Tag: Nalini Singh

5 good things that happened this week

On By MikaelaIn Book Recommendations, Life, Paranormal Romance, Writing

 

This is in no particular order. :).

– James Hetley released a new Stonefort novel.

This made me so happy. I love his books, and I had almost given up on reading a new Stonefort novel. It was really good. You should buy it from BVC.

Summer arrived.

The weather in June was a bit cold ( to put it mildly). But this week summer arrived with a bang. I am also reminded that I don’t like temps over 25 C. But the sunshine is nice!

– Patricia Rice named a character after me

I was reading Patricia Rice latest California Malcolm novel, when a character named Mikala appeared. I blinked, realised that she named her after me. It was the first time! ( Well, Kari did it once in a short story, but I knew about that before hand.)

The bookplate Nalini Singh sent me arrived

In May, I e-mailed Nalini Singh and asked if she could send me a signed book plate. Which she agreed to do, once she got home. It arrived this week! So now I have a signed copy of Shield of Winter, without having met Nalini person. 🙂

My cover was finalized.

I could finally post the faboulus cover that Skyla Dawn Cameron designed for me. I love it! And yes, I know, you have already seen it . But I’m just so happy. It feel as if things are moving forward. Now I need to get back to the edits…

Must read summer releases

On By MikaelaIn Book Recommendations

This summer is packed full with books that I’m itching to read.

To begin with, there is Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh. Which was the reason I re-read the series now. Mmm.  ( I’ll admit that I’m crossing my fingers that my book store makes the same mistake they did last year. *cough*)

Then in July  Shaman Rises by C.E Murphy releases. *sob* I’m still struggling with the fact that it is the last Walker Paper novel.

Also in July the third book in Patricia Rice California Malcolms trilogy releases. I’m having my fingers crossed that she writes more, though. If not… well… I’ll nag her until she changes her mind. 🙂

And Wen Spencer’s next Elfhome novel releases in July! Perfect for some fun, fastpaced summer read.

Oh! Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews is out  July too.  This book wraps up this series arc, although there will be more books. And Michelle Sagara’s Cast in Flames are out in July.

And in September, Ghost Layer by Robin D Owens is out.  The first book was so good.  But then all Robin’s books are really good. 🙂

So many books. So little time. 🙂 What books are you looking forward to read this summer?

 

 

What I’m reading: April

On By MikaelaIn Book Recommendations

The last week or so I have been glomming on Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series.  It is far from the first time I read this series.  I love it.  I love the complex and rich worldbuilding, but most of all I love the characters.

They are Changelings, Psy and human, but what I also appreciate is that all of them has a past that have affected them and that affects the plots in the books.

But what I appreciate the most is how all the books in the series builds up  to the climax of the story arc.  It is also interesting to see the changes in the world, from Slave to Sensation ( book one) to Heart of Obsidian.  While I suppose you can read the books out of order, I recommend you read them in order. At least the first time  🙂

Oh, and if you are looking for diverse books? I definitely recommend these.

The only draw back is that I need to find another series to glom on. Maybe Patricia Rice Malcolm Ives series? After all, I just replaced my copy of Merely Magic, which I bought when she originally selfpubbed her backlist, with the Sourcebooks edition.

Anticipated October Releases

On By MikaelaIn Book Recommendations

 

This is a mixed batch and quite long, so I am dividing them into genres. In publishing several of these would be classified as November releases, but I put them here since I cannot wait to read them. Plus several of them will probably be available earlier. 🙂

 

Contemporary Romance/ Erotic Romance:

 

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When Cade Winslow and Merrick Sullivan find Elle hiding in the cabinet of a gun store, they know they can’t just walk away from the fragile woman with no memory of who she is or who tried to kill her. Merrick is training for the title shot in the heavyweight division as a mixed martial artist and can’t afford distractions, but neither can he turn his back on the woman who tugs at his heartstrings.

 

Elle feels safe with her two protectors, and the longer she spends with them, the more she realizes that she has no desire to remember her past. Not when it could compromise her future with Cade and Merrick.

Cade has his own set of concerns when it comes to Elle, and it quickly becomes clear to the two men that for the first time in their friendship, a woman is coming between them. But what if they just kept her there? Between them. Where she belongs.

 

Maya Banks used to be an Autobuy for me, but her historical romances have too many inaccuracies and I don’t like Romantic Suspense. But, I love her Menages and I have had this book on my wishlist since I first heard of them.

 

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Charity Sanderson had been Beau Parrish’s lover for months, but she knew it was only a matter of time before their affair ended. She needed a man she could count on to be there, and Beau never took anything seriously. But, she loved him too much to walk away. Beau loved Charity more than his own life, but knew she didn’t believe that. Every time he spoke about a future together, she got skittish, and so he’d had to back off for fear of losing her completely. The vulnerability in her eyes tugged at him, the love shining in them that she didn’t think he could see. He couldn’t go on living a lie. After giving her an ultimatum he walked out, hoping she would love him too much to let it end between them.

 

Her accident changes everything. It forces her to see that the man she never thought he could be has been there the entire time.

Despite the issues I have with them, I like Leah Brooke’s Desire novels. Oh, and technically this is already out but since it is exclusive to Bookstrand the first month, I post it for October.

 

Mystery:

17571198In this second Gin & Tonic mystery, the stakes are raised when someone connected to an embezzlement scheme Ginny Mallard and Teddy Tonica are investigating is murdered.When someone from the local animal shelter approaches her about finding grant funds that have gone missing, Ginny Mallard convinces her bartender friend Teddy Tonica to help her investigate once again. They soon discover that something is disturbing the animals at the shelter at night…and then a dead body shows up.

With the help of Ginny’s Shar-Pei puppy and Tonica’s tabby cat, this unconventional crime-solving team has to figure out what’s going on before the shelter—and more people—lose everything..

 

 Collared was one of the better mysteries I read last year, and I am looking forward to read Fixed when it is out :). Maybe I’ll get it signed at WFC too.

 

Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy:

 

BloodOfAnAncient72smBeri O’Dell, Book 2

Beri O’Dell is on a mission. She has to rip back into a hell dimension fast, but needs two things first—the blood of an ancient and a fix for her friend Blythe’s magic, which careened out of control after the battle with the Dweller.

Finding ancient blood isn’t easy when the old ones are rare and unwilling to donate. She needs to find Blythe’s former mentor…except the woman has lost her mind and joined a traveling band of singing witches.

That’s not the only magical monkey on her back. Nikolos is imprisoned, and after a screwed-up spell lets her witness the horror that has become his life, her fear for him grows by the day. Now there’s another problem—a powerful being unleashed during the battle with the Dweller likes her gluttonous new existence, and will kill anyone who threatens it.

But Beri has a few tricks up her costumed sleeve, even if it means mining the darkness of her soul to set everything right…and get Nikolos back in her arms.

I liked the first book in the series, and I think the reason that I didn’t love it was primarily because I was a bit tired of Urban Fantasy. But I’ll definitely buy this one.

 

15808767Angels are falling from the sky in New York, struck down by a vicious, unknown force.

Vampires are dying impossibly of disease.

Guild hunter Elena Deveraux and the Archangel Raphael must discover the source of the wave of death before it engulfs their city and their people, leaving New York a ruin and Raphael’s Tower under siege by enemy archangels.

Yet even as they fight desperately to save the city, an even darker force is stirring, its chill eyes trained on New York…and on Raphael. Rivers of crimson and nightmares given flesh, the world will never again be the same

 

It is finally here! Whee! Yes, I love Nalini Singh’s novels. Why do you ask?

 

Steampunk:

 

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When a bomb goes off at 221B Baker Street, Evelina Cooper is thrown into her Uncle Sherlock’s world of mystery and murder. But just when she thought it was safe to return to the ballroom, old, new, and even dead enemies are clamoring for a place on her dance card.

Before Evelina’s even unpacked her gowns for a country house party, an indiscretion puts her in the power of the ruthless Gold King, who recruits her as his spy. He knows her disreputable past and exiles her to the rank alleyways of Whitechapel with orders to unmask his foe.

As danger mounts, Evelina struggles between hiding her illegal magic and succumbing to the darker aspects of her power. One path keeps her secure; the other keeps her alive. For rebellion is brewing, a sorcerer wants her soul, and no one can protect her in the hunting ground of Jack the Ripper

 

I am not a Sherlock Holmes fan, but this series intrigues me a lot with their mix of mystery and steampunk elements. The first book was just released, but I didn’t feature it in last month’s post, purely because I forgot about it.

 

Review: Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh

On By MikaelaIn Book Recommendations
WARNING: Contains mild spoilers ( the name of the hero and the heroine) 

The Particulars:  Paranormal Romance, Berkley, available as e-book and in Print

The Source:  The bookstore
The Grade: B
The blurb:

Step into New York Times bestseller Nalini Singh’s explosive and shockingly passionate Psy-Changeling world…

A dangerous, volatile rebel, hands stained bloodred.
A woman whose very existence has been erased.
A love story so dark, it may shatter the world itself.
A deadly price that must be paid.
The day of reckoning is here.

From “the alpha author of paranormal romance” (Booklist) comes the most highly anticipated novel of her career—one that blurs the line between madness and genius, between subjugation and liberation, between the living and the dead

The Review:

I snapped up a copy when my local bookstore by mistake started selling this book too early.  (I got a bit lucky, since they had computer issues, so they couldn’t see that the book had a hard street date 🙂 ) This  is an excellent addition to the Psy Changeling series.

The world of the Psy is crumbling in this book, and there were a lot at stake.The plot was fast paced, with  a deft mix of action and romance.   I couldn’t stop reading, as the book builds toward the final confrontation with Pure Psy.  There were times were I hated Pure Psy for the decisions they made, and the lines they crossed.  
Interwoven in this is the romance subplot.  It was exquisite.  From how Kaleb guided Sahara back out of her shell, to how Sahara started to rebuild her life.  What I liked was how Kaleb opened up with Sahara. And the things he revealed was heart wrenching.   I liked Sahara. She had a spine, which made me cheer for her. I also appreciated that she made her own path during the book. And her gift made me shiver, yet it made sense in a way. I loved how Kaleb and Sahara grounded each other, and created something that was whole from two flawed halves.

Maybe it was because I had been looking forward to this book for so long, but I had some trouble sink in to the story.  Because of that I had trouble connecting with Kaleb and Sahara. It is possibly that it partly stems from  my uncertainty if  they were too scarred to truly love at times. But when they got their HEA it felt right, and they had earned it..



 


Review: Sanctuary Lost by Moira Rogers

On By MikaelaIn Paranormal Romance


The Particulars: Paranormal Romance
The Source: Purchased at AllRomance
The Grade: B
The Blurb:

If there’s one thing that Brynn Adler hates, it’s feeling helpless and vulnerable in unfamiliar territory. Three weeks ago, life tossed her into just such a world. A world of werewolves she never knew existed—until she found out her sister was one of them.
The pack seems determined to hurry her back to the normal world of humans. But after everything she’s witnessed, she’s not sure she wants to go—especially if it means leaving not only her sister behind, but the one man who makes her forget her life is falling apart.
Now all she has to do is convince him to agree to a plan to force the pack to let her stay.
Joe Mitchell has been battling his protective instincts since he rescued Brynn from her kidnapper. Getting involved with her is a bad idea for a lot of reasons. She’s on shaky emotional ground, and a supernatural war is no place for a human woman. He’s not about to let her make a hasty decision, one that will only bring her pain and regret.
Now all he has to do is let her go.



The Review:

This is the second book in the series, and it isn’t stand alone. I don’t believe there are many spoilers to book one in it, but to understand the background, it is best to have read book one.

I enjoyed the insight this book gave me when it comes to the Hierachy of a Werewolf pack. I loved how everyone (except Gavin) are dominant to some wolves, and submissive to others.I also enjoyed the insight in werewolf politics it gave me.    

This is a heart wrenching book.  My heart ached for Brynn, as she struggled to pick up her life and adjust to the changes in her life.I liked how Joe was there and supported her, even though he didn’t always agree with her descions.  But he did his best to ensure she could defend herself.   

Brynn might be submissive, but I love the fact that she is strong. She knows what she wants. I also loved that she had to fight for it, both with her sister and the Alphas of Red Rock Pass.

The plot was action packed, and filled with unexpected twists.  I loved how Ms Rogers took Brynn’s wishes and turned them upside down.While Joe acted as Brynn’s Guide,  I also liked that in the end it was Brynn that reached a balance with her wolf.

As all this happens, other events builds up to a confrontation with Alan Matthews.
While nothing with this book was bad, it took awhile before it fully hooked me :).

Review: Cry Sanctuary by Moira Rogers

On By MikaelaIn Paranormal Romance
The Particulars: Paranormal Romance, Samhain, available in print and as e-book
The Source: Purchased at Kobo
The Grade: B+
The Blurb:

Keith Winston is tired of fighting. The war between werewolves and wizards rages on in Europe, but he’s come home to Red Rock, Montana in hopes of finding a bit of peace. Instead he finds more strife as he struggles against the pack’s dictates that he resume his place as the alpha’s right-hand man.

When he rescues a new wolf on the run, he knows his instant attraction to her could cause trouble. What he doesn’t expect is to find himself embroiled in another battle that goes against all his instincts—and his heart.
Abigail Adler learned about the existence of werewolves only when she became one. With her life threatened by a corrupt alpha, she flees to the only sanctuary she knows: Red Rock. While she’s grateful for the pack’s protection, she chafes under its unbreakable rules of conduct—except when it comes to submitting to the passion Keith stirs in her.
Then her tormentor kidnaps her sister in an attempt to lure her out of hiding. To save her, Abby and Keith must be willing to do the very thing that could get them all killed—break all of the rules.
The Review:
This is the first book in Moira Rogers excellent Red Rock Pass series, which is one of my favorite series.
The world is intriguing, and filled with fractions. I loved how the tension between werewolves that follows the old ways and werewolves that doesn’t affected the plot. I could feel an echo of how fast our society has changed, and not necessarily for the better. What I also liked was how she hinted at the existence of other factions. I cannot wait to see how that will affect future books, both in this series and the Green Pine series. ( And future, unwritten series.)
But what I liked most was how Moira Rogers has spent time thinking about the details. I loved the tradition of Guide and Initiation, and how it was encouraged to take time before taking the plunge. At least in the Sanctuary pack, in non- Sanctuary pack I felt it was more on the whim of the Alpha.
The book crackles with tension. Both between Keith and Abby, but also tension between the Red Rock Pack and the Helena Pack.I enjoyed reading about Keith and Abby’s relationship. It would have been so easy for Keith to take the plunge, and become both Abby’s boyfriend and Guide. Instead, he is adamant that Abby makes an active choice about who she wants as Guide. Both Abby and Keith had their past, and I loved how it came back to haunt them. Both the Romance and the Action built on each other, and both stemmed from the characters protective instinct.  That combination led to a book I couldn’t put down.  
This book was fast paced, but sometimes it felt like things happened too fast. It is a sign of Moira Rogers skill that it never became confusing.

Review: Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh

On By MikaelaIn Paranormal Romance1 Comment

The Particulars: Paranormal Romance, Berkley, available in print and as e-book.
The Source: Purchased at Kobo
The Grade: B
The blurb:

Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed…and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man and losing his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.
Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodshed and terror. Now a new nightmare is stalking her life–the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows…
Clay lost Talin once. He will not let her go again, his hunger to possess her, a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent, Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past…or lose everything that ever mattered.

The Review:
This book hooked me from the start. I couldn’t stop reading it. I had to find out what happend.
It crackled with tension from the start. I loved the fact that both Clay and Talin had scars from their childhood. I could almost touch Talin’s hesitation over how Clay would react to seeing her again.
A lot of the tension in this book came from their past, and the struggle to move past it. But, that is not all that is going on.Amidst all this, they are running against the clock to find Talin’s missing charges.
I could almost touch Talin’s worry. Worry over her health, worry over if they would find the children.
I loved how Nalini Singh revealed yet another layer of the world in this book, revealing just how debated the Silence had been when it was introduced 100 years earlier.
So, What I didn’t like. I didn’t like the POV’s from Ashaya and Jon. Yes, I know that they were necessary, and that they set up for the next book, but I was so focused on Talin’s and Clay’s story that it just annoyed me.

Review: Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh

On By MikaelaIn Paranormal Romance

The particulars: Paranormal Romance, Berkley, available as print and e-book
The Source: Purchased at Kobo
The Grade: B
The Blurb:
Used to cold silence, Faith NightStar is suddenly being tormented by dark visions of blood and murder. A bad sign for anyone, but worse for Faith, an F-Psy with the highly sought after ability to predict the future. Then the visions show her something even more dangerous – aching need… exquisite pleasure. But so powerful is her sight, so fragile the state of her mind, that the very emotions she yearns to embrace could be the end of her.

Changeling Vaughn D’Angelo can take either man or jaguar form, but it is his animal side that is overwhelmingly drawn to Faith. The jaguar’s instinct is to claim this woman it finds so utterly fascinating, and the man has no argument. But while Vaughn craves sensation and hungers to pleasure Faith in every way, desire is a danger that could snap the last threads of her sanity. And there are Psy who need Faith’s sight for their own purposes. They must keep her silenced – and keep her from Vaughn…

The Review:
What I like most about Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series isn’t the romance. No, it is the world. ( Ok, I might be exagerating a bit). The world she has created is detailed, and varied. There is the cold emotionless Psy that governs the world. The territorial changelings, that craves touch. And humans of course. Together they create a world that is stratified with Psy on top and the changelings and humans beneath., At least if you ask the Psy. Tossed into the world is memorable characters. 
This book is no different.  The picture that she painted of Faith’s life before she met Vaughn gave me goosebumps.   My heart went out to Faith when she fretted about wheter or not she would go insane.
As a changeling, Vaughn is Faith’s total opposite. He craves touch, he is violent.
That said, I loved the way he patiently coaxed Faith out of her shell, and helped her grow into the woman she should have been.
So to the weak spots.
It might be because of me, but the sexual tension I felt… flickered. Most of the time it was hidden in the tension to reach the end. I also didn’t like how she treated the mating bond. It felt as if she realised that they needed to be mates, and added the discovery.
Also, the book felt… unbalanced.  I felt that the only one that changed in the book was Faith. Vaughn was the same person at the end of the book as he was at the beginning.  

Book recommendation: Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh

On By MikaelaIn Uncategorized

Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to someone else. For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle. Their coming together is an inferno …and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realise that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

Note: The cover is for the UK edition, since I think the cover for the US edition is… ugly.  ( To put it mildly.) The book is out in the US in late May, and in the UK in June.

You can pre-order it from Amazon, BN and Book depository. ( UK edition)