Primal Mirror
Author: Nalini Singh
Reviewer: Jen
Rating: B+
What I’m Talking About:
Remi is alpha of RainFire, a newly formed pack with a territory adjacent to the land where Aden and Zaira were held captive (Shards of Hope). The Changelings were never able to figure out who owned the land, until Auden Scott, daughter of former councilors Henry and Shoshanna Scott, decides to build a cabin. Upon initial meeting, Remi notices something very wrong with Auden, but when she shows up months later, she appears more normal and is very pregnant. Remi, ever the alpha protector, decides the cub is his to keep safe.
Primal Mirror is a delicious slow-burn romance with an exciting race-against-time plotline. While the romance is slow burn, it’s not dull. Both Remi and Auden have pasts that make trusting and loving another difficult. I really enjoyed watching them get to know one another and learn to open up. It’s not insta-mate, but an innate knowing that the other isn’t out to hurt them (after an initial awkward encounter). They express themselves in a love language that is based in trust rather than falling into bed with one another.
Having a pregnant heroine, by someone who isn’t her mate, never becomes an issue because 1) the Psy view pregnancies as a genetic transaction and 2) Remi bonds with the babe while in utero. His love for the child intensifies his unspoken love for Auden and adds emotional value to the story.
The mystery of what’s going on with Auden isn’t a shocking surprise and was pretty easy to figure out, but that doesn’t diminish its value to the story or the entertainment factor to the book. There is a strong sense of urgency developed by the plotline, it’s intense and comes off like a ticking bomb. I was glued to my Kindle trying to find out if and when that bomb would explode.
I love the forward progress of the Scarab plotline. Similar to the previous book, it’s not the primary focus of the story, but there are enough glimpses to know that things are changing. Same goes with the crumbling PsyNet – there is a significant occurrence that alters the situation without ending the storyline.
Overall, Primal Mirror is an exciting and engrossing tale with a sweet and sensual romance.
My Rating: B+
Jen
About the Book:
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 abnormal intensity of notice 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, Remi’s feline heart as fascinated by her as the human half of his soul.
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…
Release Date: July 23, 2024
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Psy-Changeling Trinity #8; Psy-Changeling #23
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Format(s): hardcover (400 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Publisher/NetGalley
Purchase Info:
Amazon (affiliate link)
Reviews in the Series:
Bonds of Justice by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #8)
“Whisper of Sin” by Nalini Singh (Burning Up) (Psy-Changeling #0.6)
Play of Passion by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #9)
Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #10)
Tangle of Need by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #11)
Wild Invitation by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #0.5, 3.5, 9.5, 10.5)
Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #12)
Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #13)
Shards of Hope by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #14)
“Secrets at Midnight” by Nalini Singh (Night Shift) (Psy-Changeling #13.5)
Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #15)
Wild Embrace by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #15.5 – Anthology)
Silver Silence by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #1, Psy-Changeling #16)
Ocean Light by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #2, Psy-Changeling #17)
Wolf Rain by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #3, Psy-Changeling #18)
Alpha Night by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #4; Psy-Changeling #19)
Last Guard by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5; Psy-Changeling #20)
Storm Echo by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #6; Psy-Changeling #21)
Resonance Surge by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #7; Psy-Changeling #22)