Psy-Changeling Read-Along: Wild Invitation (+Contest)

NSingh-Mine to Possess

Psy-Changeling Readalong.2013It’s time for the Wild Invitation Read-Along! Are you as excited as us? Two brand new novellas!

This read-Along is a little bit different but hopefully you enjoy it! Don’t forget to answer some of our discussion questions! It’s more fun when we can all get excited together.

– Casey and Courtney

NSingh-Wild InvitationA PSY-CHANGELING COLLECTION BY NALINI SINGH

In Beat of Temptation, innocent Tamsyn has always had a place in her heart for Nathan, a blooded DarkRiver sentinel. But is she ready for the fierce demands of the mating bond?

In Stroke of Enticement, a wary young teacher, skeptical about love, arouses the man–and the animal–in an aggressive leopard changeling who must prove his affections are true.

Plus NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED
In Declaration of Courtship, Grace, a shy submissive wolf, finds herself pursued by the last man she ever would have imagined: a SnowDancer lieutenant said to be “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.”

Plus NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED
In Texture of Intimacy, SnowDancer healer Lara discovers the searing joys–and unexpected challenges–of being mated to quiet, powerful Walker, a man used to keeping his silence.

Here are the past discussions!

Slave to Sensation – the discussion Blaze of Memory – the discussion
Visions of Heat – the discussion Bonds of Justice – the discussion
Caressed by Ice – the discussion Play of Passion – the discussion
Wild Invitation – the discussion Kiss of Snow – the discussion
Mine to Possess – the discussion Tangle of Need – the discussion
Hostage to Pleasure – the discussion Heart of Obsidian – the discussion
Branded by Fire – the discussion

Beat of Temptation:

“Mate. The word made her heart skip as it had since the day she’d turned fifteen.

The story of how Tamsyn and Nate got together. You would think because they are so happy in all the other Psy-Changeling novels that they’re mating would be easy. Not so! Besides the fact that DarkRiver is still on high alert from the threat to their pack you have a battle between Tamsyn and Nate.

“Nate was determined she get the chance to explore her freedom before settling down. What she had enver been able to make him see was that he was her freedom.”

Nate is too stubborn for his own good. Being 10 years Tamsyn’s senior he’s determined to give her space and freedom. He has his own reasons that can be traced by to his parents but Tamsyn is tired of waiting. She is a mature leopard-changeling and she is tired of waiting for her mate to decide she is old enough to take as a mate.

“You made her cry, Nathan. You made your mate cry and then you didn’t hold her.” – Lucas

Tamsyn decides to do something about it but when Nate continues to be stubborn she decides she can’t take it anymore and leaves. Which is apparently the kickstart Nate needs to finally wake up and realize that Tamsyn wants him as much as he wants her. So they finally get their happily ever ending which includes flowers…among other, steamier, things.

“Behave…The other will see.” – Tamsyn

“So?…I’m just playing with my mate.” – Nate

We also get a look at how DarkRiver handled the attack on their pack. How close they are and how they watch out for each other. And how they’ve been fighting the Psy since before they really became a major player. And just a bit of the arrogance of the Psy and just how long they have been underestimating the changelings. It’s a great view of the world before things really starting changing with Slave to Sensation.

“Orchids. Nathan had given her orchids. Rare and precious and beautiful…the kind of flowers a man gave to a girl who was all those things.”

Stroke of Enticement:

“Dear God, she was useless around beautiful men. And “Uncle Zach” was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.”

A story of a human teacher with a few hangups and a DarkRiver soldier who knows what he wants. Meet Annie. Annie is a human teacher who teaches in DarkRiver territory so she’s used to changeling kids and their parents. Nothing could prepare her for Zach though. Zach comes as her request to talk to his nephew who hit another student and Zach immediately likes what he sees when he meets Annie. Their romance, while not easy, is hot and steamy with a side of tenderness.

“All that beautiful passion, he thought in pleasure, hidden behind the shyness that had first stained her cheeks.”

Annie does have some issues to work out. Like the fact that she has a permanent limp from an accident when she was a child. She also has an overprotective mother who wants Annie to have a ‘safe’ guy and is not fond of changelings. Add in an absent minded father who loves his wife but tends to ignore her and Annie’s got a whole mess of insecurities that Zach will have to work through. Zach isn’t without his own hang ups either. The biggest one being that Annie is a human and therefore physically weaker than him. He’s really worried about hurting her.

