The Romanceaholic

Expected Release Date: Available now!
Publisher: Penguin
Imprint: Berkley
Author’s Website: www.nalinisingh.com
My Source for This Book: Amazon.com
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 10, Psy-Changeling Series
Series Best Read In Order: Yes
Steam Level: Hot

Official Blurb:

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would’ve been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules-and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other’s secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight…

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna’s darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home-and the alpha who is its heartbeat.

*Happy Sigh* I have been anxiously awaiting Hawke’s story since the very first Psy-Changeling novel back in 2006, and I will say right now, that this was hands down worth the wait.

Because the Psy/Changeling world is so intricate, and because this book marks the beginning of a long-coming war between the Psy and the Changelings, I will say straight out that this is a series that is best read in order. While some of the previous novels were not my favorites, it is certainly important to understand the general story arc before trying to tackle this book, or readers will likely be very lost outside of the relationship between Hawke and Sienna.

There are three species of people in this world — the Psy, the Changelings, and Humans.

The Psy are a race of very powerful psychics, with their abilities varying widely in both type and strength. The most powerful of any of the Psy are those who are Cardinals — scoring extremely high on the power scale, Cardinals are immediately recognizable by their eyes which are solid black, including the sclera as well as the iris.

Unfortunately, in the past, the Psy were often victims of madness and violence, due to some of their uncontrollable powers. In the late 1970′s they undertook a radical social change called Silence, which basically allows all members to have incredible control over their powers by effectively removing all emotions.  Unfortunately, while Silence was the answer to many Psy’s prayers, it is not perfect, and there is plenty of room for corruption and abuse under its regime.   Physically the weakest of the three species, they are the most mentally powerful, and often defend themselves with their psychic abilities.  The Psy are ruled by the Council — a group of men and women who tend to be self-serving at best, and psychotic at worst.  The Psy are also incredibly dependent on PsyNet, a psychic network that links each of their minds together (though they are taught at a young age to shield themselves for protection), and which also provides important biofeedback that they require to function.

The Changelings are a race of shapeshifters, with a large variety of different species.  The main packs in the Psy/Changeling novels are SnowDancer (wolves) and DarkRiver (leopards), but many other species make appearances, including deer, rats, various birds, and aquatic creatures. Changelings are the strongest physically of the three species, with limited psychic powers such as the ability to partially shield themselves, and to form varying degrees of psychic bonds within their packs.

Humans are the weakest of the species, both physically and in psychic ability, but the one thing they do have to their advantage is that the other two species tend to underestimate them.   Humans play only a small part in the series in general.

Hawke is the Alpha of the SnowDancer pack.  A victim of an insidious attack on his pack at a young age by a group of Psy, Hawke also lost the woman his wolf recognized as his mate while he was still a child. Wolves mate for life, and having lost the female that his wolf recognized as his mate at such an early age, Hawke knows that he will never be able to give a woman a full mating-bond like the others in his pack.  Like all Changelings, Hawke is a very sensual being with a very strong sexual drive. However, as an honorable man, he always makes certain that all of his lovers understand that he can never take them fully as a mate, and that they are not looking for something that he can never give them.

Sienna has been half in love with Hawke since she was sixteen — the day he first showed her kindness as a defector from the Psy.  Now almost 20, she is no longer a young girl who is entirely off-limits as a woman, and has begun to prove herself as a powerful and valuable member of the SnowDancer pack.   Sienna, however, is more than just the woman that Hawke refuses to admit his attraction to — she’s a Cardinal X-Psy, a designation so rare that less than ten exist at any given time in the entire world, with Sienna being the only Cardinal of that designation in known history.  We’ve heard about the X-Psy in previous novels, but with no real explanation of the power other than it’s deadly both to others and the wielder, and that if Sienna were to ever completely break Silence, she’d almost certainly die — and take out everyone around her in the process.

What worked for me:

• First off, how beautiful is that cover? *fans self* Just. Guh.
• I adore Hawke.  He is probably the most infuriatingly stubborn hero I have come across in a long time, but he’s also incredibly intelligent, loving, sexy, and loyal.
• Sienna is freakin awesome.  I have loved watching her mature over the course of the series, and hearing about her childhood (or lack thereof) and realizing just how much control she has over her escalating power gave me a whole new respect for her. I also like that she gave Hawke hell, because the man certainly deserved it.  I adore how she stood up to Hawke, and even went so far as to pretty much tell him to either fish or cut bait when it came to any sort of relationship between them.
• I think one of my favorite things about this was how Hawke allowed Sienna to play. Having never been allowed to just do something for personal enjoyment, Hawke allows her experience real fun for the first time in her life, even when he was still holding himself back from her.
• Oh my holy hell the sexual tension in this book was Off. The. Charts. *fans self vigorously*  The chemistry between Hawke and Sienna was enough to scorch your fingers, and when things finally took off, let me tell you, it was incredible.
• The angst! Oh, the angst. Despite his incredible physical attraction to Sienna, Hawke refuses to act on it, still choosing to see her as the child she was when she joined the pack.  Sienna desperately wants him on every level, and the mixed-signals he continues to send her are completely heartbreaking, especially when he contacts Rosalie.
• We get to find out the gender of Lucas and Sascha’s baby!  While I’m not typically big on children in romance novels, I have to say that the Awww factor of Lucas as a father was a beautiful thing.
• On the same note, while Nikita will never be June Cleaver, I loved the very small interaction with Sascha after her baby was born, and as always, I think there’s much more to Nikita than she’s ever revealed to anyone.
• X-Psy. Are. Awesome.   We readers have waited a very very long time to find out exactly what Sienna’s power is, and I have to say that hers is probably the most incredible of all the Psy that we’ve met. Furthermore, I adored how her situation truly seemed hopeless, and the “recovered emails” interspersed between various chapters gave us only slight hints of her ability and the smallest glimmer of hope.
• I also enjoyed how the war has finally started, and literally with a bang.  Alliances have been formed, enemies have been exposed, and key players have begun maneuvering towards an endgame.  Sienna’s experience in PsyNet allowed her to be an incredibly valuable asset, and Hawke finally began to truly respect her input and opinions.
• I also thoroughly enjoyed the secondary romance between Walker and Lara. Walker has always been a favorite of mine, with his quiet devotion to his family despite being fully Silent, and we really get to delve rather deeply into that aspect of his personality considering the limited amount of time spent on his character.

What didn’t work for me:

• I am still a bit disgruntled that the identity of the Ghost was not revealed yet, especially when the point was made that Judd and Hawke both knew his identity.
• While I thoroughly enjoyed the focus on the Changelings and Psy in this story, I wish that the humans had been allowed to play a larger part in the battles that took place in this story.
• I was a little put off by Sienna at times, because she pushed so hard for Hawke to see her as a woman and to finally move on towards a sexual relationship, but the moment he finally accepted the idea of the two of them together, she suddenly got all missish and reluctant.  While I understand that he had been restraining himself around her for so long that she underestimated just how intense a relationship with an alpha wolf could be, and that it had to have been intimidating when he finally unleashed his full intensity on her, it still seemed at odds with the strength and courage she’d displayed up to that point.
• I joke that every Nalini Singh book has a phrase that makes me wonder if she gets paid each time she uses it, and this book enjoyed having people “turn the air blue” with their language.  While it didn’t truly bother me, I did take notice of it.

Overall, I adored it.  The sexual tension was so thick, you could cut it with a knife, and the angst of their relationship was absolutely gut-wrenching. Add to that the fact that the events leading up to war have finally come to a head, and the glimpses into the lives of some of the more important players from previous novels, and I truly couldn’t be happier with this book.

While the price point may put off some readers (the ebook is $12.99 as this is a hardcover release), I will gladly tell you that if you are at all a fan of the series, it will be worth every single penny.

Recommended for fans of the series,  stubborn alpha heroes with incredible sexual tension and chemistry, unrequited love, seemingly insurmountable odds, and a kick-ass heroine finally allowed to come into her own, all liberally sprinkled with political intrigue, family issues, and pulse-pounding action.

I would rate this a 10 if I could, but as it is, I will have to settle with a very enthusiastic 5/5 Stars.

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