Book Review(s): Psy-Changeling Series by Nalini Singh

Words cannot express the chokehold this series has on me still after reading. So much so that I have been in a reading slump since I finished the series at the beginning of the month. I am forcing myself to take a breather before diving into the (unfinished) sequel series. But first, let's talk about how I found the series. To quote my favorite podcaster Kate Winkler-Dawson, let's set the scene.

I heard about the series on BookTok around the same time that Ali Hazelwood's Bride came out. The first book of the series was being recommended as a shifter romance to help folks get through their book hangover from Bride. I thought, "I'm writing a shifter romance, so let me check it out". I put a hold on book one at the library and forgot about it. Until I visit The Ripped Bodice. I'm drawn to their selection of Nalini Singh's books and buy two books from the Psy-Changeling Trinity series, thinking it would be good to read her books for research purposes. At the time, I figured I could read the series out of order, but some internet research told me that I really needed to start with the Psy-Changeling series to get the most out of Trinity. And wouldn't you know, book one was ready for me at the library.

The Psy-Changeling series takes place in an alternate universe where there are three races: Psy, Changeling, and plain old humans. Each of these factions is ruled separately and the factions rarely interact. The Psy are pretty much at the top of the food chain. They have psychic abilities, such as telekinesis and telepathy, and are governed by Silence, a conditioning program that eliminates their emotions. Changelings are your classic shifters and they live in packs. The two shifter packs that are important for the story are DarkRiver, a leopard changeling pack, and SnowDancer, a wolf changeling pack. Humans exist at the bottom of the food chain and are somewhat governed by the Human Alliance. The story takes place mostly in San Francisco and surrounding areas in California, but we do find ourselves in various locals all over the world.

Below is my serious review of each of the 15 books in the series and the ranking of the main couple. At this point, expect spoilers. Overall, I loved the series and loved the characters and whole-heartedly have been recommending it left and right. I went from reading it "for research" to devouring it. Nalini Singh is truly a master of the genre and I was soooo disappointed when I couldn't attend her event at The Ripped Bodice earlier this month. Anyway, grab a beverage of your choice, have a little treat, and get comfy because we are going to dive into it.

Book One: Slave to Sensation- This is our introduction to the Psy-Changeling world, told through the love story of Sascha, a Psy, and Lucas, the DarkRiver alpha. Sascha becomes drawn to Lucas and through him, discovers the strength of her emotions and her power. We get a lot of Sascha and Lucas throughout the series. Rating: 3/5; Sascha and Lucas are great, but they are not my favorite couple in the series. They are however the foundational couple, much of the action revolves around these two.

Book Two: Visions of Heat- Book Two follows Faith, a future-seeing Psy who has been sheltered from others for most of her life, and Vaughn, a member of DarkRiver who is more leopard than man. They are a great couple. Faith is an excellent FMC and is vulnerable but strong at the same time. Vaughn is an excellent foil for her. He knows when to push her and when to protect her. He calls her Red (*swoon*) and thinks she's so much stronger than she gives herself credit for. The spice scenes are raw and build as they progress in their relationship. Rating: 5/5; Faith and Vaughn are one of my favorite couples. I really resonated with Faith. My only complaint is that there is not enough of them in the rest of the series like some of the other couples. I want more Faith and Vaughn.

Book Three: Caressed by Ice- Just when I thought Book Two was perfection, I read Book Three. It follows Judd, a Psy member of SnowDancer, and Brenna, a wolf of SnowDancer who was kidnapped and rescued in Book One. Brenna needs a lot of healing and most of the book does follow her putting the pieces of her life back together. Part of that journey is pursuing Judd. When Brenna puts her mind to something, she goes after it wholeheartedly and that includes Judd. Judd is everything you want in an MMC; he is brooding, can't be with Brenna for her own good, and when he does let himself go, he breaks the furniture. Unh! Rating: 4/5; okay, I took off one point for two things: one, Brenna really doesn't live up to her potential, and two, (this will be a common complaint) there's a large age gap.

