Such A Perfect Family

 

Such A Perfect Family- Nalini Singh

Berkley

Release Date: January 27, 2026

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Love at first sight, a whirlwind Vegas wedding, a fairy-tale romance.

For seventy-nine days, Tavish Advani has been the happiest man in the world—until his new life turns to ash, his wealthy in-laws’ house going up in a fiery explosion. His badly injured wife lies in a coma, her family all but annihilated.

Tavish thought he left the sins of his Los Angeles life behind, but it’s not so easy to leave behind an investigation into the deaths of several high-profile women—all of whom he professed to love. Tragedy and death follow him no matter where he goes . . . but this time, he knows he’s innocent.

Desperately trying to clear his name as the authorities zero in, he begins his own investigation into the fire—and learns that his wife’s picture-perfect family may have been nothing but a meticulously constructed mirage. The truth is much darker than anything Tavish could’ve imagined . . .

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Nalini Singh's latest psychological thriller, Such A Perfect Family takes readers on a search for dark truths where none are expected—and each is darker than the next. 

Tavish and Diya had a whirlwind courtship and a Vegas wedding. The two moved to New Zealand to be near her family, safe in the knowledge that they'd have their entire lives to get to really learn about each other. But before they can get too settled, tragedy strikes. Tavish comes home to find the family home in flames, Diya and her sister-in-law Shumi the only survivors of a vicious knife attack and barely alive. Tavish becomes the logical suspect—especially when the cops begin to uncover his connections to the deaths of several wealthy women back in L.A. With Diya and Shumi in comas and no one to tell the cops he's innocent, Tavish tries to discover who could have hated his picture-perfect in-laws so much that they would commit such a crime. With little to go on, he begins uncovering secrets darker than anything he could have imagined behind the family he thought he knew.

Brilliantly constructed to alternate between Tavish's narrative and the private case notes of an L.A. cop obsessed with figuring out how Tavish could have killed a woman he wasn't anywhere near, the book unfolds in ways that give readers all the clues, but misdirect them perfectly. Past, present, and multiple secrets blend together without becoming confusing—not always an easy thing to do—as the past shapes the present crimes. The reader sees how each person became who they are, how heartbreaking choices each step along the way led inevitably to the violent present.

And the entire time you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat wondering: is Tavish a reliable narrator? Is he lying to us or to himself? Is he innocent and going to be blamed to something he didn't do? Can he figure it out and get the cops to believe him? How many angles is the danger coming from?

 When Singh lands the final twist I thought I saw it coming one way and was surprised when it came from somewhere else entirely. This was a powerful and excellent book, full of tension.

If you only read one thriller this year, it needs to be Such A Perfect Family. 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

 

Atonement Sky

Atonement Sky (Psy-Changeling Trinity #9)- Nalini Singh 

Berkley

Release Date: July 15, 2025

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Justice-Psy Eleri Dias knows the end is near for her, her mind one step away from fatal psychic exposure. In the short time that remains, she is determined to atone for an act of omission that has haunted her for a long, cruel decade. But that decision not only means facing a powerful changeling wing leader, but also putting herself in the path of a serial killer.

Falcon wing leader Adam Garrett is fiercely protective of his family and his clan. After losing his parents as a teenager in a shocking act of malice, Adam has no forgiveness in him for the J-Psy who betrayed him, betrayed them, at the most painful moment of his life. But the evil that stalks his territory will allow him no respite, forcing him once more into contact with the J he has never been able to forget.

Everything that could've been between Eleri and Adam was lost years ago, a shimmering promise crushed. As they work to uncover a monster, the moment of reckoning looms ever closer. Soon, there may be no more time left for either atonement...or love...

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 With her mind nearly at fatal psychic exposure, J-Psy Eleri Dias determined to take down one last monster before she goes. She thought she'd planned for everything- except for him. Falcon wing leader Adam Garrett never expected to see the J he believes betrayed him when they were teenagers. When she returns, he doesn't want to forgive or believe in the atonement she seems to be making. But the more they work together to uncover a killer, the more he gets to know her. Can Eleri and Adam catch a killer and solve a problem the best Psy minds have spent years trying to solve?

