Sandy M’s review of Kiss of Snow (Psy-Changeling Series, Book Book 10) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 31 May 11

Hope y’all haven’t had your fill of reviews about Hawke and Sienna! This is one series I aim to never get behind on, so one more review for you. Needless to say, I love everything about this book, from the lengths Hawke goes to to protect his pack to the ever-growing sizzle between him and Sienna to getting caught up with past characters.

I won’t go through a synopsis-type review, since that’s been done. I’ll just go through some of the highlights that I especially like, because we’d be here forever if I went though all that I just like!

Of course, the main bit of this book is the romance. Hawke is still resisting the pull of Sienna – she’s too young, he can’t give her what she deserves because he lost his one and only mate years ago. The wolf in him, however, doesn’t care. Take, ravish, love. Elemental, Hawke, you should listen to your inner animal. Sienna, though young, does want Hawke, won’t give him much leeway when they butt heads but does follow orders as she’s been trained and for the good of the pack. When Hawke finally does give in, it’s Sienna who’s not quite ready to take their relationship all the way, both physical – considering her X-designation – and emotional issues getting in the way. And Hawke’s restraint to give her time is monumental, especially when the alphaness and the wolf in him want it now. I like Hawke’s tenderness with Sienna when they’re surrounded by such violence at the hands of the Psy.

And those Psy are coming at SnowDancer full force. I know in one of my last reviews on this series, I said something about how the council is changing, moving away from one another, so we had to know that big changes are coming. That still goes forward in this book on a larger scale. Nikita, Anthony, and Kaleb are against the machinations of the other councilors and are helping the changelings as much as possible to prevent war between the factions. For each Psy attack on the wolf pack, SnowDancer fights back to let all know they are underestimating and dealing with an enemy protecting their own. Hawke refuses to allow his pack to be decimated as they were years before, coming back from the brink of near extinction. Each scene dealing with the Psy is intense, and it makes you wonder why the Psy show up again and again. Their logic in this area is almost arrogant, which, we all know, isn’t in them.

Another long-awaited event is the birth of Lucas’ and Sascha’s baby, and I love every minute of it, from the moment her water breaks to the Sentinels wanting to hold the newborn to Lucas’ amazement and love for his child to Sascha’s understanding to what extent a mother would do anything for her child, creating a new understanding concerning her own mother. Makes me wonder what huge plans Ms. Singh has for Nikita in the future. All very enlightening moments. I have to admit, as much as I love the wolves of SnowDancer, it’s the cats of DarkRiver who have my heart. Maybe because I’m a cat person anyway. I love the scene when Sienna goes to talk to Sascha about her situation with Hawke and Lucas is perched in a tree high above them, swishing his tail about, chuffing now and again at their conversation. One terrific scene. The way both cat and wolf idiosyncrasies are used when these characters are in human form are absolutely wonderful. Ms. Singh has the market covered there.

Then there’s Sienna’s Cardinal X designation and all that entails, her years and efforts to control the conflagration that she knows is coming and can’t do anything about, though Judd is still looking for answers. Which brings in a new twist in the form of a cryonic Alice Eldridge, who researched X-designations years before, and everyone has their hopes up that the answer lies with her. When the war with the Psy heats up, I was spellbound at the crescendo of Sienna’s abilities. And I feel for her when it’s all over with, the fear she couldn’t contain when she thinks all is lost.

I like that we still see all of the past heroes and heroines from previous books, even if it’s just a scene or two. There also a side romance between Walker Lauren and Lara, the pack’s healer, who is also terrific in those scenes where she takes care of the wounded after conflicts with the Psy.  Walker is just as scared and tortured as Judd was for his book, so beginning a relationship with Lara is not something he feels he can do, despite how much Lara wants that and let’s him know she’s interested. Though his realizations come slowly, I’m happy Walker pays attention in all the right places.

This is a very short, random, and ragtag list, of course, of what that goes on in this book; these are just a few of my favorites. I did feel the frustration at the scene changes when Hawke and Sienna are together, but for me it’s a good frustration, no different than when that type of thing happens in any other romance book, prolonging the sensual coming together of the characters. It just made my anticipation higher for the next time, wondering how it will eventually come to pass. And when it does happen, all that frustrated anticipation is worth it.

I’m now in that happy holding pattern until the next book, anxiously waiting and wondering what’s coming up, knowing that Ms. Singh will give me everything she’s got and I’ll love every second of it.

Grade: A+

Read other reviews and information on this series here.

Summary:

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would’ve been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other’s secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight…

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna’s darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home…and the alpha who is its heartbeat…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Gwen’s review of Kiss of Snow (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 10) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance hardcover published by Berkley 31 May 11

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Nalini Singh.  I love to read her books.  The complexity of the worlds Singh creates transports me there every time I read them. Sure, the romances are satisfying, the heroes and heroines complicated and compelling. But the world!  The world is why I read.  It’s immediate, believable, and populated with enough good and bad to be really interesting. So it’s with a heavy heart that I say that I didn’t really love Kiss of Snow.

This tenth book in the Psy-Changeling series is the long-awaited union of the SnowDancer alpha, Hawke, and the young psy, Sienna.  In several earlier novels, you could see this pairing a mile away, and see how much it tormented both characters, so it’s nice to finally see these two together.  I’m not going to recap the characters or the plot – if you’re not reading this series, you do NOT want to start with this novel; you’ll be so far at sea with all the interwoven stories and established details, you may never know what’s going on.  Instead, I’ll just tell you what worked for me and what was not quite what I would have liked.

One of the characteristics of Singh’s writing that usually makes it so evocative is how she weaves several storylines into an overall arc, making for a really rich story.  Peppered throughout the romance are story threads from the bad guys’ perspective, from other good guys’ perspective, from the narrator’s perspective.  All of these bits mesh and normally push the story arc forward.

However, in Kiss of Snow, the weaving is choppy and sometimes difficult to follow.  It seemed to lack the smooth storytelling of Singh’s earlier novels.  While reading, I felt like I was being pulled in too many directions.  There’s the primary romance, a secondary romance, and many of the earlier romances in this book.  There’s the uber bad guys, the other bad guys, another two or three factions of good guys. We have a birth, several severe wounds, and some deaths.   Battles, fights, and more battles. Plotting, scheming, spies, traitors – all in one book. Normally this makes for a rocking good time in a novel.  Unfortunately, in this novel, it made for a bit of a mess.  All these elements seem like they’re just tossed in and shaken.  We jerk from one thing to the next with little to no transition and sometimes very few details to help us understand what we’re reading.

I had the most difficulty with the primary romance between Hawke and Sienna.  Their personal scenes were the most confusing for me – just as it felt like they were starting to know each other, something would happen, or the author would cut to another thread.  As a result, I had a frustrating time getting into this couple’s romance.  For example, at the end of the book for several paragraphs Singh makes what feels like an unnecessary mystery about Hawke’s name.  And then she never really reveals it – we’re left guessing and it’s a little frustrating.

The upshot of my review is that I’m disappointed, but I still read it.  Kiss of Snow is still a “B” book for me, but I expect a lot from Singh – particularly with the Psy-Changeling series.  This book, while good, didn’t quite meet my expectations and former experience with this author.

Grade: B-

Read other reviews and information on this series here.

Summary:

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would’ve been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other’s secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight…

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna’s darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home…and the alpha who is its heartbeat…

Read an excerpt here (scroll down).

Other books in this series (in strict chronological order):

			“The Cannibal Princess” - free short story
	“A Gift for Kit” - free short story

Sandy M’s review of Play of Passion (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 9) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 2 Nov 10

What more can be said about Nalini Singh and her awesome series that hasn’t already been said? I’m sure every superlative possible has been used to describe her Psy-Changeling world and its characters. She gets better and better with each book while words run dry for us to let readers know they should pick up these books and get started. But we still try. Because every word she writes is worth it.

While I love this series as a whole, have enjoyed the previous books with a Changeling hero and a Psy heroine, or vice versa, I’m finding these Changeling-Changeling books are becoming my favorite. I have such fun when these characters revel in their animal sides. I get hot and bothered when they snip and snap and bite in their love play. I gasp when things go wrong, cheer when they triumph, cry when they hurt. Drew and Indigo pulled me in from the beginning. I even had my doubts here and there if they’d come together.But I have no fear whenever Changelings are involved.

Drew has always wanted Indigo and now he’s ready to make his move to make her his, no matter what, especially against her attitude toward younger, dominant males. Indy is a lieutenant of their pack, a very strong dominant female. She’s seen firsthand how a relationship with a less dominant male doesn’t work and doesn’t want any part of one. Drew is determined, however, to show her how good it can be between them. His charm is legendary and he uses it ruthlessly. And it backfires on him. Indigo is a different type of woman and, thus, he has to change tactics.

In the meantime, the pack has to guard against a new threat from the Psy. They’re putting piece after piece of intel together to try to figure out what the enemy is up to. It’s interesting the direction Ms. Singh is taking the Psy. There’s signs of cracking in the nonemotional race and some definite dissension among the higher ranks. The Council is close to taking out their own members while the mysterious “Ghost” is ready to claim them all. War is on the horizon.

For those waiting for Hawke’s book, we get some nice scenes with Sienna. This relationship is very intriguing and it’s going to be interesting to see what Ms. Singh finally gives us when Hawke decides to take what he wants.

I also like how Ms. Singh works in previous characters who we’ve come to love. Dorian, Dev, Max and Sophia, and others all pitch in to help SnowDancer in their defense against this current Psy threat.

But it’s Drew and Indigo’s intensity in each other and their playfulness that kept me up till all hours of the night and morning reading. The scene where they run and cavort as wolves is one of the best in the book, and I wanted more of that. Little by little Indigo’s doubts and fears subside and she begins to take joy in Drew. They’re both dominant, both fight for control, both snip, snap, and bite, and both fight for their pack with everything they’ve got.

I read this book too fast. I should have made it last. But what a damn good time I had.

Grade: A+

Summary:

Passion and reason collide with explosive force in the newest installment of Nalini Singh’s “mesmerizing”* Psy/Changeling series. As a conflict with Pure Psy looms on the horizon, two powerful wolves fight a far more intimate war of their own…

In his position as tracker for the SnowDancer pack, it’s up to Drew Kincaid to rein in rogue changelings who have lost control of their animal halves—even if it means killing those who have gone too far. But nothing in his life has prepared him for the battle he must now wage to win the heart of a woman who makes his body ignite…and who threatens to enslave his wolf.

Lieutenant Indigo Riviere doesn’t easily allow skin privileges, especially of the sensual kind—and the last person she expects to find herself craving is the most wickedly playful male in the den. Everything she knows tells her to pull back before the flames burn them both to ash…but she hasn’t counted on Drew’s will.

Now, two of SnowDancer’s most stubborn wolves find themselves playing a hot, sexy game even as lethal danger stalks the very place they call home…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Bonds of Justice (Psy/Changeling Series, Book Eight) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 6 Jul 10

Oh. My. God. How can this series keep getting better and better?? It seems impossible, but Nalini Singh has the golden touch. An imagination that won’t quit. A writing style that punches you in the gut, wrings your heart out till there’s nothing left, and leaves you nearly as satisfied as you can get. I did say nearly there.

When I realized that her books were changing focus from the Changelings being heroes/heroines, I thought the series would slip some. *snort* Teaches me to try to think ahead. Blaze of Memory and Bonds of Justice are just as good, just as emotional, just as sexy, just as everything as the first books in the series that featured our cats. Of course, still having those sexy, sensual animals appearing throughout these books helps.

What I like most about this new focus is the emotion. It’s much more visceral than the earlier books. I remember sobbing as I read the last quarter of BoM. I didn’t go quite that far this time with BoJ, but there were moments that my stomach dropped, I gasped, and I thought, “Oh, no.” Ms. Singh is becoming a master at pulling those emotions out of readers.

