Primal Mirror is the eighth novel of the Psy-Changeling Trinity Series (or the 23rd novel of the Psy-Changeling Series) by Nalini Singh.
Finshed on: 10.8.2024
[Here are my reviews of the other books.]

Content Note: forced pregnancy

Plot:
Auden Scott is the daughter of two of the most notorious Psy councilors, but she never lived up to their expectations. Even though both of her parents are dead, Auden still fails to be the daughter they wanted, even more so since she had a critical brain injury that leaves her with gaps in her memory. During one of such gaps, she was impregnated, and while she can’t remember conceiving the baby, she knows that she wants to protect it. Trying to find a safe space, she comes to a remote plot of land that her parents owned and that sits right in changeling territory. Leopard alpha Remi watches the new arrival with confusion: there is something about Auden that feels wrong, but also something that feels very, very right indeed.

The Psy-Changeling Series is a long-running series indeed, and one that I still love to read, although the newer books lack the exciting freshness of the first few a little. Primal Mirror had me rooting much more for the central couple than the last few books, though, and feels like more of a return to the old form.

It is understandable that the 23rd book in a series won’t feel as fresh as the first one, and there is absolutely charm in roughly knowing the way these books unfold and how the world works. And the world-building here is still extensive and interesting, although it feels a little like it has been treading water for a while. It’s time that something bigger happens in the overarching plot than just pushing the doomsday clock back a few minutes, like has been the case here.

But the main event of any book is and always has been the romance, and in that regard, I really have no complaints with Primal Mirror. Being back with leopard changelings, albeit a different pack, felt a bit like coming home into my favorite parts of the series, and Remi is a wonderful character. Hopefully, we will get many more stories with his pack – there are enough hints at possible protagonists of next installments here that this is very much in the realm of possibility.

It was Auden, though, who really stole my heart. I guessed rather early on what her deal was, but I thought that Singh handled this very well. Her fight for her child and for herself was really exciting to read about. I was absolutely invested in her story and the way she finds into her own. (Remi was the perfect partner for that, giving her so much space.)

In any case, despite some weaknesses and a little staleness, I am still here for the series and its characters and its world, and am looking forward to the next book.

Summarizing: one of my favorites in this long series.