Primal Mirror by Nalini Singh is the 8th book in her Psy-Changeling Trinity series. I can’t say enough about Nalini Singh. She has become my go to author, as I love her Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series. She never fails to give us a sensational story, wonderful characters, and each book continues to flow seamlessly. No one does world building so smoothly and flawlessly better than Nalini Singh. Once again, in Primal Mirror, Nalini has created a masterpiece that grabs hold of me and never ever let’s go until the very end.

We meet Remington (Remi) Denier, our hero, who is the alpha of RainFire, a pack of cats. RainFire is slowly continuing to grow, especially with Remi’s close connections with Lucas (leader of Dark River) and Aden (leader of the Arrows). Remi enlists the aid of the Arrows to track down who owns part of the land near their territory.

Auden Scott, is the daughter of two evil high-gradient telepaths (Shoshanna and Henry Scott), who were part of the Psy Council. Auden was considered a disappointment to her parents, even though she had a powerful psy gift. Shoshanna Scott was evil, and knew she was about to die; so, she set up a plan to experiment on Auden, to take over her mind.

Remi first meets Auden near his land, and senses something is not right with her; as her scent is quick to change, as she seems far away. But Remi hears her talking about her ability to read about his mother. Remi finds himself fascinated by Auden, and in a short time they will meet again; discovering that she is now pregnant. Remi is shocked, when during his security rounds, he sees Auden all alone, with no one to help her, in case of emergency; his alpha instincts rise to protect her. Remi does sense two different personalities, but it is the real Auden who asks Remi to help her shatter the secrets that are causing damage to her brain. She knows she can’t trust her assistant and doctor who have been doing things without her overall knowledge; and her baby is part of their secrets. Auden and Remi slowly become close with both finding themselves falling for each other. Remi, with some help from his pack, will do all he can to protect Auden and the baby; with members of RainFire, as well as others making sure to protect them.

I did enjoy getting knowing the members of Remi’s pack (Rina, Finn, Lark, Angel, Kit, etc) who were wonderful secondary characters. Loved how they all came together to help Remi and Auden, and Liberty (baby); not to mention Alden, Arrows, Lucas, Krychek, Zaira, Tamsyn, just to name a few.

While Remi and Auden are in the process to stop the enemies, and work on fixing Auden, the PsyNet is severely on its last days; as many will die, unless another network can be provided. At the last moment, Auden’s baby might be a temporary solution, with her high gradient power, and the hope for Auden to survive against her mother’s nightmare.What follows is an exciting, suspenseful, intriguing and action-packed story, with me unable to put the book down. Primal Mirror was a tense and emotional story between Auden and Remi, as well as, Liberty, The romance between them was wonderful and I love how the RainFire team accepted Auden and Liberty.

Nalini Singh once again gives us another wonderful story in Primal Mirror, which was so very well written by Nalini Singh, which has always been the norm. She never fails to captivate me with her engaging creative stories, fantastic plots, and seamless world building; wonderful couples in each and every story; super secondary characters and fantastic world-building. I loved every moment of Primal Mirror. As I have noted many times, if you have not read Nalini Singh, you are missing a gem of an author.

