REVIEW: Archangel’s Shadows by Nalini Singh
Dear Ms. Singh,
Readers of your Guild Hunter series were first introduced to the vampire Janvier and guild hunter Ashwini Taj in the novella Angels’ Pawn (2009). Now comes Archangel’s Shadows, the first full-length novel about Ashwini and Janvier.
In this book, Janvier and Ashwini are tasked with catching the killer of a girl found in a dumpster, her body dessicated, brittle, and bearing brutal bite marks. It’s unclear who or what could have killed this girl, because although the body is reminiscent of some of the evil Archangel Lijuan’s handiwork, Lijuan was damaged badly enough in a recent battle to presently be regenerating.
Meanwhile, a new drug called Umber has hit the streets, one with a potent and possibly dangerous effect on vampires. Is the drug connected to the death of the girl, or are these events independent?
Investigating the case brings Ashwini and Janvier into close proximity for the first time since the aftermath of the battle to hold New York, in which Ashwini was gravely injured. Janvier realized then how much he loves her and how vulnerable her mortality makes him feel, and now he wants nothing more than for his “Ashblade” to be made into a vampire.
Ash, though, has reasons for resisting, reasons Janvier knows nothing about. While she realizes she loves him, she feels she’s done him a great wrong by allowing him to love her back without confessing her secret to him. But can she bring herself to do so, knowing it might cause him to pity her?
Meanwhile, on other fronts we have Elena planning a block party which the Archangel Titus wants to attend. The enigmatic Legion needs better quarters, Naasir has decided to give Elena a mysterious gift, Illium is growing in power while Aodhan is slowly healing, and Ransom and Nyree are moving along. Caliane misses Raphael, and there is lots more I have not mentioned so as not to spoil the pleasures of this book for readers.
Kudos for writing a South Asian heroine in Ashwini (and to Berkley for putting her on the cover)– —I don’t believe I’ve come across one in a paranormal romance or urban fantasy novel before!. I’ve liked Ash since Angels’ Pawn and I’ve liked her even more here. She is strong, resourceful and valiant.
One thing I did wish was that I’d liked her secret better—I didn’t love every aspect of how the issue was explored and I didn’t fully buy into the reasons she resisted trying immortality—but I liked her backstory of how heroically she’d dealt with that secret as a fifteen year old.
I also like Janvier a lot, most especially for his charm and his sense of humor. Although he had nothing to angst over (refreshing in itself), he had an interesting backstory too. Of all the male immortals in this series, he feels the most human and mortal to me. While he can be dangerous when he needs to, Janvier doesn’t exude danger, violence, or possessiveness and in that sense he too was a breath of fresh air.
Perhaps I should have reread Angels’ Pawn (not a favorite of mine among the novellas in this series) before embarking on Archangel’s Shadows, because by the time this book begins Janvier and Ashwini already know they love each other. What’s keeping them apart is Ashwini’s secret, but for the most part, the courtship is already over here and I regretted that.
I think it’s a compliment to your visceral writing that I’ve become used to being deeply moved by the romantic storylines in your books. It’s not at all unusual for me to cry, as I did late in this book when Ashwini tried to talk Janvier out of something he wanted to do.
Yet I wished I had felt this kind of poignancy earlier. For most of the romance part of the book, and even after Ash revealed to Janvier the secret that could separate them, I wasn’t as moved as I wanted to be. In thinking about why, I think it may be because there was so a lot going on in this book that was outside the romance.
This was partly the case because the mystery elements didn’t feel as integral to the romantic relationship as in some of the previous books. For example in Angels’ Blood, Elena’s hunt for Uram facilitated Raphael’s discovery of the woman she was and of his own capacity to love her for eternity, while in Archangel’s Blade Dmitri’s hunt for the people who’d hurt Honor helped the two get to know each other and revealed to them the depths of Dmitri’s unspoken feelings for Honor.
Here in Archangel’s Shadows, although there were attempts to thread some connection between the romance and the mystery, the two elements didn’t feel as closely tied, and as a result the book didn’t feel as cohesive or as romantic as earlier ones. The Ashwini/Janvier romance felt like as subplot in an urban fantasy novel, rather than like the main plot in a paranormal romance with urban fantasy elements, but I hadn’t been prepared to approach it that way.
