Nalini Singh – The Psy-Changeling Series

Posted on by theroamingbook

“Our laws might seem harsh but we’re not inhuman. We treasure every unique individual. We make room for difference.” 

Slave to Sensation, Nalini Singh

Further to my earlier review of Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series, we’ll take a brief look at her equally captivating Psy-Changing series. These books would certainly classify as Paranormal Romance and each one tells the story of a different couple. This couple generally consists of a mix of changeling (wolves, leopards, etc.) and psy (a group of emotionally -repressed humans with a range of psy gifts such as telepathy, telekinesis and foresight).

The changelings are typically passionate, pack-oriented individuals who we are strongly encouraged to identify with, whereas the psy exist under ‘Silence’, wherein they are cut off form their emotions, cold to each other and the outside world in order to contain their powers. You can see the opportunity for conflict here, as well as other things 😉 There are over a dozen books in this series now and whilst they certainly do follow a familiar formula, they are each different and engaging enough to absorb the reader.

The heroes and heroines are unique enough from each other to stand out, for the most part, and the certainty of the HEA is what, I imagine, attracts many to the series. Including me. My personal favorites were the first and tenth books in the series (Slave to Sensation and Kiss of Snow, respectively) which tell the stories of the changeling Alpha’s and their psy partners. Particularly interesting is the ongoing psy/changeling war that brews in the background and builds throughout the series, with some stories focusing more or less on the wider world the characters inhabit.

Nalini is one of my favourite writers of Paranormal Romance and I think her work outdoes most of the rest of the field (that I have read, at least) by a clear mile. If this is your kind of thing, don’t miss out on many hours of easy, enjoyable reading.

Nalini Singh – The Guild Hunter Series

Posted on by theroamingbook

“How long have you been with Raphael?”

“You ask a lot of questions for a dead woman.”

“What can I say? I prefer to die well-informed.” 

Angel’s Blood – Nalini Singh

It’s hard to believe, but I started reading this series nearly a decade ago when the first book – Angels’ Blood – was published. There are now 12 books in this series and I have to confess, I haven’t yet gotten around to reading the last 3. This is strictly a time issue though, for if my to-read list was a little shorter and my free-time a little longer, I’d have devoured these all long ago.

I’m a fan of supernatural books, but the trick for me is to make two things in particular happen: there must be characters that I can relate to, a world that I somehow recognise and balanced against this supernatural creatures that truly feel as alien as they are. It’s a difficult line to tread and one that I rarely find is sustained throughout an entire book, let alone a whole series. Nalini Singh, however, writes beautifully realised characters that I can empathise with and sets them in a world that is just similar enough to our own that I can imagine inhabiting it, whilst being frighteningly different to the point that I wouldn’t want to.

Nalini Singh also has another long-standing series that I’ll be reviewing in the near future (her Psy-Changeling Series) and it is set in a different, though equally enjoyable, world where there are rules and norms that are established and understood. For me, this is one of the great benefits of long-running supernatural series. There’s plenty of time to establish the world and make it real to the reader so you can be sucked into the story so much more quickly each time.

The main character in this series – Elena Deveraux starts off as a vampire hunter, hired by an Archangel named Raphael. Suffice to say she ends the first book in a very different place and the series continues to explore the ramifications of the first, dramatic entry for some time. There’s an ever-expanding cast of characters to enjoy and many find themselves explored in much greater depth as the series progresses. I think this series is well worth the time I have already invested in it and I’m looking forward to spending some more time in the near future, catching up with some old favorites.