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allingoodtime's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was a solid read that did a lot to move the overall Psy-Changeling plot along, but the romantic match didn’t work for me the way the others have in this series. I’m not sure what was missing from the Talin/Clay match-up, but it was not as intense as any of the other mates as of yet.
Talin is a human who grew up in the foster care system. She and Clay met when they were children as Clay’s mom was human and he didn’t grow up in a pack. In fact, Clay’s Changeling nature upset his mom so he learned at a young age to suppress it and he still has no idea what pack his father was from. Clay is a few years older than Talin and always protected her as best he could, he was just a kid himself. There is a lot of trauma that happens to the kids and they end up being torn apart when they are still young.
I had high hopes for this couple. I love the setup of who they are to each other and how they interacted as kids. But there is so much anger and hurt between them. Talin made some not-so-great decisions in her young life and Clay does not react well to her secrets. Talin also doesn’t react well to what Clay did that tore them apart in the past. Somehow, even though the story moves along well, their path to forgiving and ultimately love seems unbalanced.
Oddly, I still found both characters to be great. There are some great interactions with others in Clay’s pack, especially Dorian, and Talin becomes an integral part of the DarkRiver pack by the end. I think, if you’re reading this series, it would be a mistake to skip this book. There is a lot that is revealed that is obviously going to be important to the series. It’s still a great read, it just doesn’t live up to the previous books. But that’s a high standard anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Torture and Kidnapping
anka_al's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Child death, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse and Torture
livsliterarynook's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Child death
jocee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. I loved the personal history between the main characters and the angst it created. I also found the mystery compelling and it wrapped up nicely! There were some weird choices the author made, but we’ll say it’s a product of its time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
valeriaana_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Child abuse
cocpop_reads's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a tougher book because of the content. Although nothing is stated explicitly, there is abuse to a child that is heavily implied and the resulting trauma.
Clay and Talin’s story is much darker than the others but no less hopeful. I’m glad that by the end, they both are accepting of everything of each other.
I desperately want to know who the Ghost is, I have my thoughts but I’m gonna keep them until there’s more hints.
Clay and Talin’s story is much darker than the others but no less hopeful. I’m glad that by the end, they both are accepting of everything of each other.
I desperately want to know who the Ghost is, I have my thoughts but I’m gonna keep them until there’s more hints.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Sexual violence, and Child abuse
rbradley923's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Physical abuse, Child death, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Gore, Domestic abuse, and Death
Minor: Gun violence, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Rape, and Torture
sup3r_xn0va_maya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The story was interesting but I didn't love the two main characters, Tally and Clay.
The abuse mentions in the story were hard for me to get through for personal reasons.
I'm interested to see where the story is going as far as the Psy Counsel goes, so I'm excited to continue the series. This is my lowest rated Nalini Singh book though, I don't think the main characters resonated with me like the other main characters of the other 3 books did.
I'm giving this 3.5 stars out of 5.
The abuse mentions in the story were hard for me to get through for personal reasons.
I'm interested to see where the story is going as far as the Psy Counsel goes, so I'm excited to continue the series. This is my lowest rated Nalini Singh book though, I don't think the main characters resonated with me like the other main characters of the other 3 books did.
I'm giving this 3.5 stars out of 5.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Death, and Child death
vivivi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am a sucker for the "childhood friends turned lovers" trope. Let me just start with that. Talin and Clay are super cute together!
This one pulls at the heartstrings, is full of history, misunderstandings, betrayals, and hurt feelings. But it's also interspersed with the characters' strong loving feelings for each other, which balances it out, making the hurt feelings bearable for me. It is not always the case for me with Nalini Singh (one of the Rock Kiss books comes to mind), but in this one, it's sweet, sweet torture. I love that we see the characters from the other books! They're very much still a part of the story.
We also learn more about the Forgotten, which were only briefly mentioned in the previous book. One thing that I enjoy in this series is that everything is connected somehow, and will come up later if mentioned earlier. It's a great way to keep me reading the next book.
Also, as an aside since Storygraph has a section that asks if the characters are diverse... yes, they are, but you'd never know by the cover, which are almost always of white people. The actual characters are definitely not always white.... So it's verrrrry annoying when the covers don't reflect the actual characters' skin. Clay is supposed to be a "dark" man, by Tali's own description. He has very dark skin...the covers for this book though... Nope. Not even close.
This one pulls at the heartstrings, is full of history, misunderstandings, betrayals, and hurt feelings. But it's also interspersed with the characters' strong loving feelings for each other, which balances it out, making the hurt feelings bearable for me. It is not always the case for me with Nalini Singh (one of the Rock Kiss books comes to mind), but in this one, it's sweet, sweet torture. I love that we see the characters from the other books! They're very much still a part of the story.
We also learn more about the Forgotten, which were only briefly mentioned in the previous book. One thing that I enjoy in this series is that everything is connected somehow, and will come up later if mentioned earlier. It's a great way to keep me reading the next book.
Also, as an aside since Storygraph has a section that asks if the characters are diverse... yes, they are, but you'd never know by the cover, which are almost always of white people. The actual characters are definitely not always white.... So it's verrrrry annoying when the covers don't reflect the actual characters' skin. Clay is supposed to be a "dark" man, by Tali's own description. He has very dark skin...the covers for this book though... Nope. Not even close.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Sexual violence
Minor: Death of parent