This book is Auden and Remi’s story, but we must not forget Psynet and the danger of its complete failure. I wanted to like this book but at times it felt a bit lengthy which cost it a star. Remi was the better of the couple at least in the beginning because Silence had shaped who Auden was at first. He was a wise alpha who cared for his people, many of whom played a significant role in this story. Finn, the healer of the RainFire pack is such a good man, he deserves his own story. His caring heart for his people shines so strongly in the book from the moment he starts caring for the little cub. I need to give a shout out to JoJo who may have only appeared a few times, but this cub showed early on what a good man Remi was.
Auden is much more difficult to get a read on early in the book, except to know something is wrong with her. Her scent is wrong the moment she meets Remi but even then, she gives him a precious gift. She might not have understood how precious, but those rare moments of pure Auden showed she was more than a child engineered to please her cold and somewhat psychotic parents. As I read the story, I kept having this feeling that there was more to her brain injury and more to her baby than we know. However, the author did not spoil the truth about either too early to keep the pages turning. Auden saw the most character development in the book as she first learned to trust Remi. She became a mom, not simple a mother. She loved her child fearlessly which taught her a strength that she needed to fight the devastation planned for her. The villains were so vile and inhumane in a way that could not be explained simply by saying Psy’s had no emotions.
We got a lot of visits from characters from previous books in this one. I suppose there is nothing so important as coming together to protect a true innocent and many of the characters in this series had very strong protective instincts. Even Kaleb when things were the most critical answered the call.
The early going in the book was a bit rough but once the baby came along and the secrets were spilled, the story picked up. From that birth, our characters were on a collision course that no amount of speculation could have prepared you for. All the while, we are reminded that a greater danger hangs in the balance. The cub, love the name, was so central to the story but could she also be central to Psynet as collapse looma. Remi and Auden and baby may have come together and gotten a happily ever after, but more questions loom for Psynet. This series started some years ago and except for a few small missteps like the slow start here all the books are worth reading. While my hope is Finn gets the next book, who know what will happen. I do know that regardless I will be back to read the next story.
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Ooh, I love being back in the world of fangs and claws but as seen in the more recent books in the series it's not black and white anymore and all the races are starting to mix again particularly the Psy, the Arrows and the Changelings.
Alpha in training Remi Denier and the Raintree pack are in the thick of the action particularly when they spot Psy activity around the cabin where their new friends the Arrow leaders were once imprisoned.  There is something about Auden Scott that fascinates Remi even as her scent alters in disturbing ways. Then he finds out that she's pregnant and determined to protect her cub from the machinations of the Scott clan.
The story that emerges is chilling only in the way that Ms. Singh can write it. The depths of depravity of the Psy and most particularly the Scott leadership takes my breath away. At the same time, you are swept up into the charm of the leopard pack and particularly Jojo one of the cubs that most readers have fallen in love with from before.
The Psynet is failing at an alarming rate and plans are being made to figure out how to save as many people and particularly children as possible. The sentience that is the Psynet has increasingly become erratic and yet it continues to take an inordinate interest in Auden Scott's child to the extent of burning itself out to save the unborn child against all odds. 
All of the beloved characters that we we've met in previous books in the series make their cameo appearances and it's great to catch up on what's happening with them in brief.  Will Auden's cub save the day and give the Psy a small respite to gather their resources and continue to look for new solutions? 
Once you're on this roller coaster, there's no getting off, though there are so many moments that are sweet, tender, charming and scary in equal measure. What a wonderful addition to the series.  I can't wait to see where Ms. Singh will go next with this story arc.

I was hooked on this one but I think Nalini Singh missed her opportunity to torture us all.

We met Remington (“Remi”) Denier, alpha of an emerging pack of cats, back in Shards of Hope when he and his pack helped Aden and Zaira and since then Rainfire and the Arrows have been friends. Remi has also been working with the Arrows to track down who owns that tract of land where the paramilitary group had their bunker.

Remi is more than shocked when a small group land in the field not far from said bunker indicating that the notorious Scott family are the owners, more specifically the now deceased Counselors’ daughter, Auden Scott. Remi is fascinated by Auden from the moment they meet. There is something off about her scent and the way she is staring off at nothing. He knows that he isn’t excited about having a Scott so close to his pack, especially one who acts so oddly, and once he realizes that Auden is pregnant and vulnerable, there is no way he won’t be keeping a close eye on her.

As we have learned in prior books, the former Psy Council members had no concerns about experimenting on the more vulnerable members of their society, and blood relationship doesn’t exclude someone from that. In fact, since psy made procreation contracts solely in an attempt to breed high level psy, a medium or low gradient child was pretty worthless so any experimentation that could increase that was worth trying since failure or death would simply remove a shameful, lacking child from the family tree. Instead of Shoshanna and Henry Scott creating a high-gradient or cardinal TK, like themselves, Auden is a high gradient, psychotronic with only a 2.0 gradient TK ability. Someone with Auden’s ability would usually be recruited by a museum to assist in categorizing their treasures and verifying authenticity. But as the only child of the Scott family fortune, Auden was not given a chance to enhance her natural ability.

