Nalini Singh - Lord of the Abyss

Title : Lord of the Abyss
Series : Royal House of the Shadows #4
Release date : November 15th, 2011
Publisher : Harlequin
Genre : Paranormal Romance

The story begins when a Blood sorcerer kills the king and queen of Magical Elden and has plans to kill their four children next in order to get the throne. But never underestimate the love and strength of parents, their mother had enough strength in her to combine her power and send them away to survive and deal with their enemy later.

Micah is the youngest of the four children and he was taken and separate from his family at the age of five. Micah grew up in the Abyss and as a grown man he is the Lord of the Abyss with a black armor on his entire body, so he can escorts cruel souls to their rightful place when they after their death. Then one day this little woman appears out of nowhere in his black castle, who isn’t afraid of him and it seems she stirs some feelings inside him he don’t understand.

Liliana is the Blood sorcerer’s daughter and she travels to Micah’s castle to help him remember who he really is, so he can return to Elden and reclaim the Kingdom that belong to him and his siblings. She needs to find a way to succeed or Elden will be lost forever and her father will win and destroy every magical being along the way. She knows it will endanger her own life, but that is the price she is willing to pay.

Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh is the last novel in the Royal House of Shadows series, which she co-writes with Gena Showalter, Jill Monroe and Jessica Andersen. I have to say that I really enjoy reading this whole series and I loved the fact that they used some of the fairy tales into them.

Nalini Singh created a fabulous world where Micah rules his Abyss. He doesn’t remember anything from his past and his is feared by many around the Abyss, but Micah has a heart of gold. He has taken in some creatures Jissa, Bard and little mouse and let them live and work for him in the black Castle.

Micah and Liliana are both strong characters; Micah came to the Abyss when he was only 5 years old, he was too young to rule the Abyss, so he slept most of his life. But when he was old and strong enough to rule, he transform into this fearful man everyone walks away from.
Liliana has been humiliated and tortured by her own father and grew up into a strong blood sorceress that will do anything to stop her father and save innocent lives.

What I really love about them was that they both were so innocence; they had to learn everything about love and feelings from the start. It was great to read how they experience things and find a way to let love fill their hearts and let it conquered all the evil in their lives.

But there was one thing I was a little disappointed with; when Micah finally remembered everything from his past, his siblings, what happened with his parent and finally faces his enemy, there wasn’t much of a battle. I really expected the dangerous blood sorcerer and Micah fighting each other on a higher level then we saw in the book. It was over in a blink of an eye.

Also the reunion between Micah, Nicolai, Breena and Dayn was not what I expected. They haven’t seen each other for more than twenty years and there was no real celebration, not any conversation between the siblings, no nothing.

I loved the book and the story between Micah and Liliana, but the reunion between the siblings and the battle with the blood sorcerer could have been more interesting for us readers. Because this was something we all have been looking forward to, during all the books.

The Royal House of Shadows series is definitely a great series, which you have to read if you love strong characters, magic and fairytales.

Thanks Netgalley for providing me with this ARC eBook.

Nalini Singh - Slave to Sensation

Title : Slave to Sensation
Series : Psy – Changeling #1
Release date : September 5th, 2006
Publisher : Berkley Sensation
Genre : Paranormal Romance

Sascha Duncan is a Psy, which is a race of psychic humans. The Psy-race have perfected their race and put a program together where every psychic is locked in. All the Psy are programmed from birth, so they feel no emotion but Sascha is different. She’s hiding her defects from childhood behind a strong mental shield, because all the less powerful ones will be send away for reprogramming and never come back normal.

Her new assignment is to work with a group changelings, a pack of shape shifters cats. Lucas Hunter is the alpha of the Dark River pack and he wants to work with the Psy on a business level. But he has other motives, he thinks one or more of the Psy is killing members of his pack and Sascha might be his key inside.

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh is the first novel in her Psy-Changeling series and a fabulous beginning. I’ve already read Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunters Series and love her writing, so I wasn’t surprised that I fell for this series too.

The contrast between the Psy and the Changeling is huge; you could say they are the opposites of each other. Psy humans don’t have emotions, where the Changelings feel them all the time. Sascha is one of the exceptions in the Psy race and she knows that she has to hide if from her mother and her superiors or face the worst thing that could happen to a Psy.

When Sascha and Lucas meet each other, they act like all the others before them, cold and distance. But Lucas soon discover that Sascha is different and know his plan to use her in his investigation will be a bad idea. When the romance between them begins to grow, it’s hot and very passionate.

Besides Lucas and Sascha we mostly meet characters of the Changeling society and I wouldn’t mind to read more about some of those characters, especially Vaughn and Hawke.

I cannot believe I’ve waited so long to start this series, I have some of the books on my shelves for ages, but for some reason I ignore them. Now it seems that a new addiction is born, so I promise to continue with this series soon. I know this journey will be fabulous.