It didn’t help that we had a lot of scenes focusing on other characters—Raphael and Elena, Dmitri and Honor, Illium and Aodhan, Titus and Caliane, even Keir and the recovering angels in the infirmary, the Legion, but most especially, Naasir, whose introduction felt a bit shoehorned into this book because we’d heard so little about him in earlier books yet here his sequel-baiting was prominent.
Naasir is an interesting character, direct and even sweet, but I have mixed feelings about his characterization. He’s fascinating, but he says (truthfully, it would seem) that he only eats people if he dislikes them. I’ll say with equal candor that I’m not ready for a cannibalistic or (since we don’t yet know his species) near-cannibalistic hero, even in this subgenre.
Another, more minor issue for me was that the scope of Ashwini’s powers kept changing. At first it seemed Ashwini’s gift was touch-related, that she could read memories of people she touched, and sometimes, from walls in buildings. Later it seemed she could occasionally sense things from some even without touching them. By the end of the book, her abilities extended even further.
Spoiler: Show
I liked that the murdered girl, Felicity, although dead, played an important enough role in the story that she became a character in her own right. This made me feel invested in Ashwini and Janvier’s investigation of her death and by the end, Felicity had become so real to me that I wanted a funeral scene for her at the end of the book, so I could see her being laid to rest. Although we didn’t get that, we got the sense that the Tower was beginning to care about impoverished people in the city, and I appreciated that.
Something I almost always enjoy in the Guild Hunter books, even those I don’t love, is how quickly I come to care about minor characters, like the father and son who found Felicity’s body and reported her death to the Tower. A character can be on page for just a couple of pages and still touch my heart, and that was the case with these two, and with others.
Another thing I was appreciative of was that one or two of the minor characters I’d come to care about in the course of this book ended up dead. I complained about the lack of deaths in Archangel’s Legion and I feel the deaths here, although very sad, made the danger presented by Felicity’s killer feel very real and more personal.
Overall, while Archangel’s Shadows was not my favorite Guild Hunter book (mainly because I wanted more romance and courtship), it is still a good read. C+.
Sincerely,
Janine
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Hi Janine,
Thanks for the review. I’m definitely picking this one up.
I think its about time that another heroine of color is on a cover from a major publisher, and that she’s the lead of a paranormal story. So yes, kudos to Berkley for putting the character front and center (and to Ms. Singh for creating the character). The only other authors I recall who were able to have a woman of color on a paranormal cover from a major publisher are Seressia Glass for her Shadow Chaser Series, and the late LA Banks.
I am however, disappointed in the cover for JR Ward’s upcoming book on Trez and his brother I’am, who are called Shadows. It’s like her publisher is trying to hide the fact that the lead for the story is a man/vampire of color. The only way things will change is if more publishers stop acting as if its the end of the world to have a minority on a book cover. Because if someone as popular as Ward can’t have their character fairly represented, then its a terrible message to send.
I honestly didn’t feel that way about Naasir. I adored him. I wouldn’t even mind if he was semi-cannibalistic, because one of the things I adore about this series is that our paranormal characters are seriously paranormal, not just humans with wings or fangs strapped on. Plus, I feel that one of the bonuses to this series is that it is as much about the ties and relationships between a multitude of characters as it is anything else. They don’t live in a vacuum, so their relationships are important. And I can’t see having forced Naasir into Dimitri and Honor’s book, despite the relationship between the two, it would have been too much, and I don’t think we can go into Naasir as cold as we did with Jason, so I appreciate that we see more about him from other people’s perspectives before we have to try to deal with him fixating on a heroine. And I have a feeling it will definitely be fixation.
@wikkidsexycool: I haven’t read Glass or Banks, though I’d heard of them–kudos to them and their publishers too–but what I meant was that I associate South Asian characters specifically more with British Raj historicals and lately, there have also been some contemporaries featuring them, but this is the first paranormal romance I’ve come across. It doesn’t mean there hasn’t been one, just that if there has I don’t recall it.
