Publication Date - 10th February 2011
Paperback - 336 pages
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Source - Library
Rating - 3 out of 5: I liked it
Book Info - Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux and her lover, the lethally beautiful archangel Raphael, have returned home to New York only to face an uncompromising new evil...
A vampire has attacked a girls' school - the assault one of sheer, vicious madness - and it is only the first act. Rampant bloodlust takes vampire after vampire, threatening to make the streets run with blood. Then Raphael himself begins to show signs of an uncontrolled rage, as inexplicable storms darken the city skyline and the earth itself shudders. The omens are suddenly terrifyingly clear. An ancient and malevolent immortal is rising. The violent winds whisper her name: Caliane. She has returned to reclaim her son, Raphael. Only one thing stands in her way: Elena, the consort who must be destroyed...
My Thoughts - I am a big fan of this series and I absolutely loved Angels' Blood and Archangel's Kiss. But I must admit that I did not enjoy this book as much as I did the others in this series.
Most of the things that I loved about the first two books were still there, such as the chemistry and connection between Raphael and Elena, her strong personality and ability to stand up to her Archangel, and lots of action as Raphael and Elena take down the bad guys.
Although the book was a bit slow to start with, the pace did pick up about half way through and from that point onward I was hooked to the storyline.
I only had a couple of minor complaints with Archangel's Consort, but as they appeared frequently they started to annoy me a bit and affect my enjoyment of the book. The first one is that Raphael and Elena have such a strong connection that they are able to communicate telepathically. At first this didn't bother me at all. But after a while it felt as though this was the only way that Raphael would communicate with Elena. There were several points where they would be alone in a room having a conversation and Elena would be talking to him normally, and Raphael would keep answering in her mind. Rather than driving home the connection between the two of them, the overuse of this plot device just made me feel that Raphael was too lazy to talk to Elena.
The second point was the over-repetition of the tragic events that happened during Elena's childhood. I can understand why the author does this - to show Elena's strength and to highlight her survival instincts - but it was just too much. And in the end the tragic flashbacks lost their effect on me because of the sheer number of times that they are mentioned.
Summary - Overall, Archangel's Consort is an enjoyable installment of a great paranormal romance series. Although it's not my favourite I still liked it and am looking forward to reading Archangel's Blade. However, I am hoping that the author soon realises that less is more and stops with the over-repetition of certain points.
Other books in this series:
1. Angels' Blood
2. Archangel's Kiss
3. Archangel's Consort
4. Archangel's Blade
Other reviews of this book:
Book Chick City / Dear Author / Love Vampires
Great review, Ive had my eye on these for a while now. I think Ill add them to my list and see.
ReplyDeleteNat - Definitely add them to your list! This is a great PNR series :)
ReplyDeleteOooh, as much as I'm loathe to admit it... I didn't love this book *quite* so much as I did the other two. I love the connection Raphael and Elena share, and that they ground each other... but... hmm... I don't know. This one maybe doesn't stick with me as much as the others? I expect Raphael to behave... erm... not how a normal guy would... but yeah. And I want more bloody info and I want another R/E book, and it's frustrating waiting!
ReplyDeleteI hope you get another Raphael/Elena book soon Sarah :)
ReplyDelete