 | Title: Angels of Darkness
Sexual Content: See each story Rating:
Good - A fun read with minor flaws. Maybe read an excerpt before buying. |
Description
Tales of alpha angels...from four alpha authors.
They soar through the night, unearthly creatures of legends and lore. Four masters of urban fantasy and paranormal romance explore the rapture of the heavens above, and the darkness below in four all-new stories of angels and guardians, and good and evil.
Angel’s Wolf by Nalini Singh
In the spellbinding universe of the Guild Hunter, a vampire becomes obsessed with the seductive angel who rules the Louisiana territory. But in her court, all is not what it appears to be.
Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews
A woman is kidnapped into a world divided by a superhuman civil war. As the captive of an irresistibly dangerous male, she has two choices: submit and become a pawn, or take hold of her own destiny.
Ascension by Meljean Brook
When vampires disappear from a community he’s protecting, a world-weary Guardian doesn’t know what evil he’s hunting, but he’d rather hunt alone than accept help from his ex-lover and fellow Guardian, Radha. But Radha refues to leave him, because she’s determined not just to help him save the community…but to save him.
Nocturne by Sharon Shinn
Accepting a position in a secluded and whispered-about mansion, a woman soon discovers the source of its mystery: the blind, tormented angel who lives there, and whose secrets could now destroy them both.
Review
Angel's Wolf by Nalini Singh (Guild Hunter #4.5)
Guild Hunter fans will recognize the hero from this story. Noel was the vampire in ARCHANGEL’S KISS who was brutally beaten to the point where virtually all the bones in his body were crushed. After an agonizing recovery, he is sent to Louisiana and the smoldering but heartless angel Nimra. A failed attempt on her life has cast the loyalty of all Nimra’s court in question, and Noel is sent to discover the traitor, while under the guise of Nimra’s latest toy.
Essentially, Angel’s Wolf is a mystery. Noel investigates the court, comparing stories, and interviewing suspects during the day while growing closer, emotionally and physically, to Nimra at night. The chemistry was lacking between these two for me and even though the writing and mythology is as good as ever, I was a bit bored by the story. Noel was by far the more interesting character, but it felt like he warmed up to Nimra much too fast—even for a novella—than he should have given his traumatic past. The Guild Hunter series is a great one and I’m still a big fan, but this was probably the weakest installment I’ve read.
Sexual Content: A scene of sensuality. References to sex. Rating: 2/5
Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews (Alphas series)
I would never have guessed this was an Ilona Andrews story. Alphas: Origins has a very different feel and writing style from either the Kate Daniels or Edge series. It feels a little less polished, less sharp, than those series. The story involves a young mother and her daughter accidently winding up captors to four very alpha males ensnared in a millennia old war between beings who seek to destroy humanity. To ensure her daughter’s safety, Karina agrees to become the slave of Lucas, a shapeshifting warrior who needs her blood to survive.
The writing wasn’t as slick as I’m used to from Ilona Andrews, and initially, I was hung up on the writing style differences, but the storyline and uber alpha male characters, which reminded me of old school Linda Howard romances, quickly picked up the slack. The mythology was outlandish but fun, and the character of Lucas suitably tortured and aggressive. I’ll be looking forward to more Alpha books in the future.
Read an excerpt Sexual Content: Reference to sex and rape. Kissing. Rating: 3/5
Nocturne by Sharon Shinn (Samaria series)
This story occurs chronologically about 70 years after ARCHANGEL (Samaria #1). A woman has run from a murky past and taken a position at an exclusive boarding school when she comes across an injured angel hiding on the grounds. She begins visiting him and helping him learn to fly again. The writing is understated and quite good. The romantic relationship is not immediately evident and both the woman and the angel have a lot of personal baggage to deal with before looking at each other.
This was my first Sharon Shinn story, but it won’t be my last. Her writing feels more like magical realism than the other stories in this anthology. The pacing isn’t aggressive, but the story and characters gently wooed me until I was completely invested in Nocturne. This isn’t a flashy story, but it is a memorable one.
Sexual Content: References to rape. A non graphic sex scene. Rating: 4/5
Ascension by Meljean Brook (The Guardians #7.5)
I’m not as familiar with The Guardian series as I’d like having only read a few other novellas previously, but Meljean’s engaging and romantic style has won me over in everything else I’ve read from her. I’m not knocking the mythology here, but newbies to the series might feel a bit lost if this is their first Guardian story. The story reunites two Guardian lovers whose romance ended badly more than a century ago. They team up to track down a demon responsible for the deaths of several high school students.
Mostly, the romance deals with overcoming the way this couple broke up originally. My big problem stemmed from the fact that Radha initially pursued Marc even knowing that he’d take a vow of celibacy and experienced severe guilt over his attraction to her. It struck me as callous on her part and then selfish when she got mad watching as he was overcome by guilt after they had sex. I never believed that she cared about him beyond the sex. In my mind, if she truly loved him, she would have waited for him to sort out his beliefs before seducing him.
Read an excerpt Sexual Content: A scene of sensuality. Rating: 2/5
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The book may not be so great, but that is one HOT cover.
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I'll probably get it eventually because of Nalini and Ilona at least, but it isn't one of those "must-run-out-and-buy-now" books. Great review.
ReplyDeleteE - I love the cover! And I do recommend the anthology, even if it wasn't as strong as I would have hoped.
ReplyDeleteI've just read "Angel's Wolf". I liked it - not like I did the others, but the story is very sweet. I wanted it to be larger, though.
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