The “alpha author of paranormal romance”* presents a stunningly sensual collection of four all-new Psy-Changeling novellas, in which taboos are broken, boundaries are crossed, and instincts prove irresistible… 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 … 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…
*Booklist, starred review
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Echo of Silence
Stefan and Tazia
Stefan has always been a curiosity to me whenever he’s mentioned in previous books, but I think I was expecting more “oomph” in his story. Obviously Kaleb and Judd spoiled me, lol! Stefan’s story was sweet and cute, but nothing earth shattering. Truly, Stefan and Tazia are the quietest couple I can remember reading about. Their story occurs before the fall of Silence which explains the need for secrecy, but I would love to see another novella after Silence falls and how they reacted to it. And learning how the infamous sex manual being passed among the Arrows originated..still cracks me up to think about it!
Dorian
The various glimpses into Dorian’s life dealing with his latent leopard was an interesting retrospective. It was fun to see Dorian’s reactions to his leopard and the pack support/reactions to his leopard finally appearing.
Partners in Persuasion
Desiree and Felix
I’m on the fence about this one. I am so used to reading about alpha males that this story caused a new brain wrinkle for me-a role reversal with the male being submissive in the Changeling world..it was a different perspective for sure. Although I didn’t click with the couple until the last two chapters of the novella, their overall story was still pretty good.
Flirtation of Fate
Kenji and Garnet
These two have been tossing innuendos in the series-forever it seems-and it was nice to finally get the history between the them. Their story was a second chance romance and by far, the most passionate in this collection..then again they’re wolves and there never seems to be a dull moment in their dens!
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 their are issues to over come add in a dominant and submissive pairing and you have a whole another 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.
I’ve come late to this series so I’ve decided to read through the novels and novellas and shorts chronologically. Therefore, I’ll be taking this anthology a bit at a time and sharing mini-reviews on each story separately.
Echo of Silence #2.5
Tazia, a human, is the engineer for a deep-sea research station. She gave up everything for the chance to follow her dreams and her career. But at the bottom of the sea, her loneliness changes first to curiosity and then interest for the icy telekinetic/telepathic Psy male who commands the station and might not be as cold as she was led to believe.
Stefan and Tazia’s story was poignant and I enjoyed their tentative courtship while working together and then serving together on a mission that allows them to grow closer. They connected and worked to understand and appreciate each other. The pair were so good for each other and I loved the whole story.
Dorian #5.1
Segments from Dorian the Dark River Pack Enforcer’s life as a child, teen, and adult learning to accept his differences as a latent shifter, going beyond acceptance to being one of the strongest pack members, and then learning all over again after receiving the gift of his leopard half freed to shift.
This series of vignettes about Dorian definitely need to be read after Hostage to Pleasure to be fully appreciated. I loved getting the story of his early years and a bit of an extension on what comes after the events of Hostage to Pleasure.
Partners in Persuasion #11.5
Felix, the lead horticulturist and member of the SnowDancer pack is a submissive and had a hurtful moment in his past at the hands of a dominant female. So when dominant Dark River pack soldier, Desiree, takes an interest in him, theirs is not an easy path to acceptance and love.
I enjoy how the author takes the time throughout this series to assign significance to pack order and not just for the alphas and dominants, but what it is like for submissives and that submissive isn’t a synonym for weak. This was a thoughtful and intriguing story of a male submissive wolf and female dominant cat. Respectful, heartwarming, and passionate.
Flirtation of Fate #12.1
Kenji and Garnet’s second chance was an engaging romance and mystery all in one. Kenji had his reasons for breaking it off and it made some sense particularly when he was young and reeling from the bad news, but it was frustrating that he made the decision for both of them by breaking everything off. Love their playful flirty moments.
So, this was a fabulous set of four novellas that were well developed and added another wonderful layer to the PsyChangling series. All were strong stories that I was glad to get. I like how they slip seamlessly into the series though perhaps the first one could be read whenever. Definitely recommend not skipping the chance at these.
3.5 stars
The overall rating is the average of the following ratings.
Echo of Silence (Psy-Changeling #2.5): 4 stars
This is the first glimpse we have at a BlackSea base. Tazia Nerif, a human, is an engineer on the Alaris, a deep sea station. Stephan is a Tk-Psy and her boss. I really enjoyed these two. Their relationship was so sweet and emotional. This story takes place before the fall of Silence so their relationship has to be hidden from everyone. I don’t usually love forbidden relationships but this one was very good. I really hope these two pop up in future books because I want more of them.
Dorian (Psy-Changeling #5.5): 3 stars
This basically expands on Dorian’s late shifting. We get to see the packs reaction to the news and how he learns to deal with all the changes of shifting. This was written as snapshots of Dorian’s life instead of a full linear story. I enjoyed it though because it gave us quick glimpses of how he has dealt with the latency since he was a child and now dealing with shifting.
Partners of Persuasion (Psy-Changeling #11.5): 4 stars
Wolf changeling Felix knows that nothing can come with his attraction to dominant leopard Desiree. His past has shown him a dominant will never want to be with a submissive. Desiree is determined though and won’t let him go without a fight.
Dezi and Felix were so cute. Felix was briefly mentioned in a previous book. He is the horticulturalist who is replanting the area that Sienna destroyed. Dezi is a new character. I really enjoyed these two and their submissive/dominant relationship. I was so excited for another wolf-leopard mating and I hope there will be more in the future.
Flirtation of Fate (Psy-Changeling #12.5): 3 stars
Kenji Tenaka pushed away the woman he loves. Now seven years later Garnet finally confronts him and makes him explain why. First though they have to finish investigating a murder of a packmate.
I enjoyed seeing another SnowDancer den. We have mostly only seen the main den so it was nice to meet new side characters. I liked these two but felt that their change in relationship was very abrupt, especially considering how mad Garnet was. She went from being very angry with Kenji to forgiving him almost instantly which I didn’t love. I still enjoyed the overall story, but I just didn’t love these two as much as previous couples.
Excellent collection of Psy-Changeling novellas. I love anything this author creates so it is really no surprise that I adored this book. Especially Kenji.
A collection of mini romances in the Psy-Changeling world. It’s definitely worth the read.
Nalini Singh is one of my very favorite authors. Her Guild Hunter series is my absolute favorites (tied with J.R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series, of course). The Psy/Changeling books are always difficult for me to get into because there are so many technical details that my brain just can’t process and enjoy the book at the same time.
However, I never have that issue with the novellas, which is why I pounce on them! You don’t have to be vested in the series to read them. Ms. Singh can make magic in any number of words or pages, no matter how vast or compact. And she has me thoroughly enchanted with these four gems taken from the Psy/Changeling world . . .
ECHO OF SILENCE
Wow! This story was absolutely beautiful. It’s one of the best love stories I’ve ever read and I need more of Tazia and Stefan’s story!
I loved everything about this novella. I loved that Tazia respected her beliefs and values and stayed true to them. My heart broke for her that she chose to follow her dreams instead of being the dutiful daughter and following her father’s plans for her life. Stefan is an emotionless telekinetic psy, but found himself drawn to Tazia the instant they met a year earlier. A forbidden love with deadly consequences. Is it worth the risk?
Love, love, LOVED it!
DORIAN
This story follows one of the DarkRiver sentinels, Dorian. When he was born, he was diagnosed as a latent, which means he is unable to shift into his changeling form. Every chapter is a snippet from Dorian’s life as he deals with his latency. Even though he couldn’t shift, his pack mates never treated him as less than. He’s always been a valued member of the pack. Dorian gets a happily ever after in more ways than one.
PARTNERS IN PERSUASION
This is another beautiful love story that will tug hard on those heartstrings! Dezi is a dominant leopard soldier that falls hard for the submissive wolf Felix. Unfortunately, there are a lot of rules regarding unmatched pairings in the changeling world. Being a dominant, Dezi has to be careful not to use her dominance against less powerful changelings, including a certain sexy wolf who’s captured Dezi’s attention.
Felix had his heart broken by a dominant wolf in the past and has no plans to do that again. However, he can’t help the attraction he has to Dezi. His wolf, on the other hand senses the dominant predator in Dezi and is fearful. There’s no way a dominant and a submissive would work. Could they?
Oh my goodness!!!! I absolutely LOVED Felix and Dezi’s story! I think Ms. Singh handled this perfectly! In most romance stories, paranormal and otherwise, the dominant character is usually the male. But when those roles are reversed? I don’t think I’ve ever read one, until now. I loved every word of the story and love, love LOVED the way it was told. I love how Dezi recognized the imbalance and did everything she could to make sure Felix was treated as a strong male and an equal mate. “Submissive doesn’t mean weak.” It was amazing! Did I mentioned I loved it? The only thing bad about this story is that it ended too soon! LOVED IT!
FLIRTATION OF FATE
I was happy with the first three stories but Kenji made me mad right off the bat! To just disregard Garnet and become a notorious ladies’ man. I wanted to claw his face off! There’s also a mystery that quickly unfolds and had me dying for answers! During the mystery, Kenji and Garnet’s feelings reignite and sparks quickly fly. Kenji reveals a secret to Garnet that’s held him back from claiming her as his. Yes, it was noble, but he still made me mad with all his catting around. Jerk! I hope she makes him grovel…A LOT!
The entire book is awesome and there’s a story in here for everyone! First loves, second chances and life-changing circumstances are just some of the awesomeness in each and every novella! You don’t have to follow the series to enjoy or relate to the stories. You’ll fit right in! I HIGHLY recommend this and every book by Nalini Singh!
***I was gifted an eBook copy from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. All conclusions reached are my own***
I loved all the short stories in this book 🙂 i can’t get enough of this series !
Echo Of Silence .
I totally loved Tazia & Stefan story ,it was totally different then others i’ve read ,it was sweet and i wasn’t expecting to like it but i just really enjoyed seeing how Stefan who is Psy had to hide that his silence is flawed as they always say ,it was interesting to see how they handle it .
Dorian
I so loved getting to see how Dorian felt after he was finally able to shift ,i loved seeing him with his family and telling all of them that he could be one with his leopard & he see’s that they always thought of him as one of them even tho he couldn’t shift .
Partners In Persuasion
Omg i really really loved Dezi & Felix’s story ,it was so interesting to see a Non-dominant male to fall head over heels for a Dominant female ,it was great to see Felix trust again and the fact that it’s a wolf and leopard pairing was so awesome ,i loved everything about this story ,i wished it was longer ! .
Flirtation Of Fate
Man i was so hoping that Jem And Kenji would get their own book but at least they got a short story ,i have been waiting to see more of them and i so loved what Nalini Singh gave us in this story ,it was prefect love love loved seeing them finally get together .
Overall this collection of short stories was so good ,i enjoyed it way more then i thought i was going to 🙂 all great adds to this amazing series 🙂
This is a good book. Good short stories. Nice details too.