“We fall, we fall together.”
After taking a two book break to focus on Dmitri (Honor) and Jason's (Mahiya) story, Singh returns to her meat and potatoes with Archangel Raphael and his Consort/Guild Hunter/Baby Angel Elena Deveraux. Along with the fact that there are suddenly hundreds of birds falling from the sky above New York City (called the Falling), leading to Raphael's angels falling from the sky and putting Raphael's territory in a dangerous position of being vulnerable to attack from outside forces like Lijuan, the Cascade is changing the Cadre in ways that nobody really understands and putting alliances at the forefront of the Cadre's politics.
Raphael and Elena must work together with Dmitri (who returns after successfully MAKING his wife Honor into a vampire), Aodhan, Galen, Illium, Jason, Naasir, and Venom, to find out who is responsible, and stop it from spreading. Raphael and Elena have an interesting relationship that tests my patience and my fortitude not to let little things bother me all the stinking time. I find myself getting bored at times with too much sex in a book. While others may gobble it up, I'm to the point where it just makes me want to turn the pages that much quicker to get to the point of the whole story.
Over the course of Archangel's Legion, I found myself reading a story that was basically an MMA pay per view event but with plenty of sex, and at times, a mystery. Raphael & Elena constantly bicker and get angry and challenge each at every turn of the page no matter how silly the situation was. They are both strong willed, and bull headed in so many ways including Elena's jealously of a long lost love. Elena is a strong hunter and is good at her job, but hates the fact that she is now a weak baby Angel having to rely on others to keep her safe or help her fly. Raphael, on the other hand, retains a bit of humanity by being around Elena and that makes him a better leader even though he is clearly changing in ways that nobody really understands. However, Raphael still loves to goad Elena into fighting with him by saying and doing stupid things that would have been better off being left alone.
Lots of Archangel's Legion is about relationships: Raphael's relationship with his mother Caliane the only Ancient in existence. Elena's relationship with her sisters (Eve, Amy, and Beth) along with her father Jeffrey where things are really tense and I'm not sure I care if they ever reconcile or not. There is the friendship between Illium and Aodhan, Elena and her best friend Sara and daughter Zoe, Elena and Raphael's Seven which has come a long way since Elena has determined that she's going to be the best Consort she can be. There is an interesting dynamic between Elena and Naasir as well, and I'm not sure where Singh is heading with that.
In the end, Archangel’s Legion is full of romance, action, suspense, strange turn of events, appearances by some interesting new characters who answer only to Raphael and Elena, and a major conflict that may or may not change the landscape of the Cadre thanks to a psychotic Archangel who might be a bit off her rocker. I still love Elena's relationship with Illium, and there are a few cute scenes with Elena and some younger angels who adore and love her to pieces.
Apparently, Guild Hunter # 7 is going to bring Ashwini and Janvier's story to the forefront. Time will only tell if Singh decides to write Illium's story along with perhaps Aodhan since he has suddenly been cast into the spotlight which I don't mind at all.
Author - Nalini Singh
Title - Archangel's Legion
Published by Jove
Released October 29, 2013
Genre Paranormal Romance
Source: Library
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