Hello
everyone! How is the reading going???
Here, on
Raunchy, Rude Reader's blog, we keep reading and suggesting the books we like, hoping
you will like them too!
This is about to change, since I decided that I will introduce you to my favorite PNR authors!
“Paranormal fiction, also called supernatural
fiction or speculative fiction, is a specific type of fantasy fiction.
Paranormal stories encompass elements of the paranormal, such as ghosts,
vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and any sort of magical or otherworldly
creatures. This type of fiction often goes beyond fact and logical explanations
to speculate about the things that cannot be seen or proved, such as
extrasensory perception (ESP) and alien life. There are several different
categories of paranormal fiction, such as young adult (YA) fantasy, urban
fantasy, supernatural horror, and paranormal romance.”
I have to
warn you that I do not really like horror but I …..
On today’s
post, I will tell you about the amazing Nalini Singh.
Nalini
Singh started by writing contemporary romance, but she became famous with her
“Psy – Chalenging” series.
She
introduces us to her world, where there are 3 races: the humans, as we know
them, the Psy, a race with extraordinary powers which has chosen to condition
themselves not to feel emotions, and the changelings, various shifters (though
we currently see only 2 packs, leopards and wolves, several species are
mentioned) with their unique abilities, due to their animal side.
Needless to
say that Psy and changelings do not work well together…..
“The changelings had had enough. Enough of Psy arrogance. Enough of Psy
politics. Enough of Psy manipulation. Decades of resentment and fury had built
up into a powder keg that the Psy had unknowingly ignited with their latest
atrocity.
Now it was war.
And one very unusual Psy was about to be
trapped in the middle.” (Slave to Sensation, 2006)
Or do they????
“Lucas drew Sascha’s attention back to him.
Part of it was because he thought her far too dangerous to leave to anyone
else. But part of it was because he didn’t like her being fascinated by anyone
or anything except him. Given his possessive nature, that could turn out to be
a problem. A big one.”(Slave to Sensation)
And that is
simply the beginning!!!
Her
Psy/Changeling books revolve around
pairs in the mating dance,
“Putting his hands palms down on either side of
her, he glowered. “A male doesn’t hurt his mate.”
And there it was. The reason her gorgeous,
generous, laughing lover had turned into a crazed beast without warning.
The words seemed to penetrate his mind at the
same moment. “We’re in the mating dance.”
They stared at each other for several long
minutes. Then Drew began to smile, his eyes shifting from blue to copper and
back again. “We’re in the mating dance.””( Play of Passion, 2010)
possesive
men,
“"How old were you when they started
training you?" he asked his Psy. He'd found her first. Therefore, she was
his. It was the cat talking and Vaughn didn't feel like arguing.” (Visions of
Heat, 2007)
women who
know what they want,
““I don’t need a mate,” she muttered, staring
up at the bright circle of the early autumn moon.
“But can’t you send me a nice, sexy, strong
male to dance with? Pretty please?” She hadn’t had a lover for close to eight
months now, and it was starting to hurt on every level.
“He doesn’t even have to be smart, just good
between the sheets.” Good enough to unsnap the tension in her body, allow her
to function again. Because sex wasn’t simply about pleasure for a cat like
her—it was about affection, about trust, about everything good. “Though right
this second, I’d take plain old hot sex.”
That was when Riley walked out of the shadows.
“Got an itch, kitty?” (Branded by Fire, 2009)
and are
ready to fight for it,
““I’d rather watch you take a lover than die at
my hands.”
She knew how much those words must’ve tortured
him. Even now, the air was staining bloodred with anger. “And would you let
that man live?” she whispered.
No response. That gave her hope even when hope
seemed impossible. “Then we fight, Judd.” She dared to place her hand gently on
his chest. He flinched but didn’t move away. “We fight until every avenue is
closed and then we dig under the roadblocks. Because I am not walking away from
us.” Strong words, but she was shaking. He could destroy her with a few
careless comments.” (Caressed by Ice, 2007)
and though
the men can be very decisive about their woman
(continues from the last expert),
““You’re the strongest, most determined woman I
know.” He played his fingers along the strands of her hair. “You’d make
mincemeat out of a lesser man. It’s a good thing you belong to me.”
Relief almost collapsed her knees. “Not funny.”
“I’m serious.” Something very male moved over
his face. “If you say yes now, I won’t let you go if you decide I’m not what
you want later on down the road. You say yes, you say yes forever. Be sure.”
For a single taut second, she was afraid of the
possession in that voice, the implacability in his eyes. Judd was no tame wolf
who would do whatever she wanted. He was complicated and dominant and more than
a little bad.
And he was hers, no matter that the mating bond
didn’t exist between them. She didn’t need that validation. Not with her dark
angel. “If I ever want freedom, I’ll get it.” Men like Judd needed to know
their women had claws.” (Caressed by Ice)
frustration
is definitely there!
““Keep pushing, baby,” he murmured in that low,
deep voice that touched places in her body it had no business touching. “We’ll
see what it gets you.”
“Frustration!” she said, throwing caution to
the winds on an adrenalinefueled rush of courage. “That’s all it’s ever gotten
me. If sexual attraction followed any kind of a logical rule, I’d be in bed
with Kit right now instead of sitting next to a man too scared to take a
chance.”” (Kiss of Snow, 2011)
Their
mating bond can only be described as the most beautiful thing that ever
happened to them!
They are
willing to put their lives in danger just to protect each other, their devotion
to each other, so unique!
““Except I never had a prayer when it came to you.
You’re in my every breath and every thought, intertwined so deep inside me that
love’s not a strong enough word—you have my devotion, your name branded on my
soul, my wolf yours to command. A hundred years? It’ll never be enough. I want
eternity.”
Tears, slow and quiet, ran down Sienna’s
cheeks.
He wasn’t finished. “You have the power to tear
me to pieces, to wound me so deep and true that I’ll never recover. What
Rissa’s death did to the boy I was? You have the ability to do a thousand times
worse to the man I’ve become. Some part of me knew that was a possibility from
the instant you walked into my life—so I tried to keep you at arm’s length even
as I demanded everything you had. I was a coward.”” (Kiss of Snow)
But fair
warning!!! Not all pairs are mated *wink wink*….. Those details are up to you
to find out!
Nalini
Singh, did not stay at shifters…. She has also written the "Guild Hunter"
series in a whole different context.
In these
series we get to see mainly one couple, Elena and Raphael.
A “too
tall female with pale, almost white hair and silver eyes”, Elena is not
your average woman. What makes her even more special, is the fact that she is
hunter born! She can track vampires by their scent and she is one of the best
(if not THE BEST).
Raphael on
the other hand….
“She took a deep breath and a step backward
before turning to face him. The impact hit her like a physical blow. He was . .
. “Beautiful.” Eyes of such pure undiluted blue it was as if some heavenly
artist had crushed sapphires into his paints and then colored in the irises
with the finest of brushes.
She was still reeling from the visual shock
when a sudden wind swept across the rooftop, lifting up strands of his black
hair. But black was too tame a word for it. It was so pure it held echoes of
the night, vivid and passionate. Cut in careless layers that stopped at the
nape of his neck, it bared the sharp angles of his face and made her fingers
curl with the urge to stroke.
Yes, he was beautiful, but it was the beauty of
a warrior or a conqueror. This man had power stamped on every inch of his skin,
every piece of his flesh. And that was before she took in the exquisite
perfection of his wings. The feathers were a soft white and appeared dusted
with gold. But when she concentrated, she saw the truth—each individual
filament of each individual feather bore a golden tip.” ( Angel’s Blood, 2009)
In a world
ruled by Archangels, where mortals are at the bottom of the food chain, The Guild
exists to protect humans against vampires (mostly). How do vampires fit in the
equation, you will ask….
Though it’s a secret on how exactly they are Made, it
is common knowledge that the angels make them (you have Archangels, so you must
have angels, too!!).
Except you
must never confuse them with your average guardian – angel of the other stories!
These creatures are dangerous!!
””Will you not look at me, Elena?”
“No.” She continued to stare upward. “I look at
you and things get confused.”
A male chuckle, low, husky . . . and inside her
mind. “Avoiding my gaze gains you nothing.”
