ARC REVIEW: Branded by Fire

Nalini Singh
Branded by Fire (Psy/Changeling #6)
Berkley Sensation
ISBN-10: 0425226735
ISBN-13: 978-0425226735
Paranormal romance
July 7, 2009

Though DarkRiver sentinel Mercy is feeling the pressure to mate, she savagely resists when Riley Kincaid, a lieutenant from the SnowDancer pack, tries to possess her. The problem is not simply that he pushes her buttons; the problem is that he’s a wolf, she’s a cat, and they’re both used to being on top.

But when a brilliant changeling researcher is kidnapped from DarkRiver territory, Mercy and Riley must work together to track the young man—before his shadowy captors decide he’s no longer useful. Along the way, the two dominants may find that submitting to one another uncovers not just a deadly conspiracy, but a passion so raw that it’ll leave them both branded by fire…

*Psst -there’s a giveaway at the end!

If I could write odes to this little beauty, I would. If I could hang out under its balcony and sing it sweet songs, I would. If I could bake it a cake the size of Texas, draped in miles of frosting ribbons proclaiming Branded by Fire as the best Psy/Changling novel yet, I would. Then I’d eat it. The cake that is. Hmm, maybe the book, too.

I’m not a poet and my oven’s the size of, well, an oven, so this review will have to do. Nothing says loving like a book that amps up the goodness in a series yet again. This series does get better and better with each book to date, and I had a feeling this one would carry on the tradition.

Singh already introduced us to one great heroine this year – Elena from her first Guild Hunter novel, Angel’s Blood. Elena earned a nomination in my annual blog awards for Best Heroine, and now I can add Mercy to that category as well. She is everything I love to see about women in this sub genre: self-assured, capable and honorable to the core. It’s not long at all into the book that she, a sentinel herself for the Darkriver leopard pack, meets Riley, sentinel for the neighboring Snowdancer wolf pack, and the two ignite in a very hot way. Branded by fire indeed, right from the very beginning. Mercy’s feeling the the urge to settle down with a mate, and with very few options locally, something’s gotta give. That something is one sexy, dominant wolf – Riley Kincaid and oh how these two mesh.

It’s hard to separate why I liked Mercy so much without talking up Riley a lot, too, because they are so together and growing from one another right off the bat. We don’t usually see this level of intimacy in a Psy/Changling book, not this soon into a book. Singh doesn’t do readers any disservice, though, by treating it in a casual way. That heat these two give off is so much a part of who they are. Right off, from their first sexual encounter, we’re seeing them grow, not just as individual characters, but together. Often, in other books and series, we see great character development, but a lot of it is done separately, the hero and heroine growing while apart for a good bit of the book. With Mercy and Riley, no matter what happens in the book, we never stray too far from them and their development as a couple. And that’s not to say they never get a chance to breath without the other, Singh just merely masters one of the most important facets of a romance, that of keeping it all about the main couple. Everything that happens in Branded by Fire enhances their building and strengthening romance.

That being said, I loved (cannot express how much) that we get to have a strictly changeling couple in this book. I love seeing those Psy heroes and heroines melt into emotional puddles of goo with their mates, too, but there’s something so primal and irresistible about the changelings, their pack dynamics and cultures. Through Mercy and Riley’s romance, and other very interesting future book developments, we get to learn more about how the Darkriver and Snowdancer packs work. We’re even treated to some glimpses into other predatory, though smaller, changelings. But the animalistic urges and undertones that marked much of what I loved about the first book were amplified here and maybe it was because Mercy and Riley both are so dominant, and equally so. Seeing them try to keep their alpha tendencies walled up and defending their emotions was both amusing and heart pounding when they began to crumble. Even though neither really expected the other to be potential mate material, the absolute commitment, passion and emotion they put into a physical relationship could rival a lot of what I’ve read in other romances these days.

Respect seemed to be the ultimate key in this book, and the fact that each had respect for the other enabled this awesome romance we get. And that’s not to say each doesn’t make mistakes. They do. They fight, they make up, they fight again – again, it’s a very passionate and animalistic pairing, their animal natures fighting for the forefront more than once. But the respect between them was amazing. At no time, with both being dominant by nature, did either try to control the other. It was, quite simply, a match made in heaven.

Secondary characters play just as important a role in this book as any other in the series. Without stealing any glory, yet adding so much to those great pack dynamics at the same time were Sascha and Lucas, who have some very exciting moments in this book. Sascha is also still learning a lot about who and what she is, and there are some interesting developments about her powers. We also see or hear from in some way Judd and Brenna, Dorian and Ashaya, Ashaya’s sister, Vaughn and Faith, Kit, and Hawke and Sienna. Hawke, surprisingly enough, sees a lot more time in this one than usual, which will hopefully please fans of that camp. Sienna tries to deal with some dangerous issues through Sascha’s help. Tamsyn mentors both Sascha and Mercy during some touching and poignant moments. I just love how each book feels like a reunion without crowding out the main couple. Even though we get plenty of page time with the Psy, like the Ghost and Kaleb, one of the Councilors, this is very much a “pack” book.

At times I thought that maybe the plot, which continues to arc very nicely from book to book, was a little disconnected from the romance this time. I should have had more faith, though, because Singh does manage to bring it all back around, together and in focus. The Alliance, a group of dangerously militant humans, is on the warpath, and to make matters worse, Psy everywhere are turning more and more to murderous tendencies. Not ones to sit around and wait for bad to happen the changelings are as proactive as ever and working to prevent whatever both the humans and the Psy are planning. It makes for an exhausting bunch of work details for Mercy and Riley, one of which will endanger their happiness. I was very happy with how the series arc continues to develop in this case and combined with the romance, it only gets more gripping and suspenseful each time.

Branded by Fire is the best Psy/Changeling romance to date, packing in everything I love about PNR today: hot, emotionally fulfilling romance, suspenseful action and a great world built to support it all in. Singh gives it her all, as per usual, giving readers plenty to keep turning the pages for. Up next on this series’ schedule is Blaze of Memory, which releases November 3, 2009. Yes, that’s right, we’re getting another Psy/Changeling only four months after this one. I think I’ve died and gone to romance heaven.

Rating: Five Scoops

Series order:

1. Slave to Sensation
2. Visions of Heat
3. Caressed by Ice
4. Mine to Possess
5. Hostage to Pleasure
6. Branded by Fire - July 7, 2009
7. Blaze of Memory – November 3, 2009

The Giveaway – now is CLOSED, results posted soon:

Leave a comment. That’s it! Easy peasy. One winner will win a pre-order of Branded by Fire. If the winner lives overseas a copy bought by me here and mailed via post might be the easier method. Either way, someone’s winning a copy of this book because that’s how much we loves it, preciousssss.

Contest Update: Singh contacted me and is graciously offering up two copies of any of her past books in the series! So we now have three possible winners: One will get that pre-order of Branded by Fire, and two runner ups will get one copy each of their choice of her Psy/Changeling backlist, which is listed right above this. Isn’t that great? All the more reason to comment, especially if you’ve been wanting to try the series or extend into later books. A big thank you to Ms. Singh!

ETA: just to clarify, what I’m offering is a pre-order of the book, not an ARC or other early copy. U.S. citizens will get the book one to two days after the book releases from Amazon. If the winner is overseas I’ll look into the fastest option available for them as well.

The contest opens now and ends on Thursday, June 11 at midnight, eastern U.S. time. I’ll announce the winners this Friday. Sooo – get to commenting!