Add to that the fact that as Auden stays more in focus while she is near Remi, allows her to catalog the odd behavior of her mother’s assistant and family doctor and their hyper-focus on her baby’s brain development. All psy do brain scans on their children but not in the womb and not when Auden is suddenly starts “missing” a lot of time.

Knowing that I was obsessed with finding out what they did to poor Auden as a child that caused her odd behavior, is this something that could be fixed and why she seemed to improve her faculties when she was around Remi? I really couldn’t find out this information fast enough.

Plus, we got to spend time with Remi’s growing pack, which included some of Lucas’s people who have transferred over. We also meet several wonderful secondary characters from this pack and I hope we will see more of them in future stories.

So if I was so caught up and excited to read what was happening, where did the author fail? I am glad you asked. At the beginning of each paragraph, Nalini usually puts little snippets from books, email or memos which hint at some background to the overall arc of the story. While there is some of that here, the majority of those notes, statements, email and memos are focused on the imminent failure of the psy net. Nalini has been hinting in book after book that the psy net is failing but in Primal Mirror, the end is coming. Now! These pre-chapter statements indicate that every Hail Mary is being tried…and failing. Krychek, the Arrows, the Human Alliance and the changelings are exhausting themselves doing whatever they can to save as many of the psy as possible. The humans are being told to make a psy friend. The changelings are trying to blood bond as many psy children as possible to create a smaller link with the changelings outside of the psy net.

I was honestly torn between saving the psy net in this story and letting her 3…2… (The End) and leave us hanging until the next story to see who lives and who dies. You would hear mass screaming on release day as we are left in the dark and we have wait to find out who survives complete net failure until the next novel. Thankfully, Nalini isn’t as evil as I am because I would have left you screaming.

This was another excellent entry into the Psy-Changeling Trinity series. Auden Scott is the daughter of Shoshanna and Henry Scott - both evil doers and former members of the Psy Council. She was a disappoint to both of them because, while she inherited a powerful psy gift, it wasn't one either parent wanted. Therefore, her mother experimented on her and broke her mind.

Now, her parents are dead and she's pregnant but still under the control of her mother's aide. She is gradually healing her brain but still has trouble staying lucid. It is in one of her lucid periods that she meets Remi Denier who is the alpha of a small changeling pack near Auden's wilderness retreat. Remi determines to care for her and her baby because caring for people is what he does to make up for a childhood when he wasn't cared for.

Meanwhile, the PsyNet is on its last days. And when it fails millions of psy will die for lack of a network to sustain them. Everyone on the planet is trying to find a way to either preserve the network or provided another network for the psy to join but with no success. However, Auden's baby may inadvertently provide at least a temporary solution to the problem if Auden can find a way to defeat the powerful Scott family who has other plans for the baby.

Auden's upbringing which tried to make her as ruthless as her parents may be all that can save her and her child. Her love for her baby will prove to be the one thing the Scott family didn't plan for. And Remi is determined to be there to support her in every way since she is his mate. He'll do anything to protect his mate and her child.

Primal Mirror is the eight book in the Psy-Changeling Trinity spinoff and features Auden Scott, the daughter of two ruthless Psys. After the death of Henry and Shoshanna Scott, Auden must find a way to protect her unborn child from their reach. She finds refuge living next to Remington Denier, the alluring Alpha of the newly formed RainFire pack.

Remi is drawn to Auden, even if he knows getting too close risks not only his safety, but the safety of his pack. Auden’s stability feels fractured and she’s running out of time to protect her baby, but something tells her that she can trust Remi with her child and her heart.

Primal Mirror had the usual Nalini Singh goodness I love: a protective and kind Alpha, a strong Psy willing to sacrifice it all for the ones she loved, an epic romance, and thrilling and ongoing race to save the PsyNet.

Even with 20 plus books into the Psy-Changeling series, Nalini Singh continues to impress and I cannot wait to read more of the wonderful world and characters she has created.

OT: One thing I love about reading an interconnected series is catching small glimpses of some of my favorite characters; Kit, Kaleb and Sahara, and Tamsyn (to name a few), had an appearance in Primal Mirror.

