Silver Silence: Book 1 (Psy-Changeling Trinity, #1)

by Nalini Singh

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to her extraordinary Psy-Changeling world with a story of wild passion and darkest betrayal . . .

Control. Precision. Family. These are the principles that drive Silver Mercant. At a time when the fledgling Trinity Accord seeks to unite a divided world, with Silver playing a crucial role as director of a worldwide emergency response network, wildness and chaos are the last things she needs in her life. But that's exactly what Valentin Nikolaev, alpha of the StoneWater bears, brings with him.

Valentin has never met a more fascinating woman. Though Silver is ruled by Silence - her mind clear of all emotion - Valentin senses a whisper of fire around her. That's what keeps him climbing apartment buildings to be near her. But when a shadow assassin almost succeeds in poisoning Silver, the stakes become deadly serious . . . and Silver finds herself in the heart of a powerful bear clan.

Her would-be assassin has no idea what their poison has unleashed . . .

• ISBN10: 1473217571
• ISBN13: 9781473217577
• Publish Date: 15 June 2017 (first published 1 June 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 29 March 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

Ever since finishing up the Psy-Changeling series last year as part of Anne's Readalong, I've been excited to pick up the Trinity series. This book did not disappoint and I'm thrilled to be back in this world. Anne and I are buddy reading the Trilogy Series for Can You Read a Series in a Month? Challenge and she also gave it 4 stars.

I was happy to see that this book picked up pretty much immediately where Pys-Changeling finished, making for a fairly seamless transition. And I already knew I was interested in Silver Mercant, so I was happy to start with her story. I enjoyed getting to know her better, and even more significantly, the insides of the Mercant Clan. Her grandmother is a delightful mix of ruthless and (surprisingly, for a supposedly silent Psy) loving. Silver is a very strong-willed character, not someone easily intimidated. One of my favorite lines (repeatedly frequently) is "Silver Fucking Mercant" because it is really truly accurate. I loved watching the work she's doing for the emergency response group () - not only because she handles it so skillfuly, but also it's just always heartwarming to see people united for a common good in face of tragedy. It always makes my eyes water a bit.

It was also nice to be in a different changeling group than the two favored in Psy-Changeling - this time we're with the bears. And OMG I loved them. The way they're so rowdy and everyone just expects damage when they are at a party/restaurant - but at the same time they love them and they are always welcome, which speaks volumes to how good natured they are. Valentin is an amazing alpha, especially in dealing with a somewhat broken clan (not to mention his own internal pain and loss). I loved watching him court Silver - he was so respectful of her boundaries and playfully flirtatious at the same time.

I think my only frustration was the larger series arc plot progression. The last book in Psy-Changeling had left things at a precarious point where the Consortium and HATMA were concerned, not to mention the guy at the top of my shit list - Ming. And not only was Ming only mentioned tangentially, but we had very minor progress in the other areas. There was one major plot point - regarding Humans and Psy - that was at least a focal point, even if no real progress was made. I'm guessing as the first book in this new series, these plot points were being reestablished and I'm hoping we'll see more progress on them moving forward.

There were mostly just brief references with the characters that we've grown to love, with a couple guest appearances from Kaleb, Ivy, and Ashaya. I think that was it. I missed them, but I'm excited to grow to love a whole new cast.

I'm really glad this series is also narrated by Angela Dawe. She delivers a truly fantastic performance and her accents (this was in Russia, with some snippets of actual Russian) was very believable. I look forward to listening to more!

[wyvernfriend]

engaging This was the book that made our kitten very happy, because she had her human beside her for longer as I read "a few more pages" before getting up properly.
Silver Mercant lives with absolute control over her life, after all her life depends on it. Valentin Nikolaev is a were-bear and determined to disrupt her regular life. Thankfully so when she keels over from poisoning he's on the scene and able to help ensure that things aren't as bad as they could be. Afterwards he brings her to the Bear home and they find out how much they mean to each other.
The roadbumps are interesting and I liked how things were resolved.

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

4.5 stars

BEARS!! I’ve seen so much around about this book before I was able to get my hands on the audio. As much as I try to avoid reviews before tackling a book that I know I’m going to read, there are some things that you just can’t avoid. With this book, it was all about BEARS.

