It was nice getting to see a glimpse of the Guild Hunter world from the sidelines. There were enough details about Raphael and Elena to perk my interest in reading their stories again, but I also got a deeper look at a few characters I have wondered about for a while. Namely, Jessamy/Galen and Ashwini/Janvier. Though I didn’t love every story in this collection, I never out and out disliked any of them. And it whet my appetite for more from this series.
Angels’ Pawn:
A vampire hunter faces off against two rival factions and the angel manipulating them both, and a vampire whose help is not entirely selfless…
This was my second favorite story of the collection. I have been wondering about Ashwini and her crazy Cajun vampire ever since I first met her in Angels’ Blood. It was great to finally get some detail on their unique relationship. I don’t think this story will be quite as pleasing to those who are completely unfamiliar with the glimpses we have seen of them in the main books, but I think it will still give a solid taste of what the overall world is like.
I liked that the author didn’t tie everything up neatly in a bow when the story ended. If you’re current in the series, you know that Ashwini and Janvier still aren’t together, so although the plot is wrapped up, the romance ends without a HEA or even a HFN. It was just a peek at their unconventional relationship. Foreplay, you could say. 
Some may not be pleased with that, but I thought it fit perfectly. We’re left with the impression that they will one day end up together, but that day definitely isn’t today.
Rating: B+
*****
Angels’ Judgment:
A hunter must track one of her own gone bad, while surviving the deadly tests placed in her way by the archangels themselves. Unexpected backup comes from a stranger who might just be the most lethal threat of all…
This story made me realize that I had never really thought about Sara as an object of interest in Elena’s books. She was always there in the background, ready to stand for Elena, but I never really thought about her on an individual basis. Maybe because she already seemed so grounded? I don’t know. Regardless, it was interesting to get a closer look at her. I liked that we jumped into the story before Sara was even the Guild director. For one thing, it gave us a chance to see an early Raphael as the cadre discussed what the change in position would mean to them (yay!). For another, it gave us a chance to see her struggle with her decision on the director position.
Deacon’s job was interesting. If his past as the Slayer was mentioned in the main books, or even the existence of the Slayer at all, then I don’t remember it. But I thought it added an interesting level to the Guild world. They are serious about policing their own, and if you’re the boogieman that the rest of the hunters keep a wary distance from, then chances are that you’re quite a badass.
Although there was heat, the romance itself felt rushed and rather perplexing. It just didn’t feel natural to the circumstances or the characters. The crimes were interesting, although the eventual reveal of the bad guy made me cock a brow. It seemed random. And has Sara always called Elena “Ellie” so incessantly? That grated on me a bit.
Rating: C
*****
Angel’s Wolf:
A vampire becomes fascinated with the seductive angel who rules Louisiana. But all is not what it appears to be in her court.
*Since I read this story just a few months ago in the Angels of Darkness anthology, I didn’t read it again this time around. The review below is taken from the Angels of Darkness review.*
Despite not loving this book, I enjoyed getting to follow a female angel this time around. Well…a natural born angel, I mean. 
I was a little surprised to see how nice she was, though. I didn’t want her to be cruel but every other angel out there (except for Illium) seems to flirt with a lack of care for those weaker than them. I expected Nimra to have that edge of inhumanity as well and was a little disappointed to see that she didn’t. It aided the romance development in such a short story, I know, but I was looking forward to seeing a female version of a toned down Raphael.
Noel fell pretty easily for a guy who had the issues that he did, but I enjoyed watching the fall. I felt that he was the more emotionally healthy of the pair, despite the intimacy issues he struggled with. Both Nimra and Noel were dominant personalities, but when they came together they were surprisingly sweet. Especially Noel.
Rating: C-
*****
Angels’ Dance:
An angel trapped in the mountain stronghold of the Refuge finds herself under siege by a warrior angel from a martial court.
So here it is, my favorite story in the anthology. We have been given glimpses of these characters throughout the series, and I have always been intrigued by the sweet teacher and the surly warrior. I was surprised to realize that Jessamy was so much older than most of the other angels we have spent time with in the series. She has an air of sweetness and innocence that makes her seem younger than she is. It turns out that Galen is the young one. For all his strength and grumpy ways, he is barely a fraction of her age.
