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Psy-Changeling #2.5, 5.5, 11.5, 12.25
Wild Embrace
Echo of Silence
In a deep-sea station, Tazia Nerif has found her life’s work as an engineer, keeping things running smoothly. But she wants nothing more than to break down the barrier of silence between her and her telekinetic Psy station commander . . .
Dorian
A changeling who can never shift lives a life of quiet frustration—until he learns how to let his leopard come out and play . . .
Partners in Persuasion
Still raw from being burned by a dominant female, wolf changeling Felix will never again risk being a plaything. But for dominant leopard Dezi, he’s the most fascinating man she’s ever met. She just has to convince this gun-shy wolf that he can trust the dangerous cat who wants to take a slow, sexy bite out of him . . .
Flirtation of Fate
Seven years ago, Kenji broke Garnet’s heart. Now the wolf packmates have to investigate the shocking murder of one of their own. And the more Kenji sees of the woman Garnet has become, the deeper he begins to fall once more. But even his primal instincts are no match for the dark secret he carries . . .
Note: Some of these short stories have been published separately as digital e-books or as parts of multi-author anthologies.
In a deep-sea station, Tazia Nerif has found her life’s work as an engineer, keeping things running smoothly. But she wants nothing more than to break down the barrier of silence between her and her telekinetic Psy station commander . . .
Dorian
A changeling who can never shift lives a life of quiet frustration—until he learns how to let his leopard come out and play . . .
Partners in Persuasion
Still raw from being burned by a dominant female, wolf changeling Felix will never again risk being a plaything. But for dominant leopard Dezi, he’s the most fascinating man she’s ever met. She just has to convince this gun-shy wolf that he can trust the dangerous cat who wants to take a slow, sexy bite out of him . . .
Flirtation of Fate
Seven years ago, Kenji broke Garnet’s heart. Now the wolf packmates have to investigate the shocking murder of one of their own. And the more Kenji sees of the woman Garnet has become, the deeper he begins to fall once more. But even his primal instincts are no match for the dark secret he carries . . .
Note: Some of these short stories have been published separately as digital e-books or as parts of multi-author anthologies.
Audible Audio
First published August 23, 2016
About the author
Nalini Singh
231 books26.1k followersI'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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 684 reviews
March 17, 2021
3 Stars
***Updated to add: Just to clarify and shut up the self-appointed GR fucking police folks who get all bent out of shape and snarky if you don't lurve something they did - Tazia of Echo of Silence fame is HUMAN.
I stated that Psy/Psy pairings bore me., without clarifying that Tazia is human - *gasp* - I should have mentioned that I consider Psy/Human pairings just as boring. There, you holier than thou folks can rest happy now.
I was originally going to rate this 2/2.75 stars, but I decided to bump it up after sleeping on it.
Quite frankly, I think it's just me on this one.
But seriously, though.
So take any comments from here with a grain of salt.
This book contains four separate novellas, so I'll say a lil somethin' somethin' about each one.
Novella #1: Echo of Silence
Holy.
Fucking.
Snoozefest, Batman.
I don't know what it was about this one...
Ok, that's total bullshit. I do know.
This is one of my ALL time favorite series; but I've said it before in my reviews for both Heart of Obsidian and Shield of Winter:
Books about Psy/Psy pairings are just too sterile for me.
In other words:
They bore me to fucking tears.
Of course, Obsidian was an exception to this for me, but that's because, well, Kaleb.
So even though the story line in this one was cool and I appreciated the progression between Tazia and Stefan...Stefan was no Kaleb...and I found myself skimming.
So...
For everyone else who doesn't have my Psy/Psy "glitch," I think you'll really like this one.
So ignore me.
Novella #2: Dorian
This was probably my favorite novella in this collection.
I LOVE Dorian and it was so amazing to watch his dream come true.
However...once Lucas made an appearance I found myself...
...distracted.
And I had a hard time staying interested in Dorian when I really wanted to go follow Lucas around.
So again...
Novella #3: Partners in Persuasion
When I was reading the blurb for this novella before it came out, I had a feeling I wouldn't love this one.
And I was right.
I'm sorry, but I just like my changeling men to be alpha.
So reading about a a submissive male - who is a LEGIT submissive - was just not my jam.
And then, Hawke made appearance.
And, well....
There went my attention.
Hawke is my ultimate and, after his appearance, all I wanted was...more Hawke appearances.
So, again...
Novella #4: Flirtation of Fate
Of all the novellas in this collection, this was the one I was most looking forward to.
I always thought Kenji was entertaining in previous books and I was excited to read his and Garnet's story.
However, once again, I was thwarted by my own damned self.
I know, Self, we just can't take you anywhere.
Kenji was classified as a bit of a player in this one, despite having feelings for Garnet since forever; however, of course, he was "damaged" and acting the player to save her from himself.
You know, for her.
So Garnet was of course stuck with the sadz.
And I was stuck with a heavy case of Deja Poo.
Now, if it was only that, I would have been fine.
But back in the day, Kenji did Garnet wrong. And yet, it's Garnet chasing Kenji in this one, when I would have preferred it to be the other way around.
After all, he jacked her around in the past, so I feel like he should put in some fucking work to get her back, you know?
I wanted some grand gestures.
And some groveling.
But then, the final problem?
Hawke showed up yet again.
And my attention?
Splitsville.
What can I say?
Overall, I think all other fans of the series will love this collection. And I'm really bummed I didn't.
But, like I said above, I really do think it's just me in this case.
So to be clear: I am NOT discouraging anyone from reading this. Quite the opposite actually.
Singh is one of my top authors. Her writing is always flawless and the world she has built here is simply amazing.
All of that remains true in this collection - I just couldn't connect - trivial as the reasons for that may be.
***Updated to add: Just to clarify and shut up the self-appointed GR fucking police folks who get all bent out of shape and snarky if you don't lurve something they did - Tazia of Echo of Silence fame is HUMAN.
I stated that Psy/Psy pairings bore me., without clarifying that Tazia is human - *gasp* - I should have mentioned that I consider Psy/Human pairings just as boring. There, you holier than thou folks can rest happy now.
I was originally going to rate this 2/2.75 stars, but I decided to bump it up after sleeping on it.
Quite frankly, I think it's just me on this one.
But seriously, though.
So take any comments from here with a grain of salt.
This book contains four separate novellas, so I'll say a lil somethin' somethin' about each one.
Novella #1: Echo of Silence
Holy.
Fucking.
Snoozefest, Batman.
I don't know what it was about this one...
Ok, that's total bullshit. I do know.
This is one of my ALL time favorite series; but I've said it before in my reviews for both Heart of Obsidian and Shield of Winter:
Books about Psy/Psy pairings are just too sterile for me.
In other words:
They bore me to fucking tears.
Of course, Obsidian was an exception to this for me, but that's because, well, Kaleb.
So even though the story line in this one was cool and I appreciated the progression between Tazia and Stefan...Stefan was no Kaleb...and I found myself skimming.
So...
For everyone else who doesn't have my Psy/Psy "glitch," I think you'll really like this one.
So ignore me.
Novella #2: Dorian
This was probably my favorite novella in this collection.
I LOVE Dorian and it was so amazing to watch his dream come true.
However...once Lucas made an appearance I found myself...
...distracted.
And I had a hard time staying interested in Dorian when I really wanted to go follow Lucas around.
So again...
Novella #3: Partners in Persuasion
When I was reading the blurb for this novella before it came out, I had a feeling I wouldn't love this one.
And I was right.
I'm sorry, but I just like my changeling men to be alpha.
So reading about a a submissive male - who is a LEGIT submissive - was just not my jam.
And then, Hawke made appearance.
And, well....
There went my attention.
Hawke is my ultimate and, after his appearance, all I wanted was...more Hawke appearances.
So, again...
Novella #4: Flirtation of Fate
Of all the novellas in this collection, this was the one I was most looking forward to.
I always thought Kenji was entertaining in previous books and I was excited to read his and Garnet's story.
However, once again, I was thwarted by my own damned self.
I know, Self, we just can't take you anywhere.
Kenji was classified as a bit of a player in this one, despite having feelings for Garnet since forever; however, of course, he was "damaged" and acting the player to save her from himself.
You know, for her.
So Garnet was of course stuck with the sadz.
And I was stuck with a heavy case of Deja Poo.
Now, if it was only that, I would have been fine.
But back in the day, Kenji did Garnet wrong. And yet, it's Garnet chasing Kenji in this one, when I would have preferred it to be the other way around.
After all, he jacked her around in the past, so I feel like he should put in some fucking work to get her back, you know?
I wanted some grand gestures.
And some groveling.
But then, the final problem?
Hawke showed up yet again.
And my attention?
Splitsville.
What can I say?
Overall, I think all other fans of the series will love this collection. And I'm really bummed I didn't.
But, like I said above, I really do think it's just me in this case.
So to be clear: I am NOT discouraging anyone from reading this. Quite the opposite actually.
Singh is one of my top authors. Her writing is always flawless and the world she has built here is simply amazing.
All of that remains true in this collection - I just couldn't connect - trivial as the reasons for that may be.
August 27, 2016
Echo of Silence: 4.5 stars
Dorian: 5 stars
Partners in Persuasion: 4 stars
Flirtation of Fate: 5 stars
I loved how these novellas filled in the blanks for a lot of the characters we've met in the Psy-Changeling world. They're at the perfect length, and except for Dezi and Felix, who I can't seem to remember, are about characters we've already met before.
*Slight spoilers on the previous books in the series, so beware!
Echo of Silence
If you've read Allegiance of Honor you might have read about a certain Psy mated to a human that Sascha talked to for having the healthiest area in the Psy-net. This is their story. Tazia is a human engineer assigned in one of the deep-sea station and Stefan is her Tk Psy station commander.
It's sometimes hard to read about a Psy paired with humans or with anyone really because they're so closed off and they hardly show any emotions. But I loved this one. Tazia is passionate as Stefan is clueless...at first. The ending of their story was so unexpected yet, very fitting for both of them.
Dorian
Nalini Singh delivered on her promise. I've always felt like Dorian's book was a bit unfinished because he still couldn't shift then. So yes, this book felt like a delightful extended epilogue of Hostage to Pleasure.
Partners in Persuasion
My least favorite story in this book. I still enjoyed the role reversal though. Dezi is unapologetically dominant and Felix is sweet. But he was no pushover! Plus, Hawke made an appearance here, which was a bonus!
Flirtation of Fate
I've been waiting for Kenji and Garnet's story for...oh, I don't know...FOR-freaking-EVER! And yes, I loved it. The suspense was unexpected. I was expecting a straightforward love story but Nalini Singh, again, surprised me with a solid romantic procedural drama. Loved the angst and I loved how different these characters are when we first met them, which shouldn't be surprising because they're both older now. And yes, still in love with each other but trying their damnest not to show it. Pfft!
My only complaint is it's too short!! I want a full-length Kenji-Garnet lovefest. Make it happen, Ms. Singh!
ARC provided by Berkeley in exchange for an honest review.
Dorian: 5 stars
Partners in Persuasion: 4 stars
Flirtation of Fate: 5 stars
I loved how these novellas filled in the blanks for a lot of the characters we've met in the Psy-Changeling world. They're at the perfect length, and except for Dezi and Felix, who I can't seem to remember, are about characters we've already met before.
*Slight spoilers on the previous books in the series, so beware!
Echo of Silence
If you've read Allegiance of Honor you might have read about a certain Psy mated to a human that Sascha talked to for having the healthiest area in the Psy-net. This is their story. Tazia is a human engineer assigned in one of the deep-sea station and Stefan is her Tk Psy station commander.
It's sometimes hard to read about a Psy paired with humans or with anyone really because they're so closed off and they hardly show any emotions. But I loved this one. Tazia is passionate as Stefan is clueless...at first. The ending of their story was so unexpected yet, very fitting for both of them.
Dorian
Nalini Singh delivered on her promise. I've always felt like Dorian's book was a bit unfinished because he still couldn't shift then. So yes, this book felt like a delightful extended epilogue of Hostage to Pleasure.
Partners in Persuasion
My least favorite story in this book. I still enjoyed the role reversal though. Dezi is unapologetically dominant and Felix is sweet. But he was no pushover! Plus, Hawke made an appearance here, which was a bonus!
Flirtation of Fate
I've been waiting for Kenji and Garnet's story for...oh, I don't know...FOR-freaking-EVER! And yes, I loved it. The suspense was unexpected. I was expecting a straightforward love story but Nalini Singh, again, surprised me with a solid romantic procedural drama. Loved the angst and I loved how different these characters are when we first met them, which shouldn't be surprising because they're both older now. And yes, still in love with each other but trying their damnest not to show it. Pfft!
My only complaint is it's too short!! I want a full-length Kenji-Garnet lovefest. Make it happen, Ms. Singh!
ARC provided by Berkeley in exchange for an honest review.
December 10, 2016
Echo of Silence
- 5 stars
I think we have all been wondering about the creation of the infamous Arrow sex research files. However, as the story unfolds, we forget all about Judd and Vasic and become involved with the intriguing man that is Stefan and his mate, Tazia.
I absolutely loved this novella, but two things stood up for me.
First, while Nalini Singh certainly writes characters with diverse backgrounds, she usually sticks with Western lifestyle. Tazia's culture is a break from that.
I liked the fact that Tazia was strong enough to break from some traditions to become the woman she wanted to be, but still recognized that her upbringing was very much a part of her. Seeing Stefan sometimes struggle but always respect it was very interesting, and somehow realistic in a world that is not our own.
Second, the impact of Silence. By now, we've read so many Psy-Changeling books and are advanced enough in the politics of the world that we've been somehow desensitized to the simple horrors of Silence. We've never read about a couple that had to hide in their every day lives.