I’ve loved the changelings ever since I met them in Slave to Sensation (back in 2010). It took a little bit longer for me to really love the Psy, but they grew on me. I didn’t even mind the Psy/Psy pairings that happen later in the series. But now, we have a new species of changeling making an appearance and in a new part of the world.

Silver Mercant is a character that has been around for a while. She is the Psy assistant to Kaleb Krycheck. She has a very rare designation as a pure Telepath. Her kind were pretty much extinct before Silence. They didn’t make it out of childhood because they couldn’t control their powers. She was never in full Silence and didn’t have the pain blocks that most other Psy had, but she doesn’t see how she could leave Silence even as most of the other Psy are. She’s also the current head of Em Net. She’s helping to bring the three races together (human, Psy and Changeling) together to help disaster relief.

Valentin Niklaev is a Russian bear who is also the alpha of the very powerful StoneWater Clan. However, his clan has a few issues right now, which it has been able to keep under wraps for now, but how long before it gets out to the world and it weakens him as a leader and the clan?

This is a great addition to the Psy-Changeling series and a good start to the new Psy-Changeling Trinity series. I’ve seen a few people who’ve said that they had no problems starting in with this book, but I think they are missing out in what it took to get these three races to where they are today. I enjoyed seeing where these races are going. Even as they work together to stand strong as dissent happens with rogue groups.

I really love the addition of the bears. I loved Valentin and all of his family. There are too many great characters to mention, but I think I need to mention Nova, Valentin’s sister and the clan healer. She was a really fun character. I also loved her son, aka the barnacle (because he likes to cling to everyone’s legs). Last, I mention the “gangster cubs”, as Valentin called them, they are a group of cubs that like to cause trouble, but mostly it was just normal kid trouble, but a bit more bear (climbing trees with the intent to jump on to unsuspecting passing bears).

The story here was great. I love the start of this new story arc that Nalini Singh has built. I can’t wait to see how all the races come together to solve the problems to make this world better for all of them. There are some pretty deep wounds that need to be healed. I also really enjoyed the story of Silver and Valentin. They both have issues that they have to work through and they do a great job of getting through some difficult stuff. I can’t wait to see where the next book goes.

*Do I really have a wait a year??*

Narration
If I didn’t love Angela Dawe before (which I did, a lot), I have to say she stepped up her game. Nalini Singh didn’t make it easy for her with this book. It takes place in Russia, so pretty much everyone has Russian accents and also many Russian names too. Angela Dawe spoke it all as if it was something she does everyday (no idea how often she has to tackle a Russian accent, but she does it in many different voices in this book). Oh, there’s also an pregnant Irish human woman that was in DenHome too. She nailed that accent too.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[thebookdisciple]

Silver Silence is book 1 of a spin off of the Psy-Changeling series. The book starts after the Trinity accords where Psys, Changelings, and Humans agree to a tenuous peace. Not everyone is on board with this idea though, so there is lots of deception and backstabbing. You have "The Human Patriot" character who is not named initially and is very against the new peace accords. This person fears that humans will soon become nothing but a victim to Psys who want the knowledge in their heads.

Valentin is an alpha changeling. He knows that he has found his mate in psy Silver, but he has to convince her of that. Silver is well conditioned to the Silence-the protocol of having NO feelings or emotions. Even though the silence is over, Silver still keeps her emotions and feelings on lockdown. But, after an assassination attempt, Silver has to stay in denhome with Valentin and his bear clan. Bears are very personable and pretty much the opposite of the world Silver is used to being in. So, to say she isn't thrilled is an understatement.

I have not read all the books in the Psy-Changeling series. I was familiar with the world, which is important before reading this book. I really liked Valentin as a hero. He is a shifter, and like many other shifters in book worlds, he has identified his mate and will do whatever to keep her safe. But, since these 2 come from very different worlds, and the changes in society are so new, Silver isn't ready to accept Valentin.

There are so many characters and so many nuances to this world its easy to get overwhelmed. I haven't read any books in the series in a while so I did struggle at times to keep it all straight. I seriously needed a graphic to help me remember who is who, what their 'power' is, and stuff like that. Once I got over that issue, I was able to really immerse myself in the story. I also forgot how much I love Singh's humor. The story is filled with little jabs and jokes that make the characters so darn lovable.

"Because...bears."

