Customer Reviews

Changeling (Playaway Adult Fiction)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sure, a book about three magical sisters is going to draw some parallels to the hit show Charmed, but frankly I think the girls in this book could k[...]. Following up on Witchling, the first book in the series( which I have not read), this books main heroine is middle sister Delilah who starts things off by introducing us to the entertaining world of a 10 lb. Long haired tabby cat. You see that's her world, at least part of the time. Instead of having scary magical powers or morphing into an impressive long toothed beast Delilah is content in what she was given at birth, the sometimes unstable ability to were naturally into a small and flippant housecat.

Delilah's life is about to get more complicated though. Following the events in the previous book where apparently they, as opperatives for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency, were charged by both the Fae leaders and the Elven Queen to stop a squad of Demons who were sent by a big baddy to obtain items needed in taking over the world, the girls are now living in Seattle-present day Earth. That in itself is something to get used to, but she has a human boyfreind,a hunky were-puma client, two snarky sisters, and a new squad of demons loose. To top that off this book has an extreemely creepy baddy-a pack of were-spiders who can either shrink to the size of a small, furry, poisonous spider or into a half spider/man gross thingy. It will have you checking all the corners of your house for cobwebs! Oh and an evil dead spirit has come back to the living and an Elemental Lord wants her as his Death Bride. Right...all in a normal day for any American tabby cat!

Yasmine Galenorn has developed a fascinating world-no scratch that. She's developed two fascinating worlds... Earth and Y'Elestrial.

Earth is one that we'd recognize... almost. The Other World inhabitants have come through the looking glass and moved in with a vengeance. Anything that fantasy has ever offered... the fey, vampires, witches, dragons, were-creatures they're all here and people are dealing with it as well or as poorly as most of us. Which means that some people are fans, some people protest and it seems like the great majority take it in stride and get on with their lives. On Earth are three women-half fey, half human. One's a witch, one's a were-kitty and one is a vampire. The three find themselves on the battlelines between demons and earth. They have a handful of allies, their own wits and a whole lot of trouble coming at them.

Changeling pits the three sisters-told in first person from the were-kittys point of view-in a battle against an evil tribe of shapeshifters. The evil shapeshifters are aided by demons-the sisters have to find allies of their own. Delilah is also coping with her love life... she's involved with a human cop but he might just not be enough for her.

I loved the book. The world is fascinating and the sisters are charming. But in a way the story is too small for the world. We hear about what is happening on Y'Elestrial (think Middle Earth + Celtic Mythology) but we don't get to experience it. Camille (Witchling's star) is in love with Trillian (think of a Dark Elf-sort of) who is a double agent popping backwards and forwards bringing tidbits of information with him along the way. I WANT to go on his journey too. I want to see what their father, back on Y'Elestrial is going through. Heck-while I'm at it I want to ride on the back of the dragon as well.

Yasmine Galenorn has built a world that cries out for a real, Honest To God, epic fantasy. She's got the quest, the war, the complex political world, the character flaws and the heros. We could have something truly extraordinary- Epic Fantasy Meets Urban Fantasy. Instead she's chosen to give us a smaller, more intimate story, which she does with skill and heart. While I love the piece of the story that she's given us, I want the whole kit and caboodle.

One more thing-my review sounds like I'm doing a lot of complaining for a 5 star rating. Yasmine Galenorn has written a great book and I highly recommend it to everyone. It's just that I really think she could have given us an all time classic. The 10 on a scale of 1-5. A JRR Tolkien, Raymond Feist or T S White fantasy that changes your world just a little bit-forever. That's the book I'm hoping that someday I'll be able to read. Along the way I'll enjoy Witchling, Changeling, Darkling and anything else she chooses to write in this world.

Ms. Galenorn needs to get her cats a very special treat aside from just citing them in the front of this second novel about the three D'Artigo sisters. This second book focuses on Delilah, the were-tabby. Unlike "Stray" another cat-based fantasy released within the last few months, Ms. Galenorn really does have 'cat' down.