I just googled the JR Ward cover and it looks like a man of color on my laptop screen, but computer monitors’ colors vary. I would have to see it on paper to say that with confidence. If they are trying to hide the character’s race, that’s a real shame.
@Erin Burns: I’m really averse to the idea of a sentient being eating another sentient being, regardless of their paranormal natures. It is really off-putting to me.
I may be more sensitive to this than the average reader, though. I’m a vegan partly because I don’t want to kill animals simply in order to eat if I can survive without doing so, and while I recognize that that’s a personal choice everyone should be allowed to make when it comes to animals, sentient, intelligent beings are a different story. It’s taboo in our society for a reason.
Even cowboy heroes turn me off, so cannibalism is definitely not my thing.
@Janine: Meljean Brook. Demon Moon. 2007. The cover doesn’t signal that Savitri is South Asian, but she definitely is.
@Sunita: Thanks for the correction!
I meant to add: not so much a correction, but I had to comment because it was *so exciting* to me, when that book came out, to see a South Asian woman in a romance who was not “exotic” or any of those other things but was a complex, interesting, entirely believable South Asian person. Well, aside from the whole vampire thing, but you know what I mean.
@Janine – the heroine of Archangel’s Storm was a South Asian angel, Mahiya, but the cover was of Jason rather than her (or both of them), so having a cover showing the heroine as South Asian is great. One of the things I like about Ms. Singh’s books as that her characters come from different cultural backgrounds. That is very refreshing.
I have this one queued up next on my reading list and am looking forward to it. I do like the action/urban fantasy elements as much (or sometimes more) than the romances in these books so we’ll see how my opinion differs from yours as a result :-).
@Janine: See, as far as I am concerned, vampires are by their nature cannibalistic, sooo, it doesn’t bother me. It is just one more degree as far as I am concerned. And, well this is strange, but while in humans I would find it offputting, in a paranormal that is definitely a carnivore (whether that is blood or meat) if they are going to kill the person anyway, it almost seems a waste not to, kind of like trophy hunters IYSWIM. But I can definitely see where you are coming from. :)
@Janine:
I see your point and I wholeheartedly agree.
Just looking at previous and soon to be released books in the genre, whether its South Asian or African American, in paranormal romance there aren’t many heroines of color being featured on a major publisher’s cover. Maybe Singh can help usher in a new era.
As far as JR Ward’s cover, Trez was described as being dark brown, and cover model appears much lighter. Please understand, I don’t mind headless models or models with their back to the reader. But recent JR Ward BDB covers have attempted to make the model appear a bit like the character. Lover Avenged had Revenge on the cover with violet eyes, Lover At Last had Quinn on the cover with one blue eye and one green eye, and The King had Wrath on the throne with long black hair and light green eyes. So I guess I clung to the hope that the cover for the Shadows wouldn’t be (imho) ambiguous. I didn’t dare to hope for a model with dark brown skin and green eyes on the cover. And I also hate to think, well, this is better than nothing, I’ll still buy the book, regardless of the cover model.
@Sunita: I haven’t read Demon Moon but I’ve heard good things about it. Maybe I should give that series another shot, although the first book didn’t work for me.
@Lynnd: Yes, you are totally right about Mahiya. My bad! Jason had a Pacific Islander background, and that was cool too. I appreciate the diversity of Singh’s characters very much.
@Erin Burns: The thing is that in most paranormal romances, vampire protagonists don’t drain people of blood to a point of death. Evil villains may do so, but it’s not something we’ve seen Dmitri do, for example, and as the heroes in this series go, Dmitri started out about as morally ambiguous as they have been (at least so far).
A side thought about Naasir. He kept saying that the evil characters smelled bad to him, so I don’t even get why he would want to eat them.
Also, to respond to your earlier points– aside from the cannibalism, I like Naasir’s personality too; he’s appealing and charming. And I agree that the interconnected relationships and friendships are part of the points of the series, I just would have liked to see him introduced a little at a time rather than so much at once, because it took time away from Ashwini and Janvier’s romantic relationship, and I really wanted more of that.
