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inmyhumbleopinion's review against another edition
5.0
Four short stories from Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series. The first two have been published elsewhere (but I hadn't read them) and the second two are entirely new.
Beat of Temptation – Tamsyn & Nates story. Tamsyn is the healer and heart of the DarkRiver Leopards and one of my favorite characters. Because of an attack on the DarkRiver cats Tamsyn is forced to grow up fast. She becomes the community’s healer at the age of 17. She has known the Nate was her mate since she was 15. Nate is 10 years her senior and has forced himself (and his cat) to wait until she is grown and has had a chance to see a bit of the world. Tamsyn is now 19 and back from medical training and is tired of waiting. Nate needs to put up or shut up.
Stroke of Enticement – DarkRiver leopard Zach Quinn is smitten with human teacher Annie Kildare when he goes to deal with his nephews’ problem at school. Because of her parents dysfunctional marriage Annie has lost faith in love. Zach won’t settle for anything less.
Declaration of Courtship – SnowDancer lieutenant, Cooper is about as dominant as they come. When he meets shy submissive Grace he knows she is the one for him. (This D/s relationship is nothing like 50 Shades but explains the dynamic the best I’ve read) Can he get her wolf to understand that he would never hurt her?
Texture of Intimacy – SnowDancer healer Lara and Walkers story. We read about it peripherally in Kiss of Snow. I've always felt that Walker was the strongest of the Lauren clan, not necessarily the most deadly but the strongest in force of will. Having survived Silence and the betrayal of Yelene can he learn to let go and share with Lara?
A wonderful addition to this fantastic series.
Beat of Temptation – Tamsyn & Nates story. Tamsyn is the healer and heart of the DarkRiver Leopards and one of my favorite characters. Because of an attack on the DarkRiver cats Tamsyn is forced to grow up fast. She becomes the community’s healer at the age of 17. She has known the Nate was her mate since she was 15. Nate is 10 years her senior and has forced himself (and his cat) to wait until she is grown and has had a chance to see a bit of the world. Tamsyn is now 19 and back from medical training and is tired of waiting. Nate needs to put up or shut up.
Stroke of Enticement – DarkRiver leopard Zach Quinn is smitten with human teacher Annie Kildare when he goes to deal with his nephews’ problem at school. Because of her parents dysfunctional marriage Annie has lost faith in love. Zach won’t settle for anything less.
Declaration of Courtship – SnowDancer lieutenant, Cooper is about as dominant as they come. When he meets shy submissive Grace he knows she is the one for him. (This D/s relationship is nothing like 50 Shades but explains the dynamic the best I’ve read) Can he get her wolf to understand that he would never hurt her?
Texture of Intimacy – SnowDancer healer Lara and Walkers story. We read about it peripherally in Kiss of Snow. I've always felt that Walker was the strongest of the Lauren clan, not necessarily the most deadly but the strongest in force of will. Having survived Silence and the betrayal of Yelene can he learn to let go and share with Lara?
A wonderful addition to this fantastic series.
s4ufos's review against another edition
4.0
Honestly… this is like a nice mug of hot chocolate after a bad day. It was sweet and just gave me the warm fuzzies. I loved all the stories for different reasons, though I was initially hesitant when it came to Walker and Laura (a review had made me leery). However, after reading their novella, I realized that their relationship might have been my favorite so far (in the novellas).
This series is amazing! I can definitely see myself reading this again.
This series is amazing! I can definitely see myself reading this again.
saidahgilbert's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book for Walker and Lara's story. I love them. Though the other stories were interesting as well.
2nd reading: Full series reread in chronological order. It was good to read the stories interspersed with the full-length novels. More impact.
2nd reading: Full series reread in chronological order. It was good to read the stories interspersed with the full-length novels. More impact.
toastymaloney's review against another edition
4.0
The stories of Tamsyn and Nathan, Annie and Zach, Grace and Cooper, and more of Lara and Walkers story. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Again December 2014.
Again December 2014.
bookishlynomes's review against another edition
4.0
Overall rating: 4.25 stars
Beat of Temptation - 5 stars
This was Tamsyn and Nate's backstory and by far my favourite in the collection. I first met Tammy and Nate in Slave to Sensation (book 1 of the Psy-Changeling series) and knew that I needed to get my hands on a copy of their story. In Slave to Sensation, they are the epitome of the happily mated couple, having been together for almost 20 years with 2 young sons.
