Beat of Temptation – I started reading the Psy-Changeling series slightly out of order, chronologically speaking. I began last year with Slave to Sensation, along with the two free short extras connected to that book that are available at Nalini Singh’s website. Then I realized that she’d later added a couple of novellas that precede it in the series chronology. So I backtracked to pick up Nate and Tamsyn’s story “Beat of Temptation.” Of course, I had already met these two characters in Slave to Sensation, where Tamsyn was the healer of the DarkRiver leopard pack and Nate was leader of the sentinels and basically Lucas’s right hand man. At that point, they’re already happily mated with twin cubs, so this novella goes back to show us the beginning of their relationship.

As the story opens, Nate and Tamsyn have known that they’re fated mates for four years, but when they first became aware of the mate bond, Tamsyn was only fifteen. Since Nate is ten years her senior, he kept his distance, waiting for her to come of age, but now that she’s nineteen, it’s becoming more and more difficult for them to wait. Nate’s parents had a terrible mating that ended with his mother’s suicide, and he believes that it was all because she mated his father too young. He doesn’t want to tie Tamsyn down too soon and have the same thing happen to her, so he keeps stubbornly insisting that she explore her freedom first. Tamsyn is having none of it. She was already thrust into the role of pack healer at the age of seventeen, so she’s very mature for her age and more than ready to mate Nate. But he keeps refusing her at every turn.

Nate skated perilously close to being a little too alpha for my taste. He’s definitely one of those clueless heroes who doesn’t really understand how his actions are affecting his heroine and seems to think he knows what’s best for her instead of letting her make up her own mind. It could be a tad irritating, but I mostly understood where he was coming from. He also won me over a little more with a sweet romantic gesture he made after he finally gave into the mating bond. I liked Tamsyn a lot. She has the gentle heart of a healer, but at the same time, she’s a very strong heroine. She tries everything she can to get Nate to take notice of her and make their mating real and not just something their inner beasts want. She’s pretty tenacious, but even she has a breaking point that was totally understandable. She also has some vulnerabilities, too, believing that Nate doesn’t truly want her when he continues to hold her at arm’s length.

The story is mostly about Nate fighting the mating bond and Tamsyn working to get him to give in, but there is a minor sub-plot involving a Psy who is trying to encroach on DarkRiver land. I thought he was going to end up being more of a threat, but very little comes of his presence. That being the case, I can’t say that this part really added much to the story. To me, it seemed like the author felt an obligatory need to include a Psy character because the series is about both Psy and Changelings, but I would have been just as happy without it. Even with this little weakness in the story and Nate rubbing me the wrong way a bit, I was still planning on giving it at least 4.5 stars until I got to the only love scene in the story and it was fade to black. The entire novella is about the incredibly intense sexual tension between Nate and Tamsyn that you know is leading up to their mating. When we get to that point, there’s some equally intense foreplay, then nothing more than a couple of lines indicating they did the deed. At this point, I was screaming in my head, “Are you kidding me? I’ve been waiting through the whole novella for a steamy love scene and this is all I get?” Needless to say, it was seriously disappointing, especially since I know from reading Slave to Sensation first that Nalini Singh can write these types of scenes very well. If she was constrained by word count, I think it would have been a better story to take out the Psy sub-plot, or even pare off a little of the back and forth between Nate and Tamsyn in exchange for at least one detailed love scene. Writing it the way she did was like dangling a delicious treat in front of a starving person and then cruelly yanking it away. Other than my frustration with this part of the story, “Beat of Temptation” was admittedly well-written, and I enjoyed it, particularly the Christmas theme since it’s so rarely seen in paranormal romance. I just wish the author or her editor or whoever it was hadn’t cheated readers out of the payoff to all that sexual tension. “Beat of Temptation” was originally published in the multi-author anthology, An Enchanted Season, and was later reprinted in this single-author anthology along with three other novellas set in the Psy-Changeling world. Star Rating: ****

Stroke of Enticement - “Stroke of Enticement” is a short novella that falls between Caressed by Ice and Mine to Possess in the Psy-Changeling series chronology. In it, we have two brand new characters to the series, Zach and Annie. When Zach’s nephew, Bryan, gets in trouble at school, Bryan insists on calling Zach instead of his parents. Zach arrives at school to find Bryan waiting with his teacher, the lovely Annie, who his inner cat instantly recognizes as his mate. After dealing with the situation at hand, Zach, a park ranger, invites Annie to come explore the forest with him the next day and to attend the DarkRiver pack’s annual winter picnic. Annie can’t resist Zach’s seductive charm, but she values her independence and never intended to get married. Zach can’t let her go, but he’ll have his work cut out for him convincing her to be his mate for life.