In Slave to Sensation, Lucas makes a statement that his mate will never have to hide, and in following Psy-Changeling couples the mating bond saves them from having to hide in the Psy Net. In Bonds of Justice, while Sophie and Max have to be somehow discreet, they have the backing and protection from Councilor Nikita. In Heart of Obsidian, Kaleb is strong enough that he can do whatever the fuck he wants, and most of the book happens inside his house anyway. By Shield of Winter, Silence has fallen.
When I think of the years Stefan and Tazia must have had to hide, it kind of breaks my heart. I would have loved for the epilogue to be a peek into their lives further along, either when they find out about the fall of Silence or when they can finally come out into the world. Although, I feel like the truth would have kind of come out in Alaris, even if they were hidden from the world.
Dorian - 4 stars
A few sneak peeks into Dorian's relationship with his leopard through the years. It broke my heart a little bit to see alive a few characters that are dead by the time Slave to Sensation starts.
Partners in Persuasion - 4 stars
Refreshing and heartwarming, yet my least favorite couple and story. Still amazing because this is Nalini Singh.
Flirtation of Fate - 4 stars
This would have been 5 stars if we'd had some more happy times. It was the longest story in the anthology, and the angstier one. While I enjoyed Kenji and Jem's back and forth, we've been having that for some time now. I wanted more time of them together.
This wouldn't have been so bad if we had more SD books ahead of us where we could see them grow like we did with most couples. But with the series going into its "second season" and all the lieutenants paired up, it's unlikely we will see a lot of SD beyond Hawke and Riley. Maybe we'll see more of Kenji since he's a liaison with the water changelings, but probably not with Jem.
Also, I don't like the martyr premise.
BEFORE
I think we have all been wondering about the creation of the infamous Arrow sex research files. However, as the story unfolds, we forget all about Judd and Vasic and become involved with the intriguing man that is Stefan and his mate, Tazia.
I absolutely loved this novella, but two things stood up for me.
First, while Nalini Singh certainly writes characters with diverse backgrounds, she usually sticks with Western lifestyle. Tazia's culture is a break from that.
I liked the fact that Tazia was strong enough to break from some traditions to become the woman she wanted to be, but still recognized that her upbringing was very much a part of her. Seeing Stefan sometimes struggle but always respect it was very interesting, and somehow realistic in a world that is not our own.
Second, the impact of Silence. By now, we've read so many Psy-Changeling books and are advanced enough in the politics of the world that we've been somehow desensitized to the simple horrors of Silence. We've never read about a couple that had to hide in their every day lives.
In Slave to Sensation, Lucas makes a statement that his mate will never have to hide, and in following Psy-Changeling couples the mating bond saves them from having to hide in the Psy Net. In Bonds of Justice, while Sophie and Max have to be somehow discreet, they have the backing and protection from Councilor Nikita. In Heart of Obsidian, Kaleb is strong enough that he can do whatever the fuck he wants, and most of the book happens inside his house anyway. By Shield of Winter, Silence has fallen.
When I think of the years Stefan and Tazia must have had to hide, it kind of breaks my heart. I would have loved for the epilogue to be a peek into their lives further along, either when they find out about the fall of Silence or when they can finally come out into the world. Although, I feel like the truth would have kind of come out in Alaris, even if they were hidden from the world.
Dorian - 4 stars
A few sneak peeks into Dorian's relationship with his leopard through the years. It broke my heart a little bit to see alive a few characters that are dead by the time Slave to Sensation starts.
Partners in Persuasion - 4 stars
Refreshing and heartwarming, yet my least favorite couple and story. Still amazing because this is Nalini Singh.
Flirtation of Fate - 4 stars
This would have been 5 stars if we'd had some more happy times. It was the longest story in the anthology, and the angstier one. While I enjoyed Kenji and Jem's back and forth, we've been having that for some time now. I wanted more time of them together.
This wouldn't have been so bad if we had more SD books ahead of us where we could see them grow like we did with most couples. But with the series going into its "second season" and all the lieutenants paired up, it's unlikely we will see a lot of SD beyond Hawke and Riley. Maybe we'll see more of Kenji since he's a liaison with the water changelings, but probably not with Jem.
Also, I don't like the martyr premise.
BEFORE
March 28, 2019
1. Echo of Silence - 5 stars
Tazia Nerif (human) and Stefan (telekinetic Psy)
I love every book in which a Psy male learns to love either a human or a Changeling. Every time he learns to let go and he basically tries not to demolish things and not kill his partner, I cannot stop laughing. And usually all the Psy males are gorgeous, cool and virgins. This story was definitely another win for me. Lucky Tazia...
2.Dorian - 4 stars
Ashaya Aleine (Psy) and Dorian Christensen (Changeling, latent leopard)
Dorian is one of my favourite cats since book 1. I was feeling bad for him for the fact that he was craving shifting, but he could never do it while all his friends could. Ashaya provided the solution and I was honestly crying when he managed to run as a leopard during his first shift.
This little story also broke my heart as we can see Dorian as a boy and see the exact moment that he decided that not being able to shift does not make him a lesser Changeling.
3. Partners in Persuasion - 5 stars
Dezi (Changeling, leopard) and Felix (Changeling, wolf)
Dezi is too dominant and Felix is too submissive.
I have read a similar story, when the woman was too submissive for the man:
[Declaration of Courtship
Grace (Wolf Changeling, SnowDancer systems-maintenance engineer) and Cooper (Wolf Changeling, SnowDancer Lieutenant)].
I can see that in the case of the submissive man, things can be even more difficult in the Changeling society where everyone needs to challenge everyone. Anyway, I thought Felix was super cute, super awesome, super reliable, super nice and not that submissive where it counts. I loved the story!
4. Flirtation of Fate - 2 stars
Kenji (Changeling, wolf) and Garnet (Changeling, wolf)
I simply could not stand Kenji! Kenji was Garnet's best childhood friend, until suddenly when they both started developing feelings for each other, Kenji became cold. And abandoned Garnet. And started sleeping with every available female except with Garnet. And after 8 years that he was behaving as a man-slut, we learn that he did it to drive Garnet away because he only wanted the best for her 😏
Sorry but YUCK!
There is also a murder mystery in the story and it did not help that I guessed who was the murderer from the beginning.
Thus, this was my least favourite story in this book.
Tazia Nerif (human) and Stefan (telekinetic Psy)
I love every book in which a Psy male learns to love either a human or a Changeling. Every time he learns to let go and he basically tries not to demolish things and not kill his partner, I cannot stop laughing. And usually all the Psy males are gorgeous, cool and virgins. This story was definitely another win for me. Lucky Tazia...
2.Dorian - 4 stars
Ashaya Aleine (Psy) and Dorian Christensen (Changeling, latent leopard)
Dorian is one of my favourite cats since book 1. I was feeling bad for him for the fact that he was craving shifting, but he could never do it while all his friends could. Ashaya provided the solution and I was honestly crying when he managed to run as a leopard during his first shift.
This little story also broke my heart as we can see Dorian as a boy and see the exact moment that he decided that not being able to shift does not make him a lesser Changeling.
3. Partners in Persuasion - 5 stars
Dezi (Changeling, leopard) and Felix (Changeling, wolf)
Dezi is too dominant and Felix is too submissive.
I have read a similar story, when the woman was too submissive for the man:
[Declaration of Courtship
Grace (Wolf Changeling, SnowDancer systems-maintenance engineer) and Cooper (Wolf Changeling, SnowDancer Lieutenant)].
I can see that in the case of the submissive man, things can be even more difficult in the Changeling society where everyone needs to challenge everyone. Anyway, I thought Felix was super cute, super awesome, super reliable, super nice and not that submissive where it counts. I loved the story!
4. Flirtation of Fate - 2 stars
Kenji (Changeling, wolf) and Garnet (Changeling, wolf)
I simply could not stand Kenji! Kenji was Garnet's best childhood friend, until suddenly when they both started developing feelings for each other, Kenji became cold. And abandoned Garnet. And started sleeping with every available female except with Garnet. And after 8 years that he was behaving as a man-slut, we learn that he did it to drive Garnet away because he only wanted the best for her 😏
Sorry but YUCK!
There is also a murder mystery in the story and it did not help that I guessed who was the murderer from the beginning.
Thus, this was my least favourite story in this book.
June 28, 2020
reread "Echo of silence" in june 2020
*sighs happily* it was such a lovely and beautiful story... subtle and full of little things that made my heart sigh :) highly recommend, 5 stars :)
reread in january 2020
I needed a comfort read, something fun and sweet without drama so once again I turned to one of my favourite stories from this world, "Partners in persuasion" and it was even better than I remembered it... not to mention exactly what I needed :)
reread in may 2017:
I've just finished re-reading my favourite novella in this anthology, "Partners in persuasion" :) and it was just what I needed... a short and absolutely lovely romance that made me sigh with delight all the time :)
original review:
I have so many great things to say about this book… ;) but I need to start with a more personal confession… ;) this was the first book in a really long time… and I mean not weeks or months, but actually years… when I read a paper version of a book… ;) long story short, e-books are just easier for me to get, plus all the ARCs and free copies of books I get from publishers and authors are also in e-book format… so I forgot how much I adore reading a book that I can actually hold in my hands, and turn pages… *sighs happily* ;) you may think that a lot of my joy about this book comes from that fact, but that’s only partially true ;) yes, it definitely added to my experience that I was able to read paper edition of this anthology, but I would love it just as much in e-book format ;) so after that little explanation let me tell you more about these stories ;)
Ok, I need to start with a few words about this book and the world it’s set it in general ;) it’s the newest installment in Psy-changeling series and since I am a big fan of it, I am up to speed on all other books in it, so it’s hard to say if it can be read as a standalone… ;) although to be honest, I think it can ;) yes, all sorts of little scenes and interactions will definitely have much more meaning if you know the people and the bigger picture BUT even if you are brand new to this series, you will get enough explanations along the way to follow all the stories ;) if I would start talking and trying to explain all the nuances of the world we would be here all day… #NoJoke ;) it’s one of my favourite series of all time for many reasons, but for the purpose of this review I will say only this: Psy-changeling series is set in an alternate version of our world, a bit in the future and we have three main groups of characters… psy, who are mentally gifted, but their gifts came with a price… we have changelings, who are all sorts of shape-shifters and my personal favourite group to read about ;) and of course humans, the most regular and usual of all of them… each book in this series revolves around a different couple, but there are all sorts of bigger stories unfolding over the span of a few or more books, so I highly recommend you to read the full lenght novels in order ;) but novellas in this series, not only these few, but all others she wrote as well, are a great way of checking out if this series is something for you ;) my lovely sister J read it before me, and she recommended me a particular reading order ;) I’m gonna review all four stories in the order they appear in the book, but you can read them however you like ;) just like I did ;) so let’s begin ;) and don’t worry, as always, I won’t spoil you anything, I’ll just share some general things about each of the story and my feelings about it ;) I’m going to be deliberately vague, because since all the stories aren’t that long, I want to leave as many surprises about them as I can ;)
The first story, „Echo of silence” is actually the second one I read ;) and it was also my second favourite out of the four ;) this subtle and slow-building connection between a psy man and a human woman was really beautiful… the hero of this novella was mentioned before in this series, but we knew very little about him… to be honest, I did not expect to love this story as much as I did ;) it was full of these little gestures and words that hid much more meaning than what you might think at first… ;) and I absolutely loved it ;)
„Dorian” was the second story in the book, but the first one I read… ;) it’s hard to even call it a novella, it’s more of a short story, showing us glimpses into different moments in life of Dorian, a character who already got his own full lenght story ;) so in this case his story does contain some pretty big spoilers about that full lenght book… to be honest, I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed these few chapters… it was truly great to see all those characters that I already know and love when they were much younger… ;)
„Partners in persuasion” was actually the very last novella I read and for a very good reason ;) my sister claimed it will be my absolute favourite one out of all of them and she was totally right ;) I loved it ;) the story of a dominant female leopard and a submissive male wolf on paper sounds impossible ;) two different packs and two different personalities… I was wondering how Nalini will pull this off… ;) I should have known to just trust her… ;) because this novella, full of hilarious and sexy moments, as well as surprisingly emotional and vulnerable ones was a delight to read ;) this particular couple immediately landed very high on my favourite list from this series ;) I will definitely be coming back to them, especially if I will need a taste of a series, without having the time to read a full lenght book ;)
Last but not least, is the fourth novella, „Flirtation of fate” that I read as my third story from this book… originally I was the most curious about it, because Gem and Kenji appeared on quite a few occasions throughout this series and you could see that there’s definitely something there, brewing under the surface… ;) so when I learned we will finally get more in this anthology, I was very happy ;) in the end, it turned out that their story was… a bit different than what I expected… let me explain ;) theirs is the longest novella in the book, but actually about a half of it is a murder investigation… dun dun duuuunnnn… ;) sorry, this moment needed a dramatic music theme ;) I think I would love this story more, if the romance part was bigger ;) don’t get me wrong, I really liked it, it’s just… I wanted a bit more ;)
All in all I had sooo much fun reading this book ;) Nalini truly is one of the best world builders amongst the authors… she is able to create all sorts of interactions and connections between sometimes surprising characters and wove those people into one world that changes constantly… and to top all of that, when you re-read her books, you always discover some small gems showing how many things she is aware of that will happen many books before the actual situation plays out ;) and I absolutely love that ;) because of that very reason, her series are always fantastic reads ;) Psy-changeling is actually my favourite of hers ;) don’t get me wrong, I love all others, but this one… this one has a very special place in my heart ;) hopefully I convinced you guys to give this book and this series in general a try, because if you haven’t read it yet, you have no idea how badly you are missing out on some phenomenal writing style and characters that will stay with you for a very long time after you finish the book… ;)
XOXO
A
*sighs happily* it was such a lovely and beautiful story... subtle and full of little things that made my heart sigh :) highly recommend, 5 stars :)
reread in january 2020
I needed a comfort read, something fun and sweet without drama so once again I turned to one of my favourite stories from this world, "Partners in persuasion" and it was even better than I remembered it... not to mention exactly what I needed :)
reread in may 2017:
