Because I've Read Angel's Blood

Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh was a novel I started yesterday. I've been waiting for it from the library ebook systems and when it was free yesterday, I borrowed it. And this afternoon, I've finished it. To me, it was a fairly well written for a good teenage read (read as: Twilight, anyone). Except I much prefer the female character, Elena Devereux, in Angel's Blood than to Twilight's Isabella Swan. Why? Simple enough. Elena is like Buffy mixed with a CSI forensics team, a bounty hunter (as she is considered one in the novel), and a bit of James Bond with her gadgets (she's very fond of knives). Elena doesn't want to give away her immortality and has been seen to say many, many times over that she would rather die than to be immortal. Isabella, defies all of those contents for being a weak female who prefers to throw away her mortality for perfection. Unfortunately, this novel has elements that made me dislike Twilight: overly handsome vampires that don't die in the sun. Luckily, they don't sparkle either or else I would've thrown it down in disgust. The main male character is Raphael. The Raphael. The Archangel Raphael. Cold, removed, lethal. The idea piqued my interest: archangels ruling over their territory--think of it as each one (there's 10 of them) per section of the earth (North America, South America, Asia, Europe, etc). Raphael ruled over North America, specifically in Manhattan. Perfect setting, no? And under the rule of the archangels were the angels, vampires, and humans, who know of each other's existence. Yeah, the idea of angels creating vampires really blew my mind. Quite an interesting idea. I think I've heard it somewhere before, but have no idea from where. The vampires who were "made" by the angels were chosen and they had to basically work for the angels under a contract, like slaves. It's like a bureaucratic system: if you are a human and want to be a vampire, you fill out paperwork and then if you make it through security clearances and medical testing, you might have a chance to be turned into a vampire. Somehow that amuses me. The punishment for escape was dire. And here comes Elena's job, to hunt the vampires who escaped and bring them back to their angels. With good pay of course.
All details aside, this novel basically detailed how Elena came under the employment of Raphael to help him hunt a rogue archangel who killed and tortured. I can't imagine how this idea would sit with fundamentalist Christians. Elena was chosen for this task out of a bunch of people in her organization because she was a hunter born, meaning she didn't train to be a hunter, she had natural talents. She could smell a vampire or in this case, the scent of an archangel. And using her nose like a bloodhound, she tries to track him down so Raphael could kill him before he destroys civilization. Of course, like all novels, there always has to be a love story! In this case, between Elena and Raphael, mortal with archangel. Can't you just imagine the craziness that ensues given Elena's strong personality and Raphael's relative lack of emotions.
Points that annoyed me:

• Promiscuity. I should've seen that when I read of vampires, but it didn't make me squirm as much as those by the angels. Somehow the idea of a horny angel was slightly disturbing. Maybe because I've always seen angels as heavenly beings who are gentle and loving (or well, guardian angels are since the description of seraphims and archangels in wikipedia made me rethink that gentle and loving idea), untainted by mortal afflictions such as, say, the seven sins. 
• Furthermore, I think I can do without some details that tipped the scale to romantic genre and not like your Jane Austen romantic.  

Points that were good:

Raphael. Sistine Chapel Cherubs.

• Of course one of the main debate here is the value of mortality, which I love. You can see that Raphael's apparently (though somewhat disguised with his personality) emotions toward Elena had turned him somewhat mortal. That was seen firsthand when she shot at his wings, where instead of just healing, it bled profusely. While this may seem like a weakness, Elena pointed out that maybe this mortality would prevent Raphael from going mad with power and bloodlust like the rouge archangel they were hunting. 
• The cherub like mail delivery angel who brought Elena a gift from Raphael! By describing the guy as a cherub, the author pulls up the image of a chubby little blond baby with cute white wings and puffy pink cheeks you usually see in Renaissance and Classical paintings. Although I don't think the delivery angel was nude. The author would've made a note of that. And how do these little guys tie with the story? They're cherubs painted on the Sistine Chapel by famous Italian Renaissance artist, Raphael! 
• Compare this to Twilight, its better written, its characters are far interesting, and its female lead actually does something and far from helpless. As for the male lead, well, you don't get that annoying guilt complex from him. Cold, lethal, powerful. He fits perfectly in Manhattan. And of course your supporting characters have their own amusing personalities.
  

Overall, the read was okay for something that doesn't require a lot of thinking. Best to be read on a lazy summer with nothing to do. And it is possible to finish it in one day. This is the first book in a series, but I'm not sure if I want to continue reading the rest. Mostly since by the time that copy is available for checkout, my curiosity would have died down. Although the ending does provide us with a transition to the second book, I didn't feel much interest. So, don't just go out and grab it off the shelf of Barnes and Noble (of course, unless you can read it in one sitting ;] ), but just borrow it from your local library. 

Crossing Tip #20: What I learned from Twilight and a bunch of books I bought two summers ago: Don't go off buying unless you plan on rereading.