“It wouldn’t do to scare Annie away. Not when he planned to keep her.”

All in all, Stroke of Enticement is a wonderful romance with a great perspective into everyday life in DarkRiver. Also, there’s even a hint (I’m not telling! You’ll have to read it for yourself) that the Silence was beginning to fracture before we were first introduced to the Psy/Changeling world.

“For him, she’d break every rul, allow him into her home, into her very soul. For him, she’d jump into the abyss and worry about the bruises later. Because sometimes, there were no choices.”

Declaration of Courtship:

“I don’t intend to go away until you tell me to do so. I’m planning to court you.” – Cooper

A new novella set in the SnowDancer den. We have Cooper, a Snowdancer lieutenant, who intends to get his girl, Grace who is a submissive. This pairing promises to have lots of sparks and Singh doesn’t let us down. Both Cooper and Grace want to be together but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy for them.

“She fought the suicidal urge to throw a tool at his head. Her place in the hierarchy didn’t determine her entire personality.”

Grace is a submissive and so has a few concerns getting together with one of the most dominant wolves in the pack. And it’s not because she doesn’t want Cooper but because she’s not sure she can actually be with him because of her nature. She’s worried that she’s never be able to stand up to him like she knows she’ll need to if they want a healthy relationship. Cooper on the other hand has to fight his own protective instincts to make sure Grace isn’t smothered by his nature. It’s a tightrope they have to walk but they do get their happily ever after.

“And he was determined to seduce, pet and coax Grace into his arms. Where he planned to keep her. All night. All day. Always.”

Besides the wonderful story between Grace and Cooper we get a glimpse into how the pack interacts with each other. And we get a look at things from the perspective of the submissive wolves. They are just as important to the pack as the other, more dominant members. Declaration of Courtship shows just how the pack works together and why they’re so strong.

“His spine bowed as the mating bond locked into place, as gentle and fierce a thing as Grace herself.”

Texture of Intimacy:

“…She luxuriated in the scent of dark water and snow-dusted firs…and the exquisite tug of a bond that tied her inexorably to the quiet, powerful telepath who was the only man she had ever wanted to call her own.”

In Texture of Intimacy we get to follow up on two characters from Kiss of Snow, Lara and Walker. Lara is the SnowDancer healer and Walker is a Psy, part of the Lauren family. They finally got together in Kiss of Snow but this novella is a perfect follow-up for them.

“I’m not likely to be an easy mate.” – Walker

“I think you’re wonderful. My perfect mate.” – Lara

Lara loves Walker and he loves her right back. But things aren’t always easy just because you’re in love. Lara is nervous about blending in with his family. Walker is nervous because he is not an easy man to love and he’s worried Lara will come to regret mating with him. Their romance is all the more powerful because they’ve already chosen to be together. Now they just have to make it work.

“Walker wanted only to kiss that rueful smile off of her lips…then he realized on a bone-deep pleasure that he could. Anytime he pleased. She’d given him that right.”

Texture of Intimacy doesn’t just follow up with Lara and Walker but also some of the things that are happening in the SnowDancer den and in the PsyNet. For one, we get to see a unique perspective into SnowDancer life. How everyone interacts with each other when they aren’t in crisis mode. And we get to see that some Psy are still fighting for a way out of Silence. Plus we get an mini-update on Zach and Annie!

“Happy?” – Walker
“So happy.” – Lara

Glossary of Terms

Vocabulary from the previous novels can be found on their discussion pages:

Discussion

What do you think about our four couples?
Who was your favorite?
What was your favorite novellas?
What was your favorite part about these novellas?
And the big question: Which secondary character do you want Nalini Singh to write a novella about?

Giveaway

Thanks to Nalini Singh and the wonderful people at Penguin, I have a couple of every single novel in the Psy-Changeling series, and while some of them have been claimed, all of them haven’t. So this is what we’re going to do – we’ll be giving away all the books in one shot at the end of the Read-Along. That means you have 13 different chances to enter for any one of the Psy-Changeling novels. Join in on any of the discussions and you’ll automatically be entered to win.

To enter, all you have to do is answer this one question: Which secondary character do you want to see next? Don’t be afraid to answer any of the discussion questions above either!

The contest will stay open until July 1st, at which time we’ll determine the winners with help from this snazzy plug-in that Jackie has.