Book Four: Mine to Possess- We return to the DarkRiver pack in Book Four. This book follows Clay, a gruff sentinel for DarkRiver, and Tally, a human who knew Clay in her past and comes to him for help. Clay believed that Tally was dead so when she comes back into his life, he does not want to let her go. This book introduces some very important people and organizations that will affect the rest of the series. Tally is a part of Shine, which helps the Forgotten. The Forgotten are descendants of the Psy who defected with the implementation of Silence. We are introduced to Dev, the head of Shine; Max, an Enforcer (police officer); and Ashaya, a Psy scientist who is trying to protect her son. Rating: 3/5; as you can probably see, I don't have a lot to say about Clay and Tally as a couple. Clay is weirdly obsessed with her past sex life and the ages they were when they met don't really make sense. It is the first book without at least one virgin so the sex scenes are top tier, but for the most part, I read this one for the plot.

Book Five: Hostage to Pleasure- This is such a hard one to rate for me. Dorian, a DarkRiver pack member who cannot shift into leopard form, is more likable when he is not the romantic lead. He spends much of this book hating himself and hating his mate, Ashaya, who is the Psy scientist we meet in Book Four. Dorian's easygoing charm that he puts on for any other woman is not present when he is courting the woman he is in love with. This book should have been 5/5 because you are rooting for Dorian from Book One and want his happy ending so much. Ashaya also has a special place in my heart because she is a scientist like me. And there's dry-humping! Rating: 4/5; the ending of Book Five is very similar to the ending of Book Three (another common complaint) and Dorian constantly threatens Ashaya with sexual violence (ew.).

Book Six: Branded by Fire- This is my second favorite book after Book Two. Mercy is a lonely sentinel for DarkRiver who is the liaison to SnowDancer. Her SnowDancer counterpart is Riley, Brenna's responsible and overprotective brother. They are feral for each other even though they both try to stubbornly resist their attraction. The sex scenes start on page 8!!! There's copious throat grabbing AND he wants to tie her up. The ending is super sweet and the novel is jam-packed with PLOT. Rating: 5/5; no notes! This was *chef's kiss*.

Book Seven: Blaze of Memory- We are about halfway through the series and hit a major shift in gear. We move from San Francisco to New York, following Dev, the head of Shine, and Katya, an amnesiac Psy who winds up in his crosshairs. Dev will do whatever it takes to protect the Forgotten and cannot be sure if Katya is a friend or foe. The beginning is such a slog to get through BUT it had me crying at the end. I really liked how vulnerable Katya was (even more so than many of the other ladies in the series) and how open she was to her emotions. Dev is such a Dom; he is cold and controlling and even ties Katya up at one point *fans self*. Rating: 3/5; Dev is so hard to connect with and the action takes a long time to start up.

Book Eight: Bonds of Justice- Oooh boy this is a hot one. Max is an Enforcer called to investigate Nikita Duncan's security. He is playful and protective, even with a sad past. Sophie is a Justice Psy, who is slowly dying due to her powers. She is driven by a strong moral compass but is still soft and caring. Their pairing is red hot! Max leaves her filthy notes but waits to truly pursue her until she comes to him. Max is the Dom that Dev wishes he could be. I can't even take off a half point for the rating due to Sophie's ending being similar to Katya's. Rating: 5/5; I love Sophie, I love Max, and I love them together.

Book Nine: Play of Passion- And we're back in SnowDancer! Once again, we have a shifter pairing and it is so fun to be back in the Den. It is difficult not to love Drew, Brenna's other brother. He is playful and persistent. He wants Indigo, another dominant in SnowDancer, and will do whatever it takes to get her. That includes groveling. And boy, does he grovel well. Indigo resists the mating bond as long as she can, unwilling to mate with another dominant. She doesn't want her strength snuffed out by the man she loves. Rating: 4/5; Indigo and Mercy are very similar and to be honest, I liked Mercy more. The Kincaid brothers can do no wrong so it was so frustrating waiting for Indigo to accept Drew after he continued to show up for her, time and again.

Book Ten: Kiss of Snow- There have been so many breadcrumbs leading up to Hawke, the SnowDancer alpha, and Sienna's, a Psy SnowDancer soldier who is also Judd's niece and super powerful, pairing. I wish that Singh had made Sienna just a little older. She's young and vibrant, we see her dancing and having fun to rile Hawke up. She can definitely hold her own against the alpha. They do work as a couple, even though Hawke's signature charm is largely absent from the book. The book also follows Walker, Sienna's uncle, and Lara, the SnowDancer healer. It was really refreshing watching a submissive take charge of her mating and Walker (the strong silent responsible one) take care of her for a change. There's loads of plot and the action is really moving at this point in the series. Rating: 3/5; Walker and Lara really saved this one for me. I find Sienna and Hawke's age gap just a little too much for me (she's 19 and he's early 30s). She's barely gotten any time to be an adult before she becomes the alpha's mate. Hawke also acts a bit too much like Lucas in this one (me alpha, you obey).

