Dec 30, 2017

REVIEW: Archangel's Viper (GH series, #10) By Nalini Singh

Buy The Book:
AMAZON / B & NKOBO

Author's Page:


Genre:
Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance


Summary on Goodreads:

Enter New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s breathtakingly passionate Guild Hunter world with the story of a woman who isn’t a vampire or an angel…or human…

Once a broken girl known as Sorrow, Holly Chang now prowls the shadowy gray underground of the city for the angels. But it’s not her winged allies who make her a wanted woman—it’s the unknown power coursing through her veins. Brutalized by an insane archangel, she was left with the bloodlust of a vampire, the ability to mesmerize her prey, and a poisonous bite.

Now, someone has put a bounty on her head…

Venom is one of the Seven, Archangel Raphael’s private guard, and he’s as infuriating as he is seductive. A centuries-old vampire, his fangs dispense a poison deadlier than Holly’s. But even if Venom can protect Holly from those hunting her, he might not be able to save himself—because the strange, violent power inside Holly is awakening…

No one is safe.


REVIEW

“They let you drive now?" he said in a wondering tone of voice calibrated to get under her skin. "I leave for a couple of years and miss kitty's first steps. Did anyone take photos for the baby album I sent you?"

"It's full of pretty pictures." Holly bared her teeth at him in a caricature of a smile. "Honor is a little concerned about how I keep drawing you with your head cut off," she said in a deliberately thoughtful tone, "but an artist must follow her instincts.”

If you ever read one of my reviews of this series you are more than aware that this is one of my favorite uf/pnr series out there and that since book #5 I've become an obssessed fan-girl a hardcore fan of the potential next couple Aodhan & Illium. I might even say that I started that theory or was one of the first fans that saw the potential, so of course that after every next book I'm religiously praying that Nalini Singh will finally succumb to my dirty mind and that the next installment will be theirs, but the 10th book is actually Venom's book, so tough luck poor Purple, maybe next time. :'( xD

But, despite slight disappointment I was still fairly excited for this book, because Venom, a centuries-old vampire with his seductive viper's eyes has definitely been one of the most intriguing GH characters. I got even more excited after I read that he'll find his partner in Holly, Uram's mysterious creation. Unforutunately, when the book was finally published I was still in the phase "I've lost my reading mojo", so it took me some time to give it a chance, but when I did - I could not stop.

Without spoiling anything, my impression of this is installment is that the story was good, uber action-packed and suspenseful, but I'll have to agree with other fans who also described it as a bit lacking, especially in the romance department. The parts I've enjoyed the most were their witty and snarky dialogues that never failed to entertain me. That's why 3.5/ 5 stars. In the meantime, my never-ending prayer for Aodhan's & Illium's book as in mm couple book continues...



RATING: 3.5 / 5 stars


xoxo,

Purple

Dec 18, 2017

ARC Review: MICHAEL'S WINGS: An Original Sinners Collection by Tiffany Reisz


Griffin has just popped the question—yes, that question—and Michael doesn’t have an answer. He flees town for New Orleans to see his confidante and sometime-Domme, Mistress Nora. Will a weekend of beignets and beatings help him untangle his knotted-up heart?

Thus begins Michael's Wings, the eponymous novella that kicks off the latest entry in Tiffany Reisz's LAMBDA Literary Award-winning* Original Sinners series.

This companion collection to fan-favorite The Angel also contains six previously-published stories starring Mistress Nora's favorite angel and Griffin—his master, his true love, and the sexy-as-hell bane of Michael's existence.


*The King (LAMBDA Literary Award 2015 Winner — Best Gay Erotica)
 







There are many reasons I love The Original Sinners. I won't go over them now because I've done that so many times, I've started to sound like a parrot. Suffice to say one of those reasons is that over the course of eight books, and who knows how many novellas and short stories, I've grown to love each and every one of the main Sinners, Michael and Griffin included, of course. The beginning of their romance was my favorite part of The Angel, so I couldn't be more glad that over the years since that book came out Ms. Reisz has been giving us stories about the couple with updates on how their relationship was progressing. Michael's Wings is a collection of those stories. Five of them used to be available on the author's website or elsewhere, one still is, and one story is new. They cover the start of Michael and Griffin's relationship, their first fight, the break, and their engagement. There is also one story without Michael, which chronologically comes first, so I'll start with that one.

