Title: Mine to Possess
Author: Nalini Singh
Publishing Date: February 2008
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: C
Sensuality: Hot
Mine to Possess is the fourth book in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series. Clay Bennett who is a sentinel for the DarkRiver leopard pack has been haunted by the death of his childhood sweetheart, Talin. While he was in juvenile detention for killing Talin’s abuser, he is informed that she died in an auto accident. Now he is a grown man and he still occasionally smells her scent on the breeze and wonders if he is being haunted by her ghost. Talin is not dead, and has kept this knowledge from Clay. Now, she needs his help and hopes that he will be able to forgive her and help her find her foster son who she believes has been taken by the Psy.
The Psy-Changeling series is evolving to incorporate the human part of the world into the series. Readers were exposed to the Psy and the Changeling way of life in the first three books and now with Mine to Possess, they get to add humans to the mix. The reader is also introduced to other Changeling groups such as rats and snakes. Ms. Singh is expanding her world and creating changes that are important to future books. I felt with Mine to Possess there was a shift in the direction of the series. Fans of the series should be happy with the new direction the author is going with.
There are many great elements to this story such as great world building and a tough alpha hero. Clay is extremely protective and possessive of Talin. As much as I love these elements and I am definitely a sucker for childhood loves, Talin and Clay just could not hold my attention. I think the main reason for me was that much of the story was told instead of acted out. Also, there was a lot of repetitiveness in the characters thoughts. These things took away from the action for me and therefore caused the story’s pacing to drag. This was just an average read for me.
Here is what others had to say:
LesleyW's Book Nook
Karen Knows Best (AztecLady)
Renee Reads Romance
Ramblings on Romance etc.
Rosario's Reading Journal
Scooper Speaks
Lurv A La Mode
The Happily Ever After
Breezing Through
8 comments:
I am missing the Singh Adoration Chip that all romance readers seem to have been implanted with.
I totally get why people love her. I just find her books less than compelling ... and I read three of them to be sure.
I agree with you on this one.
Funny, I decided to go back through the Psy/Changeling series during the Holidays and I've noticed that while I loved Slave to Sensation, the two after it weren't as good to me as that was, but I still liked them.
I just made it to Mine to Possess. THough I started it back when it came out, the story didn't hold my attention very long. I was hoping that MtP would be a better fit for me after re-reading the series, but with your review I'm not sure it will. I'll find out soon enough. Thanks for the review!
Jill - I also didn't love Mine to Possess, but I went back to being completely in love with Hostage to Pleasure. I wonder if part of it was the fact that Tally was human? I prefer the Psy's or Changelings, and I've got to say that I am beside myself for the next one, which features a cat and a wolf. Wow - that sentence was weird. LOL!
Gotta agree with you. I don't think that Mine to Possess was that great. However, it was a good addition to the series when you're taking in consideration world building and all.
I think that Ms Singh needs to take a step back and perhaps focus more on the characters...
Not every reader is going to love every author... and even if you're enjoying a series, it doesn't mean all the books will satisfy the fan. I think the Psy-Changeling series is a perfect example of that.
Mine to Possess happens to be one of my favorites in the series along with Caressed by Ice. I understand what you mean by the repetitiveness in the characters' thoughts, but that just started to bug me toward the end so it didn't detract too much from the story for me. I thought Hostage to Pleasure, which seems to be a lot of readers' favorite, was kind of meh in the romance department.
I'm learning that Nalini's series is a hit or miss for a lot of people, as are the individual novels.
A few years ago when I first started reading romance, I think I would have really liked these books. Now, I think my reading tastes are starting to evolve. Part of it has to do with me reading more urban fantasy, where the emphasis is more on character development and world building than romance. I think it has changed my expectations of paranormal romance and maybe has raised the bar for me.
Nalini Singh is very well loved in the romance community, but this series just isn't for me. I think that her world building is very well developed and is the strength of her books, but the characters just don't deliver for me. There is too much repetitiveness of the characters inner thoughts and also being told the story, instead of shown. It makes the story drag for me.
I really liked this one, however, the next one in the series was hard for me to read. Several parts bored me, and it was at first a DNF that I was able to finish when I picked it back up several weeks later.
I started this one, but Talin annoyed me so I stopped after the first couple chapters. I haven't read one since. I'm sure eventually I'll get back into the series, but for now I'm find putting it on hold.
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