I've just finished re-reading my favourite novella in this anthology, "Partners in persuasion" :) and it was just what I needed... a short and absolutely lovely romance that made me sigh with delight all the time :)
original review:
I have so many great things to say about this book… ;) but I need to start with a more personal confession… ;) this was the first book in a really long time… and I mean not weeks or months, but actually years… when I read a paper version of a book… ;) long story short, e-books are just easier for me to get, plus all the ARCs and free copies of books I get from publishers and authors are also in e-book format… so I forgot how much I adore reading a book that I can actually hold in my hands, and turn pages… *sighs happily* ;) you may think that a lot of my joy about this book comes from that fact, but that’s only partially true ;) yes, it definitely added to my experience that I was able to read paper edition of this anthology, but I would love it just as much in e-book format ;) so after that little explanation let me tell you more about these stories ;)
Ok, I need to start with a few words about this book and the world it’s set it in general ;) it’s the newest installment in Psy-changeling series and since I am a big fan of it, I am up to speed on all other books in it, so it’s hard to say if it can be read as a standalone… ;) although to be honest, I think it can ;) yes, all sorts of little scenes and interactions will definitely have much more meaning if you know the people and the bigger picture BUT even if you are brand new to this series, you will get enough explanations along the way to follow all the stories ;) if I would start talking and trying to explain all the nuances of the world we would be here all day… #NoJoke ;) it’s one of my favourite series of all time for many reasons, but for the purpose of this review I will say only this: Psy-changeling series is set in an alternate version of our world, a bit in the future and we have three main groups of characters… psy, who are mentally gifted, but their gifts came with a price… we have changelings, who are all sorts of shape-shifters and my personal favourite group to read about ;) and of course humans, the most regular and usual of all of them… each book in this series revolves around a different couple, but there are all sorts of bigger stories unfolding over the span of a few or more books, so I highly recommend you to read the full lenght novels in order ;) but novellas in this series, not only these few, but all others she wrote as well, are a great way of checking out if this series is something for you ;) my lovely sister J read it before me, and she recommended me a particular reading order ;) I’m gonna review all four stories in the order they appear in the book, but you can read them however you like ;) just like I did ;) so let’s begin ;) and don’t worry, as always, I won’t spoil you anything, I’ll just share some general things about each of the story and my feelings about it ;) I’m going to be deliberately vague, because since all the stories aren’t that long, I want to leave as many surprises about them as I can ;)
The first story, „Echo of silence” is actually the second one I read ;) and it was also my second favourite out of the four ;) this subtle and slow-building connection between a psy man and a human woman was really beautiful… the hero of this novella was mentioned before in this series, but we knew very little about him… to be honest, I did not expect to love this story as much as I did ;) it was full of these little gestures and words that hid much more meaning than what you might think at first… ;) and I absolutely loved it ;)
„Dorian” was the second story in the book, but the first one I read… ;) it’s hard to even call it a novella, it’s more of a short story, showing us glimpses into different moments in life of Dorian, a character who already got his own full lenght story ;) so in this case his story does contain some pretty big spoilers about that full lenght book… to be honest, I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed these few chapters… it was truly great to see all those characters that I already know and love when they were much younger… ;)
„Partners in persuasion” was actually the very last novella I read and for a very good reason ;) my sister claimed it will be my absolute favourite one out of all of them and she was totally right ;) I loved it ;) the story of a dominant female leopard and a submissive male wolf on paper sounds impossible ;) two different packs and two different personalities… I was wondering how Nalini will pull this off… ;) I should have known to just trust her… ;) because this novella, full of hilarious and sexy moments, as well as surprisingly emotional and vulnerable ones was a delight to read ;) this particular couple immediately landed very high on my favourite list from this series ;) I will definitely be coming back to them, especially if I will need a taste of a series, without having the time to read a full lenght book ;)
Last but not least, is the fourth novella, „Flirtation of fate” that I read as my third story from this book… originally I was the most curious about it, because Gem and Kenji appeared on quite a few occasions throughout this series and you could see that there’s definitely something there, brewing under the surface… ;) so when I learned we will finally get more in this anthology, I was very happy ;) in the end, it turned out that their story was… a bit different than what I expected… let me explain ;) theirs is the longest novella in the book, but actually about a half of it is a murder investigation… dun dun duuuunnnn… ;) sorry, this moment needed a dramatic music theme ;) I think I would love this story more, if the romance part was bigger ;) don’t get me wrong, I really liked it, it’s just… I wanted a bit more ;)
All in all I had sooo much fun reading this book ;) Nalini truly is one of the best world builders amongst the authors… she is able to create all sorts of interactions and connections between sometimes surprising characters and wove those people into one world that changes constantly… and to top all of that, when you re-read her books, you always discover some small gems showing how many things she is aware of that will happen many books before the actual situation plays out ;) and I absolutely love that ;) because of that very reason, her series are always fantastic reads ;) Psy-changeling is actually my favourite of hers ;) don’t get me wrong, I love all others, but this one… this one has a very special place in my heart ;) hopefully I convinced you guys to give this book and this series in general a try, because if you haven’t read it yet, you have no idea how badly you are missing out on some phenomenal writing style and characters that will stay with you for a very long time after you finish the book… ;)
XOXO
A
August 23, 2016
I LOVED THIS BOOK! (let me show you how much in Kermit gifs)
Wild Embrace is a great collection of novellas for several reasons, but the top three are:
It’s very accessible to new readers. If you’re not sure about the series, three of the four of these stories could be short entry points for you to check it out. The fourth (Dorian) would probably be confusing for anyone who hadn’t read Dorian’s full book.
It’s very satisfying for long-time readers. Who else has been wondering about Stefan since Judd and Brenna’s book? Anyone else besides me??? Because seriously, so many hints and yet no Stefan scenes. NOT EVEN ONE. Just rumors and mentions and I had questions. SO MANY QUESTIONS. And then finally we have Echo of Silence and ahhhhhhhh. Finally.
They’re really, really good! And all new. Not a single one of these has been previously published. They’re four brand new delicious stories that I promise you’ll be very happy to sink your teeth into.
Echo of Silence
The greatly anticipated Stefan story!!! Because I was so intrigued by the character, I was a little worried that the heroine might be overshadowed, but I should know better. Tazia more than holds her own. One of the things I like most about Singh’s writing is how well she writes quiet characters. Stefan and Tazia are both quiet, which must have presented some unique challenges, but their love story is handled with so much grace that I felt warm down to my toes. It’s a delicate, but very powerful, love story and I know readers (especially Arrow fans) will love it. I really hope we get to see them again at some point, because this story takes place pretty early in the series and I’d love an update on where they are as a couple. (Pretty please, Ms. Singh?)
Dorian
Dorian is the one story in this collection that I think really needs to be read after his book, Hostage to Pleasure. (Since it’s one of my favorite in the series, I’d recommend it anyway.) To be honest, I thought this might be the novella in the collection that I’d enjoy the least (because it was going back over sort of familiar territory) but I was wrong. It’s not a romance, per se, but it is a love story. It’s a love story about family and pack (Dorian is a leopard changeling) and how bonds of family and friendship can hold you and challenge you at the same time. It really fleshes out the layers of the pack relationships in DarkRiver.
Partners in Persuasion
From a powerful telepath to a shy submissive changeling, every single one of Nalini Singh’s characters exhibits influence in a unique way. In a genre that’s often defined by power dynamics, Singh exhibits a greater range than most. It’s one the things I love about her writing. She turns conventional perceptions of power on their head and makes you examine your own preconceived notions of who holds the reins. Is it the one who roars or the one who nurtures? Can it be both?
I think Partners in Persuasion is the first time we’ve seen a pairing between a dominant female and a submissive male in the series. (For readers unfamiliar with the series, we’re talking about pack hierarchy, not... other things.) We’ve had plenty of dominant females (Mercy, Indigo, Sienna) but they tend to pair with heroes who are also high on the dominance scale. Seeing a very dominant heroine (Desiree) with a submissive hero (oh man, did I love Felix) showed how beautifully Singh can write characters who might be overlooked or undervalued in less-skilled hands. Again, it’s a delicate dance, but one that really pays off in this story. It’s sweet and hot and perfect. Very, very satisfying and again, another one of those stories that fleshes out subtle layers in the series.
Flirtation of Fate
Kenji and Garnet (Jem!) are two more of those recurring characters who show up, steal a scene, then pop back out of sight again. Kenji with his constantly changing hair had to be a favorite for me, and I loved seeing Garnet in her element. I didn’t have a really good sense of their roles in the pack before this, to be honest, but you really get the scope of SnowDancer in this story. It’s a tightly woven mystery with great suspense and a very satisfying resolution.
While Kenji and Garnet do have a “just talk about it already!” love story, it makes sense when you understand the context. And for those readers who say that romantic conflict like this is manufactured… It’s not. People really do hide things and refuse to talk about things, sometimes for YEARS. And if it happens in life, it’ll happen in fiction.
This is an excellent love story (HOT! The tension between them is so delicious!) and a very satisfying mystery, all done in a very small space. On a pure writing level, this novella got the highest marks from me, though I loved every single one of these stories for different reasons.
Wild Embrace is an exceptional collection. Every story is different. It covers a range of romantic and personal dynamics while fleshing out an extraordinarily well-drawn universe in the Psy-Changeling series as a whole. Highly recommended for fans of the series and those who might have been dancing around diving into the Psy-Changling world. Give this a look. It’ll give you a great introduction to the depth and diversity in the series.
August 27, 2016
I was anticipating this book so much!
Overall I liked it, but it didn't have something extraordinary in it. Maybe I was expecting more magical things from it.
The stories were cute and short. I'd have liked two of them to be longer, though (Felix's and Kenji's stories)
The first novella is about Tazia and her Psy, Stefan. I liked this story less than the others. Maybe the family issues were too much for me. And I didn't like the fact that their relationship had to be kept hidden in their job.
The second novella was Dorian's story. I like the Changelings more than I like the Psy (apart from Judd and Kaleb!!). They're more straight-forward and real. Dorian is a bae :) Lucas Hot as always.... [insert dreamy eyes here]
The third story is about a sub male wolf changeling and a dominant female cat one. I though this would be the best, but it's my third favorite. I think Dezi is too dominant for a female an she sees Felix as weaker than her. It is always gonna be like this between them. She's always going to protect Felix and he will feel not very confident about himself or their relationship. I hope I'm wrong, though.
The fourth story was my favorite. Kenji and Garnet are so cool! Both dominant, both wolves. Awesome! There were some very heart-breaking moments there that made me (almost) cry. I loved the ending and I was so happy about them.
I prefer longer books. I think these short stories don't express rightly the feelings between the characters. I'll always read what Nalini writes, though .Looking forward to the next book...
Overall I liked it, but it didn't have something extraordinary in it. Maybe I was expecting more magical things from it.
The stories were cute and short. I'd have liked two of them to be longer, though (Felix's and Kenji's stories)
The first novella is about Tazia and her Psy, Stefan. I liked this story less than the others. Maybe the family issues were too much for me. And I didn't like the fact that their relationship had to be kept hidden in their job.
The second novella was Dorian's story. I like the Changelings more than I like the Psy (apart from Judd and Kaleb!!). They're more straight-forward and real. Dorian is a bae :) Lucas Hot as always.... [insert dreamy eyes here]
The third story is about a sub male wolf changeling and a dominant female cat one. I though this would be the best, but it's my third favorite. I think Dezi is too dominant for a female an she sees Felix as weaker than her. It is always gonna be like this between them. She's always going to protect Felix and he will feel not very confident about himself or their relationship. I hope I'm wrong, though.
The fourth story was my favorite. Kenji and Garnet are so cool! Both dominant, both wolves. Awesome! There were some very heart-breaking moments there that made me (almost) cry. I loved the ending and I was so happy about them.
I prefer longer books. I think these short stories don't express rightly the feelings between the characters. I'll always read what Nalini writes, though .Looking forward to the next book...
October 23, 2019
A collection of mini romances in the Psy-Changeling world. It’s definitely worth the read.
November 28, 2021
.
Listened to the audiobook, the audio reader Angela Dawe is very good.
The 3 stars overall is mostly for the first story.
Echo of Silence (Psy-Changeling 2.5) **** 4 stars
A sweet little star crossed lovers tale with a happy ending. Tazia is a human who risked her family's love for a future outside of her village. Stefan is a Psy telekenetic of huge power. She is drawn to him but to her he seems completely unmoved by her.
Then when she needs someone to lean on, he's there for her. They have a month together to learn so much more than they every expected.
I just loved this story. The ending was perfect.
safety is fine
Dorian (Psy-Changeling 5.5) ** 2 stars
Kind of a meandering look at Dorian's life from when he was 10 or so to a mated adult. I think this story would mean more to those who have read the whole series or at least the book where he meets his mate...
Partners of Persuasion (Psy-Changeling 11.5) *** 3 stars
Felix the wolf and Desiree the leopard. This story is of their courtship and the careful dance it was to bridge the gap between her dominant and his submissive natures.
Even though their natures are so far apart, I wouldn't call them opposites at all.
safety is fine
Flirtation of Fate (Psy-Changeling 12.25) * star
This one is half the length of the audio book so probably almost 200 pages.
Wow, that was surprisingly disappointing!
A little ranting below with spoilers:
There's also a murder mystery that was pretty obvious from the get go too.
Listened to the audiobook, the audio reader Angela Dawe is very good.
The 3 stars overall is mostly for the first story.
Echo of Silence (Psy-Changeling 2.5) **** 4 stars
A sweet little star crossed lovers tale with a happy ending. Tazia is a human who risked her family's love for a future outside of her village. Stefan is a Psy telekenetic of huge power. She is drawn to him but to her he seems completely unmoved by her.
Then when she needs someone to lean on, he's there for her. They have a month together to learn so much more than they every expected.
I just loved this story. The ending was perfect.
safety is fine
Dorian (Psy-Changeling 5.5) ** 2 stars
Kind of a meandering look at Dorian's life from when he was 10 or so to a mated adult. I think this story would mean more to those who have read the whole series or at least the book where he meets his mate...
Partners of Persuasion (Psy-Changeling 11.5) *** 3 stars
Felix the wolf and Desiree the leopard. This story is of their courtship and the careful dance it was to bridge the gap between her dominant and his submissive natures.
Even though their natures are so far apart, I wouldn't call them opposites at all.
safety is fine
Flirtation of Fate (Psy-Changeling 12.25) * star
This one is half the length of the audio book so probably almost 200 pages.
Wow, that was surprisingly disappointing!
A little ranting below with spoilers:
There's also a murder mystery that was pretty obvious from the get go too.
June 15, 2019
5 PERFECT STARS
Another winner by the queen of romance. Once again Nalini Singh has shown why she is my all time favorite author, and why this is my favorite series. This anthology was even better than I had hoped it would be.
Echo of Silence
A life without love, without laughter, without pain, without sadness, without misery, without heartbreak, without . . . just without.
I had wondered about Stefan since Judd told some of his Psy brethren about the tips he got from Stefan regarding keeping control of his powers during sex. And this novella did not disappoint. I especially loved that Tazia was a human, seeing as we haven’t really had many main characters that’s human in this series so far.
What he did know was that things had begun to change in him the first time he’d spoken to Tazia Nerif, parts of the conditioning just falling away.
The unfeeling Psy are definitely the most fascinating of this world, and it was wonderful seeing another broken Psy learn to love and to feel. I loved both the quiet and seemingly cold Stefan and the broken hearted Tazia, a human who fractured Stefan’s Psy conditioning. Their romance was so sweet!
I also loved that we got to meet a changeling sea snake, and I hope that we will get to explore the BlackSea Changelings more in the future.
Dorian
Inside him, his leopard was contained, held back with sheer willpower. It had taken him time to learn to do that, to contain the animal so it didn’t claw him bloody on the inside.
This little novella shows us Dorian when he was young, a latent leopard, unable to shift. The pain he and his leopard felt was so heartbreaking. I loved seeing how he realised that being latent didn’t make him lesser than his fellow packmates, it just made him more determined to not be weak, to be just as strong. I also loved seeing Dorian, Lucas, Vaugh, Mercy and Clay when they were young. It was fantastic, especially because we got to see the first time Clay joined their pack and how their first encounter went.
Finally, he had the ability to live in both his skins, to be cat and to be human. But whatever shape he took, he thought as he returned home, he would always be DarkRiver . . . and he would always love Shaya and the little boy who was now his own.
Then we see the moments just after he shifted for the first time, and the joy he felt was amazing. I especially loved it when Lucas, Mercy, Vaugh and Clay found out and the happiness they felt was so beautiful.
I can’t even explain how special this novella is and how much I loved it.
Partners in Persuasion
This was why he hadn’t wanted to get involved with her in the first place—she drew him too strongly, made him want too much. If her leopard decided he wasn’t enough, if she walked away . . . it would hurt. Bad.
Felix is SnowDancer’s horticultural expert, who is in the process of healing the area which was damaged when Sienna saved the SnowDancers against the Psy attack. He’s a shy and submissive wolf, who has been burned badly in the past by a dominant female. And he promised himself to never again be a female’s plaything. But he didn’t count on dominant leopard Dezi.
“I feel this hunger to know him, to find out all the pieces of him and hold those pieces close so nothing can ever harm him.”
Dezi is a soldier, and Felix is the most fascinating man she’s ever met. She loves his gentle nature. And she’s determined to court the shy wolf, to convince him that she would never hurt him.
“No one’s ever given me flowers before.”
Man and wolf both stared. “But you should get flowers every day.”
Now this novella was my favorite in this anthology. I have always loved the dominant Desiree, and submissive and shy Felix was just perfect for her, plus she’s a leopard and he’s a wolf which just made it even better :-D Despite the problems they faced because of their difference in rank, the pull between them was impossible to ignore, and I loved that both of them fought so hard to make it work between them. I loved how Felix made Dezi feel beautiful and how he valued her strength, and I loved that Dezi appreciated Felix for how wonderful and gentle he was, not just for his gorgeous looks. Their romance was sexy and sweet, and I loved it.
Flirtation of Fate
He refused to think about the fact that it was getting harder rather than easier to rein in his possessiveness. As if as he matured, so did his need for her. He’d probably go to his grave loving Garnet Sheridan.
Such a sweet second chance romance. I have always wondered about SnowDancers Kenji and Garnet, whose banter has always felt like there’s a secret history, and I’m so glad we finally got their story. Their road to HEA was sad but also so sweet.
He should’ve come to her, should’ve trusted her, should’ve trusted them, but she had to remember that he’d been young, too. Young and hurt and trying to love her the best way he could figure out how.
No one writes romantic and simply wonderful books like Nalini Singh. I can't sing her praises high enough. This is a definite must read for all fans of this series, and if you have not read it yet, READ IT, you will not be disappointed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to anyone who loves amazing world-building, romance that will make you melt, a captivating plot and fabulous characters.
October 30, 2016
WILD EMBRACE is an anthology of 4 new novellas from Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling Series, featuring some of the lesser known characters from previous books and introducing some new characters s well.
Overall I liked these stories but I was expecting more....maybe it had something to do with it being novellas...as you are getting into the story...it ends!!!
If you're a fan, like I am, of this series, you have to get this book. Keeps you updated with the magical world that this author has created....
Overall I liked these stories but I was expecting more....maybe it had something to do with it being novellas...as you are getting into the story...it ends!!!
If you're a fan, like I am, of this series, you have to get this book. Keeps you updated with the magical world that this author has created....
August 1, 2016
I've a very special place in my book crazy heart for the Psy/Changeling world and I just want to live there! These stories set in this world are imaginative, well crafted, detailed and fuelled by intense passion. So the idea of four short stories expanding this world was for me a no brainier and I knew I'd have to read them.
Echo of Silence
The first story is the one I'd really looked forward to as it pairs Stefan, a Psy with Tazia, a human and I've often felt the human element sadly lacking in the universe this author writes about. Happily it gives readers a tiny peek into the world of a deep sea station with all three races working together . However the majority of the story is topside and mostly told from Tazia's viewpoint. Although I enjoyed this story for me it lacked a little passion.
Dorian
Now I know that the story involving Dorian will have many a reader jumping for joy. He was introduced at the start of this series as a latent leopard which clearly was a painful existence. Yet here we learn of his strength, his tenacity and most of all just how important those pack bonds really are.
Partners in Persuasion
The third story slightly reminded me of a previous pairing with a wolf and a leopard changeling. The author explored the unusual dynamics of a dominant and a submissive as they decide just how far they can go when it comes to skin privileges . In many respects this was a role reversal story but it brought hope and we all need that.
Flirtation of Fate
Finally the story that made this truly feel like a Psy/Changeling book! Not just a romance but a mystery to solve. This couple have been a tease on the periphery as this series has advanced but oh was it worth waiting for . Set against a backdrop of murder the couple who constantly play games have to pull together but as equal as they are its Garnet who is in charge and not the irascible but loveable Kenji.
I feel this is more aimed at those who are fans and already follow the series. Whilst it could be read by newcomers the subtle nuances might be lost and apart from the final story it wasn't typical to what I've come to expect from this hugely talented author. Yet as something to keep her hungry readers going whilst waiting for the next full length book it certainly plugs a gap.
I was gifted a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
Echo of Silence
The first story is the one I'd really looked forward to as it pairs Stefan, a Psy with Tazia, a human and I've often felt the human element sadly lacking in the universe this author writes about. Happily it gives readers a tiny peek into the world of a deep sea station with all three races working together . However the majority of the story is topside and mostly told from Tazia's viewpoint. Although I enjoyed this story for me it lacked a little passion.
Dorian
Now I know that the story involving Dorian will have many a reader jumping for joy. He was introduced at the start of this series as a latent leopard which clearly was a painful existence. Yet here we learn of his strength, his tenacity and most of all just how important those pack bonds really are.
Partners in Persuasion
The third story slightly reminded me of a previous pairing with a wolf and a leopard changeling. The author explored the unusual dynamics of a dominant and a submissive as they decide just how far they can go when it comes to skin privileges . In many respects this was a role reversal story but it brought hope and we all need that.
Flirtation of Fate
Finally the story that made this truly feel like a Psy/Changeling book! Not just a romance but a mystery to solve. This couple have been a tease on the periphery as this series has advanced but oh was it worth waiting for . Set against a backdrop of murder the couple who constantly play games have to pull together but as equal as they are its Garnet who is in charge and not the irascible but loveable Kenji.
I feel this is more aimed at those who are fans and already follow the series. Whilst it could be read by newcomers the subtle nuances might be lost and apart from the final story it wasn't typical to what I've come to expect from this hugely talented author. Yet as something to keep her hungry readers going whilst waiting for the next full length book it certainly plugs a gap.
I was gifted a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
July 6, 2023
I loved all four novellas in this book. Wild Embrace is a wonderful treat to pass the time; before the next release in the Psy-Changeling series.
Echo of Silence - Rated 4 Stars
This one occurs after Visions of Heat. It pairs Stefan a Psy and Tazia a human. Silence hasn’t fallen yet, so for a Psy to feel is a death sentence.
This little novella gives us a peek into Alaris the deep sea station where all three races work together, but most of the story is topside. I liked that we got to see a Human/Psy paring. We haven’t had much of the human element in the series.
I found Echo of Silence to be a sweet read.
Dorian - 5 Stars
This one spans a number of years in Dorian’s life. We get to see him as a cub, as a teenager, and as an adult. Plus we are treated to teenage Lucas and the other Sentinels, who aren’t Sentinels yet. In this one we learn about his strength, his tenacity and most of all how important pack bonds really are.
The cat comes out to play.
Partners in Persuasion - 4 Stars
This one begins at the end of Tangle of Need. We get to see the pairing of a wolf and leopard changeling. The author explores the dynamics of a dominant and submissive mating together. The mixing of shifters is still new in the world and there are issues to over come add in a dominant and submissive pairing and you have a whole other thing to work through.
Drezi and Felix where sweet together as they try to work out how they can be together. I enjoyed this little novella.
Flirtation of Fate - 5 Stars
This one takes place near the end of Heart of Obsidian. Kenji and Garnet have been teasing us throughout the series. It’s a second chance romance along with a mystery to solve. He craves her and she craves him, but the past is hard to get over. These two constantly play games, but now they have to work together to solve the murder and in doing so maybe find that second chance at love.
This one was another wonderful addition to read.
Echo of Silence - Rated 4 Stars
This one occurs after Visions of Heat. It pairs Stefan a Psy and Tazia a human. Silence hasn’t fallen yet, so for a Psy to feel is a death sentence.
This little novella gives us a peek into Alaris the deep sea station where all three races work together, but most of the story is topside. I liked that we got to see a Human/Psy paring. We haven’t had much of the human element in the series.
I found Echo of Silence to be a sweet read.
Dorian - 5 Stars
This one spans a number of years in Dorian’s life. We get to see him as a cub, as a teenager, and as an adult. Plus we are treated to teenage Lucas and the other Sentinels, who aren’t Sentinels yet. In this one we learn about his strength, his tenacity and most of all how important pack bonds really are.
The cat comes out to play.
Partners in Persuasion - 4 Stars
This one begins at the end of Tangle of Need. We get to see the pairing of a wolf and leopard changeling. The author explores the dynamics of a dominant and submissive mating together. The mixing of shifters is still new in the world and there are issues to over come add in a dominant and submissive pairing and you have a whole other thing to work through.
Drezi and Felix where sweet together as they try to work out how they can be together. I enjoyed this little novella.
Flirtation of Fate - 5 Stars
This one takes place near the end of Heart of Obsidian. Kenji and Garnet have been teasing us throughout the series. It’s a second chance romance along with a mystery to solve. He craves her and she craves him, but the past is hard to get over. These two constantly play games, but now they have to work together to solve the murder and in doing so maybe find that second chance at love.
This one was another wonderful addition to read.
August 12, 2016
Nalini Singh is one of the few authors that I count on to deliver when it comes to novellas and anthologies. She packs just as much emotion, heart, and heat into a shorter story as she does her longer ones. Yes, the relationship development moves quickly, but that doesn't mean that a true connection is sacrificed. I never finish one of her anthology stories feeling anything but happy, with a smile on my face.
Echo of Silence
I've never been such a fan of the human/xxx relationships in this series, until this book. Here we have Tazi, a human, pairing with Stefan, a psy. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much, but there was such a depth of character in both Tazi and Stefan that I couldn't help be become immersed in their dance towards each other.
I loved the introduction of Tazi's cultural values and how that affected the choices that she made - both in her career and life, and the relationship that she develops with Stefan. Stefan was just as fascinating, with more than a little heartbreak in his history. He's a psy that has been known to be broken, according to the Psy anyway, but he's left to manage it without rehabilitation - and this is just after Faith defected. Highly unexpected. Until you factor in his rare and valued psychic gift.
How they cared for each other made me so incredibly happy in this book. It was the care and caring that showed the depth of their feelings. And love left simmering is one of my favorite story-lines.
Dorian
Let's be honest, who hasn't loved Dorian - the changeling that was latent - from the very start when we meet him? I know I was not immune to this broken man.My heart constantly went out to him, constantly found him fascinating, and always respected his strength.
As we already have Dorian's HEA story in Hostage to Pleasure, this was more a series of vignettes about Dorian's life - from the time he was a child, seeing his determination to never be less than his very best potential, his growth, and the immense changes that he goes through in life. I especially loved the fun, playful, challenging last scene with the rest of his Sentinel pack-mates. I couldn't help but grin.
Partners in Persuasion
Dominant Female with a Submissive Male - this is a story that many have been hoping for for years.Many thought that we'd get it with Indigo, and we did...to a point. I won't really get into the argument here about it, but will say that the closeness of the dominance in that pairing is brought up in this novella.
I found this story incredibly satisfying. Dezi is definitely a strong, dominant female. And Felix is definitely submissive. Submissive doesn't mean weak though. And being the dominant in this type of relationship comes with some other things to be concerned about. Dominant/Submissive isn't something we get to see explored too often; usually it's different levels of dominance, but dominant all the same. In fact, I can only think of one other pairing on this scale, and that's Cooper and Grace. It's nice to see these issues explored from another angle.
I really liked how they were both so in tune with the other that they thought consciously about how to make sure they weren't hurting each other. They talked, took it slow when need be, and respected each other. I finished this story with a happy sigh.
Flirtation of Fate
I've been enamoured of Kenji and Garnet's flirtations in the Lieteniut's meetings for years. Their sarcastic barbs back and forth was always so much fun to watch. Seeing them come together in this story was a lot more serious than I was expecting. There were some light-hearted moments, and some sarcastic teasing and flirting back and forth, but overall it was a pretty serious novella.
There was the murder, and the storm - with missing packmates - injuries, and years-old hurts buried beneath the previous joking. Though I guessed the source of the secrets, and the resolution of the murder-mystery, I still was desperate to see these two make it work. It's the only of the four stories in this anthology that brought tears to my eyes. I love Kenji and Garnet. They're perfect for each other, and I'm glad they finally both figured it out.
Overall, this anthology is a nice exploration of characters and their relationships that we wouldn't get in the main storyline. Though they're side-stories, they're no less important for being so. Each member in this world makes a difference, and as we read further and further into this series it becomes clearer each book how much interconnectedness there is in the world, and how important that is.
As always, I'll be waiting on tenterhooks for Nalini Singh's next forary into this world - and every other world.
Review also posted at The Book Eaters.
Echo of Silence
I've never been such a fan of the human/xxx relationships in this series, until this book. Here we have Tazi, a human, pairing with Stefan, a psy. I wasn't expecting to enjoy it so much, but there was such a depth of character in both Tazi and Stefan that I couldn't help be become immersed in their dance towards each other.
I loved the introduction of Tazi's cultural values and how that affected the choices that she made - both in her career and life, and the relationship that she develops with Stefan. Stefan was just as fascinating, with more than a little heartbreak in his history. He's a psy that has been known to be broken, according to the Psy anyway, but he's left to manage it without rehabilitation - and this is just after Faith defected. Highly unexpected. Until you factor in his rare and valued psychic gift.
How they cared for each other made me so incredibly happy in this book. It was the care and caring that showed the depth of their feelings. And love left simmering is one of my favorite story-lines.
Dorian
Let's be honest, who hasn't loved Dorian - the changeling that was latent - from the very start when we meet him? I know I was not immune to this broken man.My heart constantly went out to him, constantly found him fascinating, and always respected his strength.
As we already have Dorian's HEA story in Hostage to Pleasure, this was more a series of vignettes about Dorian's life - from the time he was a child, seeing his determination to never be less than his very best potential, his growth, and the immense changes that he goes through in life. I especially loved the fun, playful, challenging last scene with the rest of his Sentinel pack-mates. I couldn't help but grin.
Partners in Persuasion
Dominant Female with a Submissive Male - this is a story that many have been hoping for for years.Many thought that we'd get it with Indigo, and we did...to a point. I won't really get into the argument here about it, but will say that the closeness of the dominance in that pairing is brought up in this novella.
I found this story incredibly satisfying. Dezi is definitely a strong, dominant female. And Felix is definitely submissive. Submissive doesn't mean weak though. And being the dominant in this type of relationship comes with some other things to be concerned about. Dominant/Submissive isn't something we get to see explored too often; usually it's different levels of dominance, but dominant all the same. In fact, I can only think of one other pairing on this scale, and that's Cooper and Grace. It's nice to see these issues explored from another angle.
I really liked how they were both so in tune with the other that they thought consciously about how to make sure they weren't hurting each other. They talked, took it slow when need be, and respected each other. I finished this story with a happy sigh.
Flirtation of Fate
I've been enamoured of Kenji and Garnet's flirtations in the Lieteniut's meetings for years. Their sarcastic barbs back and forth was always so much fun to watch. Seeing them come together in this story was a lot more serious than I was expecting. There were some light-hearted moments, and some sarcastic teasing and flirting back and forth, but overall it was a pretty serious novella.
There was the murder, and the storm - with missing packmates - injuries, and years-old hurts buried beneath the previous joking. Though I guessed the source of the secrets, and the resolution of the murder-mystery, I still was desperate to see these two make it work. It's the only of the four stories in this anthology that brought tears to my eyes. I love Kenji and Garnet. They're perfect for each other, and I'm glad they finally both figured it out.
Overall, this anthology is a nice exploration of characters and their relationships that we wouldn't get in the main storyline. Though they're side-stories, they're no less important for being so. Each member in this world makes a difference, and as we read further and further into this series it becomes clearer each book how much interconnectedness there is in the world, and how important that is.
As always, I'll be waiting on tenterhooks for Nalini Singh's next forary into this world - and every other world.
Review also posted at The Book Eaters.
August 13, 2016
Nalini Singh rocks the paranormal romance genre. So, it is no wonder that getting an anthology of short stories all taking place in the Psy/Changeling world would be just what a fan would need to hold us over till the next novel comes out. Okay, let’s be real, we’d do anything for more of this world and Singh answered with four amazing shorts for us to devour.
Wild Embrace is a collection of short romantic stories of the not so well and well not so well known side characters in Psy/Changeling characters.
Echo of Silence is a romance between a telekinetic commander and a human engineer. Living on an underwater base, these two couldn’t be more different until an act of kindness brings them together.
Dorian is a love story about a shifter that learns to play. This short gives us more into the life of Doran, the shifter that couldn’t’ shift.
Partners in Persuasion brings us a romance between a dominant female shifter and a submissive male and their tenuous romance that follows their strong attraction.
Flirtation of Fate brings two strong alphas together after years of flirting on the edge of romance and anger of unfilled desire while investigating a tragic murder.
Four seductive and sensual tales of love.
I received this ARC copy of Wild Embrace from Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for a honest review. This book is set for publication August 23, 20.16.
My Rating: 5 Stars
Written by: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy/Changeling Collection, A
Sequence in Series: 15.5
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: August 23, 2016
ISBN-10: 1101989718
ISBN-13: 978-1101989715
Genre: Scifi Romance | Fantasy
Barnes & Noble | Amazon | itunes
Reviewed for:
Wild Embrace is a collection of short romantic stories of the not so well and well not so well known side characters in Psy/Changeling characters.
Echo of Silence is a romance between a telekinetic commander and a human engineer. Living on an underwater base, these two couldn’t be more different until an act of kindness brings them together.
Dorian is a love story about a shifter that learns to play. This short gives us more into the life of Doran, the shifter that couldn’t’ shift.
Partners in Persuasion brings us a romance between a dominant female shifter and a submissive male and their tenuous romance that follows their strong attraction.
Flirtation of Fate brings two strong alphas together after years of flirting on the edge of romance and anger of unfilled desire while investigating a tragic murder.
Four seductive and sensual tales of love.
I received this ARC copy of Wild Embrace from Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for a honest review. This book is set for publication August 23, 20.16.
My Rating: 5 Stars
Written by: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy/Changeling Collection, A
Sequence in Series: 15.5
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: August 23, 2016
ISBN-10: 1101989718
ISBN-13: 978-1101989715
Genre: Scifi Romance | Fantasy
Barnes & Noble | Amazon | itunes
Reviewed for:
September 5, 2016
What a pleasure to read these four stories set in Singh's Psy/Changeling world. There are references to the main characters that we've come to know and love, but these are stories of the other people in that world, not the stars, but the people all around them.
Echo of Silence - I loved the characters and the slow build of their romance. They were adorably shy, but you never doubted their love. On the other hand ...
Dorian - Dorian is one of my favorite shifters, so I was thrilled with this flashback of his life.
Partners in Persuasion - I absolutely loved this story of Felix and Dezi, which explores changeling dominance and how it can affect a relationship. Especially when the dominant partner is the female. Submissive doesn't mean weak, especially not among Changelings. Wonderful characters and terrific chemistry.
Flirtation of Fate - the story of Kenji and Garnet, two wolf shifter lieutenants who fell in love when they were young, and then were inexplicably torn apart. Inexplicable to Garnet, anyway. Kenji had his reasons, and that's where this story goes. It brings them back together just when their love was meant to be.
Echo of Silence - I loved the characters and the slow build of their romance. They were adorably shy, but you never doubted their love. On the other hand ...
Dorian - Dorian is one of my favorite shifters, so I was thrilled with this flashback of his life.
Partners in Persuasion - I absolutely loved this story of Felix and Dezi, which explores changeling dominance and how it can affect a relationship. Especially when the dominant partner is the female. Submissive doesn't mean weak, especially not among Changelings. Wonderful characters and terrific chemistry.
Flirtation of Fate - the story of Kenji and Garnet, two wolf shifter lieutenants who fell in love when they were young, and then were inexplicably torn apart. Inexplicable to Garnet, anyway. Kenji had his reasons, and that's where this story goes. It brings them back together just when their love was meant to be.
August 25, 2016
Tazia/Stephan's story had an interesting setting but it was almost clean romance which is so not me. 3 stars.
Dorian was a fun accompaniment to Dorian/Ashaya's story, made me want to read their book all over again. 3.75 stars.
Felix/Dezi's story was unique: a mating between a true submissive H and a dominant female who pursued him. I found it very refreshing because it was atypical of the majority of romance books. Alpha h was kind, but also sensual and had a healthy sexual past. Horticulturist H while hot and a former model, used to suffer from paralysing anxiety, he also was ready for commitment, family, the real deal, but had been burned by women who shied away from his submissive nature or saw only his looks. He was hesitant but the h eventually won him over. H never came cross as weak, in fact he came across as strong and stable as the earth and a great guy all around, someone I'd want IRL. 5 stars!
Garnet and Kenji's story. H realises he's infertile and sabotages his chances with childhood best friend h on their first date and then manwhores his way publicly around for years in h's face. If I were h, I'd have mated someone else long back. I still admired the h though. 7 yrs later, she is happy, owns her sensuality, has a healthy dating/sex life, has moved up in the pack with as much or maybe more power/responsibility than H. She does care about the H's well being and isn't bitter, maybe a bit sad/mad, but she isn't passive-aggressive about it. There is an Agatha Christie style mystery where the H/h have to work together. When the h gets a clue that the H is hiding stuff/still loves her, she chases him and claims him. I liked that the h was confident in her own skin and smart enough to trust her instincts. For her sake I'm glad she got the man she wanted. Could have done without the mystery though. 3.5 stars.
An overall 4.25 stars!
Dorian was a fun accompaniment to Dorian/Ashaya's story, made me want to read their book all over again. 3.75 stars.
Felix/Dezi's story was unique: a mating between a true submissive H and a dominant female who pursued him. I found it very refreshing because it was atypical of the majority of romance books. Alpha h was kind, but also sensual and had a healthy sexual past. Horticulturist H while hot and a former model, used to suffer from paralysing anxiety, he also was ready for commitment, family, the real deal, but had been burned by women who shied away from his submissive nature or saw only his looks. He was hesitant but the h eventually won him over. H never came cross as weak, in fact he came across as strong and stable as the earth and a great guy all around, someone I'd want IRL. 5 stars!
Garnet and Kenji's story. H realises he's infertile and sabotages his chances with childhood best friend h on their first date and then manwhores his way publicly around for years in h's face. If I were h, I'd have mated someone else long back. I still admired the h though. 7 yrs later, she is happy, owns her sensuality, has a healthy dating/sex life, has moved up in the pack with as much or maybe more power/responsibility than H. She does care about the H's well being and isn't bitter, maybe a bit sad/mad, but she isn't passive-aggressive about it. There is an Agatha Christie style mystery where the H/h have to work together. When the h gets a clue that the H is hiding stuff/still loves her, she chases him and claims him. I liked that the h was confident in her own skin and smart enough to trust her instincts. For her sake I'm glad she got the man she wanted. Could have done without the mystery though. 3.5 stars.
An overall 4.25 stars!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2021
If you are loving the series, you will adore these little extra bits!
Echo of Silence was a sweet story, low on steam but high on feelings between a human woman and a Psy man. And even though humans are totally uninteresting in this whole series (except for Max, Max was great), I still enjoyed this one.
- 3,5 stars
Dorian. I read this one last because I wasn't even sure I wanted to. But it turned out to be such a lovely little addition to Dorian's main story, I am now urging you to go for it if you loved Hostage to Pleasure.
- 5 stars
Partners in Persuasion was about two changelings, a submissive wolf Felix and a dominant leopard Dezi - and damn, those two were hot and sweet at the same time. And while I saw some similarities to Declaration of Courtship (about Cooper and Grace, from Wild Invitation: A Psy-Changeling Collection), with this role reversal, I loved the freshness of it and both characters were wonderful.
- 5 stars
Flirtation of Fate was a little detective story in the Channeling world, about two wolves, female Garnet and male Kenji. And while it was a nice "something different", the story itself was very much predictable (the detective part but also the part about Kenji's dark secret) and not too exciting compared to all the other short stories. Not to mention how not impressed by Kenji I was.
- 3 stars
Echo of Silence was a sweet story, low on steam but high on feelings between a human woman and a Psy man. And even though humans are totally uninteresting in this whole series (except for Max, Max was great), I still enjoyed this one.
- 3,5 stars
Dorian. I read this one last because I wasn't even sure I wanted to. But it turned out to be such a lovely little addition to Dorian's main story, I am now urging you to go for it if you loved Hostage to Pleasure.
