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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…

OM-mother-fingG.

If you were wondering if Nalini Singh could get any better, stop wondering. I was blown away by this book. There are so many vampire books out right now that I’ve pretty much burned out on them. But how could I not read this one? I mean, it’s Nalini Singh. I think that Nalini to me is comparable to what Meljean is to Holly. So I’m sorry, Nalini, but now you’ve got a stalker for life. *g*

Elena Deveraux an elite tracker, which makes her the best vampire hunter around. The best is exactly what the Archangel of New York, Rafael, needs. Though it rarely happens to Archangels, one of their own has gone rogue. The only one with the ability to track him is Elena. Little does he know exactly what Elena will do when she’s brought on board.

Elena is one kick-ass heroine. Raphael’s is about the only ass she can’t kick. Legendary in North America for his absolute cruelty, the last thing that Elena wants to do is work for Raphael. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have a choice. When he tells her that she’ll be tracking an Archangel, she’s both terrified and curious. Elena has never tracked any Angel, let alone an Archangel. The fact that Rafael is bringing in her, a mere human, tells her that her usefulness will run out as soon as she tracks down the rogue. Which means that her life won’t be worth much.

She’s both repelled and attracted to the beautiful Archangel. That made the story very interesting. In their first meeting, Raphael had no compunction about breaking through her mental shields and getting what he needed. At the beginning of their working relationship, Elena’s feelings were of no importance to him. It’s only after he’s in her presence that he realizes that she would make him a wonderful toy.

At first, that bugged me. A toy? Really? What made it work was that Elena was the farthest thing from a “toy” than she could possibly be. But Elena wouldn’t take Raphael’s crap lying down. She gave as good as she got, even though she knew it could get her killed. That’s only one reason that she was so likeable. She lived life to its fullest, even if it meant that she wouldn’t be alive the next day.

The way that their relationship evolved can be summed up in these few sentences. Raphael and Elena were discussing the conditions of their “relationship”.

“No vamp, human, or angel honeys for you either.” She dug her nails into his shoulders. “I won’t share you.” She might be a toy, but she was a toy with claws.

“If you take another lover, Elena”—he thrust back in, making her gasp—“what I do to him will become a nightmare etched in human memory.”

Aww, isn’t that sweet? Nothing more than that short sentence from Raphael could explain just how big of an affect that Elena has had on his life.

I adore the world that Nalini Singh has created here. Vampires are like humans in this world insofar as there are good ones and bad ones. There were a lot of unanswered questions, such as what happened in Elena’s childhood that made her into the hunter she is today. There were also peeks into Raphael’s past. Far from being annoyed that all was not revealed, I think that Nalini gave just enough away to whet the reader appetite for more. I know I want more.

4.75 out of 5.

This book is available from Berkley. You can buy it here or here in e-format.