I’ve been reading Nalini's books for almost ten years now and the psy changeling series is one of my favorites, I love how emotional and entertaining they are, and even though Primal Mirror is the 8 book in the series ( or 23 if you count the original series) this book still had some of the things I love in a Nalini Singh book, romance, suspense, political intrigue and found family.

The Psy Net is in a worse state than ever, every major character come together to try and help to prevent the complete annihilating of the psy race and in the midst of it all we have Auden Scott a mysterious woman with brain damage who’s a psychometric and is very much pregnant, she ends up grabbing the attention of Remi the alpha of RainFire, a new leopard pack.

The romance between Auden and Remi was adorable, the way he cared about her and was willing to do anything to protect her was really touching, Auden is such a strong character, after everything she went through she still had love in her heart for her daughter and for Remi.

As always, this was an amazing book in the series and I can’t wait to see where Nalini is going to take us in the next installment.

Thanks Netgalley and Berkeley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review

Nalini Singh delivers a not-so-helpless heroine in Auden Scott, who meets RainFire alpha Remi Denier in the eighth book of the Psy/Changeling trinity series. Auden, with a power deemed largely useless, is the repudiated daughter of former Psy Council member Henry Scott. She was pulled in as heir to her ruthless, and recently deceased mother, Shoshanna Scott. After a devastating brain injury, she is experiencing memory loss, and pregnant, though she doesn't recall consenting to have a child. With her parents dead but their cronies influencing her life, she makes contact with Remi and is struck by his dedication to his pack. Penned in by her mother's team, Auden manipulates the situation to her advantage, conspiring with Remi to save her child at any cost. The pair seek solace from loss in each other, and are proactive in their efforts to build better lives for themselves and those they care for or protect. Auden is forced to play her part while hoping her mind does not betray her while seeking the devastating truth about the child she carries. What she learns opens up family secrets that reverberate into the very fabric of the psy net, possibly altering the landscape forever. This is a can't-miss entry into Singh's epic world building, and Remi shines as the lost boy-turned-man who pulled a pack together out of nothing.

This was another good installment of the series but I don’t think it will bring new readers in. I like the characters and the world. A lot of previous charters are referred to which works sometimes and other times feels forced.

am fan of this series and have enjoyed most of the books - some more, other less, and this one definitely falls in the group of my favourites.
I always like to go back this world. The over-arching suspense can get tedious, too convoluted sometimes and I am glad it took a back seat in this story.
I have to admit I avoid romance with pregnant heroines and I was apprehensive how Nalini Singh will handle this here. I can say that it worked for me because of all the circumstances of the pregnancy ||the father is a donor, she doesn't even know him, so there is no emotional connection||. Her lack of memories of the how and why she got pregnant was scary even in world were procreation was generally treated as a business transaction. I felt her love and fierce protection of her unborn baby were her leading emotions regarding the pregnancy and the baby and I went with it.
I liked the romance itself, and I liked a lot. Psy-changeling are my favourite couples. It was a bit different here. The heroine was not new feelings, her brain injury already made her an outsider among the other psys. In many ways she acted more like a changeling mother than a psy one.
We meet so many beloved characters from the previous books and it was a joy to see them all again and catch up on what's happening with them.
I complained how dark and emotionally draining the previous book felt, with all the violence both physical and emotional. Here I can say I felt hopeful by the end and it felt good. Yes, there is still violence and darkness but it felt more manageable.

CW: the usual - violence, abuse, + brain damage, memory loss, forced impregnation, traumatic childbirth

Primal Mirror by Nalini Singh

This book is book 8 of the Psy/Changeling Trinity series. That is the second arc of the Psy/Changeling series, making Primal Mirror is the 23rd novel, with multiple novellas and short stories added in.

In this, we come back to the RainFire pack of jaguars, where we’ve met Alpha Remi Denier, Jojo and Finn in other books. Remi is our male main character. Our female main character is Auden Scott, daughter of former Psy Councillors Shoshanna and Henry Scott. When we meet Auden, she is very pregnant and has issues with black out times in her memory. She is a psychometric, meaning she can feel the emotions of the person or people that have touched an item before.