- 5 stars
Partners in Persuasion was about two changelings, a submissive wolf Felix and a dominant leopard Dezi - and damn, those two were hot and sweet at the same time. And while I saw some similarities to Declaration of Courtship (about Cooper and Grace, from Wild Invitation: A Psy-Changeling Collection), with this role reversal, I loved the freshness of it and both characters were wonderful.
- 5 stars
Flirtation of Fate was a little detective story in the Channeling world, about two wolves, female Garnet and male Kenji. And while it was a nice "something different", the story itself was very much predictable (the detective part but also the part about Kenji's dark secret) and not too exciting compared to all the other short stories. Not to mention how not impressed by Kenji I was.
- 3 stars
August 20, 2016
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
In Echo Of Silence we have a psy romance. Tazia Neref has found her passion in working at a deep sea station working with a psy Stefan. Tazia and Stefan have a wonderful built up romance. At first there is some mystery between them. Tazia is struggling with the past and her estrangement from her family. Stefan, although a Psy, is closer to emotion than most of his kind. Stefan suffered from a traumatic childhood. I really liked how well Stefan understood Tazia from the beginning. He is drawn to her. Their relationship really develops more when they work together on a project in helping a village that is being torn apart by a earthquake. What was most interesting was seeing these two work so well together. They have some powerful chemistry but what I loved most was seeing what Stefan does for Tazia toward the end. Quite a tear jerker in some moments. I love seeing a couple like these two fit so well for each other.
In Dorian we get to see more of this psy changeling couple. We see Dorian from the beginning, when he is little and dealing with not being able to shift. And how hard it was for him and the ways he had to make up for it as part of the pack. We see his relationship with Vaughn, Mercy and Lucas. I loved seeing more depth to him and Shaya. And then reveal of seeing him being able to shift for the first time and running with his pack in ways he has always dreamed of most of his life. Dorian is one of my favorite characters, and man I needed plenty of tissues when he reveals the truth to Lucas and other members of his pack. We see more emotional depth to the pack, and how closely tied they are to each other. They live in each others joys and sorrows and man those happy moments were quite heart warming.
In partners In Persuasion we get a unique relationship (that is my favorite to see which is rarely done in this series) seeing a dominant and submissive pairing. However unlike "Declaration Of Courtship", the dominant of the pair is our heroine and the submissive is our hero. This adds something very unique and different. Of course, we have seen hints of couples through the series with these pairing, but not as a main story. Felix, is a submissive and content with his role in the pack. He has been burned by having a relationship with a dominant before (who was very cruel to him). He doesn't know if he can do it again, when Dezi comes flirting with him. Dezi, may be a dominant female, and she has always had dominant partners, and has never found a man she can be truly happy with until she meets Felix. A man who is loyal, reliable and gentle. Like with these type of pairing, they come across some difficulties, but they work through it and build a slow trust with each other. Truly a heartwarming and sweet romance that I couldn't get enough. and my favorite of this anthology.
In Flirtation Of Fate we have a story of a second chance romance between Kenji and Ganget. Kenji and Ganget fell in love when they were younger but right when their relationship was turning into a mating dance. Kenji learned a painful truth about himself and he pushed Ganget away. Now its been years, and both are still single. When a murder of one of their own happens, they are forced to work together to get to the bottom of this murder mystery. Boy these two were so fun!! Ganget was awesome, she doesn't tolerate crap from anyone and Kenji really hurt her in the past. But when she spends more time with him, and realizes that not every was as it seemed...she is going to find out the truth and give him hell for it!! And boy does she...I love seeing these two find their way back to each other and exonerate a innocent man.
This was such a wonderful anthology, and I loved seeing these side characters have their own stories or seeing a personal favorite and having some more depth to his story!!! Well written and a compelling group of mini stories that I found endearing, unique and memorable!
Click On Image For Buy Link
[foogallery id="18488"]
In Echo Of Silence we have a psy romance. Tazia Neref has found her passion in working at a deep sea station working with a psy Stefan. Tazia and Stefan have a wonderful built up romance. At first there is some mystery between them. Tazia is struggling with the past and her estrangement from her family. Stefan, although a Psy, is closer to emotion than most of his kind. Stefan suffered from a traumatic childhood. I really liked how well Stefan understood Tazia from the beginning. He is drawn to her. Their relationship really develops more when they work together on a project in helping a village that is being torn apart by a earthquake. What was most interesting was seeing these two work so well together. They have some powerful chemistry but what I loved most was seeing what Stefan does for Tazia toward the end. Quite a tear jerker in some moments. I love seeing a couple like these two fit so well for each other.In Dorian we get to see more of this psy changeling couple. We see Dorian from the beginning, when he is little and dealing with not being able to shift. And how hard it was for him and the ways he had to make up for it as part of the pack. We see his relationship with Vaughn, Mercy and Lucas. I loved seeing more depth to him and Shaya. And then reveal of seeing him being able to shift for the first time and running with his pack in ways he has always dreamed of most of his life. Dorian is one of my favorite characters, and man I needed plenty of tissues when he reveals the truth to Lucas and other members of his pack. We see more emotional depth to the pack, and how closely tied they are to each other. They live in each others joys and sorrows and man those happy moments were quite heart warming.
In partners In Persuasion we get a unique relationship (that is my favorite to see which is rarely done in this series) seeing a dominant and submissive pairing. However unlike "Declaration Of Courtship", the dominant of the pair is our heroine and the submissive is our hero. This adds something very unique and different. Of course, we have seen hints of couples through the series with these pairing, but not as a main story. Felix, is a submissive and content with his role in the pack. He has been burned by having a relationship with a dominant before (who was very cruel to him). He doesn't know if he can do it again, when Dezi comes flirting with him. Dezi, may be a dominant female, and she has always had dominant partners, and has never found a man she can be truly happy with until she meets Felix. A man who is loyal, reliable and gentle. Like with these type of pairing, they come across some difficulties, but they work through it and build a slow trust with each other. Truly a heartwarming and sweet romance that I couldn't get enough. and my favorite of this anthology.
In Flirtation Of Fate we have a story of a second chance romance between Kenji and Ganget. Kenji and Ganget fell in love when they were younger but right when their relationship was turning into a mating dance. Kenji learned a painful truth about himself and he pushed Ganget away. Now its been years, and both are still single. When a murder of one of their own happens, they are forced to work together to get to the bottom of this murder mystery. Boy these two were so fun!! Ganget was awesome, she doesn't tolerate crap from anyone and Kenji really hurt her in the past. But when she spends more time with him, and realizes that not every was as it seemed...she is going to find out the truth and give him hell for it!! And boy does she...I love seeing these two find their way back to each other and exonerate a innocent man.
This was such a wonderful anthology, and I loved seeing these side characters have their own stories or seeing a personal favorite and having some more depth to his story!!! Well written and a compelling group of mini stories that I found endearing, unique and memorable!
Click On Image For Buy Link
[foogallery id="18488"]
July 24, 2020
Nalini Singh is one of my favorite authors even though I started her books way after they had all been released. What can I say? I’m fashionably late.
There have always been a lot of side characters or characters that were mentioned that have always intrigued me. With Wild Embrace some of been crossed off my list.
Echoes of Silence ★★★★★
Stefan Berg runs the underwater station Alaris with BlackSea. He is Psy and a former Arrow although there is no such thing as a former Arrow. He’s conditioning has always been weak at the best of times but then an engineer comes on board who makes it go all haywire. Stefan is adorable.
Tazia grew up in a small village in the desert. But wanted to fulfill her dreams and as the smart spark that she is she achieved them but she lost her family along the way. She feels lonely.
Stefan tries to get to know her and after they take their leave to the surface. Stefan invites Tazia along to help with a search and rescue. They move from friends to being in love to eventually getting their happily ever after.
Dorian ★★★★★
I love Dorian, the latent cat. He is one of my favorite characters in this series. The overachiever a sentinel. We see him as a small kid and the pack dynamics he has with Lucas, Clay, Vaughn, Mercy when they are younger. What Dorian has to have been through because he is latent. We see him change and what it means for him. I had such a goofy smile on my face to see what they were like when they were younger. What is struggles were like, and we get a brief glimpse of Kylie. And that he became the best but now that he could shift he had to learn to let his cat take over.
In Partners Persuasion ★★★★★
I didn’t think a book with a dominant female and a submissive male would have worked but it did. Desiree a senior soldier in the DarkRiver pack is enamored with Felix the horticulturist from the SnowDancer pack. Felix has been burnt before when he let himself get involved with a dominant. All he wants to do is look after his seedlings, find a mate, settle down and have pups. Desi is always the strong one and without realizing it she needs some soft, caring person in her life. She gets that with Felix. Felix courted Desi in a sneaky way.I loved how Desi took time to try to get to know him. And even though they had a rocky start they got their happily ever after. And although they were all epic of the novellas this is by far my favorite.
Flirtation of Fate ★★★★★
I wasn’t feeling this at the beginning but I was coming off my Deslix high. On top of that although there was chemistry between them. There was also a big rift and I didn’t see how that could be bridged. My curiosity got the better of me though because I really wanted to know what the deal was with Garnet and Kenji. Kenji & Garnet work in different dens for SnowDancer and they have history but they have always meant to be together. Garnet starts to see the caring boy that she once knew and realizes that there is something that Kenji hasn’t been telling her. Kenji can’t keep it a secret anymore how matter how hard he tries. There is also a mystery/murder that needs to be solved. Loved it!
I can’t wait to see what Nalini Singh comes up with next.
Review can also be found @ http://jerisbookattic-reviewblog.blog...
Dear Berkley,
I feel honoured that for the third time I have been approved for a book. I'm tickled pink. Please do keep it up. I know I'm being a cheeky monkey. Thank you!
Yours truly
Kate Phoenix
There have always been a lot of side characters or characters that were mentioned that have always intrigued me. With Wild Embrace some of been crossed off my list.
Echoes of Silence ★★★★★
Stefan Berg runs the underwater station Alaris with BlackSea. He is Psy and a former Arrow although there is no such thing as a former Arrow. He’s conditioning has always been weak at the best of times but then an engineer comes on board who makes it go all haywire. Stefan is adorable.
Tazia grew up in a small village in the desert. But wanted to fulfill her dreams and as the smart spark that she is she achieved them but she lost her family along the way. She feels lonely.
Stefan tries to get to know her and after they take their leave to the surface. Stefan invites Tazia along to help with a search and rescue. They move from friends to being in love to eventually getting their happily ever after.
Dorian ★★★★★
I love Dorian, the latent cat. He is one of my favorite characters in this series. The overachiever a sentinel. We see him as a small kid and the pack dynamics he has with Lucas, Clay, Vaughn, Mercy when they are younger. What Dorian has to have been through because he is latent. We see him change and what it means for him. I had such a goofy smile on my face to see what they were like when they were younger. What is struggles were like, and we get a brief glimpse of Kylie. And that he became the best but now that he could shift he had to learn to let his cat take over.
In Partners Persuasion ★★★★★
I didn’t think a book with a dominant female and a submissive male would have worked but it did. Desiree a senior soldier in the DarkRiver pack is enamored with Felix the horticulturist from the SnowDancer pack. Felix has been burnt before when he let himself get involved with a dominant. All he wants to do is look after his seedlings, find a mate, settle down and have pups. Desi is always the strong one and without realizing it she needs some soft, caring person in her life. She gets that with Felix. Felix courted Desi in a sneaky way.I loved how Desi took time to try to get to know him. And even though they had a rocky start they got their happily ever after. And although they were all epic of the novellas this is by far my favorite.
Flirtation of Fate ★★★★★
I wasn’t feeling this at the beginning but I was coming off my Deslix high. On top of that although there was chemistry between them. There was also a big rift and I didn’t see how that could be bridged. My curiosity got the better of me though because I really wanted to know what the deal was with Garnet and Kenji. Kenji & Garnet work in different dens for SnowDancer and they have history but they have always meant to be together. Garnet starts to see the caring boy that she once knew and realizes that there is something that Kenji hasn’t been telling her. Kenji can’t keep it a secret anymore how matter how hard he tries. There is also a mystery/murder that needs to be solved. Loved it!
I can’t wait to see what Nalini Singh comes up with next.
Review can also be found @ http://jerisbookattic-reviewblog.blog...
Dear Berkley,
I feel honoured that for the third time I have been approved for a book. I'm tickled pink. Please do keep it up. I know I'm being a cheeky monkey. Thank you!
Yours truly
Kate Phoenix
September 8, 2021
I love the way Nalini Singh gives fans a chance to see the romances that don't get to play out in the full length novels. The Psy-Changeling world is such a huge one that it would be impossible for everyone to get their own book so these additional novellas are a great way to revisit old favourites or just add extra depth and background. She is one of the few authors who never fails to make me connect with her characters, whether she's writing short stories, novellas or full length books she never lets me down and I always know I'm in for a treat when I pick up something with her name on it.
Wild Embrace contains four brand new novellas that have never been published anywhere else. These stories are set at different points throughout the Psy-Changeling series (I'll point out where they fit in as I talk about each individual novella) and although they aren't essential reading because you won't miss any major plot points if you skip them I'd still highly recommend picking up this anthology because they're all great.
Echo of Silence:
This novella is set just after Visions of Heat and gives us the chance to spend time on the deep-sea station Alaris with human engineer Tazia and telekinetic Psy Stefan. I can't be the only fan who has been desperate to get to know the Stefan, I mean he was the one who wrote the Psy guide to sex that all the other Psy guys have been adding to throughout the series, so of course I wanted to know more about him! Although it isn't a secret that Stefan's Silence is defective he still has to be incredibly careful not to show his emotions in case he ends up getting his mind wiped by the Psy Council. The only reason he's been left alone this long is because he has such a rare and useful ability but that won't save him if they find out just how "broken" he is. Just because he's good at hiding his emotions doesn't stop him feeling them though and I absolutely loved the slow build relationship that develops between him and Tazia.
