Review--Archangel's Storm by Nalini Singh

Enter New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s darkly beautiful world of archangels and immortal power, as a pact is sealed between two souls bound by blood, stirred by desire, and driven by vengeance…

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through the Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmare… and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion that threatens to drench them both in blood.

It seemed to be about time that I read Nalini Singh's Archangel's Storm...being that it's been out for nearly a year! So behind on everything! So it's a guaranteed bet to say that I have nearly no memory of what's go on in this world since the last book. If memory serves if was Dmitri's story followed by the collection of novellas that I also read. And of course I only say Dmitri and Honor since their story is continued throughout this one! What happens to them after the wedding and honeymoon, although it was never finalized, so I have to wonder if their little side story is not quite finished, or if it will be finished come the next book in October. Plus Dmitri's cover was smokin hot!

My first hint came at chapter one though when we open with Dmitri and Honor's wedding and before Jason is assigned to go to Neha's castle and investigate the murder of her husband, Eris, who had been locked away in his prison for the past three thousand or so years. But there are stipulations that must be met, such as an oath being made to the princess Mahiya--for Jason cannot make such a vow to another ruler without it interfering with his vow to Raphael. So the deal is struck with Mahiya that he basically keeps his mouth shut about any and all secrets to Neha's domain. And doing everything possible to solve the murder of Eris.

Mahiya is a princess with a hard-knocked life. She is the illegitimate child of Eris and Nivriti, Nivriti was Neha's twin sister. They have their own family problems there, but once Neha discovered this infidelity she punished them both by throwing them separately into prisons, where Nivriti gave birth to Mahiya sometime later and died afterwards. Since then Mahiya has not had a loving upraising. Life was fine for the first century or so, but then Neha's wrath started to show.

But Mahiya is not a broken princess whatsoever! She is quite strong in every sense of the word...well maybe no physically so, but with the rest, definitely! She shows Jason around the palace, giving him the ins and outs of things and is there to help solve the murder of her father. Jason has always been the strong, stoic type. He has to be it seems. For he too, has his own sordid and painful past. We get bits of it in snippets throughout the book before getting the whole tale near the end. It's no wonder that Mahiya and Jason fall for one another within time.

Jason, use to his stoic tendencies and nature, has never allowed another to get close. It's just better that way. But somehow Mahiya has gotten under his skin. He doesn't admit to loving her, but admits to wanting her. So their romance while seeming somewhat fickle based on the idea that he can never love her, is still very sweet. He may not claim to love Mahiya but there's evidence that he cares.

The murder mystery was quite fascinating in this one! And as the investigation continues, more bodies show up! Yes, bodies!! I can honestly say I never saw the murderer coming, but then again, it's because I tend to believe what is told throughout the book. I cannot recall if there was a hint or two to say otherwise. But still, I enjoy the shocking surprise when it appeared!

The ending was definitely the best part! Just as all the action is simmering down, there are still quite a few pages left and it had me dying to know what more could be said. And the answer, of course, was a lot! Without getting anywhere near spoilery, I can say that I was definitely happy with the ending. I love how Mahiya and Jason have come to accept one another for who they are. Their love was definitely one that took time to grow and that's the kind of love I, love seeing!

Nothing bad to say, although my head had been a little fuzzy these past two days when reading. At times I found myself zoning out because I had other things on my mind. Archangel's Storm was definitely a wild and exciting read though!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars