Lately, I have been reading more of high fantasy, gothic, and horrors. Nalini Singh is one of my favorite authors who specialises in urban paranormal fantasy. Her Psy/Changeling series is quite popular among fantasy readers, so I decided to catch up on them.
This series is not only spectacular but unique because of its immersive worldbuilding. Its centered on an evolved world where psy, changelings and humans live together. The psy are enhanced psychically with superpowers, and devoid of emotions. The changeling are human shapeshifters who transform into animals like wolves, wild cats, birds etc.
This series is in two seasons. I will be reviewing the second book in the season two - Ocean Light.
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance.
Published: 12th June 2018
Pages: 403
Synopsis
This book is centered on Bowen Knight, a human and the head of the Human Alliance, and a BlackSea changeling (sea creature) Kaia Luna, a chef working deep underneath the sea.
An attempt to assassinate his sister had taken place but Bowen, being protective, put himself in the line of fire. He sustained an injury to his heart and would have died but mysteriously awakens from a medically-induced coma in the BlackSea Changeling medical facility.
He woke up to discover something terribly wrong with his brain. The chip implanted to protect his mind from the Psy’s telepathic interference had begun to deteriorate. It became a ticking time bomb in his head, but there’s only one person with the medical expertise to fix it.
On the other hand, Kaia Luna did not trust the humans and psy races because of the tragic loss of her parents. Something was happening to the BlackSea - someone was killing and selling them. This put them all on high alert. So when she and her pack were tasked to nurse Bowen back to health, she struggled. Who was killing the BlackSea race and why? Could Bowen earn Kaia’s trust and help her save her race? Would Kaia be willing to forgive the past and let her walls down?
My Review And Rating.
Ocean Lights is a fantastic and well written book in the psy/changeling series that takes you on a ride to the sea world. I love that this author builds this world in an enticing way. It's immersive and interesting. This book expounds on the beauty of the ocean and its bed, how the sea creatures (BlackSea race) relate and live their lives.
The plot is excellent, blending science tech, mystery, crime with romance as a subplot. The narration is well done, easing readers into the story and world without confusion or stress. The themes are centered on betrayal, love, family dynamics and how human ambitions and activities negatively impact the sea world. Though this might seem like fiction, I believe this author kind of depicts the struggles of the ocean creatures and how humans are killing them for various reasons.
The characters are well developed. I love the two lead characters - Kaia and Bowen. They are well suited and their chemistry is convincing despite their past traumas and secrets. Bowen is depicted as a courageous, loyal character and authority figure. He bridged the human relationship with the BlackSea as well as forming allies with the Psy. This enhanced the status of the humans in this world as he worked with Kaia to save her race.
Rating this book, I will give it 3.5 stars out of 5. It was well written and the ocean world pulled me into the story. Though the action was less than other books in this series, I still enjoyed it. I'll read further into this series and hope to review them. I'd recommend this book and the entire series to all fantasy lovers.
All images above are from my E-library
Header images compiled in Canva.
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