I really liked the way Jessamy’s lame wing was treated. She struggled to come to terms with it the way any other normal person would. She may have been sweet and nice, but she wanted to fly just as much as any other angel did. The beginning of Galen and Jessamy’s courtship is a little bumpy due to Galen’s blunt speaking, which manages to insult poor Jessamy. Both of them struggle to mesh their personalities and lives together, while Jessamy fears for their future together. In addition to having a wonderfully sweet romance, the story managed to feel much longer than it actually was, pleasing me with its well-rounded feel.
I loved that we got to see so many quality details about so many other characters. We got to see some of Jason, some of Aodhan, and some great details about Raphael. Being the teacher, Jessamy has some nice mentions of his change from a child to a man. And…we also got to see the story behind Illium’s nickname! I love little details like that. Even if I wouldn’t have enjoyed the romance, they make the story worth reading. For me, at least.
Rating: A-
*****
Favorite Quote:
“What makes you think I’d let you within a foot of me?” Her voice held the rough edge of desire, but it could as easily have been anger.
“What makes you think I’d ask nice?”
“Try anything and I’ll cheerfully gut you with your own knife.”
Deacon smiled. And it turned him from sexy to devastating. “This’ll be fun.”
Angels’ Flight by Nalini Singh
February 28th 2012 by Berkley Sensation
Series
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Giveaway
We have a copy of Angels’ Flight to give away today. To enter, just leave a comment on the review.
Open to: US and Canada. You have until end day March 3 to enter, winner will be announced soon after.
Giveaway sponsored by: Penguin (Berkley)
[box style="rounded"]No purchase necessary to win. You must be 18 or over to enter, void where prohibited. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. FVBR is not being compensated for this giveaway. If the winner declines to accept or fails to claim their prize within one week of the announcement, a new winner will be randomly chosen. Prize distribution is the sole responsibility of the giveaway sponsor. Fiction Vixen Book Reviews will not be held responsible for lost or misdirected prizes or for circumstances beyond our control. More information here.[/box]
About Catherine
This book has been on my wish list but now after reading your review I need to bump it to the top. Thanks for the giveaway!!
No problem. Good luck!
Great review. Can’t wait to read this one, especially Sara’s story. Singh is one of my favorite authors. Thanks!
I hope you enjoy it!
Ooh, good review. Thanks for posting and sharing. LOVE the Guild Hunter’s series and I love that the pub decided to put the 4 anthos into 1 bound book *G*.
I was glad too. It’s what finally pushed me into reading them all.
Really looking forward to Jessamy’s story and Ashwini is always fun to read about. I really wish more authors of series would create anthologies to give us a glimpse of those secondary characters that intrigue us.
I hope you enjoy Jessamy and Galen as much as I did.
I’m surprised by the mixed reviews. I think I’d like it though. Thanks for the giveaway.
Mixed from other people or my mixed grades for the collection?
i’ve read the first 3 now want the 4th.
I hope you enjoy it.
I read all the Elena books and I really want to get my hands on this one ^^ Thanks for the giveaway!
And I’m assuming deadline is March 3rd, not Feb? *winks*
TyngaUF(a)gmail.com
It’s fixed. Thanks for letting me know!!
I’ve been dying to get my hands on this book. Thanks for the giveaway!
I love Nalini Singh’s books and characters they continue to fascinate me.
book_lover6983@yahoo.com
I’m glad you enjoy her work too.
I’ve been wanting to read this one. Thanks for the giveaway!
Good luck!
I loved all the books so far so I’m sure I will love this one as well. Thanks for the giveaway!
I hope you do!
I’ve read all the stories (the need to read Angel’s Pawn is what turned me on to e-reading) except the new one. Would love to win it. Thanks for the giveaway!!
That was my favorite, so I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for the reviews! It’s interesting to see such a wide range of grades in an author.
My reviews for the main books are much less varied. Usually they’re high.
Oh I hadn’t realized that this was an anthology
When I first saw the title, long ago, I thought it was the next book in the series.
I love Nalini’s series. Thanks for the reviews of the novellas.
Glad you enjoy the series!
I appreciate any story that will give me deeper insight into the characters and it seems some of them do.
I hope you enjoy the extra little tidbits we learn about Raphael, Elena, and some of the Seven.
Sounds like an interesting series. Can the books be read as a stand-alone?
Yes, you should have no problem reading this without reading the main books.
I love the Guild Hunter series. Thanks for the review and giveaway.
No problem.
After reading the review, I’m putting this book on my wish list.
Enjoy!
