maandag 1 november 2010

Nalini Singh – Play of Passion

The ninth book in the Psy-Changelings series, published in 2010.



Play of Passion


In his position as tracker for the SnowDancer pack, it’s up to Drew Kincaid to rein in rogue changelings who have lost control of their animal halves – even if it means killing those who have gone too far. But nothing in his life has prepared him for the battle he must now wage to win the heart of a woman who makes his body ignite … and who threatens to enslave his wolf.

Lieutenant Indigo Riviere doesn’t easily allow skin privileges, especially of the sensual kind – and the last person she expects to find herself craving is the most wickedly playful male in the den. Everything she knows tells her to pull back before the flames burn them both to ash… but she hasn’t counted on Drew’s will.

Now, two of SnowDancer’s most stubborn wolves find themselves playing a hot, sexy game even as lethal danger stalks the very place they call home.


Drew has been desiring Indigo for a long time now, but she keeps seeing him only as the younger brother of Riley, her fellow Lieutenant, and as less. After all, she is the dominant of the two, and outranks him. As a tracker, which is not known throughout the pack, he is not really included in the hierarchy, something that is very important to wolves.

So one day, Drew makes his move on Indigo, and blows it. She doesn’t like it that he treats her as less dominant, she did not grant him skin privileges yet. And she is very sorry that their easy friendship is gone now. She needs a man she can respect, a man who is her equal, and not a young boy.

But Drew is not al that sorry. At least he got Indigo thinking of him as something else than a friend. And of course, he will not give up until she is his. Indigo is very weary of starting a relationship that will go nowhere, she has her aunt as primary example. Her aunt has fallen in love with a lesser wolf, and he just can’t handle the fact that she is dominant over him. Their love has turned to hatred, but a wolf mates for life, so not so strange that Indigo is cautious in her choice of lovers.

Yes, she is attracted to Drew, he is after all very handsome, with a gorgeous body, and can charm everybody, which is a necessary trade for his job. But is he really serious about her? Can he accept who she is, or will he try to boss her around once she is his lover?

In the meantime, two of the Psy-Councillors have decided that it is time for war. The council is divided over Silence, and Pure Psy is beginning to attract more and more followers. One of the first things necessary, is to take out the leaders of the SnowDancers and DarkRiver clans. But the wolves patrol their lands well, and soon find out the devices the Psy are planting on their lands. Lesser Psy are murdered all around the city, others disappear without a trace.


With this book, Nalini Singh got back to the roots of the story, the SnowDancers pack and all its members, their society, the strength of the family, the Pack. The wolves are fierce fighters, but also love to play with each other, and not just mating games. I liked the training moments with the children of the Pack, how they learn to control their wolf, to accept dominance.

I liked Indigo a lot. Fiercely loyal to the pack, very unsure what to do about Drew, but still not able to deny herself the pleasure of his touch, his kiss. Trying to choose another more suitable male for her mate, but not being able to as her heart was already lost. They were great together, and had the time to get to know each other even better than they already did, and accept each others dominance and character.

But still, I did miss the high paced action of the previous books. The intrigue was there, but not as much as I am used to, and love. No real plot twists either, perhaps a little bit at the end. This book is more romance than action, and no real suspense moments either except for one fight with some Psy, in which Drew got wounded.

All in all, still a good book, but it did not really capture my attention for a very long time.

I am looking forward to the next book though, which will be about Hawke. Whose cover is extremely lickable! I hope there will be major breaks in the plot in that one.

From now on I will start grading the books I read, and this one gets 7 stars.

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