@wikkidsexycool: I quit that Ward series long ago (I was really disappointed in Phury’s book and what was done to Xhex then killed what interest I had left). So, because Trez was introduced later on in the series and I only read one or two books he appeared in and that was years ago, I remembered him as African-American but not the details of his appearance. On the cover (at least on my monitor) his skin is more of a medium brown, so yes, disappointing!
@ Janine
I don’t remember Janvier and Ashwini being already ‘in love’ in the past books I’ve read in this series. It’s been a while since I’ve read their backstory but I seem to remember lots of chemistry but no declarations or lovemaking. Them falling in love was the thing I was really looking forward to in this novel so I’m a little disappointed but will still read it. Has their relationship been explored in any other books beside this one and the short story, ‘Angel’s Pawn’? If so I’d like to go back and reread that first. Thanks :)
@Mandy: I think there was a bit of that in Archangel’s Blade (Ashwini tells Honor a little about Janvier) and Archangel’s Legion (it’s mentioned that they fight in that battle, but I’m not sure if it’s actually shown). I don’t remember if they appear in the other books. But even so, I was expecting more of the falling in love to happen in this book. When this book starts out, it’s explained that Ashwini and Janvier realized their feelings for each other after Ashwini got hurt in the battle that takes place in Archangel’s Legion. Some of that is shown in a few quick flashbacks. But I would have liked this to be drawn out more than it was.
@wikkidsexycool: But there was that whole SBDA Podcast with Farrah Rochon about books not selling with POC on the cover. If it doesn’t sell to the majority of buyers …. As a POC I totally had to think about whether *I* buy books with POC on them….
I got this book on audiobook, and I’ve already listened to it 3 times. You mention how many of the other characters are mentioned – so it’s been worth listening to again to pick up on some of the details that I missed.
I’ll agree on one level that this book seemed to be more about the mystery than the romance …. but, I liked it. Listening to audiobooks, I’m beginning to find the 35 minute sex scenes (in the books where there’s just one scene after another) as just too much. I was so happy to have a book that didn’t have the seemingly requisite 15 sex scenes!
I think after the punch of the last book, with the huge battle and climactic ending, this book might seem a bit of a downer, if you’re looking for more of the same. But I really liked that this was a sort of “breather”. Still hints at the bigger arc and all, but lots more smaller scenes with a whole lot of glimpses into potential future story lines.
And like many others, I was so happy to see a main character of color actually match her description. That’s just an absolutely beautiful cover.
@MikiS: I approached the book expecting more romance because the other books in the series have all had more romance. I think if I had known going in that this would be more mystery/UF than romance, I might have adjusted my expectations and enjoyed it more.
I wonder if part of the problem might lie in the structure– if breaking up Ashwini and Janvier’s romance into first a novella and then a novel made it hard to fit the courtship and falling in love (which usually come at the beginning) into this book? It’s possible that if I had reread Angels’ Pawn before reading this one, it might have worked better for me, too.
This being a quiet book was not the issue for me. Archangel’s Storm was a “breather” kind of book, too, but the romance was front and center.
I think you captured my exact feelings! I was really looking forward to Ash and Janvier’s book because from what I saw in Angel’s Pawn and the glimpses of their relationship in previous novels, they have great chemistry. My impression from all that was that they already felt something for each other, but Janvier was just more aware of it and would try to “court” Ash. Colour me disappointed when they were pretty much past all that from the start of the book and only Ash’s secret stood (kind of) in the way. And I say “kind of” because once it was out, they still got together rather easily and quickly.
Idk. The courtship aspect of a romance story is probably the best part for me. Of course, I like it when couples actually get together, but the lead up is important! I guess you can say the lead up was in Angel’s Pawn, but there was significant time between then and now that we barely see glimpses of :/.
Thumbs up for the cover model and how she’s displayed head-on at the front of the cover in a strong stance. I’ve always loved how Nalini Singh’s novels are so ethnically diverse, though her earlier books had some fetish-y descriptors about people of colour (particularly South and East Asian people) that as a WOC, left a bad taste in my mouth. This is a made-up example, but lines like, “Her skin was an exotic dream: mocha brown dusted with the gold of a far off land of sun and jewels and mystery” could be found and they annoyed me so much. There’s not as much of that now, so hopefully she’s learned how off-putting and othering such descriptions of POC can be.