Nalini Singh's latest introduces us to the world of flying changelings just like Ocean Light introduced us to living with water dwelling changelings. And Atonement Sky is an emotionally gripping introduction! How can Adam see past the grief and rage from their first meeting to the true circumstances, let alone the present? And how can they solve Eleri's rapidly deteriorating condition to have the happily-ever-after of the mating bond? And (minor problem) there's a crazy serial killer trying to deal with as well. I trusted Singh would solve the problems she'd set out for our heroes, but I admit I was worried they were cutting it close as time (and pages in my book!) ran low without clear solutions in place. I stayed up far past my bedtime to finish this book in one read! There was no way to put it down after a certain point!

With Eleri, Singh set herself an interesting new challenge. How to write a charater who know she has emotions, who remembers having emotions, but can't access them anymore, as her romantic heroine. Not because of Silence directly, but still because of what her fellow Psy have done to her. Adam has the challenging job of dealing with his own emotions about Eleri, as well as what the Psy did to her. The two connect so well it was wonderful to read, and made the stakes even higher right from the beginning for me. 

As always, the new clan and secondary characters are well written, Singh's worldbuilding is fully three-dimensional, and anyone who's read her books before will enjoy coming back into the Psy/Changeling world. If you're just starting the series and don't want to start with the beginning (which I recommend, because they're all wonderful), this is a good start because it's a new set of characters with only minor cameos from recurring series characters. Series issues like the Psy Net don't play a role in this book, so you could decide you liked Singh's world and writing before going back to the beginning of the series and getting into issues that will run throughout the series. 

I can't recommend Atonement Sky strongly enough. Full of emotions and friendships, this is a book that will grab you and not let go.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Archangel's Ascension

Archangel's Ascension (Guild Hunter 15)- Nalini Singh

Berkley Publishing

Release Date: May 6, 2024

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Aodhan and Illium. Adi and Blue. Sparkle and Bluebell. Friends become lovers, their future a wild unknown.

Finally reunited in New York, they must now learn to navigate the monumental shift in their relationship. But for these two members of Archangel Raphael’s legendary Seven, there is no time to rest. As they investigate a case for the Tower that echoes the darkness from Aodhan’s past, they will be forced to confront not only the scars that mark them both, but the promise of a vast power that flickers in Illium.

The threat of ascension has haunted and troubled Aodhan’s Blue for too long, the forces of change immutable and without mercy...and uncaring of Illium’s fierce wish to remain part of the Seven. Change is a constant in an immortal’s life, and this new horizon will bring with it both terrible heartbreak and a joy extraordinary enough to reverberate through time…

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Archangel's Ascension threw a curve right from the start by being broken into two timelines: "Today" which is actually 700 years in the future, and "Yesterday" which is the present for the series' normal timeline. I admit to a moment of panic when I fiugred that out, but I should have had more faith in one of my favorite authors. The majority of the book takes place in the current timeline, so situation normal.

Aodhan and Illium admitted in their last book that they loved each other and in this book we get to see them trying to figure out what that means. Because despite what they think, both men still have some issues they need to deal with. Together in New York they investigate the murder of a young vampire and his human girlfriend that has some similarities to Aodhan's past. Meaning he has to face that past, and we as readers get to learn some more about it. 

The murder investigation is pretty basic, but does a good job of helping reset a 'situation hopefully normal' and reminding everyone life doesn't need to be all about wars, zombies and other major craziness, but can be about the more day to day concerns as well. And perhaps should be. It also allows Aodhan a chance to consciously fit more into himself in a way he hasn't before. We see him trying to talk to strangers, to allow physical contact with friends. We see both Adi and Ilium talking to others to try and figure out how not to mess up their changing relationship and hurt each other as they grow. There's plenty of angst along the way, perhaps more than is needed, but readers who have been with the series since the beginning and have been cheering the two on will probably be more lenient with the repetition than they would be otherwise.