“Didn’t think so,” she said softly, anger a
dark ember in her gut. “Is that how you get your kicks—forcing women to worship
at your feet?”
Silence. Then the sound of wings unfurling and
snapping shut. “You are using up your lives.”” ( Angel’s Blood)
And while,
as we said before, we see mostly Elena and Raphael, Nalini has also written the
stories of three of the Seven (Raphael’s elite guard, his most loyal and lethal
men).
And since I
am drown to *ahem* difficult men, my favorite of the Seven is Dmitri, a vampire
so dangerous and yet so loyal, that he is Raphael’s second ,
““Do they still have their tongues?” he asked
Andreas, noticing the fact that both men had been turned into eunuchs, their
penises and testicles removed with what appeared to have been dull blades. They
were vampires. The parts would grow back—which was when Andreas would order
their removal once more. Without anesthetic.
“I was planning to have them cut out again
tomorrow.”
Dmitri felt no disgust at the brutality of the
ongoing punishment, not when he had an excellent idea of the horrors these
males had inflicted on Honor for their sexual gratification. “Leave it for now.
I might need to question them again.”” (Archangel’s Blade, 2011)
yet so
sensual, that women come crawling to him, even when they know that he enjoys
pleasure mixed with pain,
“Her hands clenched on the lapels of his suit.
“Anything, Dmitri.”
“You don’t want to say that to me.” He allowed
the cold, dark predator within him to rise to the surface, to fill his eyes as
he lowered his voice to hold pure, silken menace. “I don’t play nice and I
never stop when asked.” Raising his finger, he touched it almost delicately to
her cheekbone, the violence in him a pitiless blade as a result of the memories
that had suddenly begun to surface. “Do you want me to hurt you?”
Carmen went white, didn’t resist when one of
the vampires on watch put a hand on her arm at Dmitri’s minute nod.
Watching her go, he turned to Honor. “Now,
you,” he murmured, having never lost awareness of the staccato beat of her
pulse, the jagged spike of her breath, the subtle complexity of her scent.
“You, I want to say those words to me.””.
For those
of you still not convinced to read Nalini Singh’s paranormal books, there
always is the Rock Kiss series. You can find my reviews here and here for the
first 2 books, as I am impatiently waiting for the next one!
Meet the
Author
NEW YORK
TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter
series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous
angels. This time around, she decided to write about hot and wickedly tempting
rock stars. If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.
Nalini
lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If
you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first
book in the Psy-Changeling series, whileAngels’ Blood is the
first book in the Guild Hunter series. Also, don't forget to swing by the site
to check out the special behind-the-scenes
page for the Rock Kiss series, complete with photos
of many of the locations used in the books.
Bestseller Lists
The fourth
book in Nalini’s Psy/Changeling series, Mine to Possess, hit the
Extended New York Times Bestseller list. Her next book, Hostage to Pleasure,
hit the printed list.
Since then,
six more of her books have hit the New York Times Bestseller list, with Blaze
of Memory hitting at #8, while both Play of Passion and Archangel’s
Kiss hit at #9.
Nalini’s
books have also consistently hit the USA Today Bestseller list, and the
Publishers Weekly Bestseller list. The German translations of her books have
hit the Spiegel Bestseller list.
Awards
2010: Play
of Passion, Bonds of Justice, and the character Elena from Archangel's
Kiss have all been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Awards.
Blaze of
Memory, Angels'
Blood, Branded By Fire, and the Must Love Hellhounds anthology
win PEARL Awards in several different categories
2009: Mine
to Possess is nominated for the prestigious RITA Award run by the Romance
Writers of America.
Angels’
Blood wins the
award for Favorite Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Futuristic Romance at the Australian
Romance Readers Association Awards, while the Psy/Changeling Series wins
the award for Favorite Continuing Romance Series
“Stroke of
Enticement” in The Magical Christmas Cat wins the Sir Julius Vogel Award
for Best Novella
2008: Caressed
By Ice wins a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award.
2007: “Beat
of Temptation” in An Enchanted Season wins the Sir Julius Vogel Award
for Best Novella
No comments:
Post a Comment