Allegiance of Honor Summary:The Psy-Changeling world has undergone a staggering transformation and now stands at a crossroads. The Trinity Accord promises a new era of cooperation between disparate races and groups. It is a beacon of hope held together by many hands: Old enemies. New allies. Wary loners.
But a century of distrust and suspicion can’t be so easily forgotten and threatens to shatter Trinity from within at any moment. As rival members vie for dominance, chaos and evil gather in the shadows and a kidnapped woman’s cry for help washes up in San Francisco, while the Consortium turns its murderous gaze toward a child who is the embodiment of change, of love, of piercing hope: A child who is both Psy…and changeling.
To find the lost, protect the vulnerable—and save Trinity—no one can stand alone. This is a time of loyalty across divisions, of bonds woven into the heart and the soul, of heroes known and unknown standing back to back and holding the line. But is an allegiance of honor even possible with traitors lurking in their midst?
Allegiance of Honor Review:
Let me start off by saying that this book officially ends the first "season" of the Psy-Changeling world. This book is the phase between the two "seasons". That means we will know be seeing more of the other changeling groups, the Human Alliance and more members of the Trinity.
Also, that means that this book is like a giant epilogue, which a lot of people have complained about. But that makes sense! If the plot is slowly moving forward with pieces from everyone's life, it's not going to be something other than an epilogue. On top of that, it is the end of "season" one, meaning it's going to do it's best to conclude for the next book.
Allegiance of Honor was amazing. It left me feeling content with what happened and excited for how this world will turn out. The book was filled with dips and turns and no punches were pulled back. It left me wondering how some characters would deal with new relationships or how a disastrous event can be solved. I’m being purposefully vague so that I don’t give away any spoilers. Below, I will talk about them more, of course leaving the main discoveries for you to find.
The best thing about Allegiance of Honor is that it is not the end. There are still many characters without their happy endings, the problems are not solved and we still have so much further to go. Most books have that sense of conclusion because the couple’s personal problem is finished. This being in between two “seasons” made it have no such conclusion. Instead we are given a POV from almost every significant character, to date, and that will progress the story forward. Nalini Singh did put in some chapters that were more filler than progressing the story forward. This wasn’t bad because it still showed how far the Trinity has come and how the world is in the process of healing.
*beware of mild spoilers below*
"The world has changed in countless ways since the day a cardinal empath sat across from a changeling alpha, the empath trying to hide her emotions, the alpha trying to see under her skin.
There has been war, destruction, piercing love.
Loyalties have been tested.
A way of life overturned.
Blood has run red as those who would hold on to power cut down innocent lives.
Soldiers have died.
Children have been born.
Bonds have formed.
Hearts have entwined.
Old enmities have been forgotten and there is a fragile peace . . . and the world stands at a critical crossroads.
Will the bonds hold?
Or will chaos reign"
Even though there is no central couple, the book does focus a lot on Sascha and Lucas. And why not? They were the couple that started this whole uprising and their child is the first to combine the two vastly different races. Also, we get to see the true scope of power that Naya holds because she is the first known psy-changeling child! That adds a ton of action and suspense to the story.
Now before I get into all the good stuff, I’m going to say the stuff that I was a little iffy on. First, why do mated couples have to die when one dies? I get there is this really intense connection with the other person, but these couples usually have kids. And kids will need their parents past the age of 18. Especially when they go through serious trauma. But then again, across many paranormal books this does happen, even with human couples, so can’t be that big of a problem. The second thing is the constant mention of kids. We know that all the species, including Psy as of now, and especially the Changelings are protective of the young. Yet the constant mention of protecting them, caring for them or losing them tends to get a little irritating. It was an especially persistent in Shards of Hope. Of course, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see the kids. They are the cutest part of the series and will always bring a smile to your face, especially Naya...
“Lucas had had to chase Naya around the aerie at bedtime last night—her walk might still be a little shaky, but she was a rocket when it came to crawling. Dressed only in a diaper, she’d laughed uproariously and said a loud, firm “No” each time Lucas caught her and put her in her crib.
After which she’d clamber out—she’d figured out how to escape a month earlier—and the game would begin again.”
Now, moving on the to good and great! It was great to be back in the SnowDancer’s den. Their opening scene was hilarious!
“What the hell was that for?” Drew snarled, his shoulders moving fluidly under a dark blue tee with a silver design on one side as he threw up his hands.
