Sidekick Showcase, previously known as Sidekick Saturday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Jaclyn at JC’s Book Haven. There are many secondary characters that are as great as the primaries. In some cases, the sidekicks actually steal the show and you like them better than the heroine or hero. Maybe they didn’t have enough page time for how great they were. Anyone can play along! I will post my Sidekicks on Saturday, and so will Jaclyn, then whichever day during the week that you would like to post yours, you can put your link in on Jaclyn’s page. Just do the following:
• Choose a sidekick *or someone other than the hero or heroine* that you would like to put in the spotlight that fits in the week’s topic
• Share a picture (if you can) and information about the character
• Give the title and author of a book the character can be found in
• Please don’t include too many spoilers when describing why the character is such a great sidekick
• The day of your post, put your link in below and grab the code for your post so you can see the others that post their’s throughout the week as well
Sidekick Showcase #30 -Makes Me Think of Christmas
For the whole month of December, we are choosing a character that makes us think of something that has to do with Christmas. That does not mean that the character in question has to be all nice and sweet, but it could be that the character is an elf, and angel, works at a soup kitchen for the season or something else that triggered that thought of Christmas – even if it was to say the opposite.
Oh my, I was going to go with this one character, until I remembered that something important about that character wasn’t revealed until very late, and so it would have been a spoiler. And we don’t want that, now, do we? So I am going with one of my favorite angels instead. He is strong, powerful, in a position of power, ruthless and at the start he doesn’t really like humans very much.
I give you Raphael from Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series. He is the ruler of the Northern part of America, he has his headquarters in a high tower in New York – in order to make sure that the angels who work with him can come and go more easily. Raphael has something about him, though, that drew me in from the very beginning, even when I thought he was the most arrogant male character I have ever encountered.
From Angel’s Blood:
“The bastard kissed her. She was so mad, she bit him hard enough to draw blood. Raphael pulled back, lip already beginning to swell. “We are no longer even, Elena. You’re now in debt.”
“You can deduct it from my slow and painful death.”“You don’t fear me,” he said now.
She wasn’t stupid enough to lie. “I’m petrified. But I figure you didn’t make me come all this way just so you could push me off the roof.”“He closed his eyes, dropping his forehead against hers. “You’ll be the death of me, Elena.” She smiled. “You need a little excitement in that boring old life of yours.”
“A naked blade sheathed in velvet, that was Raphael’s voice.”
“So the big, bad, and able-to-mind-control angel thinks you’re his. As
in ‘I don’t share my woman.”
I didn’t even have to go farther than the very first book in this amazing series to find several quotes that describe Raphael well. I wish I could draw him! I imagine him as tall, statuesque, with cold, hard, blue eyes. Blond hair (I don’t even remember if that’s how he’s described, but that how he looks in my head) strong, and sometimes very calculating.
Thanks for stopping by today, be sure to link up so I can visit your Sidekick Showcase post as well!
I’ve never heard about this series, Lexxie, but that piece of dialogue you shared is really funny and full of wit. I always love arrogant heroes.
And I think I might add this to my Want-To-Read list on GR. All of the books have high ratings. But good lord, 6 books? Argh!
Thanks for sharing. Have a safe Sunday, my friend. <3
I know, Charlotte, I love reading series and I’m really happy there are some really good ones out there. Nalini Singh has great characters, and she knows how to write the romance and the sexy scenes very well 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, have a safe Sunday yourself, my friend. <3
I haven’t heard of the series before either… but I love the sound of Raphael. He sounds to die for!
Oh yes, definitely! And there are times when Elena things she actually will die in his presence…
Thanks for stopping by, Angelique 🙂
I have got to get started on this series (yet another one languishing on the TBR). Raphael sounds great Lexxie! I can’t wait to meet him 🙂
Oh my goodness, Traci! Nalini Singh is one of my favorite PNR authors. Her writing is flawless, and her stories very hot 🙂
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I love Christmas, and I love angel books! Great Excerpt from Angel’s Blood! This one sounds so good 🙂
This series really has nothing to do with Christmas, though, but since Raphael is an angel, I thought it was still apropos 🙂
Thanks for stopping by, Lindy!
I love getting my UF fix from you Lexxie 🙂 I still haven’t read a Nalini Singh yet, how crazy is that? I must pull my head out of YA world once in a while and revisit my beloved PNR/UF.
You should rather get your UF fix from the books I gush about, Jeann 🙂 But thank you! I love YA, too, but it is refreshing to read about adults every now and then as well. And PNR/UF is always something that draws me in – because it’s such a fantasy world, and I love that.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Reading those quotes made me want to go back to the beginning and reread the entire series! I love the other books, but there is nothing like the first book when Elena and Raphael do the dance they do. What amazing chemistry and fire! You picked the best angel out there. I thought Carter from the Succubus series was my favorite angel, but Raphael is just shy of a bad guy, like one tiny twist of fate or another thousand years and he’d destroy humankind. On that fluffy note, I hope you have a wonderful week, Lexxie!
Oh, I agree – Elena was so awesome, and I loved how Raphael kept being his intimidating self, and she kept being the Guild Hunter she was born to be as well 🙂
Oh, I agree, Carter from the Succubus series is awesome – I wouldn’t mind reading a spin-off series featuring him, actually 😉 But Raphael… *sighs*
Thanks for stopping by, Robyn. Have a wonderful week yourself!
I haven’t read this series but I’m jealous from what I read.:) It must be good.
If I had joined the meme I would choose Akiva from The Daughter of smoke and bone. He is an angel, so perfect and handsome that it reminds me Christmas.:)
I haven’t read Daughter of Smoke and Bone, yet, Athina 🙂 But really, the Guild Hunter series is great – when you have time, you should try it.
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I am going to have to try this series, because I think I have only read one series with angels in it. I need to diversify.
Oh you should, Pamela, Nalini Singh knows how to draw her readers into the middle of her stories! And the angels in the Guild Hunter series aren’t all nice and lovey…
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
YAY! I think I know what your first choice was 😉 Also, I love this one because I put this series on my to-read list, but THESE QUOTES! I LOVE them. Especially the one about his voice. I don’t know why, but I really like knowing what a character’s voice is like. Oh, wow, thank you so much for sharing 😀 Jaclyn @ JC’s Book Haven.
Oh my goodness, Jaclyn, you are going to fall in love with this series! You’ll probably fall as hard as I fell for The Hollows! I’m glad my quotes could entice you 🙂
Hehe, would you care to send me a message about my first choice? 😀
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you’re having a great week.
Gah! How could I have forgotten about Raphael?!? I LOVE him and this series! You picked some great quotes too, Lexxie! I’m behind in this series, naturally, but reading your post makes me want to get caught up! 😉
And now, I’m catching up on your other posts. 😉 *HUGS*
:O you forgot about Raphael? :O I love him, too. I still have to read the last book in this series, I am trying to be good before Christmas and read as many ARCs as possible 🙂 I an up to 70% of approve/feedback ratio on Netgalley, so that’s good.
Thanks for stopping by, Brandee *hugs*
I have a question for you about Netgalley – I had reviews posted there and then when they did their overhaul of the site, my reviews don’t show up anymore. Any thoughts as to where they went or how to get them back?
Congrats on your amazing rating, by the way! Mine is not nearly as high! 😉
I have never been able to see my reviews, but there is a place where it says something like ‘feedback sent’ but I don’t think you can see what you wrote there. I usually copy and paste from my blog – but the other day, I clicked on the wrong button and had no review, only a rating, before it disappeared.
And I have found no way to edit that one 🙁
I was down at 60% when I started the COYER challenge – I just decided it was time I gave those people some feedback 🙂