Question: Do the Lily Yu covers for Eileen Wilks’ World of the Lupi books not count because she’s Chinese American? Of course she isn’t on all of them in the first place.
@Laura: I agree with you. The courtship is my favorite part of almost any romance. Once the couple know they are in love and have no conflicts keeping them apart, I’m not quite as engaged as before that point. And yeah, it feels to me like in between Angels’ Pawn and this book, some parts of the relationship’s development have been skipped or glossed over.
I can see where you’re coming from regarding the exotic descriptions of PoC characters, but I don’t feel qualified to comment on that since I’m not a PoC myself.
@Estara Swanberg: I’m not sure what you mean by “not count.” Any PoC on a a cover is a great thing. In the body of the review I was referencing South Asian heroines specifically. I also don’t read Eileen Wilks so I didn’t know about those covers. My critique partner had a Chinese heroine on a book cover recently, and I loved that too. Kudos to publishers for any PoC on a cover. We readers need to make a point of purchasing these books if we want to see more of them.
So, if I skipped Legion will I be ok jumping into this one?
@Isobel Carr: It really depends on how much you can enjoy a book knowing you’re missing parts of the context. The first scene (a prologue) is set during the battle scene from Legion. And the mystery surrounds an issue that appears to be some kind of carry-over from incidences in Legion (trying to be vague to avoid spoilers). It would definitely make more sense if you’ve read Legion first.
@Isobel Carr: I agree with Miki. There were some really big developments at the end of Legion. For what it’s worth, Legion is also my second favorite Elena/Raphael book — I liked it almost as much as Angels’ Blood, the book where they first met.
I usually finish Ms. Singh’s paranormal books in one night/day, even if I end up with just a few hours of sleep before work. I started the Kindle version of this book on Monday night — the download occurred just last 10 pm pacific time — and I am only at the 56% mark right now. I don’t know if it is the lack of the “chase”/tension part of the romance or just the plot, but this book is not making me want to read during every available free moment. One thing that bothered me early on was the big secret — the “devastating truth”– that Ashwini kept mentioning (in her thoughts). In my experience, when a “big secret” is used as a plot device to keep a hero/heroine from really getting together, the secret usually turns out to be a let down, causing me to think “What?! You kept me (and the other protagonist) hanging there for the big reveal for how long for that?” And the secret here fell into that category. She is a hunter and he is a strong centuries old vampire; it just seems lame (for lack of a better word) that she would truly believe that she had to protect him from that particular truth. Argh.
@Amy: It didn’t fit their personalities for Ashwini to protect Janvier in this way, I agree. I really wanted a more substantial obstacle for them to overcome in order to be able to be together. This one felt a bit contrived.
I’m more of an urban fantasy than paranormal romance reader and I also had a few problems with this book. This series has always had a few world-building issues for me and as we stepped back from the tower’s elite, they stuck out. Seriously, what is it with the torture? :/ Look, I’ve read the explanations and I don’t buy that death’s not enough to threaten people who willing exchanged a hundred years of slavery for immortality. I’ve never been a huge Raphael fan, but this was probably the book where he bothered me the most, as a few of his scenes read like something out of Soviet Russia. I seriously don’t understand how he’s the hero of this story and I also struggle to comprehend why his rule is so beneficial for New York, when we rarely see him doing anything but cleaning up the tower’s messes in gratuitously violent ways.
As I said, I mostly read UF, so I’m used to action and the damage that comes with it, but I’m not quite used to this level of almost fetishization. Even Ash has one passage that, to me, seems a bit too much like glamorizing bloodshed. Once again, this has always been an issue of mine with the series, but it bothered me more in this book because of the characters and situations involved. I get it, it’s a dark and violent world. But, at the same time, the text rarely implies disapproval of the less savory actions of the protagonists and there are plenty. Perhaps PR heroes are just generally darker, but that cavalier way torture is treated really bothers me. Most books I read at least make an effort to acknowledge moral ambiguity where it exists, but I’m not sure Nalini is even aware that her characters often read as unintentionally villainous.
