I've read so many books I couldn't finish lately, that this one wins big points just being well written. I was worried that I had somehow lost the ability to read romances, but here is a book with a strong romantic core, a reasonably complex world, part of a series where you meet characters you knew before. The men are suitably angst ridden, the women strong but still in need of rescuing. I loved it!

Tally and Clay were childhood friends but when Clay violently kills Tally's abuser (he's a leopard changeling, she gets covered in hre foster father's gore) he's sent to prison and she to another foster home and then they don't meet again for another 20 years. Clay knows that Tally is his, but convincing her of that takes some (but not too much) work. I liked how Talin's hunger for a relationship is shown, how she so wants to belong somewhere. I believed them as a couple, and believed their love for one another - which hasn't happened to me so much lately, so I was pleased to be in the solidly competent hands of Nalini Singh. I like this series and will keep buying it. ( )

Clay Bennett is a DarkRiver sentinel with a haunted past. After losing himself to his leopard side as a youth and killing a man in a murderous rage over the violation of his young friend Talin, Clay has been left with internal scars. He was lead to believe that Talin died soon after the incident and he's been dealing with her death ever since. But when he finds out that Talin was never dead and now needs his help, it is hard for Clay to reconcile the new Talin with the one he loved as a kid.

Talin McKade is damaged from childhood abuse and the only thing she finds solace in is helping troubled youths find a better path. With the increase in disappearances and deaths of children once in her care, Talin finds she needs help finding the killer. After years of letting her best friend Clay think that she had died, Talin now seeks the sentinel out--in hopes that he will be able to help her solve the kidnapping of one of her charges and the murders of the other's.

Clay and Talin will have to face their past demons and deal with a burning mutual attraction while they set out on a mission to uncover the truth behind the dead children and save one child before it is too late.

I wanted to love Mine to Possess, but I didn't. The reason why I didn't has everything to do with Talin, she bothered me like no other Nalini Singh heroine ever has. In fact, I've liked all of Singh's heroines up until Talin. I tried to cut her some slack because of her horrible childhood, but as the story progressed I liked her less and less. I've never said this about a heroine before, but I think that Talin's character would have fared better has she warmed up to Clay a little sooner in the story. Her being so cold to him, and blaming him for a past that was beyond his control made her unlikable.

There was also the fact that she led Clay to believe that she was dead for years and acted like she was justified in doing so when he called her out on it. Maybe if her reasoning for it were more palatable, I could have bought it. But as it was, it just made me like her even less. By the time Talin finally came around, I was of the mind that Clay deserved better than her, and no longer cared about their love story.

However, I was interested in the mystery of the disappearing kids, and liked the way it unfolded. Though, it is revealed early on who is behind the crimes, I enjoyed reading it all play out. I do have to wonder if the Psy will continue to be portrayed as the villains in this series? The humans and changeling's have some bad seeds, too, right? Anyway, the strong point in the series is the world that Ms. Singh has created. I've said it before (forgive me while I say it again) the world building is superb, and not found so seamlessly done in most paranormal romances. ( )

Mine to Possess is the fourth novel in the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh. Not technically due out until today, I was able to get my hands on it a little earlier and I absorbed it last night. After going back through my site and realizing I haven’t reviewed one of her books yet, I’m kind of shocked with myself. Singh is such an awesome story teller that this is one of those series I’m planning on buying. She throws us into a whole new world while not deviating from what we know, her characters have depth and personality, and the plot keeps you interested while moving at a good pace.

Mine to Possess was no different. Just like with her other books, Nalini made it hard for me to put this novel down. I was up until after midnight just so I could finish it. Her previous novels involved relationships between Changelings and the Psy, but this time around she throws together a Changeling and a human who is .03% Psy. Instead of having to deal with the cold emotionless Psy upbringing, Clay and Talin have a horrific past they must overcome. They were separated over 20 years ago and that action left multiple scars that they both have to deal with. On top of that, they are searching for a couple of her missing children and uncover something far more devious. We’re sent through a roller coaster of emotions and it never once gets slow or dull. Overall this book was awesome and I’m so excited for the next installment.

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**Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques**

A lifetime ago, Changeling Clay Bennett lost his freedom, as well as the only girl he loved. Although both were children at the time, his leopard knew his mate when it saw her. But a cruel twist of fate tore them apart, and when Clay was finally freed, he learned that young Talin had died years earlier.

Now a DarkRiver Sentinel, he has made a home with the powerful pack in San Francisco, but his beast walks a fine line between sanity and insanity, threatening the loss of his humanity. When Talin McKade turns up not only alive, but in need of his aid, he finds his salvation. Her presence stirs emotions he thought long forsaken to him and the leopard in him demands to take its mate.

But Talin has been damaged, scarred by the tragedies in her past and their shared history. Clay must tread carefully if he is to convince his mate that they belong together.

Through it all, Talin and Clay work together to save the children that have gone missing, only to have their bodies turn up later, gruesomely battered. The truth behind the murders is even more diabolical than they could imagine.

With the very first book in her Psy-Changeling series, Nalini Singh made this reviewer an instant fan! With seemingly effortless world building, she crafted a fascinating universe that is part science fiction, part paranormal, and part suspense – three genres that happen to be among my favorites. Yet through each book, she has kept the romance first and foremost, with stories that never fail to capture the hearts of the reader even as the hero and heroine are finding love with one another.

Mine to Possess exemplifies this perfectly. With Clay Bennett and Talin McKade, Ms. Singh delivers a couple with a long and tormented history. Although separated years earlier, their love for each other never wavered, and each of them do whatever they believe necessary to protect the other at all costs.

From the very beginning, the author engenders empathy for both of the main characters, as well as a feeling of familiarity. Of course, we have met Clay previously in the earlier books, even if we didn’t get to know him intimately. Talin, however, is a stranger to us when the story begins, but she somehow never really feels like one. Indeed, from page one, I wanted to know this woman, discover where she had come from, what she was doing there, and most importantly – why she was watching Clay.

When we really get to know Talin, we find a woman who is courageous and caring, despite her troubled past and a bleak future. She’ll do anything for the people she cares about, even at her own expense – much to Clay’s dismay and utter frustration.

Of course, Clay shares the very qualities that so worry him in Talin. Being a hero, it is only natural that he prefers to be the one who takes all the risks while the woman he loves is safe and sound at home. Even still, Clay respects the woman that Talin has grown into and it isn’t long before he realizes he loves here even more now than he did when they were children.

As fans have come to expect with Singh’s Psy-Changeling saga, there is a very intriguing suspense woven throughout Mine to Possess, and our intrepid couple will stop at nothing to solve it before it is too late. Easier said than done. Although their immediate mission is, of course, successful in the end, the ongoing story arc continues as the Psy threat to humanity and Changelings alike grows even more.

Anyone who enjoys a well-written paranormal romance will love not only Mine to Possess, but the entire Psy-Changeling series. Bear in mind that with the continuing storylines that span the books, they are best read in series order, with the exception of the novella Beat of Temptation published in the anthology An Enchanted Season. That story is a prequel and can easily be read out of order. If you are new to the series, be sure to buy all of them at once. Once you get started, you won’t want to stop reading this series until you’ve reached the last one!

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