Review - Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh
The Psy-Changeling world has undergone a staggering transformation and now stands at a crossroads. The Trinity Accord promises a new era of cooperation between disparate races and groups. It is a beacon of hope held together by many hands: Old enemies. New allies. Wary loners.
But a century of distrust and suspicion can’t be so easily forgotten and threatens to shatter Trinity from within at any moment. As rival members vie for dominance, chaos and evil gather in the shadows and a kidnapped woman’s cry for help washes up in San Francisco, while the Consortium turns its murderous gaze toward a child who is the embodiment of change, of love, of piercing hope: A child who is both Psy…and changeling.
To find the lost, protect the vulnerable—and save Trinity—no one can stand alone. This is a time of loyalty across divisions, of bonds woven into the heart and the soul, of heroes known and unknown standing back to back and holding the line. But is an allegiance of honor even possible with traitors lurking in their midst?
*Publishers Weekly
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I'm back with a review of another Nalini Singh book. Surprising, is it?
I really tried to read this critically. I even read other reviews before I started to read the book, and I found some interesting and actually harsh opinions, negativities. But it seems that it is hardly possible for me to not enjoy a Singh book and to not give it 5 stars.
Some people found the ensemble casting boring, saying the same happened over and over again - just the couple changed, as we visited all the known heroes and their heroines. But as I turned the pages, I simply couldn't agree with this point. Yeah, everybody is in love, everybody is happy... but what did the critics expect? The cast is full of characters who have already found their happily ever after. Why would we read romance with happy endings if not for this? I think we didn't buy a pig in a poke, anyone could see from the blurb how this book would be.
It may have started a little slow, but I think that there were so many happenings and stressful events that the book didn't turn into a sap party. So despite all the happiness, it still was interesting and I could not put it down. Various problems and questiions kept popping up, and I could almost feel the frustration the characters felt when they couldn't easily solve some of them.
I always enjoy when a writer returns to some heroes, or even mentions them, giving the reader a glimpse into their lives. And while being ensemble, there still was a heavy emphasis on the very first couple in the series, Lucas and Sascha, and their adorable cub, Naya. They played roles in many of my favorite scenes, for example *SPOILER* Naya's first change, the meeting of the three Duncan generations, the party starting scene at the end, or even when Sascha 'showed her claws'. * SPOILER ENDS*
And of course, the arrival of the pupcubs will be an all time favorite as well.
One other thing I love about Nalini Singh is that she can keep in mind every big event that happened while already plotting what will happen next, she doesn't forget the details, the tiniest informations.
I could say that I missed a little more Hawke and Sienna, or Kaleb and Sahara, or other couples I love, but in the grand scheme of things, as they happened in this 'season' of the series, they understandibly didn't get bigger roles.
All in all, while I expected the book to be similar to being in a theatre at the end of a show, when all the actors come in one after the other to bow and wave, and the spectators applause - it was that, and so much more with all the new twists and turns. I didn't expect so many emotions, I knew I would be smiling and laughing sometimes, but I certainly didn't expect to even cry and be stressed. There were many very touchy scenes, so well written that I just kept finding my heart squeezing with the characters'.
The book was another example of Singh's greatness, and I can hardly wait for 'season 2'. Lucky us, Wild Embrace comes out in August with four new novellas in this world!
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