And, further, what I like about that emotional issue is it’s been our heroes who have had to deal with loss and helplessness. To me it’s pure genius the way she’s taken her Psy world and its intricacies a step further to utilize them in such a way to endanger the heroines’ lives, rendering the heroes helpless and willing to do anything to save their loves. Talk about a kick in the gut.

Sophia is a Justice-Psy, one who can enter criminals’ minds to retrieve their crimes and information to help solve them. Her current case is a serial killer who is playing games in giving up the whereabouts of his victims’ final resting places, thus not giving families closure. Over the years Sophia has done her job, all of those memories and nightmares she’s lived through and with will eventually be her destruction, her Psy mind splintering to nothing.

Max is the relentless detective who finally got his man and now is standing aside while this J-Psy tries to bring his case to an end. He’s not the normal human when it comes to the Psy and their mind delving. Max has a natural shield that keeps them out of his head. So when he and Sophia are thrown together to discover who’s trying to kill a Council member, Sophia finds the quietness in Max a blessing. She also finds the man himself very hard to resist.

What I also like in Ms. Singh’s handling of these heroines is the innocence she’s given them when it comes to not only humans, but more when it comes to men and the relationship with them. They’re strong, intelligent women, but that hint of innocence pops up at the most interesting times that result in a smile or a chuckle from me. It’s fascinating to watch them grow in their sensuality. Brilliant.

There’s the usual fascinating Psy Net and all that goes with it. The usual subterfuge among the Council. But this time we have the unusual continuation of Nikita Duncan and her so-called feelings for her daughter, Sascha. And, of course, we get our necessary dosage of the Dark River leopards, which I hope never, ever ends. Though we’re now getting different featured leads, it’s those cats that help make each book what it is.

Just can’t do without those cats.

Grade: A+

Summary:

Max Shannon is a good cop, one of the best in New York Enforcement. Born with a natural shield that protects him against Psy mental invasions, he knows he has little chance of advancement within the Psy-dominated power structure. The last case he expects to be assigned is that of a murderer targeting a Psy Councilor’s closest advisors. And the last woman he expects to compel him in the most sensual of ways is a Psy on the verge of a catastrophic mental fracture…

Sophia Russo is a Justice-Psy, cursed with the ability to retrieve memories from men and women so twisted even veteran cops keep their distance. Appointed as Max’s liaison with the Psy, she finds herself fascinated by this human, her frozen heart threatening to thaw with forbidden emotion. But, her mind filled with other people’s nightmares, other people’s evil, she’s standing on the border between sanity and a silken darkness that urges her to take justice into her own hands, to become judge, jury…and executioner…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Sandy M’s review of Blaze of Memory (Psy/Changeling Series, Book 7) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 3 Nov 09

Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling series has become one of my all-time favorites. With this latest installment, I’ve learned it doesn’t matter who she makes her hero and heroine, I’m going to love it. I thought I would be disappointed that a changeling wasn’t in the spotlight this time around. I couldn’t have been more wrong. In fact, Blaze of Memory has now become my favorite of the series — all because she made me cry.

And I mean cry. Sobbing. I didn’t just tear or mist up. I flat out cried as I read those wonderful, heart-wrenching scenes at the end of the book. But I guess I should talk about the beginning and middle of the story first.

Dev is the director of the Shine Foundation that takes care of those Psy who chose not to undergo silence when first introduced. He keeps his people safe and out of today’s Psy’s hands the best he can. He’s become hardened, about to lose himself to the job and his gift until he meets Katya, who he’s suspicious of in the beginning. But the more he learns about her and her current plight, the more his feelings come to the surface.

She’s a Psy and she’s been tampered with by one of her own. Her mind has been so interwoven into itself she doesn’t remember anything about her or her life when she regains consciousness after her ordeal. Dev refuses to let her out of his sight, wanting to keep her near for Shine and ultimately for himself. Together they begin to unravel the mystery of Katya and how to keep her alive when they do find the answer.

Throughout all of this we get vintage Singh when it comes to the love scenes, the danger, the mystery, and, of course, the changelings and the Psy. Dev and Katya are terrific together. They grow from suspicious of each other to respect to love for one another. The sex is tender and hot. The mystery is unique and dangerous. And I enjoyed seeing all of my old friends from previous books, finding out how they’re doing.

But it’s the end of the book, near the end of Katya’s life, that makes this book so special. Dev has finally come to face the fact he needs Katya in his life, he loves her, against all odds. And now he’s going to lose her, there’s nothing he can do about it either. He’s helpless. And the way Singh writes those scenes doesn’t just pull at your heart, it tugs and tugs until there’s no more to tug on. I’ve cried here and there over a few books in the 35 plus years I’ve been reading romance, but I’ve never, never cried like did with these scenes.

Ms. Singh has it all as an author. She’s right up there with the best of them, and I anticipate every book with her name on it. If you haven’t started this series yet, you are definitely missing some terrific reads. I highly recommend this book and this series to anyone and everyone.

Grade: A+

Read Gwen’s and LynneC’s review.

Summary:

Dev Santos discovers her unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All she knows is that she’s dangerous. Charged with protecting his people’s most vulnerable secrets, Dev is duty-bound to eliminate all threats. It’s a task he’s never hesitated to complete…until he finds himself drawn to a woman who might yet prove the enemy’s most insidious weapon.

Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor, and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder, Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her sanity itself. Her only hope is Dev. But how can she expect to gain the trust of a man who could very well be her next target? For in this game, one must die…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Lynne Connolly’s review of Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh
Futuristic paranormal romance released by Berkley 3 Nov 09

The cover? Weird. Dev is Asian, with a fair bit of Indian in him, and he’s a director, not a cop, but the cover seems to show a George Michael type with a weapon in a blazing street. I know the scene it’s supposed to represent, it just seems more suspense than paranormal to me.

Dev Santos is the director of the Shine Foundation, which deals with the descendants of the Psy called the Forgotten. A woman is brought to him, one who has been tortured and has a terrible implant in her psychic memory, one they can’t access and they can’t remove. She refuses to respond to her name of Ekaterina, so Dev gives her the name Katya.

He takes her in to his home and looks after her. Katya has been badly treated, starved and tortured, and so mentally battered I don’t think she would have bounced back as quickly as she did.

The story is interwoven with two other narratives. One is hundred year old letters from a woman living at the cusp of the introduction of Silence. I would have loved these written as a story in themselves, but interspersed into this story, I found it took away some of the intensity of the main narrative.

The other is accounts from somewhere called the Sunshine station. At first, I connected this with the Shine Foundation, but it’s soon clear that they are separate, although I found it a bit confusing at first. I also didn’t understand Dev’s gift and how it factored into the story until quite late on.

The romance developed a bit unevenly, with some pauses to get on with the complex external plot, and at first I thought there were probably a couple of scenes too many, with a few repetitions of how and why.

Singh’s style is great, adult, with no gimmicky aspects, which is one of the reasons I enjoy her books so much. Her characters are adult too, not overgrown teens and they reason their way through the story. Perhaps a little too much at times, but I’m not complaining.

The end of the story contains a device that will be familiar to fans of the Psy/changeling series. Everything seems lost. I know, from writing “Sunfire,” how much fun these scenes are to write, but when I got to that part (desperately trying to avoid spoilers here!) I thought “I’ve read this before.” But I was happy to read it again, and see how these people coped with the dilemma.

I loved Dev, but I felt the romance was a tiny bit lacking. I’m not even sure why, because it’s all there – the sex, the growing intimacy, tenderness and care, but I did feel disassociated from the characters occasionally, not as involved as I wanted to be.

Still, I love this series and I’m eagerly awaiting the next one.

GRADE: B

Read other reviews of this series by clicking on its tag here.

Summary:

Nalini Singh returns to the Psy/Changeling world and its “breathtaking blend of passion, adventure, and the paranormal”* as a woman without a past becomes the pawn of a man who controls her future…

Dev Santos discovers her unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All she knows is that she’s dangerous. Charged with protecting his people’s most vulnerable secrets, Dev is duty-bound to eliminate all threats. It’s a task he’s never hesitated to complete…until he finds himself drawn to a woman who might yet prove the enemy’s most insidious weapon.

Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor, and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder, Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her sanity itself. Her only hope is Dev. But how can she expect to gain the trust of a man who could very well be her next target? For in this game, one must die…

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

		The Cannibal Princess
A Gift For Kit

Gwen’s review of Blaze of Memory (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 7) by Nalini Singh
Futuristic paranormal romance released by Berkley 3 Nov 09

At this point, I’ll sound like a broken record I’ve said this so much.  Nevertheless, I’ll say it again.  Singh is one of the best storytellers out there today, and the best paranormal romance author.  Her stories are set in an interesting, complete world, have luscious heroes and heroines, good plot lines, full and logical story arcs, excellent villains, and really dreamy romances. 

Blaze is no exception to these rules.  We get a full, rich romance with lots of great details and a really fun story.

Singh tells us a story about the head of the Shine Foundation, Dev, and a psy named Katya.  They meet under unusual circumstances.  Katya initially suffers from complete amnesia. (I know, I know, it’s a familiar tune, but it works here.  Honest.)

Over the course of the book, Dev and Katya, with other psy and changelings, solve the mystery of Katya and her condition.  They fall in love, have some awesome sex, and thwart a seriously nasty plot set in action by the villains.

I won’t give away any other details except to say that if you’re following this series, you definitely want to read this book.  If you’re new to the series, you might be a little at sea with Blaze - by this book, there’s so much backstory that you might miss quite a lot jumping in here.

Blaze is a romping good time with a new group of characters in this rich, interesting series.

Grade: A

Read other reviews of this series by clicking on its tag here.

Summary:

Nalini Singh returns to the Psy/Changeling world and its “breathtaking blend of passion, adventure, and the paranormal”* as a woman without a past becomes the pawn of a man who controls her future…

Dev Santos discovers her unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All she knows is that she’s dangerous. Charged with protecting his people’s most vulnerable secrets, Dev is duty-bound to eliminate all threats. It’s a task he’s never hesitated to complete…until he finds himself drawn to a woman who might yet prove the enemy’s most insidious weapon.

Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor, and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder, Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her sanity itself. Her only hope is Dev. But how can she expect to gain the trust of a man who could very well be her next target? For in this game, one must die…

Read an excerpt here.

Other books in the series:

		The Cannibal Princess
A Gift For Kit

Gwen’s review of Branded by Fire (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 6) by Nalini Singh
Sci-fi/UF/Paranormal romance released by Berkley 7 Jul 09

Nalini Singh just busts up all my neat little genre categories.  Her books are undoubtedly science fiction, unquestionably urban fantasy, solidly paranormal, and very firmly romances.  Hot, hawt romances.  She also mixes in healthy servings of romantic suspense, mystery, and sometimes a little bit of horror.  I love her books and just roll with the genre morphing, knowing that no matter what they are, I’ll enjoy myself. 

Branded by Fire is no exception to this rule – we get a little bit of everything, and them some, and it all mixes well to make a tasty cake of a book.

Our hero and heroine are introduced earlier in the series.  Mercy (heroine) is a Leopard shifter and sentinel (read, warrior/pack protector) and Riley (hero) is a Wolf shifter and lieutenant (also warrior/protector of his pack).  Mixing them is a bit like mixing fertilizer and diesel fuel – strong enough on their own to do their job and explosive together.  Of course Singh has to make them fall in love/lust and complicate everyone’s lives.  I mean, we ARE talking romance here, right?

I won’t spend too much time reviewing the plot in this review – if you’ve read any of Singh’s Psy-Changeling novels, you know that the world is complex and the bad guys are remorseless and legion.  There’s a little bit of bad in every faction involved, also some good, and some “positionally evil” as well (evil depending on where you stand on issues).  This makes for interesting plot twists and very exciting reading.  Singh does a terrific job pacing the revelations and plot movement, so you’re never left with a dull moment.

In Branded, the romance between the hero and heroine is steaming hot and sweet.   Mercy and Riley are undeniably attracted to each other, but because they’re both alpha and different animals, they’re left with a “hopeless love” kind of thing.  Neither one of them knows what to do with their emotions at the beginning, but they figure it out by the end.  Mercy is a bit slower to accept the relationship, but Riley’s steadfastness  – even when he’s a bonehead trying to control Mercy – makes up for her doubt.

This book is a fast-paced good read.  You get to hear about the couples from the earlier books – the characters playing logical roles in Branded without being simple reunions or sequel bait. The romance is sweet and sad a few times because of the alphaness of both main characters and because of the different species.  Nevertheless, there’s an HEA that is very interesting.  It makes me wonder if there will be more inter-pack couples in future books.  I wonder what a kid who can shift into either a wolf or a leopard would be like…  8).

In this book we’re introduced to a new Changeling faction – the Hawks.  We’re also reminded of The Forgotten – the Psy who didn’t follow Silence from the first, who have been hunted by the Psy who did follow Silence, and who have since melted into society by intermarrying with other races.  This will prove key in the next book in the series, Blaze of Memory (excerpt here), coming November this year.

As always, I highly recommend Singh’s series and this book to anyone looking for some genre olio and a hot summer read.  While it could standalone, I believe you’ll get much more from it if you have read at least one or two of the earlier books.

Grade: A

Read more reviews of, and information on, this series by following its tag here.

Summary:
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Though DarkRiver sentinel Mercy is feeling the pressure to mate, she savagely resists when Riley Kincaid, a lieutenant from the SnowDancer pack, tries to possess her. The problem is not simply that he pushes her buttons; the problem is that he’s a wolf, she’s a cat, and they’re both used to being on top.
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But when a brilliant changeling researcher is kidnapped from DarkRiver territory, Mercy and Riley must work together to track the young man-before his shadowy captors decide he’s no longer useful. Along the way, the two dominants may find that submitting to one another uncovers not just a deadly conspiracy, but a passion so raw that it’ll leave them both branded by fire…
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Read an excerpt here (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

		The Cannibal Princess
A Gift For Kit

Sandy M’s review of Branded by Fire (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 6) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 7 Jul 09

Damn, I love this series. I fell in love with the DarkRiver cats and SnowDancer wolves from the beginning, devouring each book as they’ve come along, and with this sixth book in the series, not a thing has changed; I’ve only become more enamored and enthralled the more I read. In fact, BbF has now become my favorite of them all.

This is the first book in the series that showcases a changeling/changeling romance, and I have to say Ms. Nalini definitely spices it up beween Riley, the SnowDancer wolf lieutenant, and Mercy, the DarkRiver leopard sentinel. We’ve gotten to know these two throughout the previous books, so by this time not only are we ready for them to be together, but they are too. And from the first chapter when they finally share total skin-to-skin privileges and then some, the pages burn up with passion, lust, anger, tenderness, sensitivity, claws, teeth and all when these two interact in and out of the bedroom.

Oh, yeah, there’s an underlying story in this book. Lemme think. Right. The Psy. They’re the ones being targeted this time by a group of humans who are determined not to be left out of the power struggle on the planet. Mind control and kidnapping, among other things, is their MO, which pulls the two changeling factions closer together in their alliance, as well as bringing Riley and Mercy, hissing, spitting, clawing, and loving, closer together.

Riley. Sigh. He’s now up there with Dorian as a favorite. He’s always in control, responsible, and deadly when it comes to protecting those he loves. We see a new side to him when it comes to Mercy and what he’s beginning to feel for her. Everything he’s always wanted in a mate is thrown out the window when he can’t get that cat out of his system. The scenes between them with growling and snipping and snapping and biting and digging in of the claws are some hot, hot, hot scenes. Branded by Fire is almost an understatement for this book.

Mercy is the one to hold out the longest when it comes to a relationship with Riley. She knows he is one of those dominant males that will demand her submission and there’s no way on earth she will ever submit. She also doesn’t need his protection; she can take care of herself, sentinel that she is. But when they each cause the other pain, the scenes when they go to each other to apologize are tender and moving, showing us the exact opposite of those intense, fiery scenes.