Silver Silence is LONG. My struggle with long books stems from my inability to remember things. I do great with books I can pick up and finish in 2-3 days. When I have a long book that will take me a week, I find that I am constantly forgetting what was going on. But, once I was sucked into the story, even though it took a while to read it, I was engaged enough to keep track of everything going on.

Its difficult to really love Silver because she has chosen to keep her Silence protocol. So, she is devoid of emotion and therefore not able to love Valentin. He, on the other hand, is filled with emotions. His adorable gifts signed with his "Mr. I. Am. A. TeddyBear are just one of the things that had me swooning for him. I loved the bear clan overall. They are cuddly and warm towards everyone and those emotions radiated off the pages of the story.

While this certainly isn't a stand alone, Silver Silence and the Psy-Changeling series is the type of sweeping epic that you want to immerse yourself in because of its beauty, intrigue, and romance.

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: no


• Trope: shifters, supernatural, revenge


• Triggers: none


• Series/Standalone: series


• Cliffhanger: [spoiler]no but there are some things left unsolved for upcoming books[/spoiler]


• HEA: [spoiler]yes[/spoiler]

[rating stars="four-half-stars"][icon-tags]

The Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews, The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward, The Shadow Riders series by Christine Feehan, The Seven series by Dannika Dark...then you will probably like Silver Silence!

Silver Silence

full review at The Book Disciple

[EBookObsessed]

I am in love. Forget about leopards and wolves. I want a sweet, kind, lovable bear to snuggle!

My undying love for Kaleb was tested after meeting Valentin Nikolaev in Silver Silence. I don’t know if my uber-powerful psy can fight against the power of this honey sweet bear with is big laugh, who can be “sneaky like a cat” to work his way into the heart of the woman he loves. I just want to hug him! *sigh*

Valentin started winning me over as soon a Silver opens her door to find the Alpha bear who can sneak into her high security apartment simply because he wants to see her and get under her skin just a little. He calls her Starlight or his Sunshine and sends her gifts of food — food is very important to a bear — all of which she tells him to stop doing but bears apparently don’t hear so well when “no” is involved. Valentin pushes Silver because he knows she is strong willed and he really likes when she pushes back. We can easily see that this big bear has his heart set on Silver and not just because she is pretty. He has a great deal of respect for her. He sees everything about her as exceptional and attractive, from her efficiency and her passion for her work to her kindness to the little cubs in his den. And he will do anything to make her see him as a future mate. How can you not love a man who when Silver has a moment of doubt says You are Silver Fucking Merchant, of course you can.

From her first introduction, Silver was pure Silence and as a protege of both Kaleb Krycheck and Ena Mercant, she was all efficiency and ruthless businesswoman. Yet you can also easily see from the beginning that Silver is softening to Valentin, even though she acts cold and standoffish like a good psy, but she never calls security or threatens him in any way or even tells him to go away like she means it. She is not as bothered by his constantly showing up at her apartment as she tells him she is nor is she bothered by her calling her Starlight since she lets it slide. She does realize that her acceptance of these actions as just being Valentin seemed to start about the time that the E-psy’s started the honeycomb and which is bleeding emotions into all the psy’s.

Silver is attacked at the beginning of the story making it necessary for Silver to go somewhere safe. We don’t know if this has anything to do with Silver being the director of the newly established worldwide Emergency Response Network run under the new Trinity Accord or is this more personal. Valentin offers sanctuary to Silver with the StoneWater bears because who would be stupid enough to try to attack a den full of bears. Bears might appear a bit clueless but it is all part of that “sneaky like a cat” facade.

While Valentin is angry that Silver’s life is in danger, having Silver in Denhome is exactly what Valentin wants. He is hoping that he can use their time together in his cat-sneaky plans to wheedle his way into her heart and bed and that he can get her to feel at home with his clan.

Silver is trying to recover while not being overwhelmed being surrounded by the always curious bears, but someone is targeting humans and Silver needs to keep working to mobilize EmNet. Instead of working a wedge between the three factions, these attacks keep focusing the attention on everyone working together.

Yeah, yeah, yeah… action…story plot…let’s get back to how adorable these two are. I had a hard time picking a favorite scene. Valentin shows his kind heart while taking care of his clan, and while he plays at being a humble brute, Silver sees the intelligence behind the facade and is quite impressed. And while Silver plays Psy and says she is Silent, we can see that Valentin is breaking down those walls. She teases him and feels safe with him. I had to laugh at one point when they try to out scary each other to get information on Silver’s attack.

