Review & Giveaway - - Archangel's Ascension

Archangel’s Ascension

by Nalini Singh

Guild Hunter - Book 17

Publisher: Berkley

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Reviewed by Nancy 

 

Aodhan and Illium. Adi and Blue. Sparkle and Bluebell. Friends become lovers, their future a wild unknown.

Finally reunited in New York, they must now learn to navigate the monumental shift in their relationship. But for these two members of Archangel Raphael’s legendary Seven, there is no time to rest. As they investigate a case for the Tower that echoes the darkness from Aodhan’s past, they will be forced to confront not only the scars that mark them both, but the promise of a vast power that flickers in Illium.

The threat of ascension has haunted and troubled Aodhan’s Blue for too long, the forces of change immutable and without mercy…and uncaring of Illium’s fierce wish to remain part of the Seven. Change is a constant in an immortal’s life, and this new horizon will bring with it both terrible heartbreak and a joy extraordinary enough to reverberate through time…

Nancy’s Thoughts:

Archangel’s Ascension is a sequel to Book 14, Archangel’s Light, which took Illium and Aodhan from friends to lovers. Readers can follow the story in Archangel’s Ascension  without having read the prior volume, but I think the emotional arc will have stronger resonance for those who’ve read it.

My one quibble with that earlier book was the absence of a moment when either man hesitated to cross the friend line for fear of losing that irreplaceable friendship. In Archangel’s Ascension, Singh explores both Aodhan’s and Illium’s emotional baggage and its effect on their relationship in a way that addresses everything.

Aodhan is too well aware of his issues, but Illium doesn’t realize the causes of his own unspoken fear. Archangel’s Ascension is a beautiful story of their efforts to work through their baggage so they can relax and trust fully in their love.

The story begins in present time, some 700 years after the end of the last book, Archangel’s Lineage (Book 16). This is labeled Today. A life-altering event occurs near the beginning of the book, which then flashes back to Yesterday, a period about 50 years after the end of Archangel’s Lineage. Much of the story occurs in this earlier period, which looks at Aodhan’s and Illium’s childhood, their relationships with Archangel Rafael, his Seven (the aides he most trusts), and other characters in the series.

Most of the book centers on Aodhan and Illium’s relationship, with the shadow of the Today opening events hovering over this storyline. The pair work together to solve the murder of a young vampire and his female love. This plotline also involves their emotional scars, especially Aodhan’s. It’s well done but not a huge part of the overall story.

The timeline then moves back to Today, to the aftermath of the earlier events and their repercussions. Illium has changed, and everyone around him, including Raphael and Aodhan, must deal with that change in their own ways.

Readers may be able to guess what that change is, but I don’t want to spoil it.

The storyline then moves back and forth between Illium finding his new footing in Today and moments important to his and Aodhan’s relationship in Yesterday. I found the time shifts a little disorienting because I wasn’t sure where we were in the timeline, which parts of Yesterday we were visiting. I suspect this is an issue that will resonate with some readers while others just roll with the shifts.

Each of the familiar supporting characters of the Guild Hunter series gets a nod, even those mortals who, due to the 700-year time jump, are no longer alive in the story world. Singh depicts new characters with enough detail for us to feel that we know them, with emphasis on their importance to the lead characters.

We also see a few major events in the lives of other characters in the series. These interactions aren’t part of the romantic arc and so may feel slow to some readers. Overall, though, the story moves at a good pace. The emotional arc is sometimes intense but always satisfying, and the ending is perfect.

Highly recommended.

~Nancy

 

Readers, tell me what you're currently reading. One randomly chosen person posting a comment before 11:00 PM, May 9 will receive a print copy of Archangel's Ascension.

*U.S. only

*Must be 18