I love these short stories or novellas. They give me the opportunity to learn about more corners of this psy-changeling-human world. ( )

[b:Wild Embrace|28008158|Wild Embrace (Psy-Changeling #2.5, 5.1, 11.5, 12.1)|Nalini Singh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462042558s/28008158.jpg|48015693] (Psy-Changeling #2.5, 5.1, 11.5, 12.1) by [a:Nalini Singh|71688|Nalini Singh|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1423312512p2/71688.jpg] Is a collection of 4 Paranormal Short Romance stories from the Psy-Changeling series.
#1. Echo of Silence = 5 stars
This was my favorite of the four. It's about Tazia (human woman) and Stefan (a Psy). They both work on the deep-sea station Alaris. Brilliantly written with perfect flow. Stefan has been mentioned in a few of the other books in this series, and we really get to know both him and Tazia in this story.
#2. Dorian = 3.5 stars
This one gives us glimpses of Dorian’s life from childhood all way through to the present day. I liked it a lot, but it didn't wow me.
#3. Partners in Persuasion = 4 stars
Dezi (dominant Feline Soldier) and Felix (submissive Wolf). This was my 2nd favorite of the shorts in this book. Dezi and Felix have to overcome a lot of obstacles for this relationship to work. Not only are they 2 different types of shifters, but with Felix being a submissive male wolf, Dezi has to be careful not to scare him away. It also gives more light on what it means to be submissive.
I don't truly understand Felix using his past relationship with a dominant female for not wanting his partner to be a dominate. There are also a couple of places where the story drags a little bit.
#4. Flirtation of Fate = 3.5 stars
Garnet and Kenji (both are Dominant Wolf Changelings)
I liked this one, but it seemed very rushed to me. They are both involved in an investigation at the Den Garnet is in charge of for the SnowDancer Pack.
All and all, I enjoyed it very much. ( )

Echo of Silence
I really loved the first half of this, but the second half was too rushed for my tastes. I would have liked it more if it were a full-length book and had less of an insta-love feel that this short story format kind of forced. Also a little to "proper" for me, but it made sense for the characters (3.5 stars)

Dorian


Partners in Persuasion


Flirtation of Fate
Maaan, I was SO excited about this potentially angst story! But it didn't feel very angsty at all. I didn't like how Jem chased after Kenji in the end. He hurt her and he should have had to grovel for forgiveness! She just decided to pursue him and for some reason that made me less into the story. Also I figured out Kenji's reason for leaving her and it made sense, but felt like it was not significant enough to prevent a mating. But I guess that is part of the patched-over sense I get given the lack of angst I was so eager for. (3 stars)

Echo of Silence - 4.5 stars
Dorian - 3 stars
Partners in Persuasion - 4.5 stars
Flirtation of Fate - 4 stars ( )

With this collection you get to see four separate couples come together. The Dorian story is the one that I liked the best going over the first time he was able to shift. The last story was a rekindling of a romance with a locked room murder to solve. The problem for me was I swear I had read the murder setup up somewhere before and it seemed so obvious who the killer was from the beginning. The first story is set in BlackSea’s domain but we really don’t get to learn anything about them since it is a love story between the Psy and a human. And the third story covers a romance that isn’t seen in the packs that often a dominate female with a submissive male. That one was interesting since it covered more the whys of how the pack structure works with dominate and submissive members and used the wolf vs cat to explain it without infodumping the reader.

Overall it was a nice collection and it was fun but I think I might have enjoyed it a bit more if it hadn’t come out so close to the previous book. Now I’m just left drumming my fingers waiting for a mainline novel to push the story arc of the series. The short romances are nice but they are not what I like the most about the series.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley
( )