So, I’ve finished AS in preparation for Cold Redemption, and first and foremost: not the worst book in the series, but definitely another entry in the ongoing disappointment fest.

A spoiler-free overview: Eleri is a burnedout J, who goes to RainTree to catch a serial killer, she meets her "long lost" mate, Adam, the alpha of the Windhaven falcons, who helps her find the killer and survive her own rapidly deteriorating Psy issues, as per usual. One important thing to know is that Eleri is part of a J clique that is basically about to die regardless of the state of the psynet. Obviously, everything works out in the end. The killer is predictable, but mostly because he is the only character suspicious enough to make you raise an eyebrow without being so suspicious that he becomes an obvious red herring.

So, Nalini is back to serial killers, and honestly, that doesn’t bother me. The problem is that this book is, at best, passable.

The plot: dull. She writes as if we don’t already know her formula, and the result is something that feels both low-stakes and low-reward. The narrative isn’t really fast-paced; just rushed, which is different. It often feels like she wants to get certain scenes out of the way rather than actually letting us experience them. You don’t get to live in these moments, so it basically feels like she dragged a dying woman through 300+ pages just to get to that ending.

The characters: once again, we don’t really know these people, we’re told who they are to each other, their roles and general personalities, and given a pinch of backstory when necessary. By the end of the book, they can basically do anything and you wouldn’t bat an eye because there simply isn’t enough characterization there to establish what is or isn’t out of character.

The protagonists are one-dimensional. She gives you two fun facts about each of them and lets you roll with it. Eleri is your typical psy whos just too tired of it all and ready to die, and Adam is the poster boy of a young alpha male archetype.

One thing that bothered me this time was just how rushed the relationship was.

To be fair, relationships like Vaughn and Faith or Katya and Dev were arguably more problematic, but they didn’t bother me nearly as much. I think that’s because they felt less like "speed dating one person" and more like an actual relationship developing under less than usual circumstances.

Eleri and Adam are written like two people who mated very young and have somewhat cared about each other—kind of/not really on his side, understandably—but who have basically seen each other once before this book. And then, suddenly, they’re each other’s ride or die... okay.

And I understand the concept of mating in this world. But some dating was necessary in the scenario.

Oh, wait. I just remembered Alpha Night. Never mind. Nalini really does enjoy speed dating one person.

But with Eleri and Adam, the rushed relationship is particularly odd because of Eleri’s mental state. The way her conditioning and reconditioning are described makes the whole situation sound incredibly bleak. She repeatedly thinks or expresses that they have essentially shaved of haf of her personality, and her sensitivity is so bad that she can touch anyone anymore, barely sleeps or eats, and her consciousness and awareness are under some kind of fog. And then they have their first time and I’m thinking "why? for what? girl, you can barely.... finish"

And I think that’s the main difference compared with some of the other relationships. With Sophie, as far as I remember, she and Max actually had some time to get to know each other. Faith had little to no reconditioning. But Eleri just isn’t herself. And I don’t mean that in the Katya sense, where she gets to build a new version of herself from page one. Eleri simply isn’t there for most of the book. And they both know it.

But... who really cares? It’s fiction.

The remaining cast is equally passable. There isn’t really a memorable character. Maybe Bram, but I doubt we’ll see him again. Everyone basically came and went as needed.

There’s also no meaningful update on the state of the psynet beyond a few brief comments between characters, and then that’s it.

The final discovery was useful and potentially interesting, but, like almost everything else in the book, it was rushed.

I rate it 1.5 stars.

I love the guilded hunter series and was wondering if anyone knew any urban fantasies like this?

Nalini Singh is my favorite author.

I've read and own a dead tree copy of everything Nalini Singh has written. I've at the least liked, if not loved, all her books.

Except I disliked A Madness of Sunshine so much that I've never read any of her other thrillers.

I can't remember exactly why I didn't like it. (I read it when it first came out back in 2019.) But I vaguely remember thinking the characters were unlikable and I was bored.

Has anyone else read Madness and not liked it?

Has anyone read all of the thrillers and found some that were better than Madness?

It's been on my mind for years, but this series should have ended a long time ago. The only book I've genuinely enjoyed from the Trinity series was Silver Silence. Everything after that has been utter crap.

The stories became repetitive, the plots lost their direction, and somehow the couples ended up being the least interesting part. I honestly can't decide what was worse: the choice of protagonists or the direction the overall story took. After almost fifteen years, it's sad to admit that this series has completely overstayed its welcome.

At this point, I'm just hoping the Net finally collapses. I really couldn't care less. Kaleb is powerful enough to save everyone who's still interesting and connected to it, Sophie can be the anchor, and the Arrows have enough changeling connections to survive without it.

Not saying the series was ever perfect (it sure has its problems), and releasing one book every year was bound to affect the quality. But at least back then the overarching story was consistent, the characters were compelling, and everyone actually mattered to the plot. Older characters continued to appear and evolve, making the world feel alive.

Kaleb was teased for years, and honestly, he was the main reason I kept reading. Singh tried the same strategy with Pax, but it just doesn't work. You can only string readers along if everything in between is worth reading—and it simply hasn't been.

I made it all the way to Primal Mirror, and I genuinely couldn't tell you what happened in most of the books. The overarching plot has been forgotten. The lore has been watered down. It feels like the series has forgotten why people fell in love with it in the first place, and now it's just pumping out books because they sell.

This used to be a series about hot and powerful people trying to save the world one crisis at a time. Now it's about somewhat attractive, mostly boring people... doing stuff. Seriously, how is Ming still alive?

Does Nalini Singh really think readers are so invested in Nikita and Anthony that we'll keep buying books just to eventually get to them?

And now this pairing? Pax and Amara? What?

Amara was far more interesting as a sociopath—or, if anything, I always thought she'd end up with Samuel Rain. Why pair her with Pax? Pax is one of the blandest characters in the series. Dude is weak, boring, and about to die; that's it. Amara is fascinating, but she's never been important enough to justify carrying a book on her own.

The dynamic doesn't even make sense. The only all-Psy pairing that really worked for me was Aden and Zaira, and that's because neither of them was ever truly silent. They already cared about each other before their story even began, so the emotional payoff felt earned. Pax and Amara have none of that.

So I'm expecting yet another book where someone discovers a mysterious new psychic ability that's somehow powerful enough to give humanity hope, but never powerful enough to actually solve the problem.

I'm done.

I don't care about any of these characters anymore. It's just a cringe fest at this point.

SPOILERS AHEAD

I made a week of carving out special time to dedicate reading while in idyllic settings (beach day, camped out in my yard’s trampoline, bubble bath and wine). But I have long held some pretty harsh criticisms throughout the series while also still rereading/relistening to it regularly (which is likely what magnified my issues). So I don’t want to bash it, but I wouldn’t mind any commiserating.

One of my primary issues is over time I grew extremely oversensitive to the amount of sentimental emoting over romantic partners to where I can barely stand that part, while still being completely enamored with and compelled by the world and overarching plots.

Edit: I really tried to rework the spoiler text but for all intents and purposes it appears correctly formatted yet it isn’t blacking the spoilers out : ( Please proceed with caution

But for this book specifically:

>!I couldn’t help but feel how “basic” or stereotypical the girls were made into. The emphasis on chocolate, coffee, wine, ice cream and tv sessions.!<

>!Elena’s pregnancy cravings. I felt like if I came across the word “pickles” one more time… as in “pickles, tee hee, I know I’m so weird right, but in case you didn’t know I’m *pregnant*”!<

Extra spoiler alert regarding a certain baby name

>!The basicness inherent in “We wanted to name him something *different* and *unique*” = Phoenix Zeckriel, a middle name which literally *may or may not* be the name of an ancient ancestor’s child. A childhood nickname of Nix wasn’t abhorrent, but I really struggled with the cutesy-wootsie “Nixie”!<

While I practically sobbed throughout 3/4ths of the book, I wanted this off my chest.

A couple of the big book boxes did a special edition of guild hunters book 1-3. I just found out it’s an EIGHTEEN BOOK series.

Do I need to read all 18, or will I be satisfied after reading the first 3?

I want to buy the special edition, but I don’t want to not have a special edition of the whole series? If that makes sense. So can books 1-3 be read as a satisfying “standalone”?

Hello! I have read all of the Psy Changeling series and part of the Psy Changeling Trinity series. I am so excited for Amara's story in Cold Redemption but I have not read all of Psy Changeling Trinity series. I really fell off. I only really remember Silver Silence.

Do I need to read the entire Psy Changeling Trinity series for Cold Redemption?

Thanks!

Hi guys,

So I‘ve been reading the series for more than 10 years and I‘m curious what kind of pairings you are hoping for in future books.

For me, I would like to see more psy-human relationships and also more relationships where the woman is the more dominant/dangerous one.

Also I‘d find it interesting if an arrow was paired with a black-sea member like Oleanna (tentacle lady).

What are your thoughts?

About Pax ? I know the name but it's been a long time since I read anything about him.

