ALLEGIANCE OF HONOR
Series: Psy-Changeling #15
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Author: Nalini Singh
Release Date: June 14, 2016
The “unparalleled romantic adventure”* of Nalini Singh’s New York Times bestselling series continues as a new dawn begins for the Psy-Changeling world…
The Psy-Changeling world has undergone a staggering transformation and now stands at a crossroads. The Trinity Accord promises a new era of cooperation between disparate races and groups. It is a beacon of hope held together by many hands: Old enemies. New allies. Wary loners.
But a century of distrust and suspicion can’t be so easily forgotten and threatens to shatter Trinity from within at any moment. As rival members vie for dominance, chaos and evil gather in the shadows and a kidnapped woman’s cry for help washes up in San Francisco, while the Consortium turns its murderous gaze toward a child who is the embodiment of change, of love, of piercing hope: A child who is both Psy…and changeling.
To find the lost, protect the vulnerable—and save Trinity—no one can stand alone. This is a time of loyalty across divisions, of bonds woven into the heart and the soul, of heroes known and unknown standing back to back and holding the line. But is an allegiance of honor even possible with traitors lurking in their midst?
Nalini Singh on the future of the Psy-Changeling series
Is Allegiance of Honor the end of the Psy-Changeling series?
No, it’s not. 🙂 I ADORE this world and the characters and I have so many Psy-Changeling stories yet to tell. (I’ve often joked that I’ll be writing this series until I’m ninety-eight!)
Where do you see the Psy-Changeling world going from here? Who is the next book about?
(Slightly spoilery answer to follow if you’re just starting the series).
Allegiance of Honor sets up a lot of possibilities for the future. There are many avenues I could take. However, for me, this arc is all about what happens not just to the Psy, but to the world, now that Silence has fallen and all the rules have changed.
We’ve had the immediate aftermath books, both of which focused on the Psy race (Shield of Winter & Shards of Hope), but what about the wider long-term future? Because Silence existed for a reason. The Psy still have these incredible abilities that have the potential to drive them murderously insane, and the world is still a fractured triumvirate. And there are players about whom we know very little, like the falcons and BlackSea.
As for who’s book is next, I’m not ready to announce it yet because I want to be certain this character is ready – but I think you’ll be pleased. 😉
Lucas had had to chase Naya around the aerie at bedtime last night—her walk might still be a little shaky, but she was a rocket when it came to crawling. Dressed only in a diaper, she’d laughed uproariously and said a loud, firm “No” each time Lucas caught her and put her in her crib.After which she’d clamber out—she’d figured out how to escape a month earlier—and the game would begin again. Of course, since Lucas was a cat, he’d been having just as much fun as their daughter. Sascha, meanwhile, had sat in the living room with a cup of hot chocolate and just indulged in the sight of her mate playing with their cub.
She’d had to pretend to be stern when Naya ran over and pleaded her case with loud sounds and wild gesticulations of her hands. “No, Naya,” she’d said, biting her tongue in an effort not to laugh. “It’s time for bed. Go with Papa.”
At which point, Naya had growled at her, eyes sparkling with mischief.
And Sascha had cracked, laughing so hard she’d had to put down her hot chocolate before she spilled it. Lucas had shaken his head as Naya plopped down on her diaper-covered butt and joined in, clapping her hands at having made her mommy laugh. “No discipline.” Lucas had mock-growled at her before picking up their misbehaving baby. “And you”—a growly nuzzle that made Naya laugh harder and pat his stubbled cheek—“time for bed.”
He’d finally got her to sleep—by walking around with her pressed up against his bare chest.
Today, their cub was playing in the living area just outside the kitchen nook. Sascha had locked the aerie door to ensure Naya wouldn’t undo the latch and go out onto the balcony, and Lucas had childproofed the entire main area of the aerie, so Naya was free to roam as she liked. A lot of the time she practiced her walking skills. And no matter how often she fell down, she started back up again after a little break.
Stubborn, determined baby.
Peeking out from the kitchen, Sascha found her concentrating on stacking the colored alphabet blocks Faith and Vaughn had given her as a gift. Beside her sat a more than slightly ragged wolf plush toy, aka “The Toy That Shall Not Be Named.” Hawke had given that to Naya when she was a newborn, and it remained her favorite snuggle toy, much to her father’s despair.
Though Lucas did enjoy it when Naya went leopard on the toy, growling and “fighting” with the wolf. Then he’d smile and say, “That’s my girl.”
Posted by arrangement with Berkley Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © Nalini Singh, 2016.