Love the review, I have read her books and dang I’m hooked. Can’t wait to read this book.
You and me both.
Well, this is a series that I have missed! After reading this review of this anthology, I will be sure and pick up the first one and start reading. It sounds absolutely great!! Please enter me.
*gasp* You haven’t tried it yet? I l-o-v-e-d the first book, Angels’ Blood.
Thanks for the fantastic review and giveaway! Ms. Singh is an autobuy for me and I’m really looking forward to this anthology b/c I love the Guild Hunters and it sounds like this expands on some of the supporting characters.
I hope you enjoy it, too!
I love this series. Just started it and now I am starting on Dimitri’s story and I will be reading all of the short stories after that. Singh’s story telling just gets better and better with each book!
Agreed! I can’t wait to read Jason’s book next.
Thanks for the giveaway. I would love to read this book and series. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
Good luck.
I can’t wait to read Ashwini’s story!
It was great to get a deeper look at her.
I’ve been reading Nalini’s work for a little while now and would love to read this current book of hers. Thank you for a chance to win.
Lynn
lareynolds0316@gmail.com
Best of luck!
I recently started reading this series and I love it. I would love to win this.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the series, too!
Nalini is a Goddess!
Great review, girl. Can’t wait to read this one. Put me in for the Comp??
Glad you enjoyed the review!
I agree that a female angel is a nice change from the usual male angels! I would love to read this book to see if I would like it from that angle or not. Thanks so much for the giveaway:)
I’d be interested in seeing more female angels in the future.
i havent read the other novella she has out yet but i want this one too!
That’s good, that means that all of the the novellas in here will be new to you.
Thanks for the giveaway, love her books!
No problem!
I liked your review. It’s nice to see that even though a couple of the stories didn’t quite hit with you, the others did. That’s why I like anthologies so much, you have a nice selection of stories, so usually most, if not all, the stories are
enjoyable and the book is well worth reading. I’m looking forward to reading Angels’ Flight myself, to see how I like it.
Barbed1951 at aol dot com
I hope you end up enjoying it, too.
Love everything about this series. Thanks for the giveaway!!!
Best of luck.
I always enjoy the reviews on this site since I’ve always found them to be informative and insightful and I especially like the added quotes to the review from the story… those extras sometimes sway me into buying:)
yadkny@hotmail.com
I’m glad you enjoy the quotes and the site in general. I’m a sucker for quotes, so I love that we all include them in our reviews.
I’ve had this book in my wish-list to-read lists. Great reviews as usual! Thanks soooo much for the chance to win!!!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the review.
I can’t wait to read your book it sounds very interesting. Thanks for the contest!
No problem.
This book is on my New Releases To Get List. I enjoy Nalini’s worlds and It would be nice to add this collection of short stories to my copies of her series. Winning is always nice as opposed to buying it
glittergirl54 at ymail dot com
Agreed. I love winning stuff!
The topic of angels seem to quite popular these days and understandably so. I’m fascinated with the idea. I have not read this series, so I hope I have a good chance at winning this giveaway!
Thanks for sharing. (I also liked your grading system. I haven’t seen that before.)
Zara D. Garcia-Alvarez
zgarcia(dot)alvarez(at)gmail(dot)com
On Twitter: @ZaraAlexis
Yes, it seems to be showing up more and more in UF and PNR.
This series is on my TBR list for this year. Your review makes me realize how much I want to read it. I generally don’t like angel books but I think this might be an exception. jepebATverizonDOTnet
I hope you end up enjoying this one, despite not generally loving the angel thing.
I love this series and would read anything related!
The author has created a great world, hasn’t she?
Nice review, Angel’s pawn was actually the very first story in this world, and it made me love the series. Of course, I have read the others as well, and am now looking forward to rereading some, and especially the new series! Not entering the contest, as I live in Holland, and this one is already in the mail somewhere …
I read it in reverse order, so I was already attached to Ashwini and Janvier from all the little tidbits we’ve seen about them in the book. Although I really enjoyed it, I don’t think I would have been quite so pleased if I hadn’t already been familiar with the world and their characters.
Hi Catherine, thanks for hosting this giveaway.
Nalini is one of my absolute favorite authors and I just LOVE this series. I’ve read all the full length novels, but none of the novellas!
I love everything Nalini Singh has written and I cannot wait to read more. Thanks for the giveaway.
smccar1 at hotmail dot com