The title gives away what the "today" section will be about, and on the whole I thought that was really beautifully done. I did cry a bit in a few places, have to admit. You can tell the series is almost wrapped up, and it will be interesting to see if Singh goes back to the present day for the end, or jumps to her new future and shakes things up there.

This sequel to Archangel's Light is what readers have been waiting for- the conclusion of Illium and Aodhan's story.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review 

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Primal Mirror

 

Primal Mirror (Psy/Changeling Trinity #8)- Nalini Sigh

Berkley

Release Date: July 25, 2024

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Daughter of two ruthless high-Gradient telepaths, Auden Scott is not the child her Psy parents wanted or expected, even before her brain injury. Her thoughts are scattered, her memories fuzzy—or just terrifyingly blank. The only thing she knows for certain is that she must protect her unborn baby . . . a baby she has no recollection of conceiving and who draws an unnerving depth of interest from her dead mother’s closest associates.

Leopard alpha Remi Denier is a man driven by the primal instinct to protect. Protect his pack, protect his allies . . . and protect the mysterious woman who has become a most unlikely neighbor. With eerie eyes that see too much and a scent that alters in ways disturbing and impossible, Auden Scott is the enemy . . . but nothing about this strange Psy is what it seems, and Remi’s feline heart is as fascinated by her as his human half.

Then Auden asks Remi to help her shatter the wall of secrets that is the Scott bloodline. What they unearth will reveal a nightmare beyond imagination. This time, the battle is to the death. . . .

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Leopard alpha Remi Denier is building a new pack in the Smoky Mountain area of the United States. They may be allies to Arrows and larger packs, but they themselves are small and fly under the radar. Until the day Auden Scott moves into a small cabin at the edge of their territory. The daughter of two powerful and ruthless former Councilors, no one in the PsyNet has ever heard of her. A woman with an impossibly changing scent, Auden is both an enemy and someone Remi wants very much to get to know better. Especially when she comes to him for help: her home isn't safe, and people are much more interested in her unborn child than they should be. Can he protect them when Auden herself may be one of the threats?

Primal Mirror is a tough book to review without giving away spoilers. Nalini Sigh does her usual wonderful job of world building, giving us the large view of a failing PsyNet and the people we know from other books trying to save the Net and prevent what would basically be the death of the Psy race; and the personal story of Auden and Remi. Both have their own damaged pasts to overcome. Remi is working on building a new pack and proving to himself that he is capable of being the good alpha that everyone else knows is he. Auden has the bigger baggage, which includes us getting to learn about a new designation of Psy: psychometrics. Learning about objects by touching them sounds great, until you really think about it, and it doesn't take long into this book before that sounds like the last 'gift' you'd want!

Remi and Auden are great together, and I loved meeting a new pack- with definite hints that we might get to follow some of these members in the future. There are a few guys here crying out for mates so hopefully Singh will set them up in future books. The way Singh wove the stories of the big picture PsyNet and the smaller romance together I thought worked really well, and reminds us that everyone has an important part to play in the world. 

Some of the bigger picture PsyNet story will help if you've read some of Singh's earlier books, at least Obsidian Heart if not also the earlier Psy/Changeling Trinity books like Resonance Surge. I recommend reading them anyway because they are awesome (I'm a huge fan of all Singh's Psy/Changeling series if you can't tell). If you can't wait and have to start with this book, just accept the fact that there's backstory- you'll get the gist of it enough to follow along, and it won't effect Remi and Auden's main story.

Nalini Singh fans will love the newest addition to her Psy/Changeling world. I'm already set to read it again and can't wait for the next book!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

There Should Have Been Eight

 

There Should Have Been Eight- Nalini Singh

Berkley

Release Date: November 21, 2023

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis:  They met when they were teenagers. Now they’re adults, and time has been kind to some and unkind to others—none more so than to Bea, the one they lost nine long years ago. They’ve gathered to reminisce at Bea’s family’s estate, a once-glorious mansion straight out of a gothic novel. Best friends, old flames, secret enemies, and new lovers are all under one roof—but when the weather turns and they’re snowed in at the edge of eternity, there’s nowhere left to hide from their shared history.