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I still remember the first time I picked up a Nalini Singh book. I was at the library and looking for more PNR to binge on (I was going through a huge PNR phase). And then I spot a series of books that looked like the covers belonged on a bad 80’s action movie. My inner cover wh*re cringed a little but I will forever be grateful I picked up that first book because that turned into what I now refer to as the PNR binge of 2010. When someone asks me what my favorite PNR series is to date, it’s without a doubt Singh’s Psy-Changeling series. And now 15 books into the series, I can continue to hold true to that statement.
Where am I going with this? I’m getting there, mkay?
I wasn’t sure about reading this book, because as far as ensemble books go, they’re a bit of a gray area for me; meaning they’ll either really work for me or they really won’t. Look, I have the attention span of a rodent, and when you have that many POVs my mind tends to wonder. Don’t judge me. So by now you want me to get to my point, right? Alright.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, Allegiance of Honor is an ensemble cast book. It’s completely different from any other book in this series in absolutely everything. There’s no central romance, no main couple, but there’s very much a central plot. Singh is a pure genius when it comes to weaving together multiple POVs but not making it be chaotic. Yes, there are multiple characters from previous books that make an appearance here and you get to catch up with all your favorites, but of course the alpha that started it all is the one that gets the most page time. Lucas and Sascha obviously get the most story because it seems that their child is going to be pivotal in the books to come.
Allegiance of Honor is essentially a bridge book that closes the chapter on “Season One” story arc and introduces all the ingredients of Season Two that the readers will be looking forward to. I won’t lie, when I realized I wasn’t going to be getting a central couple, I wondered why this wasn’t a novella instead. A 478 page ensemble book? But here’s the thing, there’s A LOT that happens here. This series is not meant to be read out of order, and if you’ve been keeping up, you’ll be very interested to know what happens.
There’s the Trinity Accord and the brewing tension with the rise of The Consortium. We knew that when silence fell, it wouldn’t be the end and this book basically sets up the story line for the next books flawlessly. You get to see all your past favorites; a much need HEA for Riaz and Adria, which I was desperately hoping for, and even a bonus story of Father Xavier.
Even with all the multiple POVs there’s a lot of meat to the story. There’s a lot that happens, and fans of this series will find this book to be pivotal for what’s to come.
This could have easily been a 5 star read for me, but unfortunately in parts of the story I did find all the POVs to be slightly cumbersome. While many of the POVs weaved together to drive the plot forward, some of them felt more like a bonus. And while it was nice to have, considering the length of the book, it did make it drag a little for me. I would have rather had them as bonus novellas but this is entirely a personal preference. Many readers may really appreciate these little bonus POVs. I tend to get sidetracked when a book is too long and I find other POVs to be distracting.
I’ll also admit that it took me some time to finish this. I felt like the first half took me forever to get through, but then when you really started getting deeper into this new story arc, I was hooked. Well and truly hooked. I finished the final half in one sitting.
Nalini Singh is a brilliant author that created an incredible rich world filled with multifaceted characters. The world building in her Psy-Changeling series is unlike any I’ve read before. It’s phenomenal. What’s even more incredible is while this book has quite a few POVs and should almost feel like an extended epilogue, it wasn’t. All the POVs, all the little subplots, everything tied together and drove the plot forward. I have to tip my hat off to that, because that is no small feat and I honestly can’t think of any other author that would be able to pull off something like that.
And while I can’t say this book was my favorite in the series, I can tell you that it is not to be missed. There’s so many hints dropped here and amazing set ups for the next generation of Psy-Changeling, that I’m practically vibrating with excitement for it right now.
PSY-CHANGELING SERIES
SLAVE TO SENSATION (Psy-Changeling #1)
VISIONS OF HEAT (Psy-Changeling #2)
CARESSED BY ICE (Psy-Changeling #3)
MINE TO POSSESS (Psy-Changeling #4)
HOSTAGE TO PLEASURE (Psy-Changeling #5)
BRANDED BY FIRE (Psy-Changeling #6)
BLAZE OF MEMORY (Psy-Changeling #7)
BONDS OF JUSTICE (Psy-Changeling #8)
PLAY OF PASSION (Psy-Changeling #9)
KISS OF SNOW (Psy-Changeling #10)
TANGLE OF NEED (Psy-Changeling #11)
HEART OF OBSIDIAN (Psy-Changeling #12)
SHIELD OF WINTER (Psy-Changeling #13)
SHARDS OF HOPE (Psy-Changeling #14)
Want to win the hardcover of ALLEGIANCE OF HONOR? Enter the giveaway on my Facebook page HERE
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