Remi and Auden first meet when she is having one of her blank spots, where she acts differently than normal and her scent is metallic. She reads a watch on Remi’s arm, telling him things he never would have imagined knowing about his mom, since she had passed away years before. This starts Remi’s interest in Auden. Soon after, he teaches her how to shoot a gun and tells her about the differences in her behavior and scent. After that point, they become friends of a sort and quickly become more emotionally involved. But at the same time, they’re trying to figure out how she’s missing all this time, what happens when she can’t remember, where does her mind go! They find all their answers in the end, but the journey to get there is quite a ride!!

We are visited by many characters that we’ve met in previous books including several Arrows, Kit and Rina formerly of DarkRiver, even Kaleb stops by. Jojo steals every scene she’s in of course!! All in all, I would absolutely recommend this to anyone that likes a little paranormal with their romance, but it’s so much better if you start at the very beginning or at the beginning of the Trinity Accord books. I count this among the top five of my favorite series, and I could never pick just one book out of the series as a favorite!! This book is worth the time and money, a hundred times over!!

Nalini Singh books are the pinnacle of Paranormal Romance.
This book really kept my attention throughout. We got to learn more about a ps-psy which was always interesting to me and we got to go back to RainFire which I've been dying to return to since Shards of Hope.
While the whole romance between Auden and Remi was going on there was also the mystery of what happened to Auden and why her memories aren't all there, we got a side plot of what's happening in the unstable net and some familiar faces made an appearance.
I honestly can't wait to see where Nalini takes the series next, there's so many people I want a story for—Pax! Rina! Kit! I could go on!

I've been reading Nalini Singh since the beginning of my time with my reading journey. She re-introduced me to the joys of reading in college and I loved the Psy-Changeling world and devoured these books when I first got my hands on them. I'm incredibly excited that I was given a chance to read and review Primal Mirror. Now I'll be honest, Nalini Singh is an author I feel a sense of loyalty to - I will read everything she writes for forever, but I'm pleased to say that Primal Mirror is an excellent and reliable next installment in Trinity. This is about our beloved Remi and Auden, the daughter of Shoshanna and Henry Scott!! I felt like this book did a great job with the overarching plot and we get many glimpses into other character's corners of our Psy-Changling world. While I wish that we got to explore more of the dynamic between Henry and Auden Scott and see a bit more development in Remi and Auden's relationship (I'm a sucker for there alone sitting together eating a sweet treat moments), I do appreciate that this book felt like it kept forward momentum going.

I think Nalini Singh can always be counted on for a strong romance and she delivers here. I'm excited to get to see more glimpses into the dynamics of the Scott family (Henry and Auden) in the future and get peeks into Auden and Remi's lil family! As always, I remain eager for the next book!!

I haven't read this author in a while since I've been somewhat disappointed in the archangels series. However this book did not disappoint. A perfect mix of action and intrigue. We have a mentally damaged woman who feels like someone or something is happening to her, she's loosing time. She is a member of a notorious family but considered a waste as she is a psychometric not a high powered telepath. The alpha of the rainfire jaguar pack is intrigued by this woman, feels a need to protect her and obviously gets himself involved in the house politics surrounding her. I really like the male need who is strong but not overwhelming and is compassionate as well as protecting. Of course the metaplot is going on as well because the net is failing. So we get peeks at other characters from the past as they struggle to save Psi lives. It is an enjoyable book all around with some romance mixed in. Fans of older Singh books will enjoy this one. Thanks to netgalley and the Author and publishers for letting me review this book.

After twenty-plus books I’m still loving Singh’s world-building and I adore her characters. This outing takes us back to RainFire pack and its alpha, Remi Danier, who in watching a party of Psy on the edges of their territory is intrigued by the very confusing Auden Scott. Auden is dealing with what appears to be mental health issues but also reappears heavily pregnant–and with no knowledge of how it happened, but with a desperate need to protect the child. No changeling is going to back down from helping someone genuinely in need and spark will fly. This one’s a little more twisty than normal–but given it’s the Scott family (her parents were each individually megalomaniacs), that’s entirely appropriate.

