Nalini Singh - Archangel's Storm

Natalie · Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1566

I have an almost the opposite reaction as the reviewer. Dmitry's book is my favorite in the series while this one is just ok. I felt the comming together part was a tad too short and underdeveloped. It's the same issue I had with Raphael and Elena: when a super powerful ancient being who has not allowed himself to fall in love for centuries suddenly does it, I want it to be more convincing please (we're not talking about your typical Regency rake after all). At least with Dmitry, it was more obvious. On a plus side, Jason didn't utter any teenage horny crap that almost ruined Raphael's mystique.

I do like it that Mahiya wasn't a completely passive victim to her family's cruelty: she actually planned to escape, taught herself some martial arts, etc.

desiderata · Joined: 23 Oct 2007 Posts: 226

Natalie, I agree with you. I really enjoyed Dmitri's story, while this was lukewarm and just ok. I liked Jason and Mahiya but didn't feel there was any real chemistry between them. The storyline was interesting, the romance not so much.

Natalie · Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1566

Yep, and

SPOILERS

the situation with her mother was obvious from the start.

I actually found Nevriti an interesting character, I hope she'll get her own book. I'm tired of nice or warrior maiden type characters, give me someone with a nastier streak Smile

msaggie · Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 632

I quite liked the latest Guild Hunter Archangel's Storm, and concur with Jean Wan's review here at AAR. There are gory scenes, probably to the same calibre as Ilona Andrews' the Edge and Kate Daniels series (maybe slightly less gory than some of those). I was disappointed with the previous book (Dmitri's,Archangel's Blade ) and I think my complaint about Archangel's Storm is that I wish there was more of Jason and Mahiya, and less of Dmitri and Honor (I didn't see why they needed to be in the book at all, as they were not at all integral to the plot, and took up precious pages). I would probably rank this one as my second favourite of the series after Angels' Blood.

Outlandish · Joined: 22 Jul 2011 Posts: 68 Location: USA

Natalie · Joined: 25 Mar 2007 Posts: 1566

Re: Jason not changing, I actually felt that he did change - going from avoiding meaningful relationship to actually loving a woman (even without admitting it openly). Why? Sure, Mahiya is a nice, strong woman - but he's met women like her before. There's not enough detail here to make it very credible.

LFL · Joined: 05 May 2007 Posts: 630

Dmitry's and Honor's book is my favorite in this series so far and one of my all-time favorites by Singh. Jason's book was a B read for me -- very good but not great. I am really looking forward to Holly/Sorrow's book.
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Jean Wan AAR · Joined: 13 Apr 2009 Posts: 384 Location: Toronto, Canada

LFL · Joined: 05 May 2007 Posts: 630

I didn't like the Sorrow bit either, but I still felt a deep connection to her character. I've heard more than one person speculate that she'll be paired with Venom but I'm not sure about that. I really don't know. Aodhan and Illium don't feel right to me, but I could be totally off the mark.
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I also post elsewhere as Janine or Janine Ballard

stl_reader · Joined: 03 Aug 2011 Posts: 168 Location: Missouri

Coming late to the game, but I just finished Archangel's Storm.

I'd say it's in the B or B+ range.

Singh packs a lot of story in her books! I feel like she puts a lot of thought into her Archangel/Vampire universe and where it's going, and if you like the Archangel series, this book definitely moves the story line along. Took me a while to finish it, but it is a worthy addition to the Archangel series.

Other random comments:

I'd say that the romance, while nice, felt almost secondary to the intrigues / politics / warring in Neha's court. Also, Jason's thought that it was nice to be cared about (since he hadn't been since his parents died) didn't make sense, since he'd had at least one other lover who obviously cared about him--and whom he had rejected--when he'd been younger. Whatever.

The gore factor was off-putting for me.

I'm still trying to figure out how Jason got cell coverage (he called Raphael) from a super-remote mountaintop ...

It's a little irritating that the assorted archangels pop up with these new random powers conveniently. Seems kind of a cop-out when Mahiya or whoever suddenly displays a new power just in the nick of time.

Also, I'm starting to think that no matter who the couple is - Raphael/Elena or whoever - it's just a matter of time (centuries? millenia?) before the relationship will disintegrate and one or both will grow mad or vengeful. I mean, it seems like we keep seeing it--live long enough, something messes with your archangel mind. So few archangelic couples really seem to have weathered the centuries intact and happy.

PS - FWIW, I think Venom will be paired with Sorrow, if anyone. We'll probably discover that among her currently unknown powers is the ability to remain immune to Venom's, uh, venom. Whereas I think most women would not be able to survive Venom's poison (released, perhaps, during love-making?), I think she'll be able to. Just a guess.