile? That means Ancient Egypt, right? Right! Was there even a mention of her being the Archangel of Ancient Egypt? Only a throw away line about her people inventing mummification. Come on Nalini! How could you have missed a chance like that? You could have told us the backstory in a couple of chapters and set the main love story in that great setting but we didn’t get that pleasure. What we in fact got was a rehashing of Archangel's War from another point of view and only at the 50% mark. I wouldn’t have minded even that if we had actually got any kind of story, or plot, or character arc, or interesting setting. What I want to know, having waded through tired, over used purple prose with no coherent structure is where is Nalini’s editor? I've been a fan of this series since 2009, and, for the most part, it's been an exciting ride but I think it’s over now. Farewell Guild Hunter Series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 28, 2022
I wanted t0 give this a higher rating, but there wasn't any real romance. Just rinse and repeat of the same silly fighting with one another for over 10,000 years. Alexander and Zani read like children to me with the petty squabbles. IMO it didn't advance the storyline or the story ARC and frankly it was boring. If anything, I feel like the arc is done and could have ended with a sweet Elena and Raphael book to tie the series up.
on-hold
November 21, 2022✨🦋11/19/21: PLEASE MORE SPARKLE AND BLUEBELL ✨🦋
![Profile Image for julia ☆ [owls reads].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1636739475i%2F5520447._UX200_CR0%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
November 1, 2022
For reference: 60% of this is backstory on Zanaya and Alexander's relationship. It is a lot of telling us things instead of showing them to us. The other 40% is divided into catching Zani up on what's been going on during modern times + couple scenes and then the final 20% or so is actually the conflict/fight that usually happens in Guild Hunter books. Except! Since so little time was devoted to develop that, it had no impact or tension whatsoever. I was bored from beginning to end and this was a struggle to get through.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 725 reviews