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Psy/Changeling Giveaway!

Psy/Changeling Giveaway!

Friday, May 29, 2015
Posted in: Azteclady Speaks, promotional advert
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I have been posting reviews of the Psy/Changeling books in a hurry in the past few weeks, playing ‘catch up’ to be ready for the release of the fourteenth novel in the series, Shards of Hope, on June 2nd. This is the one series I still pre-order the moment the links go up–even though it’s released in hardcover. In my opinion, it’s just that good.

Some readers may feel a little intimidated by the length of the series–particularly because there is an overarching plot that means that reading from the beginning is definitely recommended.

Well, here’s a chance to make your risk smaller: a giveaway of the first five books, along with a book tote by Penguin, the publisher of the series. It’s open internationally, until May 31.

The giveaway is being held to celebrate the re-release, with a new cover, of the book that started it all back in 2006. Behold, Slave to Sensation:

Slave to Sensation re-release
The new blurb:
(more…)

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Azteclady reviews, Nalini Singh's Bonds of Justice

Azteclady reviews, Nalini Singh’s Bonds of Justice

Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Posted in: AztecLady Reviews, Nalini Singh, reviews
Tags:, ,

A couple of years ago I started reviewing every book in Ms Singh’s Psy/Changeling series, in order of publication. What with one thing and another, the last such review I posted was of Blaze of Memory1 Now that I’m awaiting the imminent release of the latest book, A Tangle of Need, I embarked on a re-read of the whole series. (Yes, I know I’m a bit obsessive, thanks.) Since I’m reading them, why not review them? And here we are.

Bonds of Justice, by Nalini Singh

Sensuality rating: Steamy.

The eight installment in Ms Singh’s successful Psy/Changeling series, this is the first one where a changeling—or even a human member of a changeling pack—isn’t a protagonist. With this novel, Ms Singh shifts the focus to humans in a very different manner than she did with the secondary plot in Branded by Fire.

But first a disclaimer: if you haven’t read any of these novels, you will probably be lost. Not only are a number of characters from as far back as Slave to Sensation mentioned, several have key (if minor, page count-wise) rôles in this novel. Beyond that, there is an overarching plot thread noted in a number of passages (some of them one paragraph chapters) that will make a new-to-the-series reader go, “Huh?” repeatedly. So, if I were you, I would just start at the beginning.

With that out of the way, here is the back cover blurb: (more…)

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Geekery, impossibilities and randomness

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Posted in: Azteclady Speaks, random ramblings
Tags:,
(gotta love Zazzle)

(gotta love Zazzle)

I’m a geek.

Not one of those really well educated geeks, I admit, but a geek nonetheless.

And this geek is always fascinated by how science is catching up to fantasy (no wonder we call it science fiction now 😀 )

For example, when reading Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling series, I had some issues with Hostage to Pleasure because it posits that DNA manipulation would have effect within one generation. I’m all, “no way in hell, dammit!” and feeling pulled out of the story because, well, not possible.

(Yes, I know—I have trouble accepting that but I’m happily overlooking little impossibles such as, say, shapeshifting. So I’m inconsistent, sue me 😛 )

Anyway, the whole DNA manipulation part of the storyline bothered me—it seemed a bit like a cop out, frankly—and then I see this cool little article and wham! “Objection overruled, counselor.”

These little critters are a) stealing DNA and passing it on to their offspring, and b) stealing cellular structures into their own cells and using them successfully.

Looking at this, I’m suddenly much happier about Ashaya Aleine’s work 😀

*    *    *    *    *

Random PS: Who is your favorite geeky chick? Personally, I’m torn between Abby from NCIS and the amazing Kaylee from Firefly.

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AztecLady does Nalini Singh’s, Hostage to Pleasure

Thursday, August 28, 2008
Posted in: AztecLady Reviews, Nalini Singh
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Hostage to Pleasure, by Nalini Singh

The most recent addition to the Psy/Changeling series, Hostage to Pleasure once again centers on one of the sentinels of the DarkRiver pack, while furthering the overarching story arc of the series through the introduction of his mate, a high ranking M-Psy whose path had once before crossed that of the leopards during the events narrated in Mine to Possess, the previous novel.

Ms Singh’s command of the world she has created is excellent. Without incurring any inconsistencies, each book reveals deeper layers in the relationships between the different groups of humans in this parallel future, the shifting of power, and the immutability of human nature. Once again, while this novel can indeed be enjoyed on its own merits, I heartily recommend beginning with Slave to Sensation, and reading the series in order, because there are a number of short passages which are more meaningful when knowing some events narrated in earlier books.

The back cover blurb:

Separated from her son and forced to create a neural implant that will mean the effective enslavement of her psychically gifted race, Ashaya Aleine is the perfect Psy—cool, calm, emotionless… at least on the surface. Inside, she’s fighting a desperate battle to save her son and escape the vicious cold of the PsyNet. Yet when escape comes, it leads not to safety, but to the lethal danger of a sniper’s embrace.

