Nalini Singh

A PSY/CHANGELING NOVELLA from the New York Times bestselling author of Shards of Hope, Shield of Winter, and Heart of Obsidian Predatory desire becomes a sensual game of control... A dominant changeling wolf, SnowDancer lieutenant Cooper is not known for his patience. But when it comes to courting the shy, sexy woman he wants in his life and in his bed, he’ll have to use every ounce of control in his body to keep both man and wolf in check…at least until he convinces Grace he only bites a little. One of the most submissive wolves in the SnowDancer pack, Grace knows nothing can come of her sensual fascination with big, bad, beautiful Cooper. He might possess her over and over in erotic dreams that leave her aching for the rough heat of his touch, but she knows that in reality, he is far too dangerous for her to handle. Then Cooper decides to change all the rules… Includes a preview of the Psy/Changeling novel Heart of Obsidian! Declaration of Courtship previously appeared in Wild Invitation

A Psy/Changeling Novella

Declaration of Courtship

Lover of Romance 

Declaration of Courtship is one of the best novella's I have read in a long while. Of course, there is no doubt when reading Nalini Singh right? Well Singh has written another beautiful love story. In Declaration of Courtship we have our hero Cooper, a snowdancer lieutenant, a alpha male and dominant in the pack. He knows who his mate is, Grace a submissive and new to the pack. He only sees a beautiful woman that is smart and funny and kind. He knows that their status in the pack, will make for an interesting courtship, but he is determined to have her. Grace is a submissive, but has a quiet inner strength. She knows that she could never handle Cooper. He is a dominant but the gap between them is bigger than she and her wolf could handle. Even some of the dominant females in the pack would be reluctant to have him as a mate. But she is drawn to him in a way she can't explain, and despite their differences she sees a man that is haunted by his dreams and his past and she aches to heal those demons and be the woman he needs. 

The romance between these two almost brought tears to my eyes. I really enjoy unrequited love stories, but wow, does Nalini Singh create a fabulous story here. I didn't feel like the romance felt flat at all, despite it being a novella. In fact, there was a depth to this story I wasn't expecting. The whole focus of the story is the love story though. We see how careful Cooper is, despite how much his wolf is tearing at him to claim Grace. But he knows, he has to be very careful in how he handles their courtship or he could scare her away for good. What I really liked was seeing the differences between the dominants and the submissives in the pack of changelings. We see how much they are both needed. Dominants provide safety and protection and direction for the pack. Submissives provide healing, affection and laughter. They help balance out the needs of the pack. We see how each of these qualties and displayed between Cooper and Grace. It was quite interesting seeing this love story grow. I fell in love with both of the characters and I honestly couldn't get enough. There were moments where we see they need space when the factors of one being dominant and the other being submissive comes into play in the relationship and we see how they each need a breather and some space to work things out internally. We see how Grace, is such a strong woman. She knows a relationship between a dominant and submissive can work, since her adoptive parents have the same kind of relationship. However Cooper is more alpha and dominant than most. However we see how he puts his nature on hold. He is patient and kind with Grace and understanding of her reservations. He doesn't go after her like a bull. He is slow and tender and this was quite refreshing to see from a powerful alpha male. Grace is a heroine I really came to admire. Especially in the end, where we see her true self and how strong she is and I loved the way she handles Cooper, when she realizes that she can be what he needs, and she is the right woman for him. We also see how Grace handles Coopers family and most especially Mercy. She tends to drive away the women he is with. But Grace holds her own, and wins over Mercy instantly. Which is saying something since Mercy is quite a alpha herself. 

A truly entertaining, and poignant love story I loved and the only change I would make is to have the story longer. I loved seeing these two together and I realized how much I need to read more of this series and all the novella's that I am missing out on. If they are as good as this one....I need to pick them up.

Declaration of Courtship A Psy/Changeling Novella

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