Whether they are working as a powerful team to support Trinity or the clan, or just playing with the cubs in the den, you are going to love Valentin too because…well, bears! You just won’t be able to help yourself.

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews

Silver Silence has all the things I love about the Psy-Changeling series – a strong female lead, mystery and suspense, all the feels and hotness.

Silver fucking Merchant totally got to me in Silver Silence! And she sure got to a certain bear as well. Every single feel there is was invested in Valentin’s and Silver’s story, and I loved how the overall story-arch and plot moved forward. If you’ve visited me before, you know I’m a huge Nalini Singh fan, and that was definitely cemented with Silver Silence. All the awesomeness.

Silver was a character I had met several times in the prior Psy-Changeling books, as she was Kaleb’s assistant. She always seemed to be so distant and cold I couldn’t help but being extremely curious about her. Silver Silence touched on the reasons why the Psy had decided that silence was the only solution in the past, and Silver had to fight for her survival more than once over the span of the story.

Since the fall of silence, the psy-changeling series has taken a slightly different direction, because this means that some characters can evolve differently than they could in the past. Silver Silence touches on both the past and possible paths for the future, and the excitement, hotness, humor, danger and suspense was almost too much for me at times.

Singh is an expert at writing complex characters, and somehow, I could even understand the enemy when I realized the reasoning behind their actions. Silver Silence is one of the highlights of my 2017 reads, and as always, I can’t wait to delve back into this amazing universe. Written in third person point of view, but a close perspective, and in past tense, I got to know both Silver and Valentin very well… as well as some mysterious characters that also had some chapters from their point of view.

[Rowena]

Silver Silence kicks off the Psy-Changelings spin off series featuring the Trinity and it’s Silver Mercant’s book. Woot! I was very curious to see what kind of man Silver would fall for because her silence is fierce. She’s always been so calm and emotionless in her dealings with Kaleb so I was really excited to see her melt and who she’d melt for. Needless to say, I’d melt for Valentin too. He was super yummy and all of the things that I’ve come to love about the changeling males in this world.

So Silver Silence begins with an assassination attempt on Silver’s life and the book centers mostly around trying to find out who was behind the attempt. When danger starts spilling out all over the place, it is most important for the Mercants to hide Silver away so that they can uncover the bad guy. The bad guy is running around causing all kinds of chaos and the good guys (with Silver’s help) is trying to stop that but Silver can only do that while staying in the protective custody of Valentin’s clan.

Silver doesn’t understand why Valentin won’t just leave her alone. She’s made it more than obvious that his charms hold no sway over her and yet he still shows up at her house every few weeks to deliver reports he can deliver electronically instead. On the morning that she was poisoned, she was grateful that he was there as he was able to act fast and get her the help that she needed immediately. Before Silver knows what is what, she’s living with Valentin and getting to know his bear clan. He’s the alpha for his bear clan and getting to know him in the midst of his family, something happens to her and it’s inevitable that these two are going to get a lot closer than she’s comfortable with.

Valentin has made it crystal clear that he wants Silver. He’s been intrigued with the frosty Mercant since he first met her and he’s determined to claim her as his own. He’s got the long game going on right now because Silver is not on board with his plan. She doesn’t know how good they’ll be and Valentin has every intention of winning her over to his side. On top of pursuing Silver, Valentin has pack issues that he’s trying to figure out and my heart hurt for him because of that. He’s such a lovable guy who has a wealth of love and affection to give every single person in his pack and I couldn’t wait to see how things came together for him and his pack, as well as him and Silver.

Valentin and Silver’s romance rocked my socks. It was such fun to watch Silver fight what was happening at the same time that she was melting for him. She was confused and she was frightened but she didn’t let that stop her from seeing things through. I loved how fierce Valentin’s feelings for Silver were and I absolutely loved that she came to return those feelings. The way that she was protective of him rocked and overall, Nalini Singh did what she always does. She wrote an action packed romance with rich characters and a background story that will gain force with each book released and I can’t wait for all of it. It’s low key pathetic how anxious I am for the next book in this series. I need it now. Please write faster, Nalini!

Silver Silence was a fantastic start to the Psy-Changelings Trinity series and I’m so here for it all. I wonder who will get their story told next….Lily? Whoever it is, I’m ready!

Grade: 4.25 out of 5