As the walls close in, the pretense of normality gives way to long-buried grief, bitterness, and rage. Underneath it all, there’s the nagging feeling that Bea’s shocking death wasn’t what it was claimed to be. And before the weekend is through, the truth will be unleashed—no matter the cost.

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A reunion for a group of university friends turns into much, much more in Nalini Singh's latest psychological thriller, There Should Have Been Eight. 

Drifting apart after graduation is normal even among a tight group of friends, but what cracked this group was the suicide of their group's center, Bea. A young woman who loved life, light, and people, her disappearance and subsequent suicide, and losing the chance to have a funeral for her due to her sister Darcie's choices, have always haunted the group- especially main character Luna. She's hoping to confront Darcie and get some closure at the reunion on Darcie's family estate. But things are odd almost from the beginning, and soon accidents are happening with increasing severity. As a freak snowstorm traps the group inside, past and present collide and Luna will have to discover the truth before it's too late to save the innocent.

There's nothing better (for me) than a locked house mystery where you know not everything is what it seems, and some people are lying- but you aren't sure who is lying and whether their secrets are personal or deadly. Nalini Singh hits all the perfect notes in There Should Have Been Eight: a group of people who think they know each other, a crumbling gothic mansion providing its own atmosphere of neglect and ghostly terror (complete with past family secrets of madness and murder), and then a snowstorm to add an extra layer of being cut off from the world. Luna's personal secret, that she is suffering from a disease that is causing her to slowly go blind, adds a layer of personal panic and claustrophobia from the narrator's perspective that ups the emotional atmosphere for the reader. 

This was a slow-burn thriller in the beginning, as Singh brings her characters into the mansion at the edge of the world and the hints and red herrings begin, then mind-tricks and incidents ramp things up to the subtle yet shocking conclusion. I thought the pacing and writing was brilliant, the story and characters haunting me long after I'd finished reading. This incredibly powerful book is one I'll be recommending to thriller/mystery fans and rereading many times!   

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Resonance Surge

 

Resonance Surge (Psy-Changeling Trinity #7)- Nalini Singh

Penguin RandomHouse

Release Date: July 18, 2023

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: StoneWater bears Pavel and Yakov Stepyrev have been a unit since birth, but now Pavel’s life is veering in a new direction, his heart held in the hands of Arwen Mercant, a Psy empath—and the only man who has ever brought Pavel to his knees.

This is it. A point of irrevocable change. For Pavel . . . for Arwen . . . for Yakov . . . and for another pair of twins whose bond has a far darker history.

A low-gradient Psy, Theodora Marshall is considered worthless by everyone but her violently powerful twin, Pax. She is the sole person he trusts in their venomous family to investigate a hidden and terrible part of their family history—an unregistered rehabilitation center established by their grandfather.

Places of unimaginable pain designed to psychically wipe minds, leaving the victims shells of their former selves, the Centers are an ugly vestige of the Psy race’s Silent past. But this Center was worse. Far, far worse. And now Theo must uncover the awful truth—in the company of a scowling bear named Yakov who isn’t about to take a Marshall at face value . . . especially a Marshall who has turned his dreams into chilling nightmares.

Because Yakov is the great-grandson of a foreseer . . . and he has seen Theo die in an unstoppable surge of blood. Night after night after night . . .

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Resonance Surge is the story of Theodora Marshall, a low-gradient Psy and granddaughter to former Councilor Marshall Hyde, and Yakov Stepyrev, of the StoneWater bear clan in Moscow. Yakov has been assigned the job of helping Theo investigate an unregistered "rehabilitation Center" that Theo's powerful twin Pax has traced back to Marshall Hyde. But in the days of Silence these centers were accepted, so why hide one? Naturally, Yakov doesn't trust Theo, even if his bear is sure there's something very special about her. After all, they've been having dreams about Theo for longer than they've known her.

