ARC Review: Archangel's Ascension by Nalini Singh

Archangel's Ascension
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Guild Hunter (Book 17)
Publication: Berkley (May 6, 2025)

Description: New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us back to her breathtakingly passionate Guild Hunter World, where an impending transformation will be both an ending and a beginning…

Aodhan and Illium. Adi and Blue. Sparkle and Bluebell. Friends become lovers, their future a wild unknown.

Finally reunited in New York, they must now learn to navigate the monumental shift in their relationship. But for these two members of Archangel Raphael’s legendary Seven, there is no time to rest. As they investigate a case for the Tower that echoes the darkness from Aodhan’s past, they will be forced to confront not only the scars that mark them both, but the promise of a vast power that flickers in Illium.

The threat of ascension has haunted and troubled Aodhan’s Blue for too long, the forces of change immutable and without mercy...and uncaring of Illium’s fierce wish to remain part of the Seven. Change is a constant in an immortal’s life, and this new horizon will bring with it both terrible heartbreak and a joy extraordinary enough to reverberate through time…

My Thoughts: ARCHANGEL'S ASCENSION is the seventeenth in the Guild Hunter series. It is also a story of love enduring through the ages. Aodhan and Illium are angels who have been best friends since childhood. Over time, their friendship added romance and love but over a long life many things can happen. 

The story is told in two time periods: Yesterday and Today. Yesterday is actually about 700 years before Today. It tells of the time after the Cascade and epic wars. It is a time for rebuilding both the world and Aodhan and Illium's relationship. Aodhan is getting over being kidnapped and tortured and then being separated from Illium when they are sent separately to help rebuild China. This section spotlights a murder investigation conducted by the two of them. 

Today is about Illium ascending to become an Archangel. This is literally a life-changing experience for him that will rip him away from all of his friends and the home he has built in New York. Illium had hoped that the start of the ascending in the Yesterday that was aborted meant that he didn't have to worry about it happening to him. He was wrong. However, Today has him several hundred years older and more able to deal with the stresses of becoming an archangel. 

This was an excellent story about two of the favorite characters of the Guild Hunter series. I enjoyed catching up with old friends and seeing how the years have treated them. I can't imagine that this would be a good entry point for someone new to the world and the characters. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.