This was a great book. It takes place some 10+ years after the final battle in Archangel's War.

It doesn't leave you with cliffhangers, questions or unresolved feelings. It pretty much wraps up everything, but I don't get the feeling that it is the last of the series. However, if it wanted to be the last book in the series it could be.

Now all that there is to see is new storylines. There will be a need for new Archangels, the ones that are still healing from the great war are still healing and not up, they need to rise. There is a lot of room for new things to happen. Also, since it takes place about 10 years after the "Great War" those who were still young have grown enough to be worthy of more time and storylines.

Elana's sister Eve has graduated from the Guild Acadamy so we could see her fighting
Sara's daughter Maggie has grown into a superb weapons' maker like her father Deacon
Vivek has his own little storyline here as well and I would LOVE to see a book following the possible romance building in it.

Yes. The old storylines, hurts, concerns everything. All cleared up.

Get your tissues. ( )

Elena and Raphael, along with the rest of the Cadre, are finally feeling the first stipples of peace in what feels like years and years of turmoil. But just as things seem to be on the right track, a shattering quake shakes the Refuge, the spot where angelkind keep their most precious and vulnerable. Along with another archangel deciding to take their Sleep, the Cadre is thrown into chaos trying to figure out what new conflict is arising and what it means for angelkind. Closer to home, the mortality of those she loves is also called to the forefront for Elena as her father suffers a major heart attack.

I always look forward to a Guild Hunter release from Nalini Singh especially those that deal with Elena and Raphael. I appreciate when we branch off with other characters but, truly, Elena and Raphael are the heartbeat of this series.

It was somewhat surprising to find how much of this story deals with time and age and even death. The series has always dealt with the structures of immortality but now we're actually seeing beloved characters age and Elena noticing more and more. Not only is this slightly shocking, but brings up memories for me of when I first began this series. I picked it up when the third book was out so around thirteen years ago! The series itself has been going for an amazing fifteen years and while there have been some time jumps with some books taking place right away after its predecessor and others years later, I appreciate that Nalini Singh has chosen to have the mortal characters aging as they should. It brings a lot of depth to the series and makes a wonderful commentary about the preciousness life.

Keeping the past at the forefront of our minds, Nalini Singh peppers the story throughout with "interludes" of the past. It's unclear how these tie into the overall story, but eventually the reasoning is revealed and you see how much Nalini Singh has built into this world over time.

That's not to say that there is no forward momentum. There's plenty, but it's relatively subtle and more like tying together some loose threads before moving forward to another chapter of the series.

Nowhere is this most apparent than in the ruminations on the relationship between Elena and her father. They're tied together by blood and tragedy and from the beginning of the series have had this very fragile rapport with one another. Neither one seeing eye to eye but still recognizing the loyalty of family. It was heartening to see them come to an understanding about the past and how it effected each of them. They still might not see eye to eye, but they recognize that holding onto their disagreements and heartbreak doesn't serve them in the long run.

Of course Nalini always manages to give the secondary characters their time to shine. This time around that character is Vivek. He's been a pretty steady secondary for quite a while now, if not for the entirety of the series. I'm curious if his teased scenes are giving clues that he'll get his own book? As evidenced with Nalini Singh you never know if, or when, a character might break out on their own but I'm certainly intrigued with getting more of Vivek's story.

Overall, this book felt like a reset on the series. In a way, saying good-bye to the past and getting ready for the future. I think Nalini Singh has shown us she has the balancing power to manage long-running series, as seen in her Psy-Changling books. I like the idea of continuing to see these characters grow and change as I myself continue to grow and change. ( )

Raphael and Elena are experiencing their first year of peace after years of horrors. However, the earth beneath the Refuge is starting to suffer from earthquakes and the Mantle which protects if from being seen by humans is fading.

As the quakes get more pervasive and more world-wide, none of the extensive archives of the angels provide any answers. It takes the awakening of one of the ancients who has been sleeping almost since the start of time to provide a solution.

Meanwhile, Elena is dealing with her father's major heart attack and the fear that she will lose him before they can ever reconcile. As she is going through emotional trials, Raphel is dealing with one of the Cadre going into sleep and leaving his territory unsupervised which is very destabilizing in a world that is already teetering on the edge of collapse.

This story was a very emotional one and very fast-paced. The Cadre are racing to deal with a crisis that could cause the destruction of all living things on Earth while Elena deals with her emotional trauma.

Fans of the series won't want to miss this one. ( )