Beat of Temptation begins with 19 year old Tamsyn trying to get 29 year old Nate to commit to their mating. Both Tammy and Nate realized they were mate 4 years prior but Nate chooses not to do anything about their mating as he believes he's too old for Tammy. He wants her to go out and explore the world before settling down with him in an effort to avoid any future disappointment in their relationship by mating too young. By doing this, he takes the decision away from her and effectively treats her as younger than she is. However, Tammy hasn't been 'young' in years. After an attack on DarkRiver several years ago which killed Luc's parents (his mother was the pack's healer), Tammy had to step up from trainee healer to the official pack healer. This sudden increased responsibility means Tammy had to grow up quickly and at 19 years old, she knows her own mind.
Without going into too many details, I will say that Nate's actions really saddened me and I couldn't believe everything that he puts Tammy through. At several points, I wanted to reach into the book and shake him. Tammy finally has enough and decides to take Nate's initial advice and go out into the world independently. This choice finally wakes Nate up from his idiocy as he realizes he can't and won't be apart from Tammy any longer, and he begins to understand that he's going to need to do some serious groveling. Despite his poor actions, Nate is lovable as ever and really grows as a person. Tammy is warm and friendly, and I'm so glad for she and Nate got their happily ever after!
Stroke of Enticement - 4.5 stars
This story features Annie, a human teacher at a school with changeling children, and Zach, a DarkRiver leopard with a nephew in Annie's class. Prior to reading this story, I can recall coming across Annie and Zach's names in the series but not much more so I was glad to revisit these characters in this story. Annie was such a beautiful character with a sad backstory (injured as a child and now with medical issues affecting her movement); and Zach, oh boy, he was such a charming, flirtatious changeling who knew exactly how to get under Annie's skin (and her clothes, ha!). I thoroughly enjoyed the way Zach sought to win Annie over and prove his affections, despite her initial reservations and cynicism. Annie and Zach have definitely been added to my favourite couples of all time list.
Declaration of Courtship - 4 stars
Declaration of Courtship took me a little longer to get into but once done, I was hooked. It's about shy, submissive Grace and sexy, dangerously dominant Cooper; both part of the SnowDancer wolves. Although considered submissive, Grace showed unexpected backbone at certain points but completed reverted back at other points by her wolf. One of the most interesting parts of this story was seeing that submission from the perspective of a wolf. It was little things like the way she and her wolf worked in tandem with interactions and behaviours such as eye contact, allowing (or not allowing) Cooper near her neck, the volume and language used when speaking to a dominant in general vs her dominant mate, etc. Cooper on the other hand had to learn to temper his dominant behavior around Grace during the courtship so as not to allow her submissive behavior to feel as though she was forced into the mating. It was such a great learning curve for both characters and I loved it!
Texture of Intimacy - 3.5 stars
The final story was about Lara (SnowDancer healer and wolf) and Walker (Psy defected into the wolf pack). I'll admit, this couple was far from one of my favourites in the series so I didn't know what to expect in this story but Nalini really knows how to make you fall for characters and by the end, I grew a soft spot for this couple. Lara and Walker mated quietly in one of the main books of the series (Kiss of Snow, if I remember correctly?) but Texture of Intimacy shows a more in depth look at what occurred immediately after the mating as the two navigate around Lara's compassion and healer role in the pack, and Walker's slow embrace of feelings now that he's no longer part of the Psy net and his family is safe within SnowDancer's boundaries.
Beat of Temptation - 5 stars
This was Tamsyn and Nate's backstory and by far my favourite in the collection. I first met Tammy and Nate in Slave to Sensation (book 1 of the Psy-Changeling series) and knew that I needed to get my hands on a copy of their story. In Slave to Sensation, they are the epitome of the happily mated couple, having been together for almost 20 years with 2 young sons.
Beat of Temptation begins with 19 year old Tamsyn trying to get 29 year old Nate to commit to their mating. Both Tammy and Nate realized they were mate 4 years prior but Nate chooses not to do anything about their mating as he believes he's too old for Tammy. He wants her to go out and explore the world before settling down with him in an effort to avoid any future disappointment in their relationship by mating too young. By doing this, he takes the decision away from her and effectively treats her as younger than she is. However, Tammy hasn't been 'young' in years. After an attack on DarkRiver several years ago which killed Luc's parents (his mother was the pack's healer), Tammy had to step up from trainee healer to the official pack healer. This sudden increased responsibility means Tammy had to grow up quickly and at 19 years old, she knows her own mind.
Without going into too many details, I will say that Nate's actions really saddened me and I couldn't believe everything that he puts Tammy through. At several points, I wanted to reach into the book and shake him. Tammy finally has enough and decides to take Nate's initial advice and go out into the world independently. This choice finally wakes Nate up from his idiocy as he realizes he can't and won't be apart from Tammy any longer, and he begins to understand that he's going to need to do some serious groveling. Despite his poor actions, Nate is lovable as ever and really grows as a person. Tammy is warm and friendly, and I'm so glad for she and Nate got their happily ever after!