There’s also the issue of which of them will undergo the break with their pack once their mating is complete, and Mercy is afraid it will be her since Riley is the more dominant, and that’s something she knows she just won’t survive. That’s another draw of these books for me, the family, the pack, how they’d die for one another if it came down to that.

In between all of this, of course, Riley and Mercy and their packs are trying to figure out what the hell is going on with Psy dying, changelings being kidnapped, and all kinds of other things. But for me, this book is about the romance. The mystery this time around is totally secondary. I hope Ms. Singh has more changeling/changeling romances in mind for future books. All that biting and clawing is simply addictive.

Grade: A+

Summary:

Though DarkRiver sentinel Mercy is feeling the pressure to mate, she savagely resists when Riley Kincaid, a lieutenant from the SnowDancer pack, tries to possess her. The problem is not simply that he pushes her buttons; the problem is that he’s a wolf, she’s a cat, and they’re both used to being on top.

But when a brilliant changeling researcher is kidnapped from DarkRiver territory, Mercy and Riley must work together to track the young man—before his shadowy captors decide he’s no longer useful. Along the way, the two dominants may find that submitting to one another uncovers not just a deadly conspiracy, but a passion so raw that it’ll leave them both branded by fire…

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series:

Shannon C.’s review of Caressed By Ice (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 3) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal romance released by Berkley 4 Sep 07

I know my reaction to Angels’ Blood, Ms. Singh’s latest novel, was fairly meh, but I still adore her Psy/Changeling series. Recently, my friend Bree got onto a Nalini Singh kick, and so I picked up the third of Ms. Singh’s Psy/Changeling books to read along with her. Read on to see what I thought of it.

For those of you who, like me, haven’t caught up with these books, this is the story of Jud, a psy who has dropped out of the Psy-Net with the rest of his family and now lives in a Changeling wolf pack. He is drawn to Brenna, a wolf changeling who was viciously attacked in the first book. Psys are supposed to be cold and emotionless, and none more so than Jud, whose telekinetic powers could be deadly if not tightly controlled. Brenna threatens to break Jud’s control at every turn, and to add to their confusion, someone is threatening Brenna, and there’s more Psy intrigue going on.

I confess this was the one book in the series I wasn’t looking forward to reading. I really like the strength of Ms. Singh’s heroines, and I was afraid Brenna would be too weak and clingy for me. Thankfully, she wasn’t. She’s been through a lot, but even she admits that she hates feeling like she’s wrapped in cotton wool. I really liked watching her grow into her own strength. And this is definitely one of those perfect romances, where the hero and heroine both have to grow together before they could be happy. Jud has to accept his own strength and his feelings for Brenna at the same time that Brenna has to work through what’s been done to her. Watching them grow together was a delight. And, of course, the two of them have smoking chemistry.

There’s more intrigue with the Psy Council, who quietly run things in the background. I find scenes with them fascinating, but am glad they don’t overpower the story. There are hints of future plotting in this book, and I’m really glad the fourth book in this series features a human heroine, since we haven’t seen much of that so far.

This one wasn’t my favorite in the series, but I did enjoy it while I was reading it, and I know that this series can be counted on for a perfect comfort read which will provide a captivating and thoroughly enjoyable story.

Grade: B+

See Gwen’s and Sandy M’s reviews. And read more reviews on this series by following its tag.

Summary:
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Explore new heights of sensuality in this return to the world of the Psy—where two people who know evil intimately must unlock the good within their icy hearts…
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As an Arrow, an elite soldier in the Psy Council ranks, Judd Lauren was forced to do terrible things in the name of his people. Now a defector, his dark abilities have made him the most deadly of assassins—cold, pitiless, unfeeling. Until he meets Brenna…
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Brenna Shane Kincaid was an innocent before she was abducted—and had her mind violated—by a serial killer. Her sense of evil runs so deep, she fears she could become a killer herself. Then the first dead body is found, victim of a familiar madness. Judd is her only hope, yet her sensual changeling side rebels against the inhuman chill of his personality, even as desire explodes between them. Shocking and raw, their passion is a danger that threatens not only their hearts, but their very lives…
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Read two excerpts here (scroll down).

Other books in the series: