04/12/08

I am about to make a lot of you very, very jealous. Trust me, I'd be green with envy if I were on the opposite side of this blog right now! I was one of the extremely lucky winners of an ARC (advance copy) of Nalini Singh's upcoming release, Psy-Changelings, Book 4: Mine to Possess.

One of the conditions of the contest is that the winners post reviews for the book sometime in January. Well, that's no hardship for me at all since I would have wanted to review this one no matter how it came into my hands.

Thank you, Nalini Singh, for the wonderful gift of this most valued ARC. I loved this book and am certain that your legion of fans will feel the same way about it that I do!

This review will also be posted at CK2S Kwips & Kritiques during our next site update on or around January 17, and so I am using the Kwips rating system, which uses 'Klovers.'

A lifetime ago, Changeling Clay Bennett lost his freedom, as well as the only girl he loved. Although both were children at the time, his leopard knew his mate when it saw her. But a cruel twist of fate tore them apart, and when Clay was finally freed, he learned that young Talin had died years earlier.

Now a DarkRiver Sentinel, he has made a home with the powerful pack in San Francisco, but his beast walks a fine line between sanity and insanity, threatening the loss of his humanity. When Talin McKade turns up not only alive, but in need of his aid, he finds his salvation. Her presence stirs emotions he thought long forsaken to him and the leopard in him demands to take its mate.
But Talin has been damaged, scarred by the tragedies in her past and their shared history. Clay must tread carefully if he is to convince his mate that they belong together.

Through it all, Talin and Clay work together to save the children that have gone missing, only to have their bodies turn up later, gruesomely battered. The truth behind the murders is even more diabolical than they could imagine.

With the very first book in her Psy-Changeling series, Nalini Singh made this reviewer an instant fan! With seemingly effortless world building, she crafted a fascinating universe that is part science fiction, part paranormal, and part suspense – three genres that happen to be among my favorites. Yet through each book, she has kept the romance first and foremost, with stories that never fail to capture the hearts of the reader even as the hero and heroine are finding love with one another.

Mine to Possess exemplifies this perfectly. With Clay Bennett and Talin McKade, Ms. Singh delivers a couple with a long and tormented history. Although separated years earlier, their love for each other never wavered, and each of them do whatever they believe necessary to protect the other at all costs.

From the very beginning, the author engenders empathy for both of the main characters, as well as a feeling of familiarity. Of course, we have met Clay previously in the earlier books, even if we didn’t get to know him intimately. Talin, however, is a stranger to us when the story begins, but she somehow never really feels like one. Indeed, from page one, I wanted to know this woman, discover where she had come from, what she was doing there, and most importantly – why she was watching Clay.

When we really get to know Talin, we find a woman who is courageous and caring, despite her troubled past and a bleak future. She’ll do anything for the people she cares about, even at her own expense – much to Clay’s dismay and utter frustration.

Of course, Clay shares the very qualities that so worry him in Talin. Being a hero, it is only natural that he prefers to be the one who takes all the risks while the woman he loves is safe and sound at home. Even still, Clay respects the woman that Talin has grown into and it isn’t long before he realizes he loves here even more now than he did when they were children.

As fans have come to expect with Singh’s Psy-Changeling saga, there is a very intriguing suspense woven throughout Mine to Possess, and our intrepid couple will stop at nothing to solve it before it is too late. Easier said than done. Although their immediate mission is, of course, successful in the end, the ongoing story arc continues as the Psy threat to humanity and Changelings alike grows even more.

Anyone who enjoys a well-written paranormal romance will love not only Mine to Possess, but the entire Psy-Changeling series. Bear in mind that with the continuing storylines that span the books, they are best read in series order, with the exception of the novella Beat of Temptation published in the anthology An Enchanted Season. That story is a prequel and can easily be read out of order. If you are new to the series, be sure to buy all of them at once. Once you get started, you won’t want to stop reading this series until you’ve reached the last one!