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A review by amym84
Archangel's Viper by Nalini Singh
5.0
I held out as long as I could, but I finally had to give in and read this one! Venom is probably my favorite of Raphael's Seven so when I heard that Nalini Singh had finally decided to write Venom's book, to say I was excited it putting it mildly.
Of course, there's always the trepidation of whether or not it will live up to expectations and I have to say, for me, YES it absolutely does.
The pairing of Holly (aka Sorrow) and Venom seems like such a natural choice honestly, although it wasn't one that I immediately figured on. Not until maybe a few books ago in the series where we learned that Venom had been working with Sorrow to hone the skills she developed since being attacked and changed by the archangel Uram.
In Archangel's Viper we see Holly still dealing with the aftermath of her attack and what it did to her mentally / emotionally, but moreso here in what it's doing to her physically. She's recently made the decision that she wants to live. That no matter what life has thrown at her at this point, she wants to try to move forward. This is a far cry from what we previously glimpsed of Holly the last time she popped up in the series (I wish I knew which book that was off the top of my head, alas, I don't). Now, however, we see that, besides changing Holly into a vampire, she's now starting to exhibit strange qualities which are most akin to Venom's abilities (although still unique unto Holly). When it seems like someone has put a bounty on Holly's head in order to acquire her uniqueness, she and Venom start a search for the mysterious person. This search, however, only leads us into an even bigger mystery that stems from that fateful day four years ago when an archangel went mad.
For his part, Venom has always been the cool and collected member of the Seven. He's at ease with the group that he has chosen to call his family, but that doesn't mean he's always felt like part of the group. His Making certainly set him apart from the vampire community, and he sees a lot of what he went through in his younger years when he sees what Holly is going through now. He sees someone who might be able to understand him. I loved the "new" we got to see in Venom's character. I loved that we get to delve into his past. I feel like there's always been this cloaking of mysteriousness around him (and around all the Seven honestly until they get their own books), and learning about his past was interesting and did a lot to make me love his character even more.
I loved Venom and Holly together from the first page to the last. Their relationship didn't start out as this hidden lust. It starts out kind of antagonistic (although I wouldn't really classify this as an enemies to lovers story). They love to push each other's buttons. The repartee they exchange throughout is fantastic. Holly definitely doesn't let Venom get the better of her often. I loved seeing how their feelings for each other slowly developed throughout the story. I didn't feel theirs was a scorching hot romance, instead it builds upon this base understanding of each other. I thought it was great, seeing the realization as each of them - at separate times - figures out that they care more for the other than simple friendship.
I really enjoyed that Archangel's Viper dealt with quite a few topics that have been kind of hanging out unanswered in this series since the first book. I feel like this story was a long time coming with all the pieces falling into place. The mystery of what is happening to Holly is intriguing and I thought satisfying in its conclusion.
I don't think I've ever been disappointed in anything that Nalini Singh has written and we can now add Archangel's Viper this list as well. A fitting story for my favorite of the Seven.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Of course, there's always the trepidation of whether or not it will live up to expectations and I have to say, for me, YES it absolutely does.
The pairing of Holly (aka Sorrow) and Venom seems like such a natural choice honestly, although it wasn't one that I immediately figured on. Not until maybe a few books ago in the series where we learned that Venom had been working with Sorrow to hone the skills she developed since being attacked and changed by the archangel Uram.
In Archangel's Viper we see Holly still dealing with the aftermath of her attack and what it did to her mentally / emotionally, but moreso here in what it's doing to her physically. She's recently made the decision that she wants to live. That no matter what life has thrown at her at this point, she wants to try to move forward. This is a far cry from what we previously glimpsed of Holly the last time she popped up in the series (I wish I knew which book that was off the top of my head, alas, I don't). Now, however, we see that, besides changing Holly into a vampire, she's now starting to exhibit strange qualities which are most akin to Venom's abilities (although still unique unto Holly). When it seems like someone has put a bounty on Holly's head in order to acquire her uniqueness, she and Venom start a search for the mysterious person. This search, however, only leads us into an even bigger mystery that stems from that fateful day four years ago when an archangel went mad.
For his part, Venom has always been the cool and collected member of the Seven. He's at ease with the group that he has chosen to call his family, but that doesn't mean he's always felt like part of the group. His Making certainly set him apart from the vampire community, and he sees a lot of what he went through in his younger years when he sees what Holly is going through now. He sees someone who might be able to understand him. I loved the "new" we got to see in Venom's character. I loved that we get to delve into his past. I feel like there's always been this cloaking of mysteriousness around him (and around all the Seven honestly until they get their own books), and learning about his past was interesting and did a lot to make me love his character even more.
I loved Venom and Holly together from the first page to the last. Their relationship didn't start out as this hidden lust. It starts out kind of antagonistic (although I wouldn't really classify this as an enemies to lovers story). They love to push each other's buttons. The repartee they exchange throughout is fantastic. Holly definitely doesn't let Venom get the better of her often. I loved seeing how their feelings for each other slowly developed throughout the story. I didn't feel theirs was a scorching hot romance, instead it builds upon this base understanding of each other. I thought it was great, seeing the realization as each of them - at separate times - figures out that they care more for the other than simple friendship.
I really enjoyed that Archangel's Viper dealt with quite a few topics that have been kind of hanging out unanswered in this series since the first book. I feel like this story was a long time coming with all the pieces falling into place. The mystery of what is happening to Holly is intriguing and I thought satisfying in its conclusion.
I don't think I've ever been disappointed in anything that Nalini Singh has written and we can now add Archangel's Viper this list as well. A fitting story for my favorite of the Seven.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.