DarkRiver sniper Dorian Christensen lost his sister to a Psy killer. Though he lacks the changeling ability to shift into animal form, his leopard lives within. And that leopard’s rage at the brutal loss is a clawing darkness that hungers for vengeance. Falling for a Psy has never been on Dorian’s agenda. But charged with protecting Ashaya and her son, he discovers that passion has a way of changing the rules…

(more…)

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AztecLady does Nalini Singh’s, Mine to Possess

Saturday, August 9, 2008
Posted in: AztecLady Reviews, Nalini Singh
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Mine To Possess, by Nalini Singh

The fourth installment in the Psy/Changeling series, this story centers again on one of the sentinels of the DarkRiver pack, Clay, and brings back a ghost from his past—Talin, the human girl who once upon a time gave him unconditional love and trust.

This novel can be enjoyed on its own merits, as it has a self-contained plot and the world building holds its internal consistency in an excellent manner, but I definitely recommend starting this series at the beginning. There are just too many background threads set up in the overall story arc of the series for a reader to catch all the nuances and references if starting with this book.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Clay Bennett is a powerful Dark River 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 lost 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 stalks her—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 and hungers to possess her with a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent, Clay and Talin must face the violent truths in their past… or lose everything that ever mattered.

The blurb is overly melodramatic in tone, if any one asks me (and whoever wrote it, really should have asked a reader—seriously) so I’ll try to rephrase it briefly: (more…)

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AztecLady Does Nalini Singh’s, Caressed by Ice…

Thursday, July 31, 2008
Posted in: AztecLady Reviews, Nalini Singh
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Caressed by Ice, by Nalini Singh

Caressed by Ice is the third installment in the Psy/Changeling series. While I certainly recommend reading the first two books before starting this one, it is still early enough in the series, and Ms Singh gives enough background detail in this novel, that a reader shouldn’t get too lost starting here.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

As an Arrow, an elite soldier in the Psy Council ranks, Judd Lauren was forced to do terrible things in the name of his people. Now he is a defector, and his dark abilities have made him the most deadly of assassins—cold, pitiless, unfeeling. Until he meets Brenna…

Brenna Shane Kinkaid was an innocent before she was abducted—and had her mind violated—by a serial killer. Her sense of evil runs so deep, she fears she could become a killer herself. Then the first dead body is found, victim of a familiar madness. Judd is her only hope, yet her sensual changeling side rebels against the inhuman chill of his personality, even as desire explodes between them. Shocking and raw, their passion is a danger that threatens not only their hearts, but their very lives…

The blurb… meh.

But oh, the many lovely things about this novel!

The main conflict in Caressed by Ice stems both from events that happened in Slave to Sensation—such as Brenna’s abduction and torture at the hands of a high ranking Psy—and from the historical linking of Psy abilities to violence and madness. The first killer is dead, so who killed Brenna’s packmate, and why is she having dream/visions of violence? And why is Judd convinced that Brenna is still in danger, even though there doesn’t seem to be any logical reason for it? (more…)

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AztecLady Does Nalini Singh’s, Visions of Heat…

Friday, July 4, 2008
Posted in: AztecLady Reviews, Nalini Singh
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Visons of Heat by Nalini Singh

Second in the Psy/Changeling series, Visions of Heat is just as good as Slave to Sensation, the first installment—proving that sequels can succeed; it’s all in the execution. One of the great things about Ms Singh’s world building is that, while it grows and gets more complex as the series progresses, so far each book can be read on its own (unless you are anal retentive like moi, in which case you start at the beginning, period).

Without further ado, lets move on to this review.

Here’s the back cover 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 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.

In the first novel, we are introduced to the three subspecies of humans that inhabit Ms Singh’s Psy/Changeling universe, as well as to a few groups within them. We have met some of the leopards of the Dark River Pack and some of the wolves of the Snow Dancer pack. We have met the Psy Council and some Psy individuals with different psychic abilities as well as different personalities. (more…)

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AztecLady Does Nalini Singh's, Slave to Sensation...

AztecLady Does Nalini Singh’s, Slave to Sensation…

Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Posted in: AztecLady Reviews, Nalini Singh
Tags:,

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

I was a rather late comer to the wonder that is Ms Singh’s Psy/Changeling universe. By the time I jumped on the wagon, I had three most excellent books to read and a fourth just around the corner. Ah, the joys of discovering a great author with a long backlist!

Now, I’m in the throes of waiting (with no patience whatsoever) for the fifth installment, and have decided that if I am suffering, there’s no reason for those few people out there who haven’t read this series not to suffer with me. See how generous I am, spreading the addiction?

Without further ado, here’s the back cover blurb:

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 coexistence, 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 his 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…

Granted, this blurb is not horrible, but, frankly, neither does it properly reflect the coolness that is this book.

The world building in this series is simply topnotch. After a barebones page and a half prologue, Ms Singh doesn’t overwhelm the readers with long sessions of info dumping or back story, relying instead on the characters’ actions and thoughts to unveil the cultural and political background of this alternative future.

Yes, this is a romance of the paranormal variety, but it is also a complex and well told story with an overarching conflict that involves humanity as a whole rather than only these two people. (more…)

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