Blog Tour Spotlight and Review: Archangel’s Lineage by Nalini Singh

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s dangerous and beautiful world of archangels, vampires, and mortals has never faced a threat this cataclysmic…

Raphael and Elena are experiencing their first ever year of true peace. No war. No horrors of archangelic power. No nightmares given flesh. Until…the earth beneath the Refuge begins to tremble, endangering not only angelkind’s precious and fragile young, but the very place that has held their most innocent safe for eons.

Amid the chaos, Elena’s father suffers a violent heart attack that threatens to extinguish their last chance to heal the bonds between them and make sense of the ruins of their agonizing shared history.

Even as Elena battles grief, Raphael is torn from her side by the sudden disappearance of an archangel. But worse yet is to come. An Ancestor, an angel unlike any other, stirs from his Sleep to warn the Cadre of a darkness so terrible that it causes empires to fall and civilizations to vanish.

This time, even the Cadre itself may not be able to stop a ticking clock that is counting down at frightening speed…

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

Where did you get the book: Arc from the publishers

Publisher: Berkely 

Release date: 23rd of April

Archangel’s Lineage is set two decades after Lijuan’s reborn invasion, Charisemnon’s poisonous disease epidemic and the vampire uprising aftermath. It is now a year after with the occasional pockets of vampires rebelling but there is a lull of peace, and of course it has to end when Refuge, the heart of Angel society is facing danger with its protective veil, the Mantle is crumbling. Not only the Cadre, the group of Archangels that rule over the planet, have to face the encroaching peril of the collapsing Mantle, but increasing natural disasters are rocking around the world, including the Refuge that homes their most vulnerable. Already weakened by the wars and rebellion from previous years, the Cadre is also coping with a smaller group and it is further compounded that one of their own, Qin has decided to join his consort to undergo deep Sleep. 

I love that Archangel’s Lineage, focuses back to Elena and Raphael, they are one of my all time favourite couples. And in this entry in the series, they are even more steadfast and committed to each other. However, Elena is dealing with the sudden health crisis of her estranged father while also dealing with the external hidden threat of the natural disasters and Refuge’s deterioration. It was heartfelt and emotional as Elena has to tackle her demons from her past as well contending with her father’s illness and the fact she has to address issues of her immortality and the mortality of her family. 

It was also interesting and intriguing that Nalini Singh introduced another layer of the Angel’s history with the Ancestors who are even more foreboding and intimidating than the Ancients as well as a tantalizing and charismatic new Archangel who I hope we see more in future books. 

Although it feels like that the main plot has tied up loose threads as well as resolved ongoing story arcs. Nonetheless this new discovery has added more scope to the worldbuilding and mythology and it really ties in well with the previous books. And in some ways this book feels like a transitional bridge to set up something new for future stories. I especially adored Vivek, the computer genius guild hunter who transitioned to becoming a vampire. He really shone in this book with his charm, wits and intelligence and with his quest to discover the reasons behind the failure of Refuge’s protection, he delves into the underbelly of the vampire and angel underworld and his interactions with the mysterious and aloof Katrina. She is an intriguing character and I adored their scenes together because it sparkled with chemistry and tension and I really hope we get a book in the future about them because I enjoyed the grittiness and earthy toned relationship that they had. 

Archangel’s Lineage, is a book that packed a punch with a lot of emotion and action and I was enthralled right from the beginning. I was really glad of the resolutions of the main plot lines that stemmed from the first book, it really illustrated how far the characters as well as their relationships have evolved and changed as well as healed from their past issues. I also enjoyed how much Elena and Raphael have developed from the early books and they are now a tight and solid couple. Archangel’s Lineage was an absorbing, thrilling ride and Nalini Singh has written another engaging and gripping installment. 

I give Archangel’s Lineage an A!