Book: Allegiance Of Honor by Nalini Singh

Published June 2016 by Berkley|478 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Psy-Changeling #15

Genre: Adult Romance/Adult Paranormal Romance

The “unparalleled romantic adventure”* of Nalini Singh’s New York Times bestselling series continues as a new dawn begins for the Psy-Changeling world… 

The Psy-Changeling world has undergone a staggering transformation and now stands at a crossroads. The Trinity Accord promises a new era of cooperation between disparate races and groups. It is a beacon of hope held together by many hands: Old enemies. New allies. Wary loners.

But a century of distrust and suspicion can’t be so easily forgotten and threatens to shatter Trinity from within at any moment. As rival members vie for dominance, chaos and evil gather in the shadows and a kidnapped woman’s cry for help washes up in San Francisco, while the Consortium turns its murderous gaze toward a child who is the embodiment of change, of love, of piercing hope: A child who is both Psy…and changeling.

To find the lost, protect the vulnerable—and save Trinity—no one can stand alone. This is a time of loyalty across divisions, of bonds woven into the heart and the soul, of heroes known and unknown standing back to back and holding the line. But is an allegiance of honor even possible with traitors lurking in their midst?

I don’t even know where to start for this review!  I mean, I liked Allegiance Of Honor, but not as much as I thought I would or as much as I wanted to.  I really did want to like it more, but I think, after Heart Of Obsidian, I started to lose interest a little bit.

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed this series, and I really love the world.  I liked catching up with all of my favorite characters, and seeing how everything was resolved.  I liked seeing everyone come together for the Trinity Accord, and how important it was for Trinity to stay standing.  Everyone wanted a better world for all Psy, Changelings and humans, though some groups seemed more interested in saving the Psy.

It’s just…the world as we know it got so big, and I felt like we only saw glimpses of the characters we’ve come to know and love.  There’s a lot to wrap up, and with a world like this one, everything moved pretty fast.  Some things weren’t resolved (like the Architect and the Consortium), and for a group that seems like a pretty big threat to Trinity, I expected more resolution to it.

But there’s also a sequel series, so some of the things that aren’t resolved in this book/series will probably be the focus of that series.  That’s what I’m hoping, anyway, because otherwise, I’m not really sure what the point of introducing them was.

If I thought the character lists were getting longer…well, let’s just the character list featured at the beginning of this book was the longest we’ve seen so far.  Understandable considering we’ve met a lot of characters along the way.  But one of the things I gave up on books ago was trying to keep a lot of characters straight, especially the side characters.  But also some of the main couples as well.  I had a hard time remembering a lot of the newer characters, and as much as I liked catching up with some of the characters, it also felt a little bit unfocused to me.  Maybe it’s because of all of the characters we followed in this one.

I think part of why I only liked this one is that it felt like a really long epilogue.  Everyone’s happy, things are mostly okay, but things are also setting things up for the next series.  I’ve enjoyed the series, and I liked that it was for the fans…but…it also seems like it’s more for the hardcore fans of the series.  I like Singh and this massively amazing world she built, but it was a little too happy and sunshine and rainbows for me.  Or maybe I just wasn’t in that mood when I was reading the book.

I think I just missed the overall story that we got in the previous books, and I kind of missed that in this book.  It just wasn’t there enough in this one but in a series this long, you’re not going to love every single book.  I just wanted something with a little more action to it, I think.

3 stars.  It’s not one of my favorite books in this series, but I liked it enough.  It’ll be interesting to see how some of the things in this book come up in the following books.

Book: Shards Of Hope by Nalini Singh

Published June 2015  by Berkley Hardcover|483 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Psy-Changeling #14

Genre: Adult Romance/Adult Paranormal Romance

The “smoldering heat, epic romance, and awesome action” of Nalini Singh’s New York Times bestselling series continues as two Arrows find themselves caught in a chilling conspiracy that spans all three races…

Awakening wounded in a darkened cell, their psychic abilities blocked, Aden and Zaira know they must escape. But when the lethal soldiers break free from their mysterious prison, they find themselves in a harsh, inhospitable landscape far from civilization. Their only hope for survival is to make it to the hidden home of a predatory changeling pack that doesn’t welcome outsiders.

And they must survive. A shadowy enemy has put a target on the back of the Arrow squad, an enemy that cannot be permitted to succeed in its deadly campaign. Aden will cross any line to keep his people safe for this new future, where even an assassin might have hope of a life beyond blood and death and pain. Zaira has no such hope. She knows she’s too damaged to return from the abyss. Her driving goal is to protect Aden, protect the only person who has ever come back for her no matter what.

This time, even Aden’s passionate determination may not be enough—because the emotionless chill of Silence existed for a reason. For the violent, and the insane, and the irreparably broken…like Zaira.

I really liked Shards Of Hope! We find out more about Aden and we actually see some different changeling packs, which was nice.

Don’t get me wrong, I love SnowDancer and DarkRiver, don’t get me wrong, but other changeling packs are mentioned throughout the series, and it was nice to see the Psy-Changeling word beyond San Fransisco. Particularly the Changeling world, because I feel like like we do get glimpses of the Psy world outside of San Fransisco, but not the changeling world.

Aden was ap retty mysterious figure, but I’m not surprised, considering he’s an Arrow. Obviously, Silence is really important for him, especially as the leader of the Arrows. It’s interesting that he was so underestimated in terms of his power, and with the updates from the PsyNet and the livestream comments, it’s obvious people seem to either love him or hate him. Well, I don’t know that love and hate is the best way to put, but people have some really different thoughts about Aden as the leader of the Arrows. There’s more to him than people thought, and I’m glad they finally saw that Aden is the one who should be leading the Arrows. Even though he’s Psy, he’s obviously their Alpha, and I really liked seeing how much he wanted to change things, particularly for the kids.

I was really hesitant about the romance between him and Zaira, especially since I wasn’t a fan of the romance in the previous book. Zaira wasn’t cold like I expected her to be, and it was obvious she’d follow Aden to the ends of the earth. I liked them together slightly better than the one in the previous book, but I still wasn’t completely into it. This part of the series is clearly wrapping up, and I’ve found that as the series went on, I wasn’t also interested in the romance. Maybe the Psy-Psy romance focused books aren’t my thing as far as the romance goes, but I do really like the series, so even though I might not love the romance, I still really like the world.

Shards Of Hope does build on Shield Of Winter, and I know I already mentioned how much I liked seeing more of the Arrows and how much he wanted to incorporate the really cool things the changelings are doing with their young. I thought it really showed how willing he was to make things better for the Arrow kids and how there are different (and maybe better) ways of doing things.

With one book left in this series, I don’t know that we’ll see more of the changeling world we were introduced to in this book. I’m hoping we get more of it, but there’s a lot to wrap up- and with a lot of characters too. The character list felt like it went on for pages, and I gave up books ago on trying to keep all of the characters straight because there are so many. This world that Singh built is massive but also awe-inspiring. I’m curious to see where things will go, and how everything (and everyone) will come together. There’s definitely a lot more story to tell, and Singh really could go on for books to come where this series is concerned.

I don’t know, I feel like I’m talking more about the series as a whole than the actual book. I don’t really have anything else to say about the book, but I’ll be glad to read the next book.

3 stars. I liked it but I didn’t love it. Part of it is not being completely invested in the romance (I tend to like the Psy-Changeling romances more than any other pairing), but at this point, I’m pretty curious to see how it will all come together.

Book: Tangle Of Need by Nalini Singh

Published May 2012 by Berkley|422 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: Psy-Changeling #11

Genre: Adult Romance/Paranormal Romance

Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past—one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another. 

For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle. 

Their coming together is an inferno…and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realize that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

This one was okay for me.  I mean, I liked seeing everything that happened with the Psy and everything going on with Alice but I wasn’t particularly interested in the romance.  I definitely found myself more interested in the other couples we see in the book, particularly Sienna and Hawke.

I found myself bored with both Adria and Riaz, and I think they’re one of my least favorite couples, if not my least favorite.  I think the fact that he had a mate didn’t help, though it seemed like he really did choose Adria, and that part I did like.  But otherwise, I just had a hard time rooting for them as a couple and I didn’t particularly care about their story.

I just think that all of the other couples and everything going on with the Psy and Arrows took away from their story, and it felt like everything going on with Adria and Riaz took a backseat to everything else going on.  It felt like everything else going on was more important than their relationship.  Who knows, maybe I would have liked them as a couple more if we spent more time with them.

As far as Kaleb goes…I’m wondering what he’s up to.  Clearly, finding someone, and I want to know who it is.  I’m sure all will be revealed soon, and I’m hoping it’s not a disappointment or letdown when we get there.  As for the Ghost, I’m hoping it’s the same as well.  I really hope it’s soon.  It will probably will be, since we only have a few books to go.

I’m not sure what else to say about Tangle Of Need, but I think I will finish with the thought that it’s very much about the aftermath of Kiss Of Snow.  It wrapped up a lot of things we saw in that book, and I’m curious to see where things will go.

2 stars.  As much as it pains me to give this book 2 stars, it really was okay for me.  Still, I think it wraps up a lot of things from the previous book, and it hints at some things I’m sure will come up in the rest of the series.

Book: Hostage To Pleasure by Nalini Singh

Published September 2008 by Berkley Books|330 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the paperback from the library

Series: Psy-Changeling #5

Genre: Adult Romance/Paranormal Romance

Separated from her son and forced to create a neural implant that will mean the effective enslavement of her psychically gifted race, Ashaya Aleine is the perfect Psy–cool, calm, emotionless…at least on the surface. Inside, she’s fighting a desperate battle to save her son and escape the vicious cold of the PsyNet. Yet when escape comes, it leads not to safety, but to the lethal danger of a sniper’s embrace.

DarkRiver sniper Dorian Christensen lost his sister to a Psy killer. Though he lacks the changeling ability to shift into animal form, his leopard lives within. And that leopard’s rage at the brutal loss is a clawing darkness that hungers for vengeance. Falling for a Psy has never been on Dorian’s agenda. But charged with protecting Ashaya and her son, he discovers that passion has a way of changing the rules…

I really liked this one!  I definitely liked it a lot more than Mine To Posses, the previous book in the series.  Ashaya has come up in the previous novels, and I was really intrigued by what she was doing.  I’m really glad that we got her story, though I did figure we’d get it eventually.  It’s the same with Dorian, of course.

I thought Ashaya was interesting.  We do get more of what she was doing, especially with the implant protocol she was working on.  I also thought her shields were interesting as well, and the whole thing with her sister really got my attention as well.  Even though Ashaya was the focus of this book, I’m sure her work and everything with her twin will come up in some of the other books.  I really wanted more of it.

I also like that we got bits and pieces from her encrypted files.  That’s definitely different, but it gave a lot more insight into her thoughts and what was going on with her.  She’s definitely logical (she is Psy, after all), but she and Dorian are so good together, and they are my favorite couple.  At least, so far they are.  That could change as I continue the series, but so far, they are it.

The more I read this series, the more I love it.  The characters are all so different, but there are some great friendships, alliances and romance.  And even though each story stands alone pretty well, I also love that the world keeps building on itself.  I’m curious to see how it all comes together and how it all ends.  I’m at the point where I’ve requested the entire series from the library, and I’m waiting on the last couple of books before picking it up again.

I haven’t talked about Dorian at all!  I loved seeing him with Keenan, and I really feel for him.  I definitely get why he doesn’t want to be with Ashaya, even though she is his mate.  One thing I’m kind of curious about is how the changelings know who their mate is.  Now that I think about it, I can’t recall it ever being mentioned in detail, especially since they all seem to mate with Psy.  Maybe I’m not just remembering anything, and I’m totally cool with them just somehow knowing, but it would be interesting to get more details.  Or details that I can remember.  Maybe I’ll have to pay more attention in the next one to see if it comes up.

What is driving me crazy is not knowing who the Ghost is!  Singh is doing such a great job at not giving anything away.  Not that I’m actively trying to figure it out, and I can’t recall any clues.  I’m wondering if it’s someone we know, or if we’ve never met them before.  I’m hoping we find out, but I also don’t want to be let down with the reveal either.

And what is going on with Kaleb?  I’ve decided, I want a book focusing on him.  I’m intrigued by what he’s up to, and I can’t quite decide if he’s good or bad.  Time will tell, but I’m sure this is not the last we’ve seen of him.

4 stars.  I really liked this one!  I liked Ashaya and Dorian together, and both characters are pretty cool.