Tag: Psy/Changeling

Review: Storm Echo by Nalini Singh

Posted August 8, 2022 by Casee in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Storm Echo by Nalini SinghReviewer: Casee
Storm Echo by Nalini Singh
Narrator: Angela Dawe
Series: Psy-Changeling Trinity #6, Psy-Changeling #21
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: August 9, 2022
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 384
Length: 11 hours and 14 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
five-stars


NYT bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into the hearts of two fractured people in a world on the brink of a psychic Armageddon . . .

Silence has fallen. The Psy are free to feel emotion. Free to love. But Silence was never a prison for Ivan Mercant. The biggest threat to his future lies dormant in his brain—a psychic monster that wants only to feed. And now, the brutal leash he’s kept on that monster is slipping. He prepared for this day, for the end of Ivan Mercant . . . but that was before he met Lei.
As primal as she is human, this wild changeling brings color into his life, laughter to his soul. Then the dream shatters in a rain of blood, in silent bodies in the snow. Lei is gone. Vanished without a trace . . . until he meets strangely familiar eyes across a busy San Francisco street.
Soleil Bijoux Garcia is a healer who has lost everything. She exists in a world of desolate aloneness . . . till the day she finds herself face-to-face with a lethal stranger. The animal who is her other half knows this man, but her memories are tattered fragments. Sorrow and a need for vengeance are all that drive her. Her mission? To kill the alpha of the DarkRiver leopard pack.
But fate has other plans. Soon, a deadly soldier who believes himself a monster and a broken healer might be all that stand between life and death for the entire Psy race.

Ivan Merchant has always known he was different. Not in just his abilities, but different on a level that can’t be explained.

As a security specialist for the Merchant empire, Ivan often travels to changeling packs to continue his education. While training with a pack in Texas (??), Ivan finds himself injured in the forest. That’s when he meets Lei, a changeling healer that fascinates him. While Ivan has never been fully Silent, he abides by the backbone that is Silence. To do so would unleash something in Ivan that even he can’t control. Everything he believed in up to that point is changed when Lei walks into his life. Night after night, Lei & Ivan meet, bonding in a way that Ivan would never have expected.

After weeks of meeting & Ivan telling Lei all his secrets, they agree to meet the following day where Lei will tell him all her secrets. Except she doesn’t show up. Ivan is crushed, though he will never admit it. At that point he accepts who he is; someone that could never hold onto someone like Lei.

When a local changeling back is brutally attacked by the Psy, a twist of fate puts Ivan at the scene. Every changeling is dead except for one. Ivan’s Lei. Brutally injured, Lei is taken to the local hospital where she disappears. Ivan spends fifteen months looking for Lei, not willing to give up. Then he sees someone that looks and doesn’t look like Lei.

Soleil is in San Francisco for one reason. To kill the alpha of DarkRiver. It was Lucas Hunter that executed her pack, including her grandmother and the cubs. When Soleil realizes everything she thought she knew wasn’t true, she is crushed. Even though she soon realized that she could never hope to kill Lucas Hunter, she had a mission. Now she has nothing and no one. Until she catches an elusive scent that can only mean one thing. Not only that, she’s found a Psy that her cat knows belongs to her.

Watching Ivan fall for Lei strictly in his POV was magical. It was a slow burn and so emotional to read. When he believes that the one chance at happiness slipped away, he’s crushed. It was so moving and heartbreaking to read. When he finds her again, he’s convinced that his chance of happiness has passed. The feelings that the two have for each other are not to be denied. All Soleil has to do is convince Ivan to take a chance on her. Of course nothing is ever easy in this series & Soleil has her work cut out for her. Reading about the sacrifices these two made for each other was extraordinary. Nalini has grown so much as a writer. She has a talent that few authors match. It’s not just the individuals, it’s about Pack. It’s about family. It’s about togetherness. It’s quite literally spellbinding.

Rating: 4.75 out of 5.

Psy-Changeling

Psy-Changeling Trinity

five-stars

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Review: Last Guard by Nalini Singh

Posted January 24, 2022 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Last Guard by Nalini SinghReviewer: Holly
Last Guard by Nalini Singh
Series: Psy/Changeling Trinity #5
Also in this series: Silver Silence, Silver Silence, Silver Silence, Ocean Light, Ocean Light , Wolf Rain , Wolf Rain, Alpha Night, Alpha Night, Last Guard
Publisher: Penguin, Berkley
Publication Date: July 20, 2021
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Holly's 2021 Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars


NYT bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to a world devastated by change in her award-winning Psy-Changeling Trinity series, where two people defined by their aloneness hold the fate of the Psy in their hands . . .

Termed merciless by some, and a robotic sociopath by others, Payal Rao is the perfect Psy: cardinal telekinetic, CEO of a major conglomerate, beautiful—and emotionless.

For Canto Mercant, family and loyalty are everything. A cardinal telepath deemed "imperfect" by his race due to a spinal injury, Canto cares for the opinions of very few—and ruthlessly protects those he claims as his own. Head of intel of the influential Mercant family, he prefers to remain a shadow in the Net, unknown and unseen. But Canto is also an Anchor, part of a secretive designation whose task it is to stabilize the PsyNet. Now that critical psychic network is dying, threatening to collapse and kill the entire Psy race with it.

To save those he loves, Canto needs the help of a woman bound to him by a dark past neither has been able to forget. A woman who is the most powerful Anchor of them all: Payal Rao. Neither is ready for the violent inferno about to ignite in the PsyNet . . . or the passionate madness that threatens to destroy them both.

Last Guard (Psy/Changeling Trinity #5) by Nalini Singh follows Payal and Canto, two Psy with a heavy burden to bear.

The PsyNet is failing, and without the biofeedback it provides the entire Psy race will die. Psy Designation A, the Anchors, have been quietly working in the background of the PsyNet for centuries, until Canto Mercant, a Hub-Anchor, realizes they have to come together and gain a seat in the Ruling Coalition if there is any chance of saving the PsyNet. When he reaches out to Payal Rao, he has no idea she’s also his friend/savior from childhood – a brave, smart girl who stood up for him, and who he has been searching for ever since.

Payal can’t show her true face to anyone. There’s a manic, angry girl inside her she barely keeps leashed, and in her family, showing weakness is a death sentence. She’s shocked when she comes to face-to-face with Canto and realizes he’s the boy she never forgot..and apparently he never forgot her either.

As they’re forced to work together, they both realize the connection they had as children is growing into something new and solid as adults. But Payal can’t let her guard down, or she risks losing all control….

This is one of the better books in the Trinity series. I enjoyed Payal and Canto, their friendship from childhood and the way they reconnected as adults. I also enjoyed learning more about the Anchors, and seeing them work through the problems association with the decline of the PsyNet. Canto is paralyzed from waist down and Payal is neurodivergent. I loved the strong message about being different, not deficient.

Rating: 4.25 out of 5

Psy-Changeling Trinity

four-stars

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Review: Last Guard by Nalini Singh

Posted July 19, 2021 by Casee in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Last Guard by Nalini SinghReviewer: Casee
Last Guard by Nalini Singh
Narrator: Angela Dawe
Series: Psy/Changeling Trinity #5
Also in this series: Silver Silence, Silver Silence, Silver Silence, Ocean Light, Ocean Light , Wolf Rain , Wolf Rain, Alpha Night, Alpha Night, Last Guard
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: July 20, 2021
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third Person
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 384
Length: 10 hours and 52 minutes
Add It: Goodreads
Reading Challenges: Casee's 2021 Goodreads Challenge
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to a world devastated by change in her award-winning Psy-Changeling Trinity series, where two people defined by their aloneness hold the fate of the Psy in their hands…
Termed merciless by some, and a robotic sociopath by others, Payal Rao is the perfect Psy: cardinal telekinetic, CEO of a major conglomerate, beautiful—and emotionless.
For Canto Mercant, family and loyalty are everything. A cardinal telepath deemed "imperfect" by his race due to a spinal injury, Canto cares for the opinions of very few—and ruthlessly protects those he claims as his own. Head of intel of the influential Mercant family, he prefers to remain a shadow in the Net, unknown and unseen. But Canto is also an Anchor, part of a secretive designation whose task it is to stabilize the PsyNet. Now that critical psychic network is dying, threatening to collapse and kill the entire Psy race with it.
To save those he loves, Canto needs the help of a woman bound to him by a dark past neither has been able to forget. A woman who is the most powerful Anchor of them all: Payal Rao. Neither is ready for the violent inferno about to ignite in the PsyNet…or the passionate madness that threatens to destroy them both.

Canto Merchant & Payal Rao are both A-Psy. As anchors for the PsyNet, it isn’t just their job to keep the PsyNet from failing. It’s a compulsion for them. They can’t not do anything & everything to save the Psy race.

When Canto contacts Payal about being the voice for the anchors, he has no idea how intertwined their histories are. Since the time he was old enough, he has been searching for the girl that saved his life in the “rehabilitation” school they were both at. They didn’t know each other’s names. All they knew was the numbers that were assigned by the school. For Canto, 3K is a girl that was his salvation. Searching for her has become his obsession in life though he has never had so much as a lead on his 3K. His search for her has to be put on the back burner because the PsyNet is failing. Payal is a hub anchor, much like himself. The only difference as far as he can see is that Payal is Silent whereas Canto never was fully Silent. Then he sees her.

Payal walks a very fine line in her life. She’s the CEO of the Rao family holdings. She has a brother that would like nothing more than to murder her in her sleep, a sister she has to hide from her father & brother, and she’s a hub anchor. When Canto Merchant contacts her, Payal knows she can’t say no. If the anchors don’t get involved, the PsyNet will fall. Already the Ruling Coalition is discussing breaking the PsyNet into pieces. Both Payal & Canto know that doing that will not work. So she agrees to meet Canto. And gets the shock of her life.

Canto & Payal were thrown away when they were children because they hadn’t initialized as A’s. Payal couldn’t control her emotions. Canto couldn’t use his legs. It hurt to read how they were treated. Then it made me smile to read about how Canto looked after Payal & Payal protected Canto.

“Payal, you don’t have to hide me from them.” It came out hard, a near-snarl.
“Yes, I do. A solemn statement that cut him to the bone. “Because you’re my person. The only one I have. I need to protect you.”

This isn’t just about two children that formed a bond that nothing could destroy. It’s about children that were forgotten, children that weren’t protected, and children that died. All because they were A’s. It’s about the journey two A children took to find their way back to each other.

I could honestly go on and on about this book. I was barely able to put it down. I’m so excited to see where the series goes from here. I’m starting to think I’m getting a glimmer of what the end of the series will look like. Maybe.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Psy-Changeling

Psy-Changeling Trinity

four-half-stars

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Guest Review: Alpha Night by Nalini Singh

Posted June 10, 2020 by Tracy in Reviews | 0 Comments

Guest Review: Alpha Night by Nalini SinghReviewer: Tracy
Alpha Night by Nalini Singh
Series: Psy/Changeling Trinity #4
Also in this series: Silver Silence, Silver Silence, Silver Silence, Ocean Light, Ocean Light , Wolf Rain , Wolf Rain, Alpha Night, Last Guard, Last Guard
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: June 9, 2020
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Third
Genres: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

Alpha wolf Selenka Durev’s devotion to her pack is equaled only by her anger at anyone who would harm those under her care. That currently includes the empaths who’ve flowed into her city for a symposium that is a security nightmare, a powder keg just waiting for a match.

Ethan Night is an Arrow who isn’t an Arrow. Numb and disengaged from the world, he’s loyal only to himself. Assigned as part of the security force at a world-first symposium, he carries a dark agenda tied to the power-hungry and murderous Consortium. Then violence erupts and Ethan finds himself crashing into the heart and soul of an alpha wolf.

Mating at first sight is a myth, a fairytale. Yet Selenka’s wolf is resolute: Ethan Night, broken Arrow and a man capable of obsessive devotion, is the mate it has chosen. Even if the mating bond is full of static and not quite as it should be. Because Selenka’s new mate has a terrible secret, his mind surging with a power that is a creature of madness and death…

Ethan is an Arrow who had a very different childhood (if you can even call it that) than any of the other Arrows.  He believes himself to be completely unemotional so he takes a job from someone in the Consortium, just to see if he can feel something.  His job is to protect Selenka Durev, the Alpha of the BlackEdge wolf pack – the most powerful wolf pack in Russia.  Ethan is taken with Selenka from the first moment he sees her and after a bomb threat they realize they are meant for each other.

Selenka loves Ethan’s voice from the moment she hears it, but she never imagines that mating with him at first sight would ever happen.  She thought it was just something that was made up and only existed in Soap Operas.   Even though they’ve mated, they don’t even know each other.  That will come in time, but she has to find out what is wrong with Ethan.  He believes he has a mental disease and is not long for this world, but Selenka is determined to keep him alive as long as possible.

I love the Psy-Changeling series.  While I tend to give them all high marks, there are obviously some I like better than others.  This is one of those.  This takes me back to the feeling I had at the beginning of the series and I loved that.  Dealing with Psy mind issues as well as integrating a Psy and a Changeling mating was so interesting then and now.  I loved seeing Sascha Duncan again in this book and having her trying to help Ethan with his mental state.

