Nalini Singh (1) (1977–)

There Should Have Been Eight takes place in a secluded mountain valley, one that is cut off by heavy rains followed by a blizzard, leaving eight people, seven of whom have been friends for years trapped in a classic Mousetrap. The title There Should Have Been Eight is a bitter and grieving reminder that one of their friends, the sun they orbited, died nine years earlier. It doesn’t count Grace, the fiancée who is completely new to the group and its dynamics.

Darcie is Bea’s sister and the host for the gathering, inviting the friends to an ancestral manor house in the rugged New Zealand mountains. Luna, our narrator, resents Darcie and has harbored a nugget of anger for nine years. She has found it hard to find closure because Darcie had Bea cremated and scattered. The friends were unable to see Bea, to mourn her and were denied any resting place to visit her. The fact that Darcie married Bea’s lover adds to the sand that scrapes Luna’s soul.

Luna is dealing with a lot. She recently learned she will go blind, progressively losing her field of sight. She is a photographer. Sight is her primary tool in her life’s work.

As soon as the gathering kicks off, things begin to happen that suggest someone came with malignant intentions. Bea’s doll shows up where it shouldn’t be possible. It looks damaged. There seems to be some sabotage. Darcie disappears and is found unconscious in a secret passage. The house is riddled with secret passageways. There is also one wing destroyed by fire where Bea’s great-grandmother died along with two of her children in a fire. A fire Luna suspects was started by her other child, the only survivor of her generation.

There Should Have Been Eight was an absorbing and satisfying mystery. There was real jeopardy, from injury or death. The mystery was fair. We see critical moments that lead to the murderer’s actions. We also learn about past mysteries from generations before and from the current generation. There were seemingly valid reasons Darcie didn’t ship Bea’s body home. The denouement, though is a bit far-fetched, though I definitely identified with Luna’s desperate decision to drive across that flooded bridge. It was such a whatever decision to risk everything to save others.

I received an e-galley of There Should Have Been Eight from the publisher via NetGalley

There Should Have Been Eight at Berkley | Penguin Random House
Nalani Singh

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2023/11/29/there-should-have-been-ei...… (mer)

I adore 'locked room' mysteries. I think that author Nalini Singh does as well! Her new novel - There Should Have Been Eight - starts out with a get together of old friends - minus one.

What else does a locked room tale need? A 'been in the family for decades' old pile. Complete with hidden rooms. Oh, and it has a burned out wing. And....it's also way out on it's own, far from the village. Mobile signal? Good luck with that. A perfect setting. Loved it.

Our lead character is Luna. She her own issues, but isn't ready to share with the others just yet. She's also a photographer which works well for this character. I really liked her personally, her way of looking at things, her thoughts, and her decisions. The others are a mixed bag with many of them now coupled up. Lots of personalities.

Singh tells her book in a now and then timeline fashion. Again, a style I like and appreciate. Readers glean bits and bobs from the both time frames. Do they match? Do they remember it? Has someone got their own agenda? Who can we trust as readers? For me, they're all suspects. I started to narrow down my choice for 'whodunit' as the end drew near. I was (happily) surprised by a great gotcha.

Suspense is the name of the game in this book. It kept me interested and and invested from first page to last! I would happily pick up another book from Nalini Singh.… (mer)

Introduction
Resonance is the 7th installment in the Trinity series but is the 22nd installment in the Psy Changeling world. There is something about this series that is so much more than you could ever expect and honestly I think its some of Singh's best writing. And there were some delightful suprises in this book that I honestly didn't expect to see from this author. There are two romance plot lines, although Yakov's storyline is much more stronger than Pavel. Considering this is the first time I have seen this author introduce a gay couple on page, I am not shocked by it. I am curious to see if we will start to see these type of themes in future books from her, she definitely has me intrigued. The romance that builds between these couples are unique and different from each other but so poignant. Its packed with plenty of laughs, the endearing qualities of pack dynamics among the bear clans and family close ties to tug at your heartstrings. Definitely an installment to gush over.

Summary
Stone Water Bear twins, Pavel and Yakov Stepyrev, have always been attached at the hip but now when they meet their potential mates, both Pavel and Yakov find themselves going into different directions. Pavel funs into Arwen Mercan, who is a Psy Empath and they begin starting a relationship and developing their mated bond. ARwen is shy and reserved and has never been used to the type of attention that he receives from Pavel but he can't resist what he feels and the love that just bursts from Pavel. Then we have Yakov who is the primary storyline of "Resonance Surge" Theodora is also a twin with Pax, but growing up they were seperated because she was viewed by her family as weak and much less than. She was forced to go through certain measures and now she is determined to atone for those mistakes she made but as she and Yakov discover the secrets of the past they also discover a tight endearing bond that only strengthens the more that they are together. But there is a foul plan happening and neither of them or those they consider family will see what is ahead, will they be able to rise above it and be able to embrace a brighter future ....together?

My Outlook
So Resonance Surge is a story that utterly captured my heart and so quickly too. We are first brought into the heroine's world and man my heart just poured for this young woman who has been alone for so long and is just now reconnecting with her twin. As we see what she suffered, your heart will bleed for her especially in how badly her family turned on her. And then bring in the BEARS!!! Now I have to say I have read many bear shifter romances, but Nalini Singh so easily captures their lifestyle in such authentic ways. I love their bright energy and eagerness for life and all the pranks that they play just cracks me up. But they have so much love for each other and I am in love with seeing how this author brought her readers back to the bear changeling packs and seeing so much more depth to the clan and the Russian culture. The romance was slow building but also introduces the reader to captivating emotion and relationship growth that I found to be so relatable. The way that our couple ends up being so vulnerable with each other and connect in these small and big ways was monumental for the story. I enjoyed the little touches that Nalini Singh delivers with her books and we definitely see such the intimacy being so well developed and my heart just went out so quickly to these two. If you are a fan of the way that Singh writes these pairing, I guarantee that you won't be disappointed with how this story is developed while alos building a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat and in suspense from beginning to end.

Overall View
Overall I found Resonance Surge to be a poignant romance that feeds the heart with such slow building tension, a plot that has a breath of mystery and inspires the reader to delve deeper, and delivers a group of stories to fee the romantic heart and packs a punch straight to the heart!

Rating Evaluation:
Plot: 5
World Building: 5
Cover:5
Hero: 5
Heroine: 4.5
Steam: 4
Heart & Feels:4.5
Ending:5
Overall View: 4.5… (mer)