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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Book Review-Storm Echo by Nalini Singh

by | Jun 19, 2022 | Book Reviews | 5 comments

This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

About The Book

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into the hearts of two fractured people in a world on the brink of a psychic Armageddon . . .

Silence has fallen. The Psy are free to feel emotion. Free to love. But Silence was never a prison for Ivan Mercant. The biggest threat to his future lies dormant in his brain—a psychic monster that wants only to feed. And now, the brutal leash he’s kept on that monster is slipping. He prepared for this day, for the end of Ivan Mercant . . . but that was before he met Lei.

As primal as she is human, this wild changeling brings color into his life, laughter to his soul. Then the dream shatters in a rain of blood, in silent bodies in the snow. Lei is gone. Vanished without a trace . . . until he meets strangely familiar eyes across a busy San Francisco street.

Soleil Bijoux Garcia is a healer who has lost everything. She exists in a world of desolate aloneness . . . till the day she finds herself face-to-face with a lethal stranger. The animal who is her other half knows this man, but her memories are tattered fragments. Sorrow and a need for vengeance are all that drive her. Her mission? To kill the alpha of the DarkRiver leopard pack.

But fate has other plans. Soon, a deadly soldier who believes himself a monster and a broken healer might be all that stand between life and death for the entire Psy race. . .

Hold onto her, onto the spark of joy inside your heart

My Review

Storm Echo is the most recent release into the Psy Changeling Trinity series and in this story we have something a bit different than what we have seen in the previous books in the series. We, of course, get introduced to some new characters within this story, but also get taken back to the DarkRiver pack which was a delightful surprise. I pretty much went into this book blind, I just have faith in Nalini Singh and her writing. Her writing style just connects to me. As many of you know my health and attention have been off in my reading but this book has really brought me back into it. Storm Echo was such a beautiful story, and I became so endeared to these characters from their “meet cute” all the way to them working through their relationship and discovering what they were capable of together. It was quite interesting to see certain plot points that are layered within the story. It was an experience being able to experience this journey alongside our delightful characters from our main protagonists to the supporting cast that is built within the story.

When I’m around you, you’re all I see. You’re like a star, you shine so bright. If I had my way, I’d keep you forever.

Storm Echo sets off with our hero and heroine, Ivan and Soleil, meeting in the forest where Ivan is bowled over by Soleil in her grace and beauty, and femininity. He only wants to learn more about her and is intrigued. Ivan and Soleil discover a sweet love in such a short time but then a horrific attack to Soleil’s pack, brings her severely injured and Ivan saving her life but then they are separated for a space of time. Now when Ivan finds Soleil again, her memories and body have not fully recovered and even though her memory of him is scattered, her wolf recognizes him as theirs and will do anything to keep him by her side. Soleil trusts in the instincts that her wolf has, but she is on a dangerous mission and the last thing that she needs is the distraction of him. But even though Ivan knows that Soleil is out for revenge against the man she believes to be behind the devastation to her pack, he is willing to risk his life to stand by her side and be her protector. But not everything is as it seems, and Soleil finds family and connection within the pack she believes to have destroyed her pack. She finds home and peace and with Ivan by her side, she is willing to do whatever it takes.

The only person who gets to decide my future is me. And I’ve decided that I’m going to be yours.

I was stunned by the power of this story and I just wanted to stay within this story and I never wanted to let go of Ivan and Soleil. Their story was such a beautiful one and seeing the various facets of their relationship was such beauty and Nalini Singh takes us on a journey here that is epic and endearing and poignant in the small quiet moments. There are heartbreaking aspects to this story (so check the triggers on this one here before reading) but I adored the tension that is built within this story. This book takes place after the silence has fallen for the Psy but the Psy are learning who they are. Ivan is part of a family that has always had some emotion and connection to each other. But his mind is about to fall and he refuses to take down those that he loves because his mind could be a weapon if he isn’t careful. The last thing he ever expected was to fall in love with Soleil or find such a connection to her. And now the DarkRiver pack is involved and he doesn’t want to put others in danger. Soleil is determined to keep Ivan no matter what it takes. There is a fierceness in this heroine (as we have seen in this series) in how the women just fight for their mates just as equally or more so as we seek from the heroes. Soleil may be a healer, but she is changeling and fierce in her love for him. Soleil is one of those heroines that has so much depth to her. The way she is willing to fight for the relationship was such a beautiful experience and you just want to cheer her on throughout all of this one here. I was amazed at how she really tested those boundaries and discovered her own strength. We also see some great discoveries for Ivan’s side of the relationship. He doesn’t want to put Soleil in danger, but he won’t drive her away either. You see how torn he is in how he doesn’t want to risk her but also can’t let her go. We of course get some fun times with the changelings here and I adored seeing so many old favorites within this book and seeing a healer and alpha connection form was so beautiful. I loved how Soleil and Lucas connect to each other. The way that Singh writes pack dynamics never ceases to amaze me. There is something so poignant about these connections, the intimacy, and strong familial bonds is enthralling at times and the reader aches for it to be real. Its written in such a manner that astounds the reader every time you immerse yourself into this world.

Overall I found Storm Echo to be a romance that astounds and delves deeply; its a story that will gravitate the reader to the story in a unique way that you won’t want to let go of. Its a story of healing, deep layered emotion, the strength of one’s self, and the value of family connection and fierce love that is compounded into an essence of beauty and lively delights!

I’m with you. No matter what. Always and forever and back again.

Title: Storm Echo

Author: Nalini Singh

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Format: eARC

Source: Berkley Publishing Group

Length: 384 Pages

Amazon| Barnes and Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club

Book Evaluation

Storytelling Quality: 5

Story Itself: 5

Character Development: 5

Writing Style: 4.75

World Building 5

Feels + The Romantic Heart 5

Pacing 5

Plot 5

Cover Art 5

Ending 5

Book Ratings

Overall Rating of the Book

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Steam Level

Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy

Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.

Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.

Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.

Series Order

Psy Changeling Trinity

Silver Silence-Pub 2017 #1 in the Series

Ocean’s Light-Pub 2018 #2 in the Series

Wolf Rain-Pub 2019 #3 in the Series

Alpha Night-Pub 2020 #4 in the Series

Last Guard-Pub 2021 #5 in the Series

Storm Echo-Pub 2022 #6 in the Series

About Nalini

I’ve been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There’s no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.

I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).

So far, I’ve worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer’s mill.

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5 Comments

  1. Sophia Rose

    I loved these two’s first days of discovery and then the return to the Dark River territory. Another good one.

    Reply
  2. shygirl19748

    Lovely review! Nalini never disappoints, does she? I can’t wait to dig into this one and get back into the DarkRiver pack. Ivan & Soleil sound like a perfect balance for each other. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

    Excellent review, Renee! I’ve barely started the Psy-Changeing series (I’m on book #3) and it’s wonderful to know I have so much to look forward to!

    Reply
    • Lover of Romance

      I am so happy that you are discovering this series and loving it. As far as the pack dynamics go, its my favorite!! Singh just built the series so well. I just know you will love exploring it.

      Reply

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