Storm Echo by Nalini Singh

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...

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Psy-Changeling Trinity series!
For book one, Silver Silence, click HERE.
For book two, Ocean Light, click HERE.
For book three, Wolf Rain, click HERE.
For book four, Alpha Night, click HERE.
For book five, Last Guard, click HERE.

 

 

Book 6
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary Jo – ☆☆☆☆
Ivan Mercant believes himself to be a monster. The spider hiding deep within himself does nothing but want to take and take until there is nothing left. That's why he must keep the spider caged at all times. He must keep his shields strong at all times, ever vigilant against the evil that grows stronger within him day by day.

Ena Mercant saved him both from the streets and from himself. She believed in him when he didn't believe in himself. She gave him a family that is both a blessing and a hindrance – especially since the fall of Silence. His cousins are well-meaning and protective of him, as he is of them. If they only knew of the spider within him.

Lei Garcia is broken in similar ways. Losing her loving parents at a young age left her in the care of her paternal grandfather and his ocelot pack. Her grandfather was openly hostile towards her and made it known that she was less as her mother was human. She has never felt at home with the pack, leaving her feeling alone when being a member of pack should have meant being with family.

As the PsyNet seems to be imploding upon itself, an island has formed in which Psy minds are trapped. The physical bodies are comatose, and their vital signs are failing. Ivan somehow manages to bridge the divide and only Lei was able to bring him back, thanks to her cat's bond with him. Ivan can see the chaos on the island, there is no order, no net mind, and it seems that the Scarab queen is draining the psychic energy from the Psy who are trapped on the island's psychic plane.

Lei believes that her bond with Ivan will allow him to return to the Psy Island to rescue the Psy minds that are trapped there and to help cage the Scarab queen. Ivan is afraid to set loose the spider but knows that Lei's faith in him is stronger than his fears.

I'm amazed at everything we have learned in this book and where we will go next.


Erica – ☆☆☆☆
Storm Echo is the sixth installment in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series, as well as the 21st installment in the Psy-Changeling series. I would strongly advise against reading as a standalone or out of series order.

From the get-go, I was apprehensive. Amnesia plot lines mixed with insta-love are not my cup of tea, nor is the depressive fall of PsyNet, but after 21 novels, I'm invested in the characters and the universe where they reside. Drug-use and drug-abuse are plot devices.

On the plus side, a handful of our past favorites have cameos, as they're connected to the new characters being showcased. Another plus for me is second-chance romance.

Ivan has a painful past, suffering several abuses as a child. This darkness told from the perspective of a child may be difficult for some readers. Nalini Singh has never shied away from the darker sides of human nature, and this book is no exception when it comes to Ivan's past.

Ivan and Lei come into contact, and the connection is instantaneous, only for it to be ripped apart by tragedy. With the absence of a year, the vibe of insta-love is lessened. In this time, the romance takes a backseat, allowing character growth, along with some complex world building to be spun, so complex that most of the time I just rolled with it, otherwise I'd be confused. Once they reconnect, Ivan's amnesia means he doesn't recognize Lei anymore.

A member of the Mercant family, as their security specialist, Ivan was a complex character, ruthless yet beneath an injured child who doesn't believe he deserved kindness, intimacy, or would ever find a mate. Lei is a healer, the perfect counterbalance to Ivan's struggles.

Lei has her own past struggles. Protective and fierce, Lei has gone so long without a pack, she'll never let go of anyone she deems hers.

The romance and connection between Ivan and Lei takes a backseat when they're drawn into the battle to keep PsyNet from falling.

While I enjoy this longstanding series, the romance and conflict are a bit wash-repeat from book to book, and I find the eruption of new world building to often times be confusing and convoluted, like rushing from A to Q without truly connecting, where I just roll with it to avoid frustration. At this point, all these new Psy types, all super rare and finally revealing itself. While I want current narrators to be unique and special, their rareness just feels similar to the last rare trait, and so on.

A good addition to the Psy-Changeling Trinity and Pay-Changeling series. Recommended to fans of the author, the series, and paranormal romance.

 

 

New York Times bestselling author NALINI SINGH is passionate about writing. Though she’s traveled as far afield as the deserts of China, the Highlands of Scotland, and the frozen landscapes of Antarctica, it is the journey of the imagination that fascinates her most. She’s beyond delighted to be able to follow her dream as a writer. Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand. You can contact her directly through her website. While visiting the site, Nalini invites you to join her newsletter for up-to-date news about both the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series, as well as fun exclusive extras, including free short stories set in her worlds.

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ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Storm Echo (Psy-Changeling Trinity #6) by Nalini Singh to read and review.