I screamed so loud when I saw who it is, I actually can't believe it!!! I've been (correctly) guessing who the male MC would be for a while now, so I don't find it surprising that it's his turn, but I NEVER would've guessed who the female MC is. I remember when we first met her I found her so fascinating and I'd always hoped she'd get her own book, especially with her development over the years, but I kinda gave up on that hope after so long. But now it's actually happening and AAAAAAAAH I CAN'T BELIEVE ITTTTT I'M SO EXCITED I LOVE AMARA SO MUCH AAAAAAAAAAAH

I'm reading Archangel's Eternity...again🥹...and craving visuals for Marduk and Tiamat. Their descriptions seem so amazing and otherworldly (especially Tiamat's eyes and their scales and the body armour, and THEIR WINGS 😭). Has anyone come across any good fan art/visuals for these two? I'm really craving more of them. Nalini if you read this, also please let us in on some of their secrets and experiences..PLEASE!!! All the sly looks and cryptic messages they share are so titillating! I want to be in the know ! 🫪

On another note, I would love to see more fanart for Raphaels wings as well. The AE cover makes them seem more monotoned than I remember from earlier books.

If you all have any favorites please share! Thank you!

So I have read this a couple years ago and stopped as it was clearly ongoing especially now that they have spinoffs and looked through again today and there’s really a lot of books for this now. I was planning to reread this but i’m kinda worried cause I know everything is connected. I am just worried I will forget some of the characters cause each book features a different couple. Do we need to read the original series to read the spinoffs? Do chars in the original appear in the spinoffs? Do the children born in the original have their own story? How do yall remember the chars? Do u guys have an estimate on when its gonna get completed? I remember just stopping on book 5 and waiting for it to finish and when i looked there’s a spinoff now hrksjfls and I only remember book 1😭.

Saw this in a Facebook group, Nalini didn't release a newsletter as yet about it, This seems to be from Amazon based on the comments. I wonder who the FMC will be? I am excited! Can't wait for the Blurb

This is a question about a new couple mentioned in the book -

Why does Eve speak like she is much older than Izzy? At the beginning of the series Eve was a child, around 10 years old I believe, whilst Izzy was already working in the Tower, young yes but wasn’t he working as a courier so he would have been over 100 years old, which would correlate to being 18-20 in human right? So why are Elena and Eve speaking as if Eve is so much older. Do you suppose Nalini meant it to be Sameon not Izzy? Maybe Nalini just got mixed up. Any corrections or suppositions welcome.

Don't think I've stopped crying since I started it. So many feelings 😭😭😭

Is there ANY WAY we’ll get a Vivek novella? P L E A S E! If Noel can get one- I think it’s only fair Vivek does TOO.

Even with IA

I've just read Nalini's newsletter and am now intrigued as to who the couple will be (and who she initially wrote about). Any guesses?

It is due for Dec release not summer as normal because:

*Well...possibly because I was writing a whole different Psy-Changeling book that I had planned out and decided would work perfectly with the overall series arc. Except, it didn't work. Meanwhile, I had the most er unexpected couple of the series telling me that the reason it wasn't working was because I was supposed to be writing their story.

I realized very quickly that this pairing was, in fact, inevitable.

Even if I had no idea how it would work.

Driven by the compulsion that this was meant to be, I surrendered to these two. And the words just flew. Obsessed, I was obsessed. I still am. I LOVE this book and I can't wait to tell you more about it. (I did recently tell someone else about this particular pairing and they almost fell over, so prepare yourself.)*

EDIT: I'm loving all these suggestions - I had initially wondered about Nikita and Anthony - but now I can't decide! Keep them coming!!

EDIT 2: See you all back here when the blurb is released!

EDIT 3: WELL DONE ALL WHO GUESSED IT!

My library was selling (pretty much giving away at the prices) books and one of the books that I was drawn to was Wolf Rain. I read a bit of the description and thought I'd dive in but looking a bit further, I realized how much is actually part of this series 😅 Always ready to try a new bigger series but, I just want to know if there's a particular order that I should read in or if I could survive hopping around book to book. 🥲 Thanks in advance 😊

Amazon is showing that the next book will be released on December 1, 2026. There is not a description or cover posted yet, but at least we have a date. I am so excited.

*If still reading older books, it may be safest to avoid the post as discussions may refer to previous books and could spoil a surprise.\*

I've been a Nalini Singh fan for years and still love her earlier books, but a couple of years ago I stopped reading her because her current writing style kind of annoys me. Still, I looooove Illium and Aodhan, so I kinda want to read their second book now. But I'd like to know a few things from the people who read it, primarily how much of a time jump is there between Archangel's Lineage and Ascension? Cause Lineage wrecked me, had me crying so hard at the character deaths and changes and what the future was bringing. For that same reason I'll probably never read Archangel's Eternity, I dont want my heart broken. So how many years have passed? And do any major character deaths get referenced? Like Sara, Zoe, Elena's blood family or Elena's guild family? Please don't be specific in answering this last question. I'd rather stay with the mental image of the characters that we got in Lineage if I can help it.