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]
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!
full review at The Book Disciple