Challenge Corner discussion

USA Today bestselling author Nalini Singh introduces a world of beauty and bloodlust, where angels hold sway over vampires…

Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she’s the best—but she doesn’t know if she’s good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option…even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it’s not a wayward vamp she has to track. It’s an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor’s edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn’t destroy her, succumbing to Raphael’s seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break…

Chapters 1 - 10

(view spoiler)[ I still think that there needs to be more development when it comes to Elena and Raphael’s relationship because there are times when they interact like they’re strangers.

Elena meeting the young angels in the class was fun, but I don’t think it’s going to be shown much.

While there is a plot (Raphael looking for the person who attacked his vampire; Elena learning the way of angels), it’s a bit slow and not much is happening.
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Chapters 11 - 20

(view spoiler)[ I really want to find out what happened in Elena’s past. There have been hints and you get the general idea, but I want the whole thing. I’m wondering about Elena’s father too since he seemed like a decent parent in her flashback. Maybe he hates all paranormal creatures because of what happened and sees Elena as one of them because she was a hunter? But his son in law is a vampire so that doesn’t make sense.

I still want the plot to get moving as there are a lot of concerns being thrown around (suspects of the angel organising the conflicts, Lijuan and her undead) but not much being found out.
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Chapters 21 - 30

(view spoiler)[ Michaela’s actions kind of came out of nowhere - is no one going to check what Uram might have done to her? I know that they all mind their own business, but this isn’t the first time she’s done something that’s affecting others.

Is Raphael’s mother going to appear sometime, if she has actually been Sleeping?

What is Lijuan’s party going to look like? What does she want and what’s she hiding in her room?

Is Elena going to confront her father before that?
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Chapter 31 - Epilogue

(view spoiler)[ I didn’t really expect Anoushka but at the same time, I didn’t really suspect anyone because there wasn’t much to go off of.

Did Lijuan do all of this to evolve? I don’t really understand what she’s going to so next.

I think the only thing left to wrap up now is Elena’s past and her father.

I’m sure that there’s going to be further plot developments, but I’m kind of worried that it’s going to be like the Psy-Changeling Trinity series, which feels like it’s just being dragged out.
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I'll get to book 2 next week after I get back from vacation.

Started

Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "
Chapters 1 - 10

..."

31% (view spoiler)[I completely agree with you. It seems like it isn’t that well developed between their two characters and like there is something missing. Also the plot seems to be slow going like the first book in this series. I think I’m wanting more from this and just not getting it. Hopefully it will pick up soon now with the whole one person getting a knife in their back or head or wherever it was. (hide spoiler)]

54% (view spoiler)[I feel like this plot is so slow like the first book. Hopefully it picks up soon and maybe something will actually happen besides everyone just being jealous that she turned into an angel. (hide spoiler)]

76% (view spoiler)[I feel like this is picking up now that she is getting more and more memories from her past. I wonder what the person did to her that she had to block her memories like that. (hide spoiler)]

Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "
Chapter 31 - Epilogue

..."

Finished (view spoiler)[I agree. There wasn’t too much to go off of with anything. The plot was very slow but I do feel like the story picked up more as we found out more about her past. Hopefully things will start being answered and the plot will actually be a plot in the next book. (hide spoiler)]

I'm going to start Archangel's Consort in January and hopefully the plot will be better than in Archangel's Kiss.

Chapters 1 - 10

(view spoiler)[ I think that the pacing is like the previous books, so the book is fine but not amazing.

I liked that Elena went to visit Sara, but I wanted a longer scene, and Raphael joining her would have been fun.

Raphael's mother awakening was expected, but how is that going to influence the plot and the characters? Also, I wasn't expecting her to be as old as Lijuan said.

I'm really curious about what Elena's father wants and if that situation is finally going to be dealt with.
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Chapters 11 - 20

(view spoiler)[ I'm really curious about the Hummingbird, especially because of how different Raphael's reaction is to Illium's.

I still don't think that the pace has improved because it's still about waiting - for Raphael's mother to awaken, to see if Lijuan is going to do anything, for more vampire attacks. Also, it's mentioned that Elena's sister is a hunter but you don't really see much about that. I'm hoping that it means that she's going to get to know her sisters and maybe even her stepmother since Jeffrey seems like a lost cause.
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Chapters 21 - 30

(view spoiler)[ I'm still missing the interactions Elena could have had with her sister. Although, I'm glad that there's only been one scene with Beth, the spoiled brat. I hated Elena's reaction to that exchange.

Lijuan must have followed Raphael. Also, she said that she's there to kill a monster and she didn't specify that it was Raphael's mother so could she be talking about Elena? Since she's of the opinion that what she did to her mortal was the best course of action?
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Chapter 31 - Epilogue

(view spoiler)[ Like with the first book, there's a big fight with Lijuan which, to me, felt like a life or death kind of situation, except she manages to run away. Her sitting next to Raphael at the meeting was shocking and confusing. Is this just dragging the plot out like in Psy-Changeling Trinity with (view spoiler)[the scarabs and the multiple solutions but not really for the PsyNet (hide spoiler)]? I didn't think that the pace improved from the previous books.