Back in the Psy-Changeling world and it’s Remi’s turn! I love the RainFire pack and it was great to see them again and this time get their alpha’s story. We’ve seen Remi quite a few times in the series. He has a nice mentor relationship with Lucas and one of his closest friends is Aden, leader of the Arrows. And now we get to see who is mate ends up being. The answer? Auden Scott, a Psy who was the daughter of two vicious Councillors who are now gone. But their plans? Not completely gone. Auden has suffered by the hands of her parents in a way that has caused permanent damage to her brain. When Remi first meets Auden near his land, he knows something is off with her. Her scent is quick to change and she isn’t completely with him in their conversation. He does sense the real her though when she uses her ability to read an object from his mother. Months later, he sees Auden but this time, she is heavily pregnant. Auden may not remember how exactly she became pregnant and other gaps in her memory that tell her she has missed some important things but she does know she will do whatever she can to protect her child. And if that means leaning into the personality shift that thrives from Silence in order to take take the rest of the Scott family? So be it. She also isn’t afraid to get help from Remi. Remi who she is drawn to in ways she can’t explain but knows she isn’t afraid of him. And Remi will do what he can to protect Auden and her child. He isn’t letting her go and will do anything to protect her from those who wish her and her baby harm and even Auden herself. What a ride this one! On top of Auden and Remi’s wild story, the Net is still collapsing and only complicates matters. This was a pretty intense story and I couldn’t put it down. I loved getting to know Remi more and Auden was another great character to add to this cast! This series remains to be one of my favorites and as always can’t wait for the next one!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nalini Singh has once again delivered an amazing story! The Psy Changeling trinity arc just keeps improving with each book. While I love all of Nalini's couples, the Psy Changeling pairs hold a special place in my heart.
This time, we follow the story of Alpha Remi, and Auden Scott, daughter of former counselors Henry and Shoshanna Scott. The romance between these two characters was beautifully portrayed, although the relationship buildup felt a bit rushed compared to other couples in the series. The focus of the book was more on the overarching series mystery, providing some answers while leaving room for future exploration.
I was thrilled to see a throwback to a beloved character and to meet a new, empathetic character that I couldn't help but root for. The series continues to captivate me, and I eagerly anticipate the next direction Nalini will take us in.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Thank you to Berkley for giving me access to an early copy!

Primal Mirror by Nalini Singh dives into the story of Auden Scott and Remi Danier. If you have followed the previous books in the series you know that the PsyNet is on the verge of collapse and in this book we explore it on a deeper level. Right from the beginning, I was invested in the mystery surrounding Auden. As with any classic Nalini Singh's story, the romance in the book is charming. I liked that Remi was not a typical changeling with high handedness though there were a few moments of it. He was very protective and supportive and I loved how he interacted with the kids of the pack. Both the main characters had a strong sense of protectiveness when it comes to their loved ones. Despite how old this series is, I always fall in love with this world and the found family trope that plays a big part in each book. Definitely recommend this, if you are a fan of Nalini Singh's previous works!

Much more enjoyable than the last book, but it ended too abruptly. Sometimes a book should be a bit longer to wrap things up, and this book could have used that for sure. Also seems like a missed opportunity to not have Auden interact with Ivan given what we learned about him in his book. It was nice to spend more time with Remi and his pack, but again, giving everything a bit more time to breathe would have been great.

Side note-I really hate the bits from the Wild Woman magazine or whatever it's called. I'm sure they're supposed to be funny, but they're gross. I'm not sure which book started having them, but the series does not need it.

I’m gonna keep it 100 with you folks coming to read a review of the.. 24th (?) book in a series - it’s getting too stressful out here for me.

I am finding the B-plot running through the series so anxiety provoking that I genuinely could not enjoy the A-plot of this book because I was too stressed about the mass extinction event to think about baked goods (and, to be clear, I love thinking about baked goods). I think one of the reasons I found this book so hard to get into is that, for the vast majority of the book our protagonists are not interacting with the series plot.

It was really hard to feel like there were any real stakes in the Remi/Auden dynamic when the chapter blurbs and cutaways to characters we already know keep saying things to remind me that we 👏 don’t 👏 have 👏 time 👏 for 👏 this 👏!

Anyway, see you all back for book 25!