Tazia was a great character and I loved seeing how strong she was to fight against her culture to follow her dreams of becoming an engineer. It wasn't easy for her to go against her family's wishes and it was for her to be estranged from the people she loved but it was nice to see how Stefan was so caring towards her when she needed him to be. They're also facing a bigger struggle than most of the other couples in the series because Stefan has to work so hard to hide their relationship on the Psy-net. They are taking a huge risk to be together but it more than pays off for them in the long run.
Dorian:
I loved Dorian's story, it's the shortest one in the anthology and unlike the others it's not a romance but it was great to get further insight into his character's background. This story takes place over a number of years and finishes just after events in Visions of Heat. As a leopard Changeling without the ability to actually change shape Dorian has never had it easy and this story is all about him learning to come to terms with his situation.
Dorian had to learn to find other ways to communicate with his other side and he had to learn other ways to play and work alongside the rest of his pack. It was obvious in his book (Hostage to Pleasure) that he was well respected by Lucas and his packmates but this is more about him dealing with his personal demons. This story does contain a few spoilers for his storyline so if you've not read his book yet I'd recommend holding off on this one. Having said that if you already know what happens to him later on you're going to absolutely love the last scene in this story. It totally melted my heart and I love Dorian more than ever now.
Partners in Persuasion:
This novella begins towards the end of Tangle of Need and features submissive wolf Felix and dominant leopard Dezi. Felix has been hurt before by a dominant wolf so he's afraid of getting burnt a second time but Dezi knows what she wants and she has the patience to win Felix around. It's not always easy to sell me on a dominant female / submissive male pairing, too often dominant is actually code for "arrogant and bitchy" when it comes to women while submissive men are just too easy for them to walk all over and that never sits well with me. I trust Nalini though and she didn't steer me wrong here.
Dezi is strong and she's definitely the dominant partner in this pairing but she's not pushy or arrogant and she's very careful not to push Felix beyond his boundaries. Felix may be submissive but that doesn't make him weak and he's willing to stand his ground when he needs to so I have no fears that Dezi could take advantage of him. I think they're actually both incredibly strong characters and I enjoyed seeing them work around the challenges that come as part of being not just a dominant/submissive pairing but also from being from both SnowDancer and DarkRiver packs. I love the way the two packs are becoming more and more entwined as the series progresses!
Flirtation of Fate:
I think a lot of fans have been waiting for Kenji and Garnet's story for a long time now, Flirtation of Fate takes place towards the end of Heart of Obsidian and gives Kenji a second chance to make things right with Garnet after he rejected her previously. I've loved the banter between these two for a long time now and I've been wondering if they were ever going to act on it but I didn't realise quite how much Kenji had hurt Garnet by walking away from her before. I was irritated with him when I found out his reasons, I thought their age was a pretty poor excuse for leaving when he knew exactly what she was to him but he's so lovable that I ended up forgiving him just like Garnet did.
This story takes place away from the SnowDancer den at the territory Kenji look after and there is a bit of mystery going on in the background after one of their packmates is murdered. I have to admit I'd figured out the killer fairly early on but that didn't stop me enjoying seeing Kenji and Garnet working together to try and put it all together. I would have loved this story to be a bit longer so we could have spent more time with them as a couple but I still really loved their flirtatious banter and think they're a fab couple.
Source: Received from Gollancz in exchange for an honest review
Wild Embrace contains four brand new novellas that have never been published anywhere else. These stories are set at different points throughout the Psy-Changeling series (I'll point out where they fit in as I talk about each individual novella) and although they aren't essential reading because you won't miss any major plot points if you skip them I'd still highly recommend picking up this anthology because they're all great.
Echo of Silence:
This novella is set just after Visions of Heat and gives us the chance to spend time on the deep-sea station Alaris with human engineer Tazia and telekinetic Psy Stefan. I can't be the only fan who has been desperate to get to know the Stefan, I mean he was the one who wrote the Psy guide to sex that all the other Psy guys have been adding to throughout the series, so of course I wanted to know more about him! Although it isn't a secret that Stefan's Silence is defective he still has to be incredibly careful not to show his emotions in case he ends up getting his mind wiped by the Psy Council. The only reason he's been left alone this long is because he has such a rare and useful ability but that won't save him if they find out just how "broken" he is. Just because he's good at hiding his emotions doesn't stop him feeling them though and I absolutely loved the slow build relationship that develops between him and Tazia.
Tazia was a great character and I loved seeing how strong she was to fight against her culture to follow her dreams of becoming an engineer. It wasn't easy for her to go against her family's wishes and it was for her to be estranged from the people she loved but it was nice to see how Stefan was so caring towards her when she needed him to be. They're also facing a bigger struggle than most of the other couples in the series because Stefan has to work so hard to hide their relationship on the Psy-net. They are taking a huge risk to be together but it more than pays off for them in the long run.
Dorian:
I loved Dorian's story, it's the shortest one in the anthology and unlike the others it's not a romance but it was great to get further insight into his character's background. This story takes place over a number of years and finishes just after events in Visions of Heat. As a leopard Changeling without the ability to actually change shape Dorian has never had it easy and this story is all about him learning to come to terms with his situation.
Dorian had to learn to find other ways to communicate with his other side and he had to learn other ways to play and work alongside the rest of his pack. It was obvious in his book (Hostage to Pleasure) that he was well respected by Lucas and his packmates but this is more about him dealing with his personal demons. This story does contain a few spoilers for his storyline so if you've not read his book yet I'd recommend holding off on this one. Having said that if you already know what happens to him later on you're going to absolutely love the last scene in this story. It totally melted my heart and I love Dorian more than ever now.
Partners in Persuasion:
This novella begins towards the end of Tangle of Need and features submissive wolf Felix and dominant leopard Dezi. Felix has been hurt before by a dominant wolf so he's afraid of getting burnt a second time but Dezi knows what she wants and she has the patience to win Felix around. It's not always easy to sell me on a dominant female / submissive male pairing, too often dominant is actually code for "arrogant and bitchy" when it comes to women while submissive men are just too easy for them to walk all over and that never sits well with me. I trust Nalini though and she didn't steer me wrong here.
Dezi is strong and she's definitely the dominant partner in this pairing but she's not pushy or arrogant and she's very careful not to push Felix beyond his boundaries. Felix may be submissive but that doesn't make him weak and he's willing to stand his ground when he needs to so I have no fears that Dezi could take advantage of him. I think they're actually both incredibly strong characters and I enjoyed seeing them work around the challenges that come as part of being not just a dominant/submissive pairing but also from being from both SnowDancer and DarkRiver packs. I love the way the two packs are becoming more and more entwined as the series progresses!
Flirtation of Fate:
I think a lot of fans have been waiting for Kenji and Garnet's story for a long time now, Flirtation of Fate takes place towards the end of Heart of Obsidian and gives Kenji a second chance to make things right with Garnet after he rejected her previously. I've loved the banter between these two for a long time now and I've been wondering if they were ever going to act on it but I didn't realise quite how much Kenji had hurt Garnet by walking away from her before. I was irritated with him when I found out his reasons, I thought their age was a pretty poor excuse for leaving when he knew exactly what she was to him but he's so lovable that I ended up forgiving him just like Garnet did.
This story takes place away from the SnowDancer den at the territory Kenji look after and there is a bit of mystery going on in the background after one of their packmates is murdered. I have to admit I'd figured out the killer fairly early on but that didn't stop me enjoying seeing Kenji and Garnet working together to try and put it all together. I would have loved this story to be a bit longer so we could have spent more time with them as a couple but I still really loved their flirtatious banter and think they're a fab couple.
Source: Received from Gollancz in exchange for an honest review
January 7, 2017
I will edit this review and add to it as I read the other parts that's included in this anthology.
Psy-Changeling #2.5 - Echo of Silence
Read on 7/1-2017 (January 7th)
3.5 stars
I liked it but there's something I don't understand. Will Tazia & Stefan's story have something to do with the other books in this series? I've only read the books before this one so I don't really know.
One thing I liked about it was that the paranormal stuff wasn't all that complicated or confusing. I still don't understand everything about the Psy and their PsyNet and their history etc. So I appreciated that there wasn't that much about it in this short novella.
But it was kind of slow.. There wasn't all that much going on in it.
Psy-Changeling #2.5 - Echo of Silence
Read on 7/1-2017 (January 7th)
3.5 stars
I liked it but there's something I don't understand. Will Tazia & Stefan's story have something to do with the other books in this series? I've only read the books before this one so I don't really know.
One thing I liked about it was that the paranormal stuff wasn't all that complicated or confusing. I still don't understand everything about the Psy and their PsyNet and their history etc. So I appreciated that there wasn't that much about it in this short novella.
But it was kind of slow.. There wasn't all that much going on in it.
October 8, 2023
This is a bindup of short stories & novellas set in the first arc of the psy-changeling series and they're definitely worth reading. We get a little more insight into Dorian finally being able to change, but perhaps my favorite story was Partners in Persuasion. This is a really sweet romance between a dominant female Changeling and a submissive male who still has a lot of strength in his own way and amazing with plants. It's a lovely slow-burn romance.
May 29, 2016
Well, hell. I told myself I'd savor this collection of Psy-Changeling shorts—maybe drag out the reading of them to make the experience that much sweeter.
I tried. I did. It was just so hard, given the way these characters captured my heart...and the entirety of my attention.
Echo of Silence
I really, truly LOVE stories that feature a Psy, their silent exterior and their battle with their newly-emerging emotions. This story was wonderful. Despite the short form, it didn't ever feel rushed—the relationship between Stefan and Tazia a well-paced and sweetly emotional one. I felt Echo of Silence deep in my heart, and loved seeing the complicated-yet-easy development of a forbidden-but-undeniable relationship. ~ 4.5 stars
Dorian
Although the shortest of the four, there's no doubt I would purchase this anthology for this story alone. Deeply emotional, Dorian was exactly what I felt was missing from Hostage to Pleasure--Dorian’s original book. It covers a large span of time, and showcases exactly why Dorian was—IS—my favorite sentinel. Simply amazing, and wholly rewarding for a loyal Psy-Changeling reader. ~ 5 stars
Partners in Persuasion
The role reversal... I really wasn’t sure how I'd react to this one—male submissive, female dominant—given the unusual nature of it, but Ms. Singh used this mating to highlight her amazing skill. Felix—I adored him. He wasn't weak despite his submissive nature, in the same way Dezi wasn't too brash or tough. They complemented and understood each other, and this story proved how inclusive, unique and forward this series is. It easily brought a smile to my face. A very, very big one. ~ 5 stars
Flirtation of Fate
Oh, how I've been waiting to get to know the story behind Kenji and Jem's sarcastic flirtations. And that bruise... This novella was part suspense, part romance, and all excellence. While I quickly figured out the mystery, seeing this couple finally face-off was intensely rewarding. I do perhaps wish it could have been a touch more focused on Kenji and Garnet, and a little longer—despite already being the longest story in this anthology—but regardless, I loved each word, each glimpse at a new side of the SnowDancer pack, and each insight into two dominant, complicated and lovable lieutenants. ~ 4 stars
Overall, Wild Embrace is yet another heart-pounding, page-turning, unputdownable (no matter how well-intentioned your plans may be...) installment in this amazing series. Ms. Singh has added another deep, thoughtful and unique layer to her already exceptional, complicated world, and I will be waiting with high hopes and bated breath to see what comes next. ~ Beth, 5 stars
I tried. I did. It was just so hard, given the way these characters captured my heart...and the entirety of my attention.
Echo of Silence
I really, truly LOVE stories that feature a Psy, their silent exterior and their battle with their newly-emerging emotions. This story was wonderful. Despite the short form, it didn't ever feel rushed—the relationship between Stefan and Tazia a well-paced and sweetly emotional one. I felt Echo of Silence deep in my heart, and loved seeing the complicated-yet-easy development of a forbidden-but-undeniable relationship. ~ 4.5 stars
Dorian
Although the shortest of the four, there's no doubt I would purchase this anthology for this story alone. Deeply emotional, Dorian was exactly what I felt was missing from Hostage to Pleasure--Dorian’s original book. It covers a large span of time, and showcases exactly why Dorian was—IS—my favorite sentinel. Simply amazing, and wholly rewarding for a loyal Psy-Changeling reader. ~ 5 stars
Partners in Persuasion
The role reversal... I really wasn’t sure how I'd react to this one—male submissive, female dominant—given the unusual nature of it, but Ms. Singh used this mating to highlight her amazing skill. Felix—I adored him. He wasn't weak despite his submissive nature, in the same way Dezi wasn't too brash or tough. They complemented and understood each other, and this story proved how inclusive, unique and forward this series is. It easily brought a smile to my face. A very, very big one. ~ 5 stars
Flirtation of Fate
Oh, how I've been waiting to get to know the story behind Kenji and Jem's sarcastic flirtations. And that bruise... This novella was part suspense, part romance, and all excellence. While I quickly figured out the mystery, seeing this couple finally face-off was intensely rewarding. I do perhaps wish it could have been a touch more focused on Kenji and Garnet, and a little longer—despite already being the longest story in this anthology—but regardless, I loved each word, each glimpse at a new side of the SnowDancer pack, and each insight into two dominant, complicated and lovable lieutenants. ~ 4 stars
Overall, Wild Embrace is yet another heart-pounding, page-turning, unputdownable (no matter how well-intentioned your plans may be...) installment in this amazing series. Ms. Singh has added another deep, thoughtful and unique layer to her already exceptional, complicated world, and I will be waiting with high hopes and bated breath to see what comes next. ~ Beth, 5 stars
July 15, 2017
4.5 stars
- Echo of Silence: ★★★★ - Tazia and Stefan where so cute together and Stefan is everything.
- Dorian: ★★★★★ - Teenagers Dorian, Mercy, Lucas and Vaughn. That's all.
- Partners in Persuasion: ★★★★ - Adorable.
- Flirtation of Fate: ★★★★★ - Do you have any idea how long I've waited for Jem and Kenji's story??!! Amazing.