Theo is under no illusions when it comes to her family. She knows they are terrible people and her grandfather was the worst of them all. What she isn't sure of is where she falls in the scheme of things. When her brother finds clues that make no sense, but seem to connect her to a hidden research center, she wants answers. I liked that Theo is willing to find those answers no matter what the cost. She accepts that the friendship she has developed with Yakov will be destroyed when they find the answers and considers the good times he shows her as 'stolen moments', but she never considers turning away. Yakov is her perfect balance, willing to accept her fierceness and remind her that sometimes it is needed to survive while teaching her how to play and enjoy life. I had to laugh every time Theo thought she knew what to expect thanks to her "research" on bears, but Yakov slid right past her defenses anyway. They really are a perfect match. And since Yakov is Pavel's twin, we are also treated to Pavel and Arwen (Silver's brother from Silver Silence) and some of their mating dance as well! I loved that we got to see into Arwen's mind, behind the confident exterior to the man trying to make sure he knew who he was before making the decision to fully commit to Pavel. And the flashbacks to some of Arwen's excuses not to date Pavel were priceless! So much better than "washing my hair". 

Resonance Surge is another example of Nalini Singh's brilliance when it comes to worldbuilding. Having built Silence and what it allowed many Psy to become, then ended Silence, she now has her characters dealing with the aftermath. Things aren't simply "ok" in the fall of Silence. It isn't only the faltering NetMind (which plays very little role here) that the Psy need to deal with, it is questions like: what happened to the people who were tortured under Silence? In this case: what about the people who were "rehabilitated"? And, of course, what evils could be hidden inside accepted rehabilitation facilities? Singh knows how to put layers on top of layers to create characters and a world full of light and darkness, vibrancy and life, and keep the reader captured in the story well past the last page.

While Resonance Surge can be read as a standalone, you'll get more out of the world and its characters if you at least read the other Trinity books first. Plus they are all awesome, so you should read them anyway.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

 

 

Archangel's Resurrection

 Archangel's Resurrection- Nalini Singh

Berkley

Release Date: October 25, 2022

Rating: 📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved, locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak. It is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.

Eons later, the Cascade of Death wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent . . . only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected? 
 
Only one thing is clear: This is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance. The final song for Alexander and his Zani . . .

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Archangel's Resurrection is a bit different from the rest of the Guild Hunter's series (Archangel's Sun), so readers should prepare for a book that focuses more on the relationship and less on the world/world building- unusual in this series. But this is the story of Archangels Alexander and Zanaya, whose on-again-off-again relationship has literally spanned eons, so there's a lot to cover and anything else is kind of extraneous. We start at the battle of New York and Zanaya's fall at Lijuan's hands, then go back in time to Alexander's childhood, so readers new to the series will probably be pretty lost and either need to accept that they'll have no idea what is going on for awhile and go with it, or put the book down and start with Book 1 in the series.

This is a story of growth and learning, of two angels who are often too similar for their own good. Both Alexander and Zanaya are strong and proud warriors, determined to be the best possible and hold onto their honor, something we have frequently seen lacking in other angels and it's nice to see others recognize this as well. Unlike many previous characters and their equally strong mates however, Alexander and Zanaya don't seem able to compromise with each other and they clash as fiercely as they love. Interestingly, when Zanaya meets Elena seems to be the first time she realizes that it is possible for two warriors to be equals as well as lovers without clashing apart becoming inevitable. As much as we see Alexander and Zanaya grow into the people they will become across the millennia, it seems that they still have things they can learn from even the youngest of humans or angel kind. This is one of the first books where we get to see the point of view of not one but two Ancients and we get a bit of a different take on how age and time change angels, even Archangels. It makes you want to go back and reread the series through a different lens, something Nalini Singh is always good at doing at the most unexpected times. 

