Archangel's Light

September 27, 2021
Singh’s slow-burning 14th Guild Hunter paranormal romance (after Archangel’s Sun) focuses on the blossoming love between best friends—and fan favorite characters—Illium and Aodhan. China is still scarred by the evils of its former archangel, the late Lijuan. When Aodhan heads to China to serve as a potential second to Suyin, the country’s new archangel, Illium feels betrayed and abandoned, and the men’s friendship is fractured. Now, at Archangel Raphael’s instruction, Illium arrives in China to serve alongside Aodhan in transitioning the land to its new leadership. As Suyin takes their court to a new citadel, Illium and Aodhan help with the move. Proximity drives the best friends to confront their long-buried issues while investigating a hunch that Lijuan may still reign from beyond the grave. As the duo track down Lijuan’s remaining supporters and begrudgingly work to rebuild their troubled relationship, Singh teases out their will-they-won’t-they romance and masterfully balances the love story with the complex paranormal plot. Fans will be delighted. Agent: Nephele Tempest, the Knight Agency.

October 15, 2021
Two angels work to repair their friendship amid grief and trauma and finally give in to a centurieslong yearning in Singh's latest Guild Hunter romance. Illium and Aodhan have known each other for 500 years. They grew up together, joined the same brotherhood, and have always been each other's emotional bedrock. Through it all, they remained simply friends. When Aodhan went missing, Illium was dogged in searching for him; when he finally rescued Aodhan from his kidnappers, he stepped into the role of protector and caretaker. While Aodhan appreciates all Illium has done, he feels suffocated by his concern and decides to put space between them by taking the role as Second to the new Archangel of China. Eventually, the pair are reunited, with Illium joining Aodhan in China, bringing their simmering issues to the forefront. Aodhan and Illium share a painful honesty with one another, and this feels like a relationship pushed to the breaking point as the men explore their shared trauma: Aodhan's capture and the loss Illium feared he had suffered. It's an emotional gut punch that would put any reader through the wringer. As in many Guild Hunter titles, there's a larger plot happening in tandem with the slow-burn romance. China is rebuilding after having been freed from the grasp of an evil archangel, but remnants of that time have started to appear once more. This isn't a book for the uninitiated--the ancient mythos of angels, demons, and vampires Singh has created in this series has progressed over a dozen books. However, as each chapter alternates between a present-day Aodhan and Illium and important moments in their past, there is an opportunity to fill in some gaps. Longtime fans will be delighted by the torturous pining in this slow burn, but this isn't a book for series newbies.

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Starred review from November 1, 2021

Singh returns with a new M/M "Guild Hunter" romance (following Archangel's Sun). The angels Illium and Aodhan have been best friends for centuries: when Illium lost his mortal lover, Aodhan supported him; when Aodhan ventured back into the world after a horrific attack, Illium protected him. But since the Cascade and the destruction of Archangel Lijuan, Aodhan has been in China to help the new archangel Suyin, while Illium stood by Raphael to rebuild New York. Suffering from the distance, the two are at a breaking point in their relationship--made worse when Aodhan gets the chance to become Suyin's permanent aide. Aodhan and Illium reunite in a destroyed Chinese village to track down more of Lijuan's corrupted reborn, where they're forced to confront romantic feelings in their friendship. VERDICT Every "Guild Hunter" reader has strong feelings about Illium and Aodhan, and Singh has a talent for turning readers inside-out with her outstanding worldbuilding and characterizations. Fans will either love or hate this installment, depending on their feelings about the protagonists' formerly platonic/newly romantic friendship, but it will be in high demand regardless. An essential purchase.--Melanie C. Duncan, Washington Memorial Lib., Macon, GA

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