In addition, she has mystery down as well. Delilah, who is the detective of the trio, is called in to solve murders occurring in a pack of werepumas led by Zachary Lyonesse. In the meantime, they also discover their family is in danger on their homeworld.

"Changeling" is written with a much stronger and compelling voice than its predecessor. Delilah is a character that's alive and vital on the page--very catlike in both of forms. I like her sassy style.

In addition, the world is definitely better developed. Galenorn better explains the three girls' relationship to their homeworld.

My one complaint was the sex scenes. You could have cut and pasted the narrative from half of the romance novels I've read. I'd echo a previous reviewer who labeled them 'cheesy'. Still, the scenes mostly fit with Delilah's character.

I'm looking forward to "Darkling" which is the third book about the oldest sister, Menolly, who we got an amusing glimpse of in this novel at a "Vampires Anonymous" meeting. Yes, we all knew it had to happen.

For all the unhappy fans of Anita Blake series, this book is for you.

You want excitement, mystery and great story telling. This is the book for you. You might want to get the first book (Witchling) before you get this book. Great imagination!

Big five stars!

I wanted more. Can't wait for Darkling to come out next year.

Folks, go out and get this book. It'll be worth your time.

Enjoy!

I personally did not like "Witchling" all that much. However, "Changeling" is a great book, and I connected more with Delilah than Camille. Yasmine Galenorn created much of her world in "Witchling" (a mistake in my opinion), so "Changeling" centers on the plot. There's a great mystery at the center of the novel that drives all of the character's actions. Of course, there are a few a subplots: the Yule celebration and war in the Otherworld. But neither of those storylines takes away from the main focus, the mystery. Galenorn accomplishes all of this while developing Delilah's character and keeping track of her love interests.

All in all, I'd probably give this book a 4.5 only because I felt the sex scenes were cheesy, and some references to sex were just in poor taste. Of course, some readers will feel differently, but the sex is only a small side plot. Galenorn's world is interesting, and I feel that her series is unique. She uses first person narration from three different view points, and I'm anxious to read "Darkling" to see how she develops vampires. I know some people have compared these books to "Charmed," but I wouldn't say that's the case. Enjoy!

This series started with Witchling about three sisters from Otherworld half fae- half human. Yet each is different and the books take one sister's path at a time, alternating between the three. In Witchling the first book is about Camille the Witch and apparently the nyphomaniac. The sex is porn quality and I am now told on an Anita Blake style.Note: this is NOT true. I have since read the Anita Blake books and the sexual content is relevant to the character developement, if a bit overwhelming, and doesn't start until the 10th book in the series. This series is something the boys of this world will enjoy, but saying these books are paranormal romance is a misnomer. This book is the second sister's path and less of a turn-off in that respect. The reason I continued reading the series is the Storyline is actually GOOD! If you can get past alot of the BS it reels you in. Darkling is the best of the four books out so far, but this one isn't too bad. I wrote a scathing review of the first book but apparently you can put alot of 'porn' sex into a novel but not it's review! Thank the gods this has less of that and more plot. I don't mind if the sex is relevant to the character, but sometimes in this series it seems a little too gratuitous. Try the authors other series if you want romance..The Chintz and China series.

The second in the series about the D'Artigo series, half-human, half-fairie. This book features Delilah "the Changeling". Delilah is the were-sister who turns into a Tabby cat when she gets scared or upset.

Yasmine Galenorn has created a complex yet interesting world combining Earthbound and Others.

I loved everything about this book starting with the cover. The cover actually matches the description of Delilah, imagine that. Have you ever picked up a book because of the cover only to wonder at the end, where they came up with that.

The story maintained my interest in every page and topics that usually put me off a book "multi-lovers", didn't bother me as much in the Galenorn tale. I would give this book 10 stars if I could. It stays on my Keeper shelfs and my friends will all have to buy their own.

I listened to this book as an unabridged audio. The heroine of this book is Delilah the shifter who turns into a cute little pussycat and does some Private Investigation work. She's beautiful, thin and 6' tall and because she is half fey is preternaturally beautiful but I can live with that because at least she's not sporting double D's and the spiked heels her sister, the half-witch, pranced around in during the previous book.