I wasn't always in tune with Alexander and Zanaya in terms of their love relationship. For me it worked best when one or both of them allowed themselves to be emotionally vulnerable and relaxed with the other, which didn't happen too often for the first half of the book. I could see why they didn't always work. I liked them both as individuals, but I didn't feel the all consuming chemistry/passion that was supposed to keep bringing them back together. The second half/second chance part, both during the battle against Lijuan and then after Zanaya resurrects from her injuries ten years later, felt like a better romance to me. Softer and more tentative in many ways, two people who know they've made mistakes and aren't sure how to keep from making them again. For all of that, I felt like some things changed too easily the second time around. They decided they weren't going to fight and were going to get along and that was what happened. Of course, it wasn't entirely that easy, and there was a lot of growth that probably finally matured into the relationship, but in someways, it really did feel like it was that easy, which I didn't like. After everything the end of the book was more of a 'and now things are fine' than 'we've worked really hard and will keep working at it but are now happy'. Unusual for Singh, who usually torments her characters into the worst possible corners and then manages an out that works without a deus ex machina feel, but makes you feel like the characters (and you as the reader) worked really hard to reach a deserved happy ending. 

In the end I was conflicted about this book (as this review probably shows!). It's a Nalini Singh book, so I want to love it. I liked having backstory on Alexander filled in and seeing pieces from other people's eyes. I loved the surprise scene where we discover Nassir's origins. I liked Zanaya and (usually) Alexander as individuals. I loved the emotional scenes where Alexander lets his guard down and shows his vulnerabilities to Zanaya- those were maybe some of the most romantic and well written in the book, in my opinion. The world building, usually Singh's strongest suit, was an afterthought in this book, which was disappointing. The up and down relationship wasn't as emotionally convincing or absorbing as Singh's books usually are. I guess in a long series there will always be at least one book that doesn't resonate for someone, and this book just didn't fully do it for me. I hope others feel differently.  

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Kiss Hard

 

Kiss Hard (Hard Play 4)- Nalini Singh

TKA Distribution

Release Date: May 3, 2022

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Daniel Esera is a young god on the rugby field, a sexy and charming man who's got the world at his feet. There's just one problem: his sudden potent attraction to his number one nemesis--Catie River. No. Just no. Not happening.

Catie River is on her way to Paralympic gold, and she's not about to allow Danny "Hotshot" Esera to derail her plans. Too bad her body isn't cooperating. Even worse? Her heart might be coming along for the ride. No. Nope. Never.

The pair are united in their desire to remain enemies... until a stranger's reckless action threatens both their careers. Now, the only way out for Catie and Danny is to pretend to be in a relationship. How bad can it be? They're adults in full control of their hormones and their hearts. There will be no kissing. No PDA. And definitely no falling in love.

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Anyone who has been along for the ride as Nalini Singh introduces us to the Bishop-Esera men and the women they love (Rock Hard, Cherish Hard, Love Hard) will enjoy Kiss Hard, where Danny Esera, young rugby star, and Catie River, a professional runner, finally change their relationship status from frenemies to lovers. Anyone new to the series will be hard pressed not to instantly fall in love with this closely knit family and cheer for the youngest brother to get his happy ending.

 Danny and Catie have known each other since they were teens and always had the kind of snarking, pranking relationship that best friends or siblings might have. As adults the snark and humor is part of their brand on social media and their fans love the banter that everyone is sure is flirtatious fun. When a situation comes up where they need to pretend to be dating, everyone outside the family buys the act and are happy to cheer the relationship on. But what happens when it becomes more than an act- for both of them?

