Branded by Fire (Psy-Changeling #6)

Branded by Fire, as with all the other stories in this series, is written in third person with a moderate amount of sexual content (not erotically graphic but tactfully detailed) and adult wording throughout with a HEA ending. As this world is very different from reality and set in the future, all the series stands up over time, no matter when you pick up these books, it doesnt feel dated at all, making each story enjoyable for rereading. It can be read as a standalone however I believe it should be read as part of the series for greater enjoyment and understanding. This story starts off HOT and only goes up in flames by the end. The chemistry between Mercy and Riley is undeniable and explosive. It is a wild ride between the two dominates, one from DarkRiver and one from Snowdancer, so we visit with both packs in this book. They team up to investigate strange Psy and Human activities, while they come to terms with being a mate to the other side and how that will pay out in their respective packs. While the story does center with Mercy & Rileys romance and mating, the overall story line regarding the changing world is continued in this book, in my opinion it is the majority of the book. We go back to POV chapters and sections in chapters from other people, some from past books setting up stories for future books or giving us an update but not all POVs we know, some we like and others seem unnecessary at first (but they are needed to continue the story line), some bad and some good. I take a half star off because of the POVs in the book (I round up because not all sites allow half stars in ratings) As with all the others in this series, this book is wonderfully written and is a great addition to the world Ms. Singh has created. Ms. Singh is a very talented writer and I highly recommend any and all of the Psy-Changeling Books.

This has always been one of my favorite books in this series I love the dominance of Mercy, and how that plays against the dominance of Riley. I love how committed they both end up being to figuring it out. I love that the romance is effortlessly woven into the plot, and an important part of everything thats going on. I love that there isnt unnecessary drama that bleeds over into the life-and-death things going on in the world. Plus, Mercy and Riley burn up the pages. Ive said in a lot of recent reviews that Im pretty much over the sex scenes in books and I think that holds true in the majority of instances but I cant deny that the scenes between Mercy and Riley, in this book, are off the charts sexy. Part of this is just because of the skill of Nalini Singh in writing a good romance, and part of that is from her ability to weave actual relationship and character building into the sex scenes. Theyre not unnecessary yeah, theyre fun and sexy and hot to read, but theyre also important in the development of the characters singly, and together as a couple. And that makes them even hotter. Ive always been fascinated by this world that the Psy, Changelings, and Humans live in, but the world gets ever more intricate the further you get into the series. The ties of friendship and family, the alliances, and pacts built all serve to change the shape of the world. A world thats seeming to move inexorably towards war and destruction. There are so many different factions and people grabbing for power that its hard to see a peaceful way out of this. When a select few are willing to sacrifice so many for their cause, it makes me despair. But when others work so hard to fight against that? Makes me cheer. This series gives me hope hope that even those with radically different mindsets, opinions, beliefs, and backgrounds can come together and make a difference for the better. I think thats one thing that Ive always loved about the Romance genre in general. The hope. The happiness. The idea that no matter how bad things are, they will get better. And what Nalinis done in this series is show that on a broader scale as well. Not only do the main characters get their HEA, you begin to see that even the more widely disparate individuals can decide that theres a better way. I like that not everything in this series is black-and-white. There are shades of grey. There are characters that arent exactly good, but maybe theyre not exactly who you believed them to be in the first place either. I love how we slowly get to pull back layers on many of these characters. I love how it makes me think critically about motivations and actions taken. I love how even the most (seemingly) cold and Silent characters have moments where their conscious shines through and makes them question. Thats the beauty of this series it started so simply, just one Psy mating to one Changeling. A world where it seems that the power struggle is more about politics than anything else. Now, six books in (as of this review), its becoming more and more obvious that everything is bigger, means more, and what we thought we knew might not be exactly the case. The stakes are high. Im invested in this world, in the characters. Ive built relationships with these characters, and coming back to re-visit them through re-reads is like coming home.

I\’ve loved all of the books in the Psy-Changeling series so far but I actually think Branded by Fire might be my new favourite. As much as I enjoy seeing the Psy characters thaw their cold and emotionless shells to experience passion for the first time there was something special about this Changeling / Changeling match up. Mercy and Riley are both dominant characters who know exactly what they want both in and out of the bedroom and I loved seeing them sparring together to see who would come out on top. Mercy would love to find a mate but it isn\’t easy for a dominant female alpha to find a man her cat will accept as worthy, none of the unmated guys in her pack are strong enough to take her on so she\’s resigned to staying single. The only man who really gets her blood pumping is Riley but there is one major problem – he\’s a wolf which makes him completely unacceptable. The pair are both high up members of their respective packs and they often end up working together when it comes to pack security. Riley makes no secret of the fact that he wants to claim Mercy, he knows just how tough and special she is and he is willing to work at earning her respect. The pair of them have off the charts chemistry, I really do think that this is the hottest book in the series so far, and I love the way they\’re constantly battling each other for control. They each take it in turn to dominate the other and I loved that push and pull between them. As well as a fantastic, incredibly hot, romance between Mercy and Riley we also get to catch up with the previous couples in the series and there are some fantastic scenes with some of them that really made my heart melt. I\’m also falling a little more in love with Hawk with every new book and I can\’t wait to read his story! These books really do get better with every instalment and although Mercy and Riley are currently my favourite couple I won\’t be too surprised if that changes when I read Blaze of Memory. I\’m not normally this quick to switch teams but Nalini Singh manages to make me fall in love every single time & I\’m definitely not complaining about that!

This book will keep you up until the early hours…forget your essay, give the kids over to your partner, turn the phone off…feign illness because you will not want to be disturbed. Riley an Mercy are a steaming hot couple. Very interesting because this is the first book to feature a changeling couple and they are from different species. Both are dominant and both think their species is highly superior to the other. Mercy is wonderful, she\’s lonely but recognises that her \’cat\’ would not be attracted to a mate who was less dominant to her but at the same time she doesn\’t want a mate who has the upper hand. Riley trips all her wires sexually but he\’s a wolf. She\’s feisty and independant but unfortunately…Riley doesn\’t see her as dominant to him and wants to protect her. We have lots of fireworks and misunderstandings here but it\’s a fun ride, you really will enjoy their \’playtime\’ and their journey towards HEA. Lots of other stuff with the ghost, some great scenes with the beautiful Hawke and we revisit Sacha and Lucas which was lovely. A brilliant addition to a wonderful series. One of the best sci fi/paranormal romances around.

I love tough, no holds barred, strong female leads. In Mercy we have the Alpha female I have been waiting for. Not for her the easy, or tried and trusted way. For her, a Senior Leopard sentinel, to have a relationship with a senior Wolf male it\’s all about who is the most dominant… and all through the book we see them fight, love and argue to come out on top. It\’s a great read. The the building relationship between Mercy and Riley is definitely scorching! As always in this story we meet the rest of Ms Singhs interesting, fascinating characters in the Psy/ Changling servies. It\’s a funny, comfortable, clever and interesting. I want to find out what happens next. That is what a good book should do, and here it is delivered in spades. More please!

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