-------Then
- Echo of Silence: ★★★★ - Tazia and Stefan where so cute together and Stefan is everything.
- Dorian: ★★★★★ - Teenagers Dorian, Mercy, Lucas and Vaughn. That's all.
- Partners in Persuasion: ★★★★ - Adorable.
- Flirtation of Fate: ★★★★★ - Do you have any idea how long I've waited for Jem and Kenji's story??!! Amazing.
-------Then
August 28, 2016
Enjoyed all these short stories, looking forward to the next in the series!!
September 26, 2016
We have on our hands another anthology bursting full of Nalini Singh goodness, in the form of a collection of shorts set in her Psy Changeling world.
Echo’s of Silence
The first book in this anthology is a human-Psy pairing, which answered a lot of questions for me. Now, in previous books the Arrows mention Alaris the deep sea station and one of their own they have there and they hint that he has a partner and has broken Silence long before even Judd, from book #3, did. I always wondered who this guy was and who he had mated with. Now I know, and hopefully I am not the only one who was wondering.
On to the story itself, I thought I would be disappointed that there was no changeling in this book, but I wasn’t. I loved it, as always Singh has written a great little romance; sweet and sexy and I devoured this short in one sitting.
Dorian
This is less a short story and more of snippet’s of Dorian’s life, from when he was a cub and trying to deal with his latency, to when he first managed his transformation in to a leopard. For any Dorian fans, like me, this is a great few pages to read and makes me want to go straight back to the beginning of the series and reread.
Partners in Persuasion
This one was my favourite of the anthology as it showed us something a little bit different. In this book we have a submissive male and dominant female pairing. Now, those of you who are thinking leather and leashes, put your restraints away. Felix is a submissive male in the SnowDancer pack, which basically means he isn’t a fighter and feels compelled to obey those more dominant than him. Desiree is a dominant female from the DarkRiver pack on the way to being a Sentinel. In most romance, especially shifter ones, it’s the male that’s more dominant and Singh has generally followed this trend, which is why I loved this book so much, it showed a different dynamic.
Much like other Singh books this was sexy, fun and romantic, Felix’s shyness was adorable and Desiree was a stronge female character who was just the woman to appreciate him.
Flirtation of Fate
And we come to the fourth and final book in this anthology, I’m kind of sad that it’s ending, I have enjoyed every one of the stories including this one. Flirtation of Fate is set with the SnowDancer wolves and is about two lieutenants, Garnet and Kenji. These two have a lot of history together and although you don’t really meet them until this anthology Singh does a fantastic job of filling you in in the short amount of page space available. You also can’t help but get drawn into the tension between them, it’s a mix of unfulfilled desire, anger and longing, it draws you in until you have to see what will happen next.
I feel like I’m repeating myself but…this story was sexy, romantic and full of Singh’s signature style, if you loved the other books in this anthology you will love this one.
It’s so rare to find an anthology where you like every single story, and yet Singh has produced that rare gem with Wild Embrace. If you already love the Psy Changeling series than this is a must read, if you haven’t read it, this gives you a nice taste of Nalini Singh’s style.
July 20, 2017
Originally posted at Booklovers For Life
Nalini Singh is one of the few authors I’ve read who’s capable of writing so much in so little. Despite the novella length of each of the stories in Wild Embrace, they are all packed with heart and emotion. I seriously loved reading Wild Embrace – it’s only made me even more immersed and in love with the Psy-Changeling world. If you’re a fan of the series, you don’t want to miss out on these four stories!
Echo of Silence: If you’ve missed the old Psy-Changeling romance where the two characters are different species, like I’ll admit I have, then you HAVE to read Echo of Silence. The heroine, Tazia, is human, an engineer who’s captivated by her Psy station commander. As a Psy, Stefan is quiet and in control of all emotions. This novella is set before the Psy broke Silence, so it’s forbidden for Stefan to fall for Tazia, but when they start to work together in close proximity, you can feel the developing emotions between them. This story warmed my heart and is definitely my favorite in Wild Embrace.
Dorian: This is the shortest of the novellas, and not a romance, but I loved it anyway. We’re back with Dorian, getting snippets of his past and present, back from when he was struggling with his latent Changeling to now in his utter happiness and contentment with his mate and adopted children. We also see much of Dorian’s friends, including all the sentinels and Lucas. It was great to dive back into DarkRiver, because I’ve definitely missed them.
Partners in Persuasion: I loved the idea of this novella, with a romance between a SnowDancer male submissive and a DarkRiver female dominant. And obviously, Nalini Singh doesn’t disappoint – I was fascinated with this Changeling pairing role-reversal. Felix and Dezi’s romance is seriously the sweetest! It grew at a slow, genuine pace and put a smile on my face.
Flirtation of Fate: Kenji and Garnet is the main reason why I was most excited to read Wild Embrace, because throughout the series we’ve seen the chemistry between these two as they go head-to-head and we don’t know why they aren’t already together. Well, now we finally find out the reason and I’ll admit, Kenji’s reason for pushing Garnet away was a little disappointing. I didn’t feel like it warranted him breaking her heart and staying away for years. But other than that, it was wonderful to see these two, who have always been meant for each other, finally get together.
Is it too soon to already want more Psy-Changeling? I seriously can’t get enough of this series, and Wild Embrace has only just barely whetted my appetite for more. While this book isn’t necessary to keep up with the series, it’s still an incredible, entertaining read that gives you an even more in-depth glance at the Psy-Changeling world. I wouldn’t say you need to be all caught up to read this either – whether you’ve read all fifteen books out so far, or just one, Wild Embrace has all the PNR goodness that Nalini Singh is so good at delivering.
Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.
Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/1lW6Wxv
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1Ov9A8z
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Nalini Singh is one of the few authors I’ve read who’s capable of writing so much in so little. Despite the novella length of each of the stories in Wild Embrace, they are all packed with heart and emotion. I seriously loved reading Wild Embrace – it’s only made me even more immersed and in love with the Psy-Changeling world. If you’re a fan of the series, you don’t want to miss out on these four stories!
Echo of Silence: If you’ve missed the old Psy-Changeling romance where the two characters are different species, like I’ll admit I have, then you HAVE to read Echo of Silence. The heroine, Tazia, is human, an engineer who’s captivated by her Psy station commander. As a Psy, Stefan is quiet and in control of all emotions. This novella is set before the Psy broke Silence, so it’s forbidden for Stefan to fall for Tazia, but when they start to work together in close proximity, you can feel the developing emotions between them. This story warmed my heart and is definitely my favorite in Wild Embrace.
Dorian: This is the shortest of the novellas, and not a romance, but I loved it anyway. We’re back with Dorian, getting snippets of his past and present, back from when he was struggling with his latent Changeling to now in his utter happiness and contentment with his mate and adopted children. We also see much of Dorian’s friends, including all the sentinels and Lucas. It was great to dive back into DarkRiver, because I’ve definitely missed them.
Partners in Persuasion: I loved the idea of this novella, with a romance between a SnowDancer male submissive and a DarkRiver female dominant. And obviously, Nalini Singh doesn’t disappoint – I was fascinated with this Changeling pairing role-reversal. Felix and Dezi’s romance is seriously the sweetest! It grew at a slow, genuine pace and put a smile on my face.
Flirtation of Fate: Kenji and Garnet is the main reason why I was most excited to read Wild Embrace, because throughout the series we’ve seen the chemistry between these two as they go head-to-head and we don’t know why they aren’t already together. Well, now we finally find out the reason and I’ll admit, Kenji’s reason for pushing Garnet away was a little disappointing. I didn’t feel like it warranted him breaking her heart and staying away for years. But other than that, it was wonderful to see these two, who have always been meant for each other, finally get together.
Is it too soon to already want more Psy-Changeling? I seriously can’t get enough of this series, and Wild Embrace has only just barely whetted my appetite for more. While this book isn’t necessary to keep up with the series, it’s still an incredible, entertaining read that gives you an even more in-depth glance at the Psy-Changeling world. I wouldn’t say you need to be all caught up to read this either – whether you’ve read all fifteen books out so far, or just one, Wild Embrace has all the PNR goodness that Nalini Singh is so good at delivering.
Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.
Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/1lW6Wxv
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1Ov9A8z
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June 24, 2016
Four stories of uneven quality; with ‘Dorian’ as the gem of the bunch...
Echo of Silence
This one harkens back to the earlier days of Silence, when a break in emotion would be ‘fixed’ by extensive reconditioning. Human engineer Tazia serves on a deep sea lab, along with the commander of their group, Stefan, a Tk. Stefan had been released from the Arrows for having a psyche considered too flawed for him to serve as an Arrow. When they both find themselves doing search-and-rescue work during their mandatory month topside; their carefully constructed work relationship takes a decidedly personal, and forbidden, turn. Very good - 4 Stars.
Dorian
This is the one everyone wants to read, and I am no exception. Dorian was the cat changeling who couldn't shift. This is a fairly brief story; really just a series of vignettes from different periods in Dorian’s life. Regular readers of the series already know Dorian (and Psy mate Shaya) from their book ‘Hostage to Pleasure’. The last part of the story was an epilogue of sorts to the book; and it was wonderful to see Dorian in his natural element. Fan favorite - 5 Stars.
Partners in Persuasion
This is the story of a dominant female leopard changeling; and a submissive male wolf. Although Desiree is obviously interested in him, Felix has been burned by a dominant female in the past, and is not eager to repeat the experience. Their relationship begins and works along in a (very) careful and slow courtship. Exploring the semantics of a relationship between a dominant and submissive changeling was interesting at first; but not quite so much as the story went on without making much headway. By the time the mating dance finally started, I had skimmed a bit. Still, it was an interesting take on the theme; and it was great to touch base with some fave DarkRiver and especially SnowDancer characters. As a couple, they did seem to understand and complement each other well; and there was a well thought out and deeper explanation of the do’s-and-don’ts of ‘skin privileges’ and the ‘mating dance’. Cute - 3.5 Stars.
Flirtation of Fate
Kenjie and Garnet; regular series already know a little about this couple, and now their story is played out…sort of. More than just a love story, there is a murder mystery they investigate that dominates that story. This mystery starts out interesting, but fizzles out at the end. As for our lovers, they have been separated for seven long years in an angsty, NA fashion; kept apart by a misunderstanding that could have been cleared up with a single conversation. And Kenjie’s “big secret” quite frankly wasn't that big of a deal, imo. It was definitely something that should have been dealt with when he first found out; instead of dumping Garnet and running away for so many years. Then when Garnet finally has a chance for love again, he jumps back into her life. A little disappointing – 3 NA drama and angst filled Stars.
Echo of Silence
This one harkens back to the earlier days of Silence, when a break in emotion would be ‘fixed’ by extensive reconditioning. Human engineer Tazia serves on a deep sea lab, along with the commander of their group, Stefan, a Tk. Stefan had been released from the Arrows for having a psyche considered too flawed for him to serve as an Arrow. When they both find themselves doing search-and-rescue work during their mandatory month topside; their carefully constructed work relationship takes a decidedly personal, and forbidden, turn. Very good - 4 Stars.
Dorian
This is the one everyone wants to read, and I am no exception. Dorian was the cat changeling who couldn't shift. This is a fairly brief story; really just a series of vignettes from different periods in Dorian’s life. Regular readers of the series already know Dorian (and Psy mate Shaya) from their book ‘Hostage to Pleasure’. The last part of the story was an epilogue of sorts to the book; and it was wonderful to see Dorian in his natural element. Fan favorite - 5 Stars.
Partners in Persuasion
This is the story of a dominant female leopard changeling; and a submissive male wolf. Although Desiree is obviously interested in him, Felix has been burned by a dominant female in the past, and is not eager to repeat the experience. Their relationship begins and works along in a (very) careful and slow courtship. Exploring the semantics of a relationship between a dominant and submissive changeling was interesting at first; but not quite so much as the story went on without making much headway. By the time the mating dance finally started, I had skimmed a bit. Still, it was an interesting take on the theme; and it was great to touch base with some fave DarkRiver and especially SnowDancer characters. As a couple, they did seem to understand and complement each other well; and there was a well thought out and deeper explanation of the do’s-and-don’ts of ‘skin privileges’ and the ‘mating dance’. Cute - 3.5 Stars.
Flirtation of Fate
Kenjie and Garnet; regular series already know a little about this couple, and now their story is played out…sort of. More than just a love story, there is a murder mystery they investigate that dominates that story. This mystery starts out interesting, but fizzles out at the end. As for our lovers, they have been separated for seven long years in an angsty, NA fashion; kept apart by a misunderstanding that could have been cleared up with a single conversation. And Kenjie’s “big secret” quite frankly wasn't that big of a deal, imo. It was definitely something that should have been dealt with when he first found out; instead of dumping Garnet and running away for so many years. Then when Garnet finally has a chance for love again, he jumps back into her life. A little disappointing – 3 NA drama and angst filled Stars.
June 16, 2016
WILD EMBRACE is an anthology from premier paranormal romance author Nalini Singh. If you’re a fan of the Psy-Changeling series like I am, then this will certainly be something you want to check out. This anthology contains four new novellas set in the world, featuring some past characters we know and love as well as some new ones. If you’ve read the latest book from Singh, ALLIGIANCE OF HONOR, then you may be aware of the transition she had made with the series. We are exploring more of the world and in turn, Singh is introducing new characters. These novellas feature everything from Psy and changelings.
The story that I was most excited about was of course Dorian. Readers have already met him before in HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE but I love that we got to explore more of his life as he struggles with being unable to shift. It’s certainly a happy story for him and he’ll go down as one of my favorites in the series.
My other favorite is Flirtation of Fate, which is about Kenji and Garnet. This felt a little darker as they have to investigate a murder of one of their own, but the romance is uplifting enough that it creates a good balance.
I would definitely recommend this to readers who follow this series. Singh’s writing is so easy to follow and I like the alternating sweet and tense moments. Although these are all novellas, I do think they offer a complete story and are a good way to tide you over until the next release.
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