Review of Angels' Blood (Guild Hunters Book 1) by Nalini Singh - I love those deadly sexy angels!

Title: Angel's Blood
Author: Nalini Singh
Pages: 339 Pages, Mass Market Paperback
Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance
Standalone/Series: Series
Release:  Already Out
Publisher: Berkeley
Purchased by me
Author info: http://www.nalinisingh.com or twitter @NaliniSingh
Spoiler Alert: Small plot hints

GoodReads Blurb: Vampire hunter Elena Deveraux knows she's the best—but she doesn't know if she's good enough for this job. Hired by the dangerously beautiful Archangel Raphael, a being so lethal that no mortal wants his attention, only one thing is clear—failure is not an option...even if the task is impossible.

Because this time, it's not a wayward vamp she has to track. It's an archangel gone bad.

The job will put Elena in the midst of a killing spree like no other…and pull her to the razor's edge of passion. Even if the hunt doesn't destroy her, succumbing to Raphael's seductive touch just may. For when archangels play, mortals break… 

Elena is a vampire bloodhound - she is a hunter-born who can sniff out the unique scent of the a vampire and track them anywhere. Born hunters are rare and Elena is the best. In Elena's world, vampires are created by angels - and the archangels are the most powerful among them. The angels have always existed in her world, occasionally worshiped and revered but also feared for their immense power. Among the angels, Archangel Raphael is one of the most powerful and a member of the Cadre of Ten - the ruling class of angels. Raphael rules over New York City and most of North America with a cold and ruthless heart. When he first meets Elena he tries to rule over her as well but she is having nothing to do with it. Elena has always been enamored with the angels and their beautiful wings but that doesn't stop her from wanting to be an independent person. When she is called before Raphael to fulfill a Guild contract, he instantly tries to gain the upper hand, even using her body against her but Elena forces him to back down, which rarely occurs in Raphael's world. The job Elena is hired for is beyond the normal vampire hunt, she is hired to hunt down a rogue archangel - something she is most likely not going to survive.

As Raphael and Elena spend time together hunting the rogue, attraction between the two of them grows. Elena fights her attraction to Raphael as hard as she can because she knows her life will never be the same if she submits to the handsome and deadly archangel. Raphael wants to posses Elena and admits he only takes warrior women for lovers, though his feelings develop beyond the simple need to posses Elena's body. Both Raphael and Elena have dark pasts that haunt their waking hours and deep emotional scars that make them well suited for each other as well. As the hunt for the rogue heats up so do their feelings for each other, the dark crimes the rogue commits causing the pair to look for comfort in each other. And let me say I loved the special magical properties of angel's dust and the sensitivity of the wings when the angels are aroused. Such fun details!

The story of this world was an interesting one, our world but with beautiful immortal angels populating it - angels that can destroy whole cities in fights for power and territory. Also angels making vampires - a new twist to the vampire story that I definitely haven't read before. The secondary characters in this book added another layer to the story - the seductive vampire Dimitri and beautiful angel Ilium. Both are part of Raphael's inner circle that are sworn to protect him with their life. Elena's friends are great too - Sara her best friend and boss who is super protective of Elena, as well as Ransom, a fellow hunter and friend with a cocky attitude and sex-appeal. All of these secondary characters added to the richness of the story and made it even more enjoyable.

Overall this was a 4 out of 5 stars for me - a kick-ass heroine, sexy archangel Raphael, and unique and interesting world building. I was so lucky that the second book was already out when I read this one because the ending had my diving right into the next book of the series - Archangel's Kiss.