Singh gave us romance, intrigue and mating at first sight.  Did I think it would work? Not as well as it did, that’s for sure.  I was skeptical, but Singh pulled it off.  I adored how Ethan was with Selenka from minute one.  He was hers and would do anything for her.  I loved seeing this “unemotional” man fall and fall hard.  I also loved seeing Selenka find a man that was a match for her alpha-ness. She was pretty badass and finding a man who was just as much an alpha and appreciated that trait in his woman was a thing to behold.

Overall – I loved it.  There was only one slower part (I won’t actually say slow – just slower) in the story and that’s the only reason it didn’t get 5 stars.  If you haven’t ever read the Psy-Changeling series – what are you waiting for???  Pick up Slave to Sensation now. Yes, technically this is book 4 in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series but if you haven’t read any of them then start from the beginning.  You won’t be sorry.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Psy-Changeling

Psy-Changeling Trinity

four-half-stars

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Sunday Spotlight: Alpha Night by Nalini Singh (+ Exclusive Excerpt)

Posted June 7, 2020 by Casee in Features, Giveaways | 19 Comments

Sunday Spotlight is a feature we began in 2016. This year we’re spotlighting our favorite books, old and new. We’ll be raving about the books we love and being total fangirls. You’ve been warned. 🙂

Until this book came out, I hadn’t been keeping up with the series. I’m so glad that I caught up because this book is just yummy, yummy goodness. I love the characters, the camaraderie between the pack, as well as the problems that crop up. Both the hero and the heroine are worthy of this series. I think Nalini knocked it out of the park with this one!

Sunday Spotlight: Alpha Night by Nalini Singh (+ Exclusive Excerpt)Alpha Night by Nalini Singh
Series: Psy/Changeling Trinity #4, Psy/Changeling #19
Also in this series: Silver Silence, Silver Silence, Silver Silence, Ocean Light, Ocean Light , Wolf Rain , Wolf Rain, Alpha Night, Alpha Night, Last Guard, Last Guard , Mine to Possess, Hostage to Pleasure, The Magical Christmas Cat , Kiss of Snow, Tangle of Need, Slave to Sensation , Wild Invitation, Heart of Obsidian, Shield of Winter, Shield of Winter, Visions of Heat, Mine to Possess, Caressed By Ice, Branded by Fire, Blaze of Memory, Mine to Possess, Hostage to Pleasure, Hostage to Pleasure, Shards of Hope, Shards of Hope, Heart of Obsidian, Caressed By Ice, Branded by Fire, Blaze of Memory, Play of Passion, Allegiance of Honor, Kiss of Snow, Tangle of Need, Shield of Winter, Shards of Hope, Allegiance of Honor, Allegiance of Honor, Wild Embrace, Wild Embrace, Wild Embrace, Tangle of Need, Caressed By Ice
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: June 9, 2020
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to her breathtaking Psy-Changeling Trinity series with a mating that shouldn’t exist…

Alpha wolf Selenka Durev’s devotion to her pack is equaled only by her anger at anyone who would harm those under her care. That currently includes the empaths who’ve flowed into her city for a symposium that is a security nightmare, a powder keg just waiting for a match.

Ethan Night is an Arrow who isn’t an Arrow. Numb and disengaged from the world, he’s loyal only to himself. Assigned as part of the security force at a world-first symposium, he carries a dark agenda tied to the power-hungry and murderous Consortium. Then violence erupts and Ethan finds himself crashing into the heart and soul of an alpha wolf.

Mating at first sight is a myth, a fairytale. Yet Selenka’s wolf is resolute: Ethan Night, broken Arrow and a man capable of obsessive devotion, is the mate it has chosen. Even if the mating bond is full of static and not quite as it should be. Because Selenka’s new mate has a terrible secret, his mind surging with a power that is a creature of madness and death…

Exclusive Excerpt

“I don’t believe in tagging individuals as if they’re cattle.” Aden’s voice never rose, his tone steady, but his anger was a cold wind against her. “Ming LeBon had different ideas.”

“What about the rumored drug leash?” Silver asked, as Valentin wrapped an arm around her waist and held her possessively against his chest.

To those who didn’t understand changeling bears, didn’t know Valentin, that would’ve appeared to be nothing but a male asserting his right over a woman. Selenka knew the truth was far more complicated—Valentin was really, really angry at the idea of a man being leashed in such a way, and was cuddling up to his mate in an effort to take the edge off his temper.

