Title: Play of Passion
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy-Changeling #9, Psy-Changeling Season One #9
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Dark fantasy, Paranormal romance, Shapeshifters
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Gollancz
Year: 2010
5th sentence, 74th page: And that, Indigo thought, was even more of a problem than the control issues of the dominant males.
Passion and reason collide with explosive force in the newest instalment of Nalini Singh’s mesmerising Psy-Changeling series. As a conflict with Pure Psy looms on the horizon, two powerful wolves fight a far more intimate war of their own…
In his role as a tracker for the SnowDancer pack, it’s up to Drew Kincaid to rein in rogue changelings who have lost control of their animal halves – even if it means killing those who have gone too far. But nothing in his life has prepared him for the battle he must now wage to win the heart of a woman who makes his body ignite… and who threatens to enslave his wolf.
Lieutenant Indigo Riviere doesn’t easily allow skin privileges, especially not those of the sensual kind – and the last person she expects to find herself craving is the most wickedly playful male in the den. Everything she knows tells her to pull back before the flames burn them both to ash… but she hasn’t counted on Drew’s determination to win her.
Now, two of SnowDancer’s most stubborn wolves find themselves playing a hot, sexy courtship game even as lethal danger stalks the very place they call home…
One of the things that I have really loved about Singh’s stories and writing is the inner strength of both of her characters – both male and female. Although often the males are incredibly possessive and protective, the women tend to match them, and sometimes even out do them in their own protective possessiveness. And Indigo is no different, in fact, the ability of a more dominant female to mate with a male was an incredibly intriguing and enjoyable way in which to alter the stereotypes that I am so used to being exposed to in the modern world.
I have read some reviews on Play of Passion that tote Indigo to be an incredibly haughty and selfish character, the only bad reviews that I have read of the Psy-Changeling books. However, I didn’t find this at all. Indigo’s inability to become vulnerable and her constant freezing out of Drew struck me as entirely understandable and reliable reactions to her surrounds. Her rigidity and inability to compromise, whilst a little frustrating, perfectly balance out Drew’s kind hearted and joking nature – sometimes, when opposites attract, it works out very, very well.
Although this book still focuses on the mating of a couple, the furthering of the war and friction within the Psy was a really important part of the story. Henry Scott and Pure Psy have slowly been becoming more and more intense in the threat department. And in Play of Passion, they become truly insipid. I can’t wait to see how their constant assault on those who aren’t a pure part of Silence continues to unfold in this fascinating series.
Earth and Skye 