Griffin in Wonderland takes place six years before the series' first book. In the story Griffin had left rehab too early, partied hard, punched an asshole, passed out and woke up hungover and with a man's boots on his chest. The man in question was Kingsley and he had some good advice: Griffin needed a new hobby. I do so love the stories where Kingsley invites people in need of a new hobby into his kingdom. His notorious townhouse and the kinksters in it are so much fun to read about from the perspective of a newcomer which Griffin was here. He was in Wonderland, and he was Alice, and by the time Kingsley with Eleanor's help demonstrated what his new addiction could be, Griffin had a heady feeling without having taken any substances and his mind was made up: he was in!

Seven years or so later, Griffin met Michael and they fell in love. Gauze takes place during this amazing book named The Angel, just after Michael and Griffin finally declared their feelings for each other. Griffin's gift to Michael — beautiful tattoos to cover ugly scars were fresh so his wrists were wrapped in gauze. It was a sight that led Michael down bad memory lane. Luckily, Griffin was there to bring him back to reality that was almost too good to be true: Griffin and Michael were officially a couple. And as the thoughtful master that he is, Griffin made sure Michael had a good association with gauze from there on. Like everything with these two characters, it was super sweet.

A Better Distraction , The Theory of the Moment and The Couch take place shortly after The Angel when Michael and Griffin were still figuring their relationship out.

In A Better Distraction they learned to communicate better. The previous weekend there was an incident, and ever since things were awkward between them. It was high time to put an end to the awkwardness. Plus, Griffin needed a distraction, and what better distraction than his beautiful sub. While Mick worked on his school assignment using Griffin as the subject, Griffin revealed something from his past which was pertinent to their current situation. The air was cleared and everything was right between them.

In The Theory of the Moment Griffin met Mick's mom Melissa, and it's actually told from her perspective. Over the lunch where she was going to conduct an interrogation to find out what she could about her son's boyfriend, she actually learned something very important about her son that allowed her to understand him better. Griffin painted an amusing picture of the kinky world he and Mick lived in for Melissa, and made it clear he would always be there for Mick. All in all, it was a beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The Couch marked Mick and Griffin's first fight. Michael wanted to blame the couch, their new, very expensive couch, but he couldn't. Not really. After the fight Griffin went out, and Michael was left in the apartment to freak out. What Micheal did whenever he was freaking out about something concerning his relationship with Griffin was talk to Nora, so that was what he did. His wise mentor calmed him down, and Griffin came back. They made up on the couch, of course.

Christmas in Suite 37A is 2014 Original Sinners Christmas story, and it's set during The White Years. Since the books in The White Years are primarily prequels, and have only small parts depicting the lives of the Sinners after The Mistress, I was glad this story started with Griffin visiting Nora and others in New Orleans. It was great to find out how happy they are in their HEAs, and I can't say how much I loved the scene where Griffin hugged Søren, saying "Cuddle me, big guy." Hilarious! Griffin, however, wasn't in the best of spirits at the beginning of the story. He was visiting Nora because he couldn't stand to be home without Mick. Mick had gone to Rome to spend a semester abroad, and they were on a break. With his relationship with Mick in question, he went to Nora to hide out at her place. Of course, Nora nudged him in the right direction. Griffin reached out to Mick, and Mick responded. Back in New York Griffin went to great lengths for his Michael to show how much he missed him, how much he loves him, without pressuring him. It was wonderful, sweet, and... magical.

Michael's Wings is the new novella. Griffin had popped the question, and ordered Mick not to give him an answer right away. As is the tradition, Michael flew to New Orleans to talk about it with Nora. Micheal figured it was better to obsess over his answer at Nora's than to obsess over it at home. He knew he did the right thing when he found himself in the dungeon with words The floggings will continue until morale improves hanging on a wall. His Mistress knew how to make her Angel feel better, and knew which questions to ask to help Michael find out what he truly wanted. After a thorough flogging and wax play his morale had indeed improved, and his answer was crystal clear. Decision made, he went back home and waited for Griffin to tell him what that answer was, and he found a perfect way to do it.

This year I reread The Red Years which includes The Angel, and it was better than the first time, and the second time. I could say the same about the stories from this collection. I've said this before, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it: I've always gotten more than I expected from these shorter stories. That's not an exaggeration. Every single one was better than I expected, and believe me, I expected a lot. They've been quite helpful in getting to know the Sinners better, and understanding their actions, especially in the beginning. Now they're a great and I guess the only way to find out what's going on with the Sinners, so I hope there will be many more of them in the future.


***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
 
 
Until next time, happy reading! 


XOXO,
 






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