Obsidian was very different from the usual New Species books but just as enjoyable. Instead of the man saving the woman, it was the woman saving the man. A nice change especially if the male is worthy, which Obsidian definitely is. I will say that this book was very emotional and I did shed some tears...... Smh!!! In my opinion, the ones that bring out true emotion are always the best stories............

This series is becoming more Romance and less Plus

I never realized how much I missed this series! God I love it! I wanted to smack and love obsidian all at the same time he is so infuriating and sweet at the same time! Amazing book like always!

Hot AF 3.5

Alli and Obsidian were interesting foils of one another. She was soft all the places he was hard. (Hehe)
I love a healer FMC, but it was hard to watch ethical boundaries being crossed. She was portrayed as naive enough not to grasp what she was really risking by stealing him away, but that didn’t check with her experience as a doctor.

Spice: 5/5

Triggers: dubcon, drugging, violence

This is definitely my least favourite of the series so far, but I see that [a:Laurann Dohner|3190846|Laurann Dohner|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1285546473p2/3190846.jpg] wanted to explore all the options. There are a lot of different types of NS and although the series mostly focuses on stable canine and feline, she has explored relationships with some of the newly released NS, and a NS with more pronounced animal DNA. There is also the next book, [b:Shadow|16121320|Shadow (New Species, #9)|Laurann Dohner|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351723680s/16121320.jpg|19144230], which features a NS gift female. I suppose it was only a matter of time before she made a book about a nearly feral NS. I didnt feel too much guilt when I heard that the NS would put down one of their own when they were deemed out of control. But when they suggested Obsidian may be one, I was outraged. Of course Obsidian was redeemable and I suppose the others werent.

But Obsidian was still annoying as hell. All he did was order Alli around and I have no idea what she saw in him. I felt bad when everyone kept trying to control him though, when I think their control was part of what was setting him off. He felt trapped and he didnt know any of them so he didnt understand their intentions. How could they not understand, that he had never seen anyone before in his life besides the Mercile technicians and his mate? He had been far more secluded than the other NS. How did they expect him to react?

It was interesting to explore that side of being an NS, but I really didnt enjoy Obsidian's character, and the fact that Alli fell for him makes me not really care for her much either. I am still glad things worked out for them in the end. I am a little unsure whether Obsidian has changed too much though. I was a little turned off by the fact that Obsidian actually bothered to excuse himself, when before he would have just growled at people and plowed his way through to get to Alli. Not that I liked Obsidian's personality, but his relationship with Alli is more likely to work if he is still the same person she fell in love with. The last chapter was from his POV and he seems to still be himself for the most part. I just would have liked a bit more clarification.

It was interesting to see so many of the sex scenes from Obsidian's POV. This series has had alternating POVs for each book, with occasional chapters from third parties. But I am pretty sure that the sex scenes have always been from the woman's POV, since the books are written for women and I suppose they want to imagine being in Alli's position, not Obsidian's. But it was an interesting change. Now, all Laurann has to do is write a book featuring a primate NS.

I have always thought that if I were the woman in one of these books, I would pick a primate. They are less vicious but still super buff, averaging at about 6 ft. instead of 6.5 ft. with soft features and big eyes, and described as extremely cute, rather than handsome with sharp features. I used to always hope for a book about Smiley. But after reading this, and hearing Jericho tell us that the NS females dont like the primates and that they avoid them, and that he has given up hope of finding a mate, I now really hope that Jericho gets a book soon. I really hope that Laurann isnt planning to end the series with 10 books.

Love, love, LOVE this book!! Obsidian is AWESOME!!

4.25 Stars

Read this as a standalone. This is my first novel by this author and I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this novel. With these paranormal/hybrid humans novel, things can become quite cheesy and fast. This was well written. The storyline was interesting and the steamy scenes were extra hot.

Overall, I fully enjoyed this novel. If you're a fan of Ruby Dixon novels, you'll enjoy this too.

Loved his story! So different from the rest because he was newly free.