Zach is a totally dreamy Native American jaguar changeling, a real sweet-talker and a seductive charmer, who I completely fell for in only seventy-five pages. While he definitely has that alpha side that all the changeling men do, he’s surprisingly gentle and a little more easy-going than the others I’ve read in the series so far. I know I wouldn’t have been able to resist Zach and neither can Annie, who’s a great mate for him. She was severely injured in an accident as a child and walks with a limp. Between that and feeling like she’s a little too plain and a little too plump, she’s never quite felt like she could live up to her mother’s high standard, so she’s pretty surprised when a hot guy like Zach starts flirting with her. Annie has watched as her mother adored her father, while her father seemed to drift further and further away. Not wanting that to happen to her, she plans to remain single and independent, so the thought of being with Zach long-term scares her. She fears that, while he may cherish her now, it probably won’t last, and she can’t bear the thought of losing him in that way.

I absolutely loved “Stroke of Enticement,” and it’s now become one of my favorite stories in the series so far. I’m not usually a fan of insta-love, but it worked for me here because of Zach’s mate-bond. He knows from the instant he sets eyes on Annie that she’s his, and he spends the rest of the story utterly adoring her and showing her just how important she is to him. Annie is a wonderful heroine to whom I could easily relate, because her fears and vulnerabilities made sense. There’s a surprising amount of character development that takes place in such a short space, making this an exceptionally well-written story. The sexual tension throughout is exquisitely done, and I was so happy that, unlike a couple of other novellas in this series, the author actually gave them a detailed love scene, which ended up being a great payoff. This novella just gave me all the feels I look for when reading a romance, along with a truly sigh-worthy HEA ending, and I can’t say enough good things about it. “Stroke of Enticement” was originally published in the multi-author anthology, The Magical Christmas Cat, and was later reprinted in this single-author anthology along with three other novellas set in the Psy-Changeling world. Star Rating: *****

Declaration of Courtship - “Declaration of Courtship” is a short novella that falls between Play of Passion and Kiss of Snow in the Psy-Changeling series chronology. In this one, we have dominant wolf Cooper, who is a SnowDancer lieutenant and who I’m pretty sure has been seen in previous books of the series, paired with Grace, an engineer and submissive wolf, who I don’t recall being mentioned before. Cooper is in charge of the SnowDancer’s San Gabriel den. Ever since Grace came to work there, he’s wanted to pursue her, but as a dominant, he knows he’ll have to tread lightly in order to win over a woman as submissive as Grace is. For her part, Grace has been deeply attracted to Cooper, too, but she believes a relationship with him would never work because she doubts that her wolf would accept him. Cooper isn’t inclined to let that deter him, though, so he pulls out all the stops, courting her with a slow sensual seduction. However, Cooper has been having terrifying nightmares about his parents’ deaths that happened years ago and has been stoically holding back this information from Grace, which could derail all the hard work he’s been putting into convincing her that they belong together.

Although being a submissive wolf doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s a pushover, Grace is very sweet, while also being a wicked smart engineer. I like that she was brave enough to give a relationship with Cooper a shot, and I love how supportive she was of him, wanting him to let her into every part of his life, no matter how dark or frightening. Cooper is a yummy dominant wolf, who definitely knows how to romance a girl. Once Grace agrees to give it a try, he goes out of his way to make her feel special with all his little gifts and overtures. Determined to find a way to balance out their temperaments to make it work, he’s also extremely patient with her and her wolf, giving them all the time they need to adjust. He does rather stubbornly hold back his fears over his nightmares from her, making me wish a couple of times that he’d allow himself to be more vulnerable. But it all worked out in the end and when he finally does reveal the truth it was a lovely moment. Because this is a slow-burn romance, there are only a couple of love scenes near the end, but they were every bit as steamy as I’ve come to expect from this author. Everything taken together, “Declaration of Courtship” ended up being another winner in the Psy-Changeling series for me and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Star Rating: *****