I thought that the next books were going to be about different characters because Elena and Raphael's storyline would be concluded, but suddenly there's a reveal about Elena's mother and I'm not sure how that's supposed to impact the story, apart from Jeffrey being mad if he finds out.

I was considering DNFing the series (because of the plot and pacing), but the characters are just interesting enough and shown enough to make me interested in their stories, for example Dmitri and Illium.
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Will get to this soon

I'll get to book 2 this month.

Going to continue soon

Still hoping to read book 2 soon.

Started

Chapters 1-10 (view spoiler)[Kind of wondering if this series will actually get better or it will continue as just okay. Either way, Raphael is very protective, but I like how she is putting up boundaries and telling him that he needs to take a step back from it. Hopefully something will pick up soon. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 11-18 (view spoiler)[ Still not really into this one yet. I mean it’s fine, but I want more from the plot and not really getting it. It’s easy to tune out of listening to, which I don’t like. (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 19-27 (view spoiler)[The whole someone being there in the room was a little creepy. Especially if it was his mom like he said. And there was that whole part with her sister. Wondering how this will all end for this book. I’m still not that into it, but maybe I need to read it instead of listening to it. (hide spoiler)]

Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "
Chapter 31 - Epilogue

[spoilers removed]? I didn't think that the pace improved from the previous books.

I thought that the next books were going to be ab..."

Finished (view spoiler)[I completely agree with everything you are saying! The pace with the plot on this book and series is way too slow. I’m really struggling but at the same time still enjoying parts of the book. I think i might switch the ebook to see if that’s better than the audiobook. But I think this series is like 17 books, which I don’t know if I can do that if it continues like this. (hide spoiler)]

Ashlyn wrote: "Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "
Chapter 31 - Epilogue

[spoilers removed]? I didn't think that the pace improved from the previous books.

I thought that the next bo..."

(view spoiler)[ I think I ended up listening to the audio for this because it felt like the ebook was taking forever to get through. I don't listen to that many audiobooks so maybe that's what helped keep my attention on it.

Yeah, I'm going to try Dmitri's book, but I doubt it will make me want to continue, especially with how many books there are (17 books?!) and I don't think it's finished. I'd rather focus on other series.
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Chapters 1 - 10

(view spoiler)[ I’m not sure if I forgot or if it wasn’t mentioned before but I didn’t know that Dmitri had a wife. I’m curious to find out more about who Isis was and how Raphael got involved.

I think I’m slightly more invested in this story (I like Honor and Dmitri) but it’s still not making me want to continue the series.
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Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "Ashlyn wrote: "Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "
Chapter 31 - Epilogue

[spoilers removed]? I didn't think that the pace improved from the previous books.

I thought t..."

I agree. Let me know if it gets any better at all. I really don’t want to waste my time on a 17 books series that I’m not enjoying

Chapters 11 - 19

(view spoiler)[ The investigation is fine and while it seems that that’s the only thing going on, it still somehow doesn’t seem detailed/fast paced enough.

I like Honor and Dmitri (although I rolled my eyes when Honor tried to stop Dmitri from punishing another vampire - something about not losing another piece of his soul) but I’m more interested in seeing what happens with Sorrow. But I’m assuming, as with all the side characters, she’s not really going to be shown.
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Chapters 20 - 28

(view spoiler)[ Maybe it's just because I took a pause from the book, but I'm kind of bored and just want to get to the end.

Is Honor Ingrid reincarnated? But then would she hear Ingrid's voice in her head? I'm not necessarily annoyed by Ingrid's constant presence, but I don't really care about her or Honor and Dmitri.
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Chapters 29 - 38

(view spoiler)[ I was still bored.

I didn't care for Honor's attempts at "saving" Dmitri's soul. Honor being Ingrid was boring and I don't like what it could mean for the world (unless it's a one off, which wouldn't make sense).

I really needed more of the side characters - Raphael (interacting with both Dmitri and Honor, maybe with Elena), Sorrow (Dmitri says he feels responsible for her, but I wanted to see more of their interactions), Ashwini (she only conveniently appears twice).
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Ashlyn wrote: "Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "Ashlyn wrote: "Ela (Mouse333) wrote: "
Chapter 31 - Epilogue

[spoilers removed]? I didn't think that the pace improved from the previo..."

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be continuing the series. The investigation in this book was fine, but it felt like the leads were too evenly spaced/dragged out, and I ended up being bored with Dmitri and Honor's relationship and I just wanted to get it over and done with.

I thought maybe that the books would improve because I assumed that this was Nalini Singh's first series so I was shocked when I found out that Psy-Changeling came out first.

Oh no! Sorry this one ended up not being good. I might still try the next one to see how I feel

Still debating if I will continue

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RESTARTING SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2025

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I'll be picking up book 2 in early October.

Still planning to pick up book 2 this month.