Fake dating, enforced proximity, enemies to lovers- they may sound like stereotypes that have been done to death but here Singh makes everything fresh and new, and makes you hope for the moment when the heroes are ready to push past their fears and admit they want a real relationship. Catie has been hurt before, learning as a child never to emotionally depend on or reach out to anyone based on an emotionally distant mother and a feckless gambling father. She's not sure how to break down her walls and allow herself to be emotionally vulnerable to anyone outside of her tiny circle, even for Danny. Singh makes you cry for her as she struggles between her new love and her ingrained need to never allow anyone to hurt her. She has plenty of confidence in herself, yet still finds herself wondering if/when Danny will get bored and move on because she learned from her father that this is what men do. I also really loved how emotionally vulnerable Danny could be at times- his worries about living up to his brother's lives and standards, even though no one in the family is pushing him to do so, are something I wouldn't have guessed a confident looking man would have in his head, yet here it is, messing with him even though it shouldn't be an issue. Danny does a great job (or Singh, through Danny) as an example of how everyone needs help once and awhile, and you can only hope more real life examples stand up to help erase the stigma around treating our mental health the way we do physical health. 

The chemistry between Danny and Catie are sizzling, even when they don't want it to be there, the emotions leap off the page and wrap around you in the best possible way.  A wonderful story of two people battling more than others would expect to find exactly where they need to be, and exactly who they need to be with. 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Archangel's Light

 

Archangel's Light (Guild Hunter #14)- Nalini Singh 

Berkley Publishing

Release Date: October 26, 2021

Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Illium and Aodhan.  Aodhan and Illium. For centuries they’ve been inseparable: the best of friends, closer than brothers, companions of the heart. But that was before—before darkness befell Aodhan and shattered him, body, mind, and soul. Now, at long last, Aodhan is healing, but his new-found strength and independence may come at a devastating cost—his relationship with Illium.

As they serve side by side in China, a territory yet marked by the evil of its former archangel, the secret it holds nightmarish beyond imagining, things come to an explosive decision point. Illium and Aodhan must either walk away from the relationship that has defined them—or step forward into a future that promises a bond infinitely precious in the life of an immortal…but that demands a terrifying vulnerability from two badly bruised hearts.

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Aodhan has spent the past year helping new archangel Suyin find her footing in China, the territory that keeps on giving- in the horror movie sense of the word. As extra help moving her people from one of Lijuan's area's to a new, "safe" part of China, Raphael sends Illium to assist. When patrols discover a suspiciously empty village of seemingly vanished people, Aodhan and Ilium stay behind to investigate.They'll have more than their own issues and ghosts to deal with, for Lijuan has left at least one last unspeakable monster behind to walk in her footsteps. 

Archangel's Light tells the story Guild Hunter fans have been waiting for: Illium and Aodhan. Illium, the seemingly carefree angel, always playful, always curious, always kind to mortal or angel alike. Aodham, the angel made of sparkling light but trapped in mental darkness, a tortured artist slowly coming out of his protective shell. We know they've been friends their whole lives despite seemingly opposite personalities. We know something unspeakable happened to Aodhan that he's only now mentally healing from. We know their relationship has been rocky the past year or so as they struggle to find new footing as Aodhan finds his new self. And we are pretty sure we know what they haven't figured out- they belong together in every sense of the word.

Singh takes the phrase "slow burn" to a whole new level here, probably because most readers are going to be familiar with the backstory of her main characters. She isn't just telling us the 'today' story, she's giving us their past stories as well.  How they first met, early triumphs, Illium's infamous first love, Aodhan's capture and torture at the hands of other angels. The highs and lows that shaped them into who they grew up to be both individually and together. It took a little while for me to get used to this style of back and forth, but I ended up liking it more than I expected too- possibly because it often came as a welcome break to some heavy hitting horrors in the 'today' portions of the story. Vague spoiler-ish warning: Singh does not pull any punches in her descriptions of the latest atrocities so have a strong stomach ready for when the guys go searching for danger.