Stroke of Enticement - 4.5 stars
This story features Annie, a human teacher at a school with changeling children, and Zach, a DarkRiver leopard with a nephew in Annie's class. Prior to reading this story, I can recall coming across Annie and Zach's names in the series but not much more so I was glad to revisit these characters in this story. Annie was such a beautiful character with a sad backstory (injured as a child and now with medical issues affecting her movement); and Zach, oh boy, he was such a charming, flirtatious changeling who knew exactly how to get under Annie's skin (and her clothes, ha!). I thoroughly enjoyed the way Zach sought to win Annie over and prove his affections, despite her initial reservations and cynicism. Annie and Zach have definitely been added to my favourite couples of all time list.
Declaration of Courtship - 4 stars
Declaration of Courtship took me a little longer to get into but once done, I was hooked. It's about shy, submissive Grace and sexy, dangerously dominant Cooper; both part of the SnowDancer wolves. Although considered submissive, Grace showed unexpected backbone at certain points but completed reverted back at other points by her wolf. One of the most interesting parts of this story was seeing that submission from the perspective of a wolf. It was little things like the way she and her wolf worked in tandem with interactions and behaviours such as eye contact, allowing (or not allowing) Cooper near her neck, the volume and language used when speaking to a dominant in general vs her dominant mate, etc. Cooper on the other hand had to learn to temper his dominant behavior around Grace during the courtship so as not to allow her submissive behavior to feel as though she was forced into the mating. It was such a great learning curve for both characters and I loved it!
Texture of Intimacy - 3.5 stars
The final story was about Lara (SnowDancer healer and wolf) and Walker (Psy defected into the wolf pack). I'll admit, this couple was far from one of my favourites in the series so I didn't know what to expect in this story but Nalini really knows how to make you fall for characters and by the end, I grew a soft spot for this couple. Lara and Walker mated quietly in one of the main books of the series (Kiss of Snow, if I remember correctly?) but Texture of Intimacy shows a more in depth look at what occurred immediately after the mating as the two navigate around Lara's compassion and healer role in the pack, and Walker's slow embrace of feelings now that he's no longer part of the Psy net and his family is safe within SnowDancer's boundaries.
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh is an anthology of short stories from the Pys/Changeling Universe, using a few characters spanning from books 1 to 10. I enjoyed most of the stories, though there was one in particular that I didn't like very much
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1. Beat of Temptation - 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tamsyn/DarkRiver healer & Nathan/DarkRiver sentinel
This was a cute story, although Nathan made me unhappy becauseat one point he made Tamsyn thing that he didn't want to complete their mating bond. She went through rejection and all that pain for nothing.
The spicy scene was okay, I'll give it three 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
2. In Stroke of Enticement- 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Annie/Human & Zack/Changeling
This was an okay story, I didn't like howZack askes Annie about her physical disabilities right after meeting her, that was sort of rude. I also didn't like how Annie's mother was racist and she wasn't dealt with, she was just ended up being impressed by Zack so she stopped being an asshole. Aside from the two things, I think the story is good.
The spice was okay, I'm giving it three chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies worth of spice.
3. Declaration of Courtship - 2 ⭐️⭐️
Grace/SnowDancer Wolf and Cooper/SnowDancer Wolf Lieutenant
I really didn't like Cooper at all.At one point Annie's siblings accuse Cooper of being abusive and he gets angry and decides to almost physically attack them as a response. I just found him to be irresponsible and rude.
I didn't care for the spice in this one because I didn't like Cooper, so I'll give it two chilies 🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
4. Texture of Intimacy - 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Walker/Psy and Lara/SnowDancer healer
I really loved Walker and Lara the first time I read about them, I honestly love their relationship so much so when I found out that this short story was about them, I was excited! This story did not disappoint
I really loved the spice in this short story, not only was it sexy but it was also romantic
I'm giving it four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
----
Overall I liked most of the stories in this short anthology, I'm going to give it three stars out of five
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app hoopladigital.com
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1. Beat of Temptation - 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tamsyn/DarkRiver healer & Nathan/DarkRiver sentinel
This was a cute story, although Nathan made me unhappy because
The spicy scene was okay, I'll give it three 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
2. In Stroke of Enticement- 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Annie/Human & Zack/Changeling
This was an okay story, I didn't like how
The spice was okay, I'm giving it three chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies worth of spice.
3. Declaration of Courtship - 2 ⭐️⭐️
Grace/SnowDancer Wolf and Cooper/SnowDancer Wolf Lieutenant
I really didn't like Cooper at all.
I didn't care for the spice in this one because I didn't like Cooper, so I'll give it two chilies 🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
4. Texture of Intimacy - 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Walker/Psy and Lara/SnowDancer healer
I really loved Walker and Lara the first time I read about them, I honestly love their relationship so much so when I found out that this short story was about them, I was excited! This story did not disappoint
I really loved the spice in this short story, not only was it sexy but it was also romantic
I'm giving it four chilies 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ out of five chilies
----
Overall I liked most of the stories in this short anthology, I'm going to give it three stars out of five
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars
I listened to this for free on the library app hoopladigital.com
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
duchessicefire's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
michellesantiago's review against another edition
4.0
Great addition to the series. I enjoyed all of the novellas. I especially liked Lara and Walker's story because they're a wonderful couple and it was nice to see what happened immediately after book 10 (Sienna and Hawke's book).
elliefufu's review against another edition
4.0
Wild Invitation, A Psy-Changling Collection, by Nalini Singh
Overall Grade: B+
“I just need you-all of you- so much that I’m going crazy. I need your laugh. I need you company. I need you to sleep beside me and I need you to wake when I wake. I need you with everything in me.”
What a great collection of short stories about some of the favorite side characters in the Psy-Changeling series. I highly recommend that you read the books of this series in order and have read all of the books so far in order to understand who everyone is and what is going on so you aren’t completely lost. Once again Nalini Singh pulls you into the magical worlds of this series and like always I never wanted the book to end.
Beast of Temptation: A
Beast of Temptation goes back a long ways and is the story of Tamsyn, aka Tammy, and Nathan who are part of the DarkRiver pack. I have loved this couple for a while and was thrilled to see how they mated. Theirs is by far the best out of the four and is so good that I just has to re-read it.
Stroke of Enticement: B+
This is a very, very short story about the mating of Zach and Annie also of the DarkRiver pack. It is a very short, very quick read and I wish that we could have seen a little more of them. I always love seeing the males courting the women especially the humans who have no idea how to react to this dominant men and their cats or wolves.
Declaration of Courtship: B+
I wasn’t as familiar with Grace and Cooper except for the last book Tangle of Need. This was my second favorite out of the four and I loved that it showed a mating between a dominant wolf and a submissive. I liked seeing how these two worked out their problems that only had to do with their wolves. I liked Grace and Cooper so much I wish they had had their own full length book.
Texture of Intimacy: B-
This was my least favorite out of the four and shows us more of the mating between Psy Walker and Changeling Lara. Texture of Intimacy was much different from the other three as the couple is already mated but they are still working out their problems. I felt that this setup more for future books and wasn’t so much about Walker and Lara. It definitely had less romance than the other three which made it much harder for me to read.
All in all one of the best collections of short stories from a series I have read in awhile. I highly recommend this book to any fan of the Psy-Changeling series.
Overall Grade: B+
“I just need you-all of you- so much that I’m going crazy. I need your laugh. I need you company. I need you to sleep beside me and I need you to wake when I wake. I need you with everything in me.”
What a great collection of short stories about some of the favorite side characters in the Psy-Changeling series. I highly recommend that you read the books of this series in order and have read all of the books so far in order to understand who everyone is and what is going on so you aren’t completely lost. Once again Nalini Singh pulls you into the magical worlds of this series and like always I never wanted the book to end.
Beast of Temptation: A
Beast of Temptation goes back a long ways and is the story of Tamsyn, aka Tammy, and Nathan who are part of the DarkRiver pack. I have loved this couple for a while and was thrilled to see how they mated. Theirs is by far the best out of the four and is so good that I just has to re-read it.
Stroke of Enticement: B+
This is a very, very short story about the mating of Zach and Annie also of the DarkRiver pack. It is a very short, very quick read and I wish that we could have seen a little more of them. I always love seeing the males courting the women especially the humans who have no idea how to react to this dominant men and their cats or wolves.
Declaration of Courtship: B+
I wasn’t as familiar with Grace and Cooper except for the last book Tangle of Need. This was my second favorite out of the four and I loved that it showed a mating between a dominant wolf and a submissive. I liked seeing how these two worked out their problems that only had to do with their wolves. I liked Grace and Cooper so much I wish they had had their own full length book.
Texture of Intimacy: B-
This was my least favorite out of the four and shows us more of the mating between Psy Walker and Changeling Lara. Texture of Intimacy was much different from the other three as the couple is already mated but they are still working out their problems. I felt that this setup more for future books and wasn’t so much about Walker and Lara. It definitely had less romance than the other three which made it much harder for me to read.
All in all one of the best collections of short stories from a series I have read in awhile. I highly recommend this book to any fan of the Psy-Changeling series.