Bears rarely lost it, but—and so long as it had nothing to do with a territorial skirmish—Selenka had made sure her wolves knew to give the ursine changelings a wide berth should it ever happen. It’d take three wolves to take down an enraged bear of Valentin’s size in a sudden fight—and they’d all come out with broken bones and shattered teeth.

Wolf rage was a quieter, harder, deadlier thing. Wolves didn’t smash up rooms and swipe out heedlessly. Wolves planned. Selenka planned. If she wanted to attack Valentin, she’d think out every step ahead of time—and when she closed her jaws over his throat, it’d be precisely over his jugular and carotid.

That cold rage sharpened her senses now, had her hearing a distant door closing as Aden said, “The drug leash wasn’t foolproof. In particular, there was no way to know its effect on those with incredibly rare abilities. There is no one like Ethan. Ming wouldn’t have risked ruining him.”

Ruin, Selenka thought, could have different meanings.

I am permanently damaged in ways that affect my psychic balance.

“What I’m about to share is highly confidential,” Aden said, white lines bracketing his mouth. “I’m only doing so because you can’t have any doubts about Ethan. This information cannot be shared with any others.”

“As long as it isn’t relevant to the safety of others, we have no reason to share it.”

Aden waited until Valentin and Selenka both nodded agreement to Silver’s statement before he continued. “Ming tagged Ethan. Dr. Edgard Bashir deactivated that tag three months ago once he’d worked out a way to do it without damaging Ethan’s organs.” Flat, hard words. “The device was placed inside him when he was a child and it grew tendrils around his heart in the time since. It can’t be removed, but it’s dead.”

Selenka’s growl echoed against the walls. The idea of being watched that way, until nothing you did was private, it would’ve driven her insane. That Ethan wasn’t locked up in an institution was an indication of his strength, another piece of the dangerous enigma that was her mate.

Meeting over, Selenka tracked Ethan, his scent a shining thread to her wolf. Her beautiful, dangerous stranger of a mate was leaning against the external wall beside the main door, a stray at his feet, its tail wagging.

Pale eyes locked with her own.

“You need to see your healer,” he said with no indication that he felt any sense of intimidation in her presence. Arousal licked through her—but her stubborn mate wasn’t finished. “The numbing agent in the gel will have long worn off.”

Her wolf curled its upper lip at the demand in his tone but grudgingly accepted he was right. Her back hurt. “Yes. I messaged him just before. He’s already at the pack’s city HQ, so we’ll meet him there.” She looked at the dog—now quivering, but staying staunchly at Ethan’s side. “That your dog?”

Ethan looked down at the hopeful, scared, loyal animal. “It appears we are equally damaged.” He didn’t try to shoo the creature away as it walked with them . . . its body trembling the entire time.

Impressed by its courage, she caught the animal’s eyes. It froze. She didn’t crouch—that would just confuse it. She just bent and patted its head. “I’m not going to eat you.” The dog knew it stood next to a wolf, a predator that could rip it to shreds.

Ethan said nothing after she drew back, but his new pet wagged its tail like a metronome. She found her gaze drawn to Ethan’s throat again, to the strength of the cords, to the steady beat of his pulse against the warmth of his skin . . . and had her teeth sunk into his flesh before she realized she’d moved.

A growl filled her chest, the scent of him in her blood. And the deadly Arrow she’d just bitten didn’t lift a finger to defend himself. He just placed his hand on her hip, holding her close to the muscled strength of his body.

Growl turning into a low rumble, she released her bite, then licked her tongue over the indentation in his skin—she’d been careful even in her lack of control, hadn’t broken skin.
His breathing altered. The sharp intake of it had her jerking away.

What the hell was she doing? She’d just bitten a man she’d only met hours earlier . . . and she was very, very satisfied to see she’d marked him. Even now, she couldn’t help but brush her fingers over the mark. “This isn’t normal.” It came out husky.

Ethan looked at her with unflinching intensity. “I’ve never been normal. But you’re my mate now and I’m not going to give that up.”

Copyright © 2020 by Nalini Singh

Psy-Changelings Trinity

Giveaway Alert

We’re giving one lucky winner their choice of one of our Sunday Spotlight books. Use the widget below to enter for one of this month’s features.

Sunday Spotlight: June 2020

Are you as excited for this release as we are? Let us know how excited you are and what other books you’re looking forward to this year!

About Nalini Singh

I've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There's no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.

I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).

So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

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