I’m slowly making my way through the first set of Psy Changeling novels by Nalini Singh. As Singh is from New Zealand and Tangle of Need has the couple trotting the globe, this counts towards the passport challenge.
CBR15 Passport Challenge: Books from different countries (book 2 of 3)
In the eleventh book, Singh subverts the idea of fated mates with Lieutenant wolf shifter Riaz and wolf soldier Adria. Riaz’s wolf recognized a married woman as his mate. He struggles with the fact they can never be together. On the outside, he shows off a charming and carefree attitude. He is often on assignment but back at the SnowDancer den. When he meets Adria, they flirt but believes it’ll never be the end game. Adria is divorced and still reeling from not making it work. Her goal is to throw herself into work and turn a new leaf. The more they encounter one another, a primal attraction takes over. The pair visit Italy to investigate alliance as part of the impending war between the Psy (aka those with psychic abilities) and the Changelings (aka shifters).
Singh always deftly weaves in the ever-changing politics of the world with the romance story. In these novels, shifters mate for life. So the idea of Riaz finding a mate but never being able to be with her is devastating. The concept was slightly explored in Kiss of Snow when Hawke assumed he was fated to his childhood love. In Tangle of Need, we meet two broken souls who can’t keep their hands off each other. Adria worries she isn’t ever enough while Riaz worries he can never give himself to her fully. They figure it out unexpectedly and realistically that bucks the idea of fated mates. I love this series, so I obviously like this trope. I love it even more when authors throw out mythology and rebuild it. Funnily, this was my first purchased book in the series. I read about a page before realizing I have to start from the beginning! I don’t recommend jumping in late, but you can piece together enough if you’re more into the romance than the world-building. If you love sci-fi romance, shifter stories, and paranormal TV shows like True Blood, this is a must-read series. Don’t be scared by how long the series has been running. You can take your time like I am to finish it!
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