Angels’ Flight by Nalini Singh

Title: Angels’ Flight (Guild Hunter 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, and 3.5)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Gollancz Fiction (10th January 2013)
Blurb:

Open the cover for four fabulous novellas set in the world of Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series.

Angels’ Pawn is a tale of flirtation and danger set in the Guild Hunter world. Ashwini and Janvier have no reason to be drawn to each other – but they are. Will the spark between them be fanned to become flames . . . or are they both the pawns of angels?

In Angel’s Judgement Sara and Deacon are Guild Hunters; their life’s work is catching and capturing – or killing – rogue angels. They have to make life or death decisions in a moment, but when judgement comes, should love be allowed to get in the way . . . ?

In Angel’s Wolf Noel may have been promoted, but in the Guild Hunter world that’s not always as positive as it sounds. And now that he’s working for the beautiful, dangerous, seductive Nimra there are a whole host of new risks he has to contend with . . .

And in the compelling never-before published Angels’ Dance read the compelling story of Jessamy, a beautiful flightless angel who has always held her own in a world of angels and archangels . . . until she meets Galen, and begins to dream of flying . . .

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

ANGELS’ FLIGHT is a compilation of four short stories written by Nalini Singh and set in her GUILD HUNTER series. Three of the four stories have already appeared, with ANGEL’S DANCE being the only new addition to the compilation. In the short stories Singh gives voice to the stories of characters who have only been minor players in the main series – readers of the GUILD HUNTER series will recognise them because although they are only minor, each has played an important role in the main series.

I just wanted to start this review by saying that until I read ANGELS’ FLIGHT I had not read any of the novellas featured in the collection. This is down to a number of reason; partially because I wasn’t aware that Singh had released them, and partly because the short story/novella format is not one I often enjoy. ANGELS’ FLIGHT was an exception to this. I really enjoyed reading all four short stories and would have read them all in a single sitting, but I had to sleep – being up at gone 2am is rarely sensible.

The first story in the collection is ANGELS’ PAWN it tells the story of Ashwini (a friend of Elena, and fellow Guild Hunter) and Janvier. Singh did a really good job writing the tension between Ashwini and Janvier, and answered some of my questions about their relationship from mentions of both of them in the GUILD HUNTER series. I also liked the fact that although the story very much focuses on the romantic tension between them, there is also a really good plot running through the story.

The second story ANGELS’ JUDGEMENT tells the story of Sara (Elena’s best friend) and Deacon, both of whom are Guild Hunters. This story is quite unusual as (I believe) this is the first story with the focus on romance between two humans. It was also plot heavy, which was awesome. I also enjoyed seeing Sara rise from being just one of the rank and file to the position we are more familiar seeing her in – the Guild Director.

The third story ANGEL’S WOLF tells the story of Noel and Nimra. Noel was one of the minor characters in ARCHANGEL’S KISS. This story was all about the plot with the romance playing a hot second. This was probably my favourite story in the collection as I really enjoyed watching Noel and Nimra dance around one another. I also thought Singh wove the plot brilliantly, and I had no idea what was going on until the revelation.

The fourth story – and the only one not to be published before – was ANGEL’S DANCE. It told the story of Jessamy and Galen, both have appeared in the main series. It was also probably my least favourite of the collection, but I still really enjoyed watching the events play out on the page.

If you are a fan of Nalini Singh’s GUILD HUNTER series and haven’t read any, or all, of the stories in this collection then you should seriously considering getting your hands on it. You shouldn’t be disappointed.