Goldilox and the Three Weres: Review: Archangel's Enigma by Nalini Singh

Archangel's Enigma
(Guild Hunter #8)
Nalini Singh
Release: September 1, 2015
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Naasir is the most feral of the powerful group of vampires and angels known as the Seven, his loyalty pledged to the Archangel Raphael. When rumors surface of a plot to murder the former Archangel of Persia, now lost in the Sleep of the Ancients, Naasir is dispatched to find him. For only he possesses the tracking skills required - those more common to predatory animals than to man.

Enlisted to accompany Naasir, Andromeda, a young angelic scholar with dangerous secrets is fascinated by his nature - at once playful and brilliant, sensual and brutal. As they race to find the Sleeping archangel before it's too late, Naasir will force her to question all she knows...and tempt her to walk into the magnificent, feral darkness of his world. But first they must survive an enemy vicious enough to shatter the greatest taboo of the angelic race and plunge the world into a screaming nightmare...

Review:
Naasir has always been an interesting character with unique and unknown origins in this series and one I've been fascinated with. When Archangel's Shadows ended, he declared that he was on a hunt for his mate and had left to begin the search. Archangel's Enigma starts months later and Naasir still hasn't found his mate and it's starting to frustrate him that she's hiding from him. Things happen and Raphael sends him on a mission to guard one of the scholars from the Refuge as she tries to find the sleeping place of the Archangel Alexander. Every time I tried to picture what I thought would happen in this book, I wasn't creative enough. Honestly, I couldn't begin to imagine an eighth of the story. Naasir and Andromeda are both complex and fascinating characters and their love story was as unconventional as they are.

As the book's title suggests, Naasir is the most enigmatic of Raphael’s Seven. At the beginning of this book we know nothing about his past besides the fact that he is unique, different, and the only one of his kind. It was fascinating watching the pieces of his backstory fall together. I never saw it coming. Naasir is so fun and playful that you almost forget the predator underneath. One of my favorite things about this book is that we get to see bits and pieces of Naasir’s relationships with the members of his family. I loved seeing his relationships with Raphael and Dmitri and how they differ from the ones he has with the rest of the Seven. I find it hilarious that he treats Aodhan, Illium, and Venom like cubs.

As I was reading, I couldn't help but think of Raphael telling Dmitri that Naasir's mate will have a wild heart like him. I wasn't convinced when we were first introduced to Andi that she would fit that description and be the right mate for Naasir. At first, we see her as just the brilliant scholar and slowly we discover more aspects of her personality that she's kept hidden. Like her skill with the sword. by the end I was convinced they were destined for each other. Her warrior-scholar nature made her interesting, but her innate curiosity and hidden wildness is what ultimately endeared her to me. I love her and Naasir together! Their love story is both wild yet surprisingly sweet and has a lot of humor, heart, and hope woven into it.

Nalini Singh’s intricate worldbuilding in this series continues to fascinate me. Things just keep getting bigger and more complicated but everything works seamlessly. Every book in the Guild Hunter series is brilliantly crafted and endlessly entertaining. I can't recommend them enough!