Book Eleven: Tangle of Need- This one is really bittersweet. Riaz, a former lone wolf, and Adria, Indigo's aunt, don't necessarily have the happy ending other couples get. Tears were cried. Their pairing is really similar to Indigo and Drew if the personalities were reversed. Riaz is tortured by a mate who is already married (who does show up in the third act to add to the tension). Adria is a very likable FMC and she has a softer, sillier side that we haven't seen from a dominant female so far. We get a lot of the other couples in this one as well making it a joy to read. Rating: 4/5; only because (and this is an epic spoiler) we have to wait until the LAST book to find out the mating bond has finally kicked in for these two.

Book Twelve: Heart of Obsidian- I waited for this one. I knew we would get a Kaleb book and this one did not disappoint. In case you haven't noticed, I may have a specific taste in fictional men: brooding, Dom (not dominant in the changeling sense and yes, in this series there is a difference), and willing to burn cities down for their love. And Kaleb, the most dangerous of the Psy Councilors, certainly has the power to burn cities down for Sahara, a Psy who had been held captive for years because of her dangerous power. Kaleb is bloodthirsty and will stop at nothing to avenge Sahara. Unless Sahara tells him not to. Like Sophie, Sahara has a strong moral compass and she acts as Kaleb's conscience, changing him for the better. It's great fun watching them, two virgins, explore intimacy as Kaleb literally can destroy Moscow if he loses control. Rating: 4/5; this is only because of the age gap. I don't understand why Sahara couldn't have also been in her 20s when she was kidnapped. It's a little creepy reading their past scenes.

Book Thirteen: Shield of Winter- Most of the novels thus far have been political thrillers or war novels. We've even had a cop procedural (Bonds of Justice). We now have a disaster novel and I will say this one is rough. There is a lot of graphic violence and deep despair at times. We now know that the E-Psy are the key to saving the net so E-Psy are being paired with the dark soldiers of the Net, the Arrows. Empath Ivy, and her sweet dog, are paired with Vasic, a teleporter in the Arrows. Vasic is stoic and self-destructive, feeling that nothing will wipe his ledger clean. Ivy shows him that he is not just a killer and gives him something to live for. She lights up his life with her persistent warmth and positivity. Rating: 4/5; we see real depth in both of our main characters and growth, but there is so much death and destruction that this book was difficult to read. This one took me the longest to get through because of that.

Book Fourteen: Shards of Hope- Assassin novel! Assassin novel! Daring escapes and hiding out where there is only ONE bed. Aiden is the leader of the Arrows, who has started to feel pressure to lead by example and show the Arrows they too can have love in their lives. Zaira, an Arrow assassin and one of Aiden's top commanders, sees herself as a monster who will take what she wants and either destroy it or destroy anyone who dares threaten it. This includes Aiden. No matter how much she wants him, she cannot be his example. She wants him to pick someone else and of course, he can't. His heart chose Zaira. I really love these two as characters. Zaira is fiercely protective of the vulnerable and just wants to be loved underneath her tough exterior. Aiden is a born leader who also protects his own, but is also a visionary who sees how the world could be different. Both of their backstories are heart-breaking and they deserve all the love and happiness! Rating: 5/5; no thoughts, only vibes with this one.

Book Fifteen: Allegiance of Honor- Rating: 2/5; I know, I know, why put the rating first? Well, because there's no real pairing in this one. It's mostly updating readers on past couple and setting the plot up for the next series. My low rating is because we deserved a Nikita-Anthony novel and this book just hints at their feelings (stronger hinting on the side of Anthony). We know both feel immensely even though they are Psy and part of the ruling council. They have hidden their emotions for so long that it would have been a beautiful ending to the series to watch them let go of Silence This was also Singh's chance to show us a more adult, less conventional romance as both Nikita and Anthony are old enough to have adult children. Justice for Nikita and Anthony!

Congrats if you've made it this far! Now go! Buy or rent Slave to Sensation! As for me, I'm off to read Silver Silence. Nalini Singh's most recent release is Primal Mirror, Book Eight of the Psy-Changeling Trinity series. Happy Reading!