Visions of Heat (Psy-Changeling #2) by Nalini Singh and Angela Dawe

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 the form of either man or jaguar, 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.

This world that Nalini Singh has created is amazing. Absolutely enthralling! I love the way the stories unfold, the trials, the triumphs... it's a brilliant world, overall.

This particular story was a bit slow to start, and I had some problems getting into it. But once things started rolling, I was hooked and couldn't get through it fast enough.

I'm in the minority here, but I wasn't as impressed with Angela Dawe's narration this time. She does a great job with the Psy... their lack of emotion, the awe in their voices as they begin to see the world the way it really is... she's great with them, but I'm having problems with her portrayal of the Changelings.

I highly recommend this series to fans who like steam with their Sci-Fi and Urban Fantasy.


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Slave to Sensation - Psy-Changling #1 - by Nalini Singh

Description…

Dive into a world torn apart by a powerful race with phenomenal powers of the mind—and none of the heart…

In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of “rehabilitation”— the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was….

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a Changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy co-existence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several Changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion—and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities—or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation…

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4.5 Holy Hot Shifters stars!

Slave to Sensation is the first book in Nalini Singh’s wildly popular Psy-Changling series. This world she’s created is exciting, passionate, poignant… it’s like none I’ve ever read before. I’ll start by saying that I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for years, but never felt the pull to read it. My awesome Goodreads friend, Kristen, and I were chatting on the phone and she started raving about the audio version so, me being a recent convert to audio books, decided to give it a listen.

Sweet Mary! Am I ever glad I did!!

There are so many awesome reviews already written, but even though everything that needs to be said has already been said, I want to share my thoughts, too. Like I mentioned above; it’s an exciting, passionate, poignant world, and it’s so unique that if you asked me to compare it to some other series, or another author’s writing, I wouldn’t be able to do it. PNR and Fantasy are what lay the foundation for this world, and even though I am not a fan of the Fantasy genre, this worked for me, no doubt about it. A big part of why it worked is that the characters are people whose lives make this a very emotionally charged, poignant read, and those characters are people whose stories demand to be told.

Angela Dawe is the narrator and she did a fantastic job of showing the emotions these people feel; frustration, helplessness, pain… and yet hope, strength and joy.

I hear these stories just get better and better and I cannot wait to find out for myself!

Thanks for the not so gentle nudge to listen, Kristen! YOU ROCK!

Lord of the Abyss by Nalini Singh

There is a lineage of blood that ties mother to child, a lineage that can never be broken. And it is this lineage the queen used to cast her children away from Elden, to safety, so they could one day return and reclaim their stolen birthright.

It was a mother’s last loving gift, yet the Blood Sorcerer boasts even now that Queen Alvina failed, that he twisted her magic at the end so that instead of finding safe harbor, the heirs of Elden fell into death. There is no one left alive to contradict him.

—From the Royal Chronicles of Elden, on the third day of the Reign of the Blood Sorcerer

Lord of the Abyss is the fourth and final book in the Royal House of Shadows series and one of the sweetest, sexiest, most romantic books I’ve read in a very long time. It doesn’t often happen that I find myself in love with both the hero and the heroine, but Micah and Liliana are amazing people who I couldn’t help but adore. Both tortured by pasts very different from one another are yet so very much alike in their single mindedness and honor, and they will do the right thing regardless of the cost to themselves. They are, quite simply put, the stuff legends are made of.

The world that Nalini Singh created in this installment of the series was awesome. The creatures, the beings… Mouse, Jissa and Bard, I loved them all, even the ghosts who roam the halls of the Black Castle! And speaking of the Black Castle, the lore surrounding it and the Abyss is magically fairytaleesque and so vivid. In my mind’s eye I could see every room, every plant, every food, every… everything and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see what would happen next. I was totally captivated by the entire tale and as I read I felt somehow honored to be privy to their thoughts and feelings.

Now, about the story. In the previous books, Lord of the Vampires, Lord of Rage and Lord of the Wolfyn, we learn that when their kingdom was attacked by the Blood Sorcerer, Aelfric and Alvina, the King and Queen of Elden, fought for all they held dear, willing to give up their lives if needed to protect their children, their kingdom, and all who dwelt there. When they realized that they were going to die, their final act was one of love, one last effort to protect their children by weaving a powerful spell which sent the four royal heirs, Nicolai, Breena, Dayn and Micah, into different realms in hopes that one day they’d find their way home and defeat the Blood Sorcerer. Each book tells the story of one of the siblings and their journey back to Elden, not knowing exactly what they’d find when they got there.

The way the story develops throughout the first three books, I expected a battle of epic proportions in Lord of the Abyss, but when the battle actually takes place, it really wasn’t much of a battle at all. And much to my disappointment, there was little interaction between these siblings who are seeing each other for the first time in twenty years. Twenty years apart and yet there was no celebration! Or at least, not one we were invited to. So while I loved the story overall, truly loved it, I was very disappointed that we didn’t see some kind of grand reunion, or even a so-so reunion… but there was really nothing much at all, and that’s my only complaint about the book. Had it not ended so abruptly, this would have easily been a 5+++ star read, but even with the ending as it is, I’m still rating this 5 stars, and adding Micah and Liliana to my Top Couples Of All Time shelf.

The bottom line – I still breathe a sigh of contentment when I think of Micah and Liliana, and how very happy their story made me. Dark yet hopeful, tragic yet joyous, Lord of the Abyss is one of my very favorite stories and I know, without a doubt, I’ll be reading it time and time again.

My sincerest thanks to netgalley.com and Harlequin books for providing me with a copy of this wonderful ARC ebook.