Nalini Singh - Archangel's Kiss

Title : Archangel’s kiss
Series : Guild Hunters #2
Release date : February 2010
Publisher : Berkley Publisher
Genre : Urban Fantasy

Elena Deveraux is a vampire hunter with a unique power to detect the rogue vampires, but during her last battle she was deadly injured. In order to save the woman he became to love, Archangel Rafael turned her into a made-angel and put her into a coma to heal. Now she’s awake and has to learn to use her angel wings and powers, before turning back to the Guild.

Rafael has no regrets about changing Elena, but he knows there will be consequences for making her an angel. During their first investigation she has stole his heart and this was the only way to save her. He knows she will be his weakness, but he need her by his side.

Someone is endangering innocent lives of children of their kind and Elena’s skills will be useful to track down these rogue vampires and angels. But that is not all; the oldest and most dangerous archangel invites Rafael and Elena to a ball. Will it be a trap?

Archangel’s Kiss by Nalini Singh is the second novel in her Guild Hunters Series and an excellent addition to the series.

It was weird to see Elena so weak when she woke up after almost a year being in coma, we all know that she was a kick-ass chick in the first novel. But I loved her determination to train as hard as she can and become the strong woman again. Her training with a couple of Rafael’s seven was fabulous and I love the interactions she has with one of the angels…., the really touch my heart.

Rafael is still the hard-ass archangel and rules his territory like he always have. He knows Elena is his weakness and can be used against him by other archangels or vampires, but he is determined to have her by his side.

I don’t have to say that this novel is another must read; Nalini Singh creates a fabulous world and amazing characters. After I finished this novel, I wanted more…but unfortunately she only have one book in the series a year…it’s going to be a long wait.

Nalini Singh - Angels' Blood

Elena Deveraux is a vampire hunter with a unique talent to detect the rogue vampires. Because of her ability to sense these vampires she is one of the best at the Guild agency and is hired by master vampires or angels to retrieve their "property". Now she is summoned to the head quarters of Archangel Rafael, who specifically asks for her assistance and he doesn’t take no for an answer.

Rafael is the archangel who runs the territory in Manhattan and he does that with an iron fist. All the vampires and their masters are under his control, but there is a situation he and his fellow angels cannot handle. So he calls the local Guild agency for help and specifically asks for the only hunter who can help him track their problem.

Angels’ Blood by Nalini Singh is her first novel in the Guild Hunter series and a fabulous start.
Elena Deveraux is a strong heroine, who knows how to take care of herself. She always knew she was different from her family and knew she would be at home as a hunter at the Guild. She doesn’t mind working alone, it’s even better that way, it gives her the opportunity to focus only on her target and getting it back to his of her owner.

The summing of Archangel Rafael isn’t what she’s waiting for, because that means working with him is priority number one. Rafael doesn’t like to be left in the dark; he demands loyalty from all his angels and vampires and now from Elena too, at least as long as she is working for him. But Rafael is in for the ride of his life when she awakens intense feelings inside him he didn’t knew he had.

Her secondary characters are great. Sara is Elena’s best friend and the head of the Guild, she always has Elena’s back no matter what en if that means she has to face Archangel Rafael, then that is what she’ll do. Also love the fellow angels around Rafael, they are one by one interesting characters and I really hope to see more of them in the future novels.

This novels is definitely a must read and I’m going to put this author on my auto buy list from now on, she is amazing and I don’t want to miss anything she writes.

Anthology - Must love Hellhounds

The Britlingens go to hell by Charlaine Harris
Two female bodyguards who are working for Britlingen Collective are hired to escort a client to retrieve a stolen item he left in Hell. When they are captured, they have to figure out a way to escape hell alive, but the hellhounds who are guarding them in prison will be a problem.

Angels Judgement by Nalini Singh
Sara is a Guild Hunter, who hunts down runaway vamps and returns them to their Masters. Now Sara got an offer she cannot refuse, namely the job as Guild Director, but not before she catches this last rogue Guild Hunter with a little help of Slayer Deacon.

Magic Mourns by Ilona Andrews
Andrea Nash is trying real hard to fill in for her best friend Kate Daniels, but it seems everyone needs Kate right now. When she gets a call about a hellhound on the loose, she packs up and go hunting, not knowing she will run into Raphael, the were hyena who wants Andrea as his mate. He’s after the hellhound too, so working together seems the best way to get the job done.

Blind spot by Meljean Brook
Former CIA agent Maggie Wren has taken a new job as the butler of vampire Colin Ames-Beaumont. Her knowledge comes in handy when Colin’s niece Katherine is kidnapped, so she is put on a plane to New York with Sir Pup, a hellhound, where she meets Geoffrey Blake, Katherine’s brother. Geoffrey is blind, but has an ability to see through other ones eyes and has unusual mind connection with his sister.

These four authors done an amazing job with the four short stories. Nalini Singh and Ilona Andrews stories are connected to my favorite series, so that was a huge bonus. Blind Spot by Miss Brook was a surprise, I never read anything by her, but I might get some of her books now, because this short story was good. The short story by Charlain Harris wasn’t what I’ve expected; it’s totally different from her Sookie Stackhouse style. It was nice, but it wasn’t really a short romance.

This anthology is well written and very entertainment. A perfect book to read between all the heavy novels I’ve been reading lately.