“Remember that time we played war games and you almost broke my ribs?” It had been before Judd and Brenna’s mating, at a time when Drew was certain Judd was no good for his baby sister. “I decided I’m still holding a grudge.”
“You got your own back!” Drew’s response was half wolf, his claws sliding out of his skin. “You almost dislocated my shoulder that day!”
Judd pretended to think about it. “I did, didn’t I?” Having telekinetically stolen a water balloon from the enterprising group in the corner, he said, “So maybe I just wanted you here so I could do this,” and threw the balloon at Drew.
It caught the wolf in the face.”
If only we got more of those scenes! We also got to see Hawke and Sienna’s relationship develop. They are going through some tough times. And who wouldn’t when you have two dominants in two separate age groups and experience levels. It was rocky, but they are working it out and, together, created the most diabolical plan against Ming. That planned was used to perfection. I was left rubbing my hands evilly at when Ming was suddenly left alone and feeling desolate.
We got to see the Consortium again. For those who don’t remember, they are the ones who want to disband the Trinity and leave the humans on top. I find myself agreeing with one of their points. That humans should be looked upon as a serious contender in the playing field. To long they have been left behind, but now with the Human Alliance, the tides are turning in favor of the humans.
Speaking about the Human Alliance, there is trouble brewing there. This was a huge, suspenseful moment because of what is to come next. The problem does not get solved and looks hopeless for now. Hopefully, someone will find a solution before the casualties becomes too high. Not just from the Alliance, but the consequences that will be created with the Alliance falling apart.
“That would be disastrous. While the other man had made mistakes in his origins interactions with DarkRiver and SnowDancer, he’d proven to be a cool head with whom they could build a relationship. Even more critically, he had the charisma and the passion to reach millions of humans and convince them to believe in the vital importance of uniting the Alliance banner...the Alliance would disintegrate…Trinity would fall”.
The suspense is intense and we are left waiting for the next installment in hopes there is a solution. We are also going to get more insight into the BlackSea base. No idea where that could go or how it would look going into WindHaven’s pack (they have their own name, not pack but I can’t remember what it’s called) either. The Trinity is creating stronger and stronger connections which just makes your heart sing!
The families were soooo cute and fun to be back with. We get to see the pupcubs (finally!), meet Annie’s savior so they can finally name the baby and best of all the Duncan’s. No, I’m not just talking about just Sascha and Naya, but Nikita as well. She is not as cold as we thought (obviously) since we get to see through her POV. Her relationship with Anthony is curious, and I know that a lot of us are waiting with baited breath on what is happening between them. Maybe a novella to come?
To conclude, here are a few special moments that still make me smile…
“Hawke grinned. “My bet is four wolf pups.”
Golden eyes going wolf, Riaz snorted. “We’re talking about Mercy here. She’ll probably smugly produce all cubs. Five of them.”
The others booed his prediction, calling out their own bets as they spoke.”
and…
“Judd went to race after her . . . only to be brought down hard by a grip on his ankle. All the air in his lungs exploded from his mouth as he went chest-down right into the spot the pups had made their impromptu mud-creation zone. When he looked back, it was to see a certain blue-eyed wolf smirking at him. “Remember that time you used telekinesis on me?” Drew said. “I decided I’m still holding a grudge.”
and…
“Sahara, he telepathed to the woman who had held his heart in her hands from the day they met, please refrain from making me appear “nice” or trustworthy. Especially to those of Designation E…The Es know exactly how dangerous you are—but they also know you and your abilities are on their side.
I’m only on one side. He closed one of his hands over hers. Yours.
Look after my friends, won’t you, Kaleb?
Stop making so many.
I love you, too.”
and finally...
“Both alphas stopped in the doorway to the bedroom, their shoulders touching. It was an unusual stance for two such dominant predatory changelings…Luc and Hawke might be friends, but they hated it if anyone pointed that out”.
This book is not to be missed even if it’s an ensemble cast that resembles a large epilogue. It’s a phenomenal book, and you can clearly see the effort it took to weave all the POVs together to most the plot forward. Each character had their time to shine. The effect would have been dampened if there was a central couple. Time would be taken from the plot development to show the romance/emotional development. With the ensemble cast, we get to see the entirety of how everything has changed from the first book to the present. It was a fantastic, five star read! Eagerly awaiting the next book in this world!
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