About Casey 203 Articles
Casey is the founder of Heart Full of Ink, Director at Reading Until Dawn Con, and a full time cheese addict. She's been ranting and reviewing for Literary Escapism since 2010, and is part of the trio #3Bloggers1Series podcast. When she's not reading, looking for new books, or stalking authors online (waiting for more books), she can be found binge watching Netflix. But really, her life is all about DEM BOOKS!

15 Comments

  1. Kenji and Jem. These two have had me snickering at their arguments for a while, and that little snippet from of them dancing from Tangle of Need convinced me there’s a story there I need to know.

  2. So I have to say that while I love all the couples in this book, my award for favorite goes to Lara and Walker. This should come as no big shock because I clearly have a thing for the strong, dark and silent type Psy men. Love all that emotion and love bubbling under the surface just waiting to be brought to life by the right spunky, firecracker woman. Lara is strong in her own right but also makes a great counterpart to Walkers tough shell.

    I would also like to know what’s up with Jem and Kenji. Why did she hit him at L&W’s mating ceremony? Did I miss it?

    But it should come as no surprise that I would love Nalini to write a story about either Aden or Vasic. Can’t get enough of the Psy men breaking Silence for the right woman. Just love it!

  3. I love Nalini’s books, but I have to sadly admit I am really behind on this series. Still at the first so I dont have a favorite yet or one I am looking forward too more than others. Still looking forward to them all.

  4. I had previously read BoT and SoE. As with all of NS’s short stories the accent is almost exclusively on the couples with much less world-building going on (by necessity).

    That said, I really like seeing the ‘behind the scenes’ of ToI’s HEA since, as we know, life continues after the denouement of emotion. Having Walker come up against and triumph, with Laura’s help, over the shadows of his past was great. I’m partial to the Lauren family as a whole (Judd is my boyfriend!), but seeing Walker, the oldest, and thus the one longest enmeshed in the talons of Silence, open up and finally embrace the true uncertainty of emotional relationships made me happy.

    And to show that Laura, too, was learning what it means to be mated to him, made this my favorite story in the book.

    As to Grace and Cooper’s story – I like finally getting the background on the couple that NS has been referencing in passing recently. The story itself added a bit of color to the dynamics of mating among the Changelings, showing how even though a male is dominant in his group relationships, he is not necessarily the boss when it comes to his personal life. And, just because a woman is considered submissive, she does not have to be a doormat.

    A fun read.

    BoT’s main contribution to the history gave us the older male-younger female dynamic, and also showed how Tamsyn and Nate’s pairing has lasted and strengthened over the years.

    SoE was also a sweet story and gave us a changeling-human pairing. Most importantly for me was the tiny little clue that possibly/probably shows that Kaleb (?!) at an early age was willing to intercede on behalf of someone he did not know to save their life. He also made sure that he was not witnessed doing so.

    In closing, I will state that anything NS wants to write about I will read, including her grocery list.

  5. I can’t wait for Jem and Kenji, like a few others who have already commented! I feel as though Nalini Singh’s been building up their relationship to prepare us, so I’m really excited to read their story whether it’s a novella or a full-length novel.

  6. I loved all four couples. All of the couples showed different aspects of mating and the complexities that each individual brings to a relationship. It’s so hard for me to choose a favorite. I love them all for different reasons, but I think my top two are Tammy/Nate and Walker/Lara. And my favorite novellas were their stories, as well.

    I’d read the previously released novellas a while ago, so it was great to revisit those stories again. Especially since I think that the cardinal telekinetic in Annie’s past is getting his own book soon (June, hopefully?). It was great to read two novellas from the beginning of the series and two that occur more recently, seeing the things that have changed and those that haven’t.

  7. Like many others, I had already read Tammy and Annie’s stories. The collection shows an interesting variety of relationships. I think Lara and Walker’s story was my favorite, but partially because their story has a broader worldview due to her position and the fact that he is Psy. But favorite couple would be a tie between them and Zach and Annie.

    I really enjoyed having all four stories in one book, so that you don’t have to keep four different anthologies on the shelf to read them all.

    I’m not sure about who I would most want her to write a novella about. Jem and Kenji obviously have something going on and have for some time. But there are others such as Evie; and I think it would be interesting to have a story about a maternal dominant. Perhaps one that is back story like Tammy & Nathan’s story or Ria & Emmett’s story, Whisper of Sin from the Burning Up anthology. It is nice to get glimpses into the earlier lives of the characters in the stories.

    What I would really like is another book with three new stories and Ria’s story Whisper of Sin included in it. That would be perfect, from my standpoint.

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