A lot of Archangel's Light seemed to be about the downsides of being immortal. How easy it becomes to lose your core goodness and light (if you had it to begin with) to petty cruelties that become larger cruelties because of boredom or madness. Lijuan is always the main example, but thanks to Illium and Aodhan's comparative youth they see it in many of the others around them as well- even in Raphael and Dimitri before those men found the women they now love. They constantly question what people missed about Lijuan's descent into madness while acknowledging some things are acceptable in the angelic world that the human world wouldn't accept. Most characters see Illium as the rare example of an angel who might never let immortality harden them, although Aodhan and even Suyin are also mentioned as possibly being the same way. Each of these people has suffered and now tries to find a balance in their life, a light to the darkness they know exists in the world. As much darkness as we find in this book, the light of hope is continually held out for those who can see it, and those brave enough to reach for it and work to keep it lit.  Something we can take great inspiration from in these days.

Weaving past and present together, Archangel's Light is a complex tapestry of friendship and love and loyalty that reaches soul deep. It asks strong people to bare emotional weaknesses that could leave them destroyed or fly higher than ever before, and in a triumph of world building and character creation, takes readers soaring on an incredible ride along the way.

Last Guard

 Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5)- Nalini Singh

Penguin Random House

Release Date: July 20, 2021

Rating:📚📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: Termed merciless by some, and a robotic sociopath by others, Payal Rao is the perfect Psy: cardinal telekinetic, CEO of a major conglomerate, beautiful—and emotionless.

For Canto Mercant, family and loyalty are everything. A cardinal telepath deemed “imperfect” by his race due to a spinal injury, Canto cares for the opinions of very few—and ruthlessly protects those he claims as his own. Head of intel for the influential Mercant family, he prefers to remain a shadow in the Net, unknown and unseen. But Canto is also an anchor, part of a secretive designation whose task it is to stabilize the PsyNet. Now that critical psychic network is dying, threatening to collapse and kill the entire Psy race with it.

To save those he loves, Canto needs the help of a woman bound to him by a dark past neither has been able to forget. A woman who is the most powerful anchor of them all: Payal Rao. Neither is ready for the violent inferno about to ignite in the PsyNet . . . or the passionate madness that threatens to destroy them both.

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As the Trinity series has grown, readers have gotten to discover more about the Psy race. But it hasn't just been their development after the fall of Silence that we've seen, it has been the disintegration of the PsyNet, the psychic network that keeps them alive. In Last Guard the secluded, nearly forgotten designation of Anchor Psy must step into the forefront to help save the dying PsyNet and give their people a chance to live. Canto and Payal were abused and terrified children when they first met but they forged a bond that, decades later, has proven unbreakable by time, Silence, and family cruelty. 

Over the arc of Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series, we've seen the Psy race go from being the big bad robots with a few dissenters to a people who got a lot of things wrong in their search for peace and safety and are now trying something new. Canto and Payal are perfect examples of the 'new' Psy as a whole: people trying to be brave enough to not only embrace change, but to try to learn new ways of living after a lifetime of abuse. Payal in particular is a person learning that there is no need to be 'perfect' and that it is our flaws and quirks that make us truly unique. Her lessons are ones we should all try to learn from.

The connections between Canto and Payal are wonderfully written, even before words like "love" became involved you could see the bonds between them and cheer them on as they discover how to support each other. By the time emotions develop to admitting they love each other, the reader feels that love as a tangible thing, wrapping around them the way Canto wraps Payal in his arms. It's a feeling that, like the hope for the Psy by the end of the book, stays with you long after the final page. 

Readers familiar with the series will enjoy cameos by characters they've met in previous books, including Arwen and Pasha and Silver and Valentine (Silver Silence). They get to further play the 'what's going on between Nikita and Anthony' game and spend more time with Ena Mercant. For readers just joining the world, while more of the backstories will make sense if you've read other books in the series, newbies won't really be lost by jumping in mid-stream. But they will become addicted and instantly need to read the entire series before ever sleeping again. So take a few days off work and make some strong coffee before diving in.

The brilliant world-building and sparkling, tangible emotions readers have come to expect from Nalini Singh are in full force here. Last Guard is a wonderful new addition to an unbeatable series. 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review