The future looks bleak for the angel warriors as the tide of Heaven’s civil war turns against them.  For Michael, Chief of the Archangels, things are particularly hard since his youngest nephew, Bear, has become possessed by an ancient demon.  The only hope of rescuing Bear lies in finding a special fairy child who can cure him.  As the angel warriors divide into teams to find the missing fairy, Michael finds himself paired with Rachael, the last female he wants to be around…because she’s the one angel he cannot resist.  He’s watched and wanted Rachael for years, and on their quest to save Bear, Michael soon discovers he’s not the only one who’s been keeping his feelings hidden.  Love and desire are quick to bind Michael and Rachael together, but Michael’s past is full of secrets.  Secrets he fears will tear him and Rachael apart.

Stephani Hecht never fails to pen a captivating tale, but she has definitely raised the bar with Angel’s Quest.  An unforgettable mix of danger, desperation, determination, and love, in all its forms, Angel’s Quest is not to be missed.

Michael has intrigued me from the very beginning of the Archangel series with his limitless capacity for love and patience combined with his honor, selflessness, and support for those under his command.  While I have loved watching him become closer to his family over the course of the series, as his niece and nephews have found love I’ve yearned to see him find happiness of his own.  To my everlasting delight, Ms. Hecht has written a romance that was well worth the wait.  Rachael is Michael’s match in every sense of the word.  She’s strong, fiery, and fiercely protective of those she holds dear.  Like Michael, she has scars from her past which can leave her vulnerable at times, and I loved watching them care for one another when their pasts threatened to hurt their present.

One of the things I enjoy the most about this series is the closeness of the main characters.  Whether it’s blood, friendship, or matings that tied them together to begin with, they have become family.  Because of this, Angel’s Quest doesn’t just focus on Michael and Rachael, but their loved ones as well.  As much as I relished watching Michael and Rachael realize their feelings for one another, I was equally invested in Bear’s love story.  His fight to stay alive, to overcome and expel the demon possessing him would not be so poignant if it weren’t wrapped up in his desire to be able to return home to his mate, Tiffany.  While Michael and Rachael are the center couple of Angel’s Quest, Bear and Tiffany are just two more characters who captured my attention in the tale.  As this book shows, Ms. Hecht’s talent for creating memorable characters is unsurpassed; there is no character in Angel’s Quest who did not leave their mark on me.

The seventh story in the Archangel series, Angel’s Quest does contain enough background information for someone unfamiliar with the series to follow along.  However, to feel the full impact of the different storylines, it’s best to start the series from the beginning with Angel Warriors.  After the necessary but extensive world building of the past few books, I really enjoyed the more focused, intimate feel of Angel’s Quest.  I felt more connected to the characters because of this, which isn’t to say that I haven’t loved the previous stories, but rather to say that this particular tale packed more of an emotional punch for me.  New and fascinating characters still appear and Ms. Hecht definitely has a few surprises in store for readers, but to say much on those subjects would ruin half the fun of reading the book.

I can always count on Ms. Hecht to provide an exciting, entertaining tale, but she has truly outdone herself with Angel’s Quest.  By turns sensual, romantic, heartbreaking, and heart-pounding, this book has become my favorite so far of the always engrossing Archangel series.  Joyfully Recommended!