Unfortunately, the writing here just doesn't captivate me and when that happens little things tend to stick out and prod me into nitpicker mode. The author is just not consistent in the little details she writes. For example, the heroine says she's just had a professional french manicure done and worries that they'll get clipped while she's in kitty form and in the next few paragraphs says she spent the night painting her nails with her sister. So which is it? I know, I know this is a dumb little thing but honestly if the story were compelling and weren't so focused on shallow little appearance-y things I probably wouldn't have picked up on it. Sadly, it seems, the author is more concerned with the clothing and hairdo's of her characters than getting the story going.

Somewhere near the end of disc 1 a little action happens. Delilah gets her bum stuck in a pricker bush, pets their baby gargoyle and eats some smelly fish. On disk 2 things really get moving when she meets Zachary Lyonnesse. He's a hunky shape-shifting puma who needs her P.I. services to ferret out the creature who is killing his kind. Disc 3 proves Delilah is a touch chick by smashing a spying were-spider with her bare hand. Ka-pow! Then she has some boring sex with her boyfriend as she fantasizes about Zachary the Lioness. A charmer, this heroine.

If I weren't listening to this book on audio I would have put it down early on and never picked it up again. The plot and characters are just not interesting to me. New characters and plot twists are introduced constantly and events happen that leave me a little baffled. Who the heck is Wade and when did he and Mennoly start playing house? It is possible that I dozed off during the explanation or his previous appearance but I don't think so. The heroine walks around with a big black mark on her forehead that will in-debt her to the evil Autumn Lord and she isn't so utterly horrified that it doesn't stop her from wanting to have sex with Chase, the lion guy and any other hot creature that crosses her path. Wouldn't you want to focus on getting that junk off your head first? I mean, really. Also, somewhere in one of these books I could have sworn it was mentioned that these creatures could only "change" during the full moon but they're changing left and right here especially when it's convenient for a cutesy plot twist. Maybe I'm confused and my brain has turned into complete mush but again if this book were compelling I would just go with the flow instead of nitpicking. But it's not and I can't stop myself.

Reviewed by Kystal Lowe
on 09/16/2007

This is the second book in the "Three Sisters" series. The D'Arigo sisters are half human, half faerie agents for the Otherworld Intelligence Agency (OIA), and happen to be stuck in Seattle. Because of their half-and-half blood, their magic is sometimes a bit "off".

CHANGELING focuses on Delilah, the middle sister who can take the shape of a ten-pound, long-haired tabby. In her job as an investigator, she has a meeting with a mystery client who turns out to be Werepuma Zachary Lyonesse. Zachary asks Delilah to investigate the mysterious murders that are happening in his pride, the Rainier Puma Pride.

In the first book, WITCHLING, the sisters fought a demon lord called Shadow Wing. Now Delilah turns to her sisters for help--she suspects Shadow Wing's plot to take over the worlds has something to do with her new case. When the sisters go to the Pride compound to investigate, they find more trouble than they expect, forcing Delilah to ask the Immortal Autumn Lord for help, even though she fears the price she may have to pay.

CHANGELING is an urban fantasy with a touch of whodunit and genuine characters. The story starts slow, but once the action starts, it doesn't stop as the sisters and their friends battle an evil that may cost them their lives. In short, this is a fun read that works.

If you haven't read the first book WITCHLING, you may be a little lost. Other then that, I liked this book and can't wait for the third to come out.

This is the second book in the Three Sisters series. The D'Arigo sisters are half human, half faerie and as a result their magic sometimes is a little "off". The oldest is a witch, the middle one is a were and the youngest was attacked and tortured and turned into a vampire. They are stranded earth side as Otherworld is in a civil war. The portals are now unguarded between the worlds and it is up to these three sisters to fight the demons and other evil things that are coming through the portals to try and take over Earth. It is Winter and as a reader you are going to be drawn into the winter solstice and meet more supernaturals. It is action packed, romance abounds and spells are the norm. I recommend this series to anyone who loves the paranormal and the fantasy. It's a winner.