To me, this series is at its best when it deals with big world changing plots, like in Legion. While I thought I was tired of Elena and Raphael, I loved that book. It was exciting and fast paced and there was a serious enough threat, I was able to overlook any crimes Elena and Raphael committed trying to stop it. The other two books about Raphael’s seven, as well as the short story about Noel, showed the story can also be good when it steps back and focuses more on the relationship, taking us deep enough into the characters’ heads that we can’t help sympathizing, even when they act against our own moral codes.
I’m also getting a bit tired of the impending death trope, which it seems Nalini uses in nearly every book. I guess we haven’t seen it as much in the Archangel series, but it’s in at least half of the Psy-Changeling books (which I generally prefer as the world and plot feel better constructed and more logical). I actually am a huge Nalini fan, and have read everything she’s published, there are just a few things she regularly does that don’t work for me.
That said, what did I like? I liked the mystery, when we were focused on that. It was neatly tied in to the main plot at the end and I appreciated that Nalini, as always, made us really care about the victims. I am also always a big fan of the way she avoids generalizing women, which can be a problem in many romances. Her heroines are tough and competent, but they’re also feminine and she never makes a point of how they’re special because they’re different from other women, which is nice as that’s one of my least favorite tropes. This book was exceptionally good in that regard, as she gave a surprisingly sympathetic portrayal of a typically maligned group of characters.
As always, Nalini does a good job with the diversity. On the fetishization aspect, I am not a WOC so I’m not in a great place to comment, but I’d just like to note that Nalini herself is Indian so I assume any other-ing is unintentional. Hmm, what else…Elena’s block party was a lot of fun to read and I find myself surprisingly interested in her growing guard. The camaraderie within the guild remains a high point and this book was refreshingly light on traumatic backstory, which is a nice surprise in a typically angst-filled series. Janvier himself read like a fundamentally good person and was pleasantly non-alpha for a Nalini Singh hero.
I did like this book, and read it all in one sitting, but reading it reminded me of the issues I have with the series as a whole. As I said, this is the only PNR series I read, so perhaps I’m just coming in with the wrong set of expectations, but I can enjoy the books for what they are, while also wishing they could be just a tad different. Maybe the world just doesn’t work for me, as most of these issues do not carry over to the Psy/Changeling series. I’ll keep reading anyway though. My logical mind may hate them, but my emotional side is always a fan.
@Janine: I just don’t know if I can take another Elena/Raphael book. I was sooooo over them by the end of the third book. I only kept reading because she shifted to other characters.
@Allie: Such a great comment. I wish you were co-reviewing with me. Yes, the torture can be tough reading for me too. It’s definitely a “might makes right” world and one that makes me nostalgic for the early Psy-Changeling books which seem so much less that way in hindsight.
For me this book wasn’t the worst in this regard because at least there wasn’t violence against / torture of children, as we’ve seen in the Archangel’s Consort (my least favorite in the series; I could hardly bear Elena’s childhood backstory) and Archangel’s Blade (which I loved despite what happened to Dmitiri’s kids, but I almost couldn’t take that).
I also agree re. the close calls with death. I think that came up in my last Psy-Changeling book review (It was of Vasic’s book, I can’t think of the title).
This! I really appreciated that too.
If I recall correctly, this series was originally billed as a PNR/UF blend. I don’t read many PNR’s but of those I have, most aren’t quite as violent as this series.
That’s how I feel too.
@Isobel Carr: Gotcha. I groaned when I heard Legion would be a Raphael/Elena book myself…
I think I would grade the book similarly for all the reasons listed above. I wanted more Ashwini & Janvier romance and a little less of everything else. For example: nothing comes of Calliane’s visit. We don’t see them at dinner, it has no effect on the plot. That whole bit could be completely taken out and the book would stay exactly the same. I also felt the Umber plot kind of “meh”-Ed out st the end. Yes, they found who was making it and how but I never really picked up on the why of it.