*Texture of Intimacy - “Texture of Intimacy” is a short novella that falls between Kiss of Snow and Tangle of Need in the Psy-Changeling series chronology. It picks up Walker and Lara’s love story right after they go through with the mating bond. Then it follows them as they go about their daily lives, showing how things change for them as they move in together and begin to plan their official mating ceremony and how Lara blends into Walker’s family life with his kids. We also get to see how things have changed for the pack in the aftermath of the huge battle with the Psy and how Sienna’s power continues to flow through all of them, especially Lara as the pack healer. However, Walker hasn’t fully been able to let go of his Psy conditioning and when an emergency causes it to kick in, leaving Lara sensing his cold, emotionless state through the mating bond, it could cause some friction in their relationship.

I absolutely loved Walker and Lara’s scenes and the building of their romance throughout Kiss of Snow. I’d been shipping them for some time, and they were every bit as compelling of a couple as Hawke and Sienna were for me. Lara is a strong, determined woman, but as the pack healer, she has a gentle, nurturing side that is seen every time she treats a patient, and those qualities shine through in her relationship with Walker and his children as well. In his life before breaking Silence and leaving the PsyNet with his family, Walker was a teacher, mainly to Psy boys in the Arrow training program, and after becoming a trusted member of the SnowDancer pack, he was once again entrusted with teaching and mentoring the younger pack members. Walker is a kind, reserved man who has his own nurturing side, but at the same time, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill to protect his family and those he cares about. His enthusiasm for love-making after a lifetime without is sweet and adorable, while also making him a patient and observant lover. Walker and Lara are a wonderful couple who clearly love each other very much and blend together superbly as a family, too. I realized as I read this book just how much growth has taken place within the entire Lauren family since they were first introduced toward the beginning of the series, after taking refuge with SnowDancer. They’ve all made huge strides and continue to learn more about their powers and how to control them outside the PsyNet. It was also interesting learning what’s happening within the pack following the events of Kiss of Snow. Some things will be different moving forward, but the one thing that will never change is the love and support this pack shows to one another always. I can’t wait to read more about Walker, Lara, and all the other characters in future books of this series. Star Rating: ***** ( )

This gets on so many shelves because there are so many of the elements that make me like these themes in the stories in this book. I had already read the first two but it is nice to have them all collected together. They're all great!!

In Beat of Temptation, there is so much delicious angst! Tamsyn wants so much to be with Nathan and he pushes her away. A nice Big Misunderstanding where she is tormented by the idea that he doesn't want her! I love this stuff!! (4.5 stars)

Stroke of Enticement is my favorite Psy-Changling short story, and one of my favorite stories overall. Chubby, disabled, spinsterish schoolteacher being charmed by a hunky leopard? And an insensitive mom to boot? Right up my alley!!! (5 stars)

Declaration of Courtship has a bit of the angstish tension I love too, with submissive Grace feeling unsure of herself and sexy Cooper drawing her in. (3.5 stars)

Texture of Intimacy is a sweet look at Walker and Lara's relationship, which was a nice epilogue to the bits and pieces of their story that we've gotten across the books (3 stars) ( )

Read 3 out of the four stories in this book. The first two were all right, the third one drove me up the wall and I did not finish it, and I'd already read the fourth one earlier this year. I think I'll stick to the longer books from now on. The short stories just don't have any real room for the larger plot development I like in the those books. ( )

Beat of Temptation - 3.5 stars
Stroke of Enticement - 4 stars
Declaration of Courtship - 4 stars
Texture of Intimacy - 4 stars ( )

My twin sister has been telling me to read this series for years and despite liking the other Nalini Singh's I had read I never got around to reading it. After reading these books I can't imagine why I hesitated to read them ; they are really good. The story is fresh and original, the writing style is engaging and the characters are so well written that you truly get invested in their lives. I have enjoyed all the books in this series psy, changeling and human as they are all fascinating in their own way. ( )