Author: Nalini Singh
Date of Publication: February 5, 2008
Formats Available: Paperback, E-Book
Buy This Book: Amazon
Synopsis: Clay Bennett is a powerful DarkRiver sentinel, but he grew up in the slums with his human mother, never knowing his changeling father. As a young boy without the bonds of Pack, he tried to stifle his animal nature. He failed...and committed the most extreme act of violence, killing a man and losing his best friend, Talin, in the bloody aftermath. Everything good in him died the day he was told that she, too, was dead.
Talin McKade barely survived a childhood drenched in bloodshed and terror. Now a new nightmare is stalking her life--the street children she works to protect are disappearing and turning up dead. Determined to keep them safe, she unlocks the darkest secret in her heart and returns to ask the help of the strongest man she knows...
Clay lost Talin once. He will not let her go again, his hunger to possess her, a clawing need born of the leopard within. As they race to save the innocent, Clay and Talin must face the violent truths of their past...or lose everything that ever mattered.
My Review:
The first time I read Mine to Possess I loved this novel, however the second time around wasn't quite all I remembered it being. The romance was still good and I enjoyed the secondary plot about the kidnapped children but something about this book didn't click with me the same way it did the first time around. Maybe it was the slightly laughable writing or the falseness of the characters but it just wasn't the same.
As in most romance novels Clay had the whole "she's mine and I'm so possessive its almost scary" mentality, which I can't stand. It didn't used to bother me so much but the more books I read, ones with truly good romances, the more that mentality starts to annoy me. There is no depth to the feelings Clay has for Talin, sure there are some parts about him needing to protect her and them bonding over her abused childhood, but these moments just don't ring true.
I really enjoyed the secondary story/mystery about the kidnapped children. Even though it took a backseat to the romance I thought that the mystery was the stronger part of the novel. I liked how Singh occasionally switched between different characters involved in the kidnappings and gave us a peek into the world of the mysterious Psy. The idea of using the children to test for a hive mind and the strangeness of the murders added a fascinating angle to the plot.
For the most part I liked the writing but there were a few moments where some Singh's descriptions were just laughable, especially when they were about Clay. Despite that Singh did a wonderful job with the writing, it was just the characters that made me a little wary about this novel. On a side note even though Mine to Possess is considered the fourth novel in the Psy-Changeling series (and I hadn't read any of the others) I had no trouble understanding what was going on or following the plot.
I'm not going to say Mine to Possess was a bad book, because it really isn't. I can understand how some people would love it (I even loved it once upon a time) but it just didn't click with me this time around. Paranormal romance fans will no doubt love this novel.
3/5
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