What I really want to see Singh do with these books is jump ahead a hundred years. These are almost all immortal beings who have eons of life left to live, who mature and develop on a grand scale. And yet we are only seeing maybe 3-5 years over the course of the series. Imagine how badass Elena will be in a century. No more of this flapping her wings like “oh I’ll never learn all this protocol I need to be a part of this angel world!” And her guard would offer even more possibilities for stories. But I imagine that is all just wishful thinking.
This review is pretty disappointing to me on two levels. The first is that I was so excited for this particular romance because I loved the novella featuring these characters. They had such great chemistry in that book that I was anticipating an emotionally gripping full length novel. So to hear they have no romance and little tension is very disappointing.
The second is that I definitely enjoy reading sex scenes in romantica (or whatever this is), so the fact that this book doesn’t have much turns me off (pun definitely intended).
I have issues with Singh’s writing overall because of her “style”, so it’s hard for me to read her books anyway. I would have made an exception for this one because I liked the novella so much. Now? Definitely not.
@Abi: That’s a great idea–for the series to jump ahead a century. It’d be very cool but the world would also have to change, not just the characters. I would definitely be on board for a badass Elena.
@interrobanged: They do have a romance, but it isn’t at the courtship / winning each other over stage. They have already won each other’s hearts when the book begins, so what’s keeping them apart is Ashwini’s secret.
I honestly don’t recall the number of sex scenes anymore (it’s been a while since I read the ARC and wrote this review). Maybe someone else can address that?
@Janine: I must say, this world would be cool with a time jump. I am really keen on seeing how Mahiya, Ashwini, and Elena’s powers develop.
Anyway, I read it a couple of days ago. There is 1 or 2 make out scenes and 2 full blown sex scenes, I think. Frankly I was relieved- the Elena and Raphael books had way too many sex scenes I thought. Not to mention Rock Courtship.
Have to say, I still loved this book, though I would have liked more romantic scenes between Ashwini and Janvier. But they have been my favorite couple since the very beginning and I was so pleased to have a full length book. And the epilogue and last lines made me very content. Also I recently re read the novella and skimmed the other full books, so perhaps the whole relationship felt more cohesive to me?
None of the books in this series really do well on their own. the Ash/Janvier novella was published in 2009 and its been a (very minor) subplot through out.
I think I’m to the point where I just can’t read her writing anymore because of the style issues. She so desperately needs an editor. The “[blank]est of [blanks]…”, etc. I noticed less of it in Rock Courtship, but it’s still there. I just don’t think I’m going to waste money on her books anymore. Thanks for the responses!
@Janhavi: Yeah, I also found the number of Raphael / Elena sex scenes way too much so I don’t mind the dialing that down in this book. I’ve never considered this series romantica, but rather, I’ve seen it as paranormal romance with some elements of urban fantasy.
I was speculating earlier that if I’d reread the novella I might have felt differently, so I think that’s entirely possible.
I agree that Ms Singh ‘ s style of writing is just getting harder and harder to read and I felt it most especially in this book. Not every sentence needs to be complex. It’s like she’s trying too hard.
Yeah, I’ve always found her to be rather melodramatic in her writing. I enjoy her stories, but I’d enjoy her actual writing more if she turned down the intensity a few notches, at least for the scenes where it really doesn’t have to be so damn flowery.
The fact that Nalini Singh is a WOC herself and still puts fetishizing descriptions on her POC characters makes it infinitely more frustrating for me. She should know better! But unfortunately, she’s not immune to making these mistakes. Especially when it comes to cultures not her own. I am Chinese and some of the descriptors used for Chinese (or other East Asian) people in her psy-changeling books made me very uncomfortable. We’re not all short, slender, “chinadolls” (that’s not a playful nickname, Ms. Singh, it’s actually pretty insulting) with “slanted” eyes and sharp haircuts and when we grow old we don’t turn into wise mysterious shopkeepers who give sage advice. Like really?
But, as I said, I’m seeing less of this in more recent books and I still do appreciate how much representation has she all around. I’m also happy that she’s starting to show more than just F/M couples. I know there was a F/F couple somewhere in the psy-changeling world, but they were so far in the background that it was a “blink and you’ll miss it” kind of thing, so I don’t really count them.