Secrets at Midnight

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Synopsis

DarkRiver leopard Bastien Smith has been catching the tantalizing scent of his destined mate in the city streets of San Francisco, but every time he tries to track her, he hits a dead end. Since adult leopards can typically track their mate anywhere, this shouldn't be possible, but her scent is also a confusing one like nothing he's ever encountered before. While helping an elderly friend of his mother, he finally chances to meet the woman who's been eluding him, only to discover that Kirby is a human. Not about to let her get away again, Bastien offers her a ride home, and along the way, she begins having severe pain. He insists on taking her to a medical clinic, where they find nothing wrong with her. While monitoring her health, Bastien begins to woo her in earnest, hoping that she'll fall for him before he reveals that she's his mate. But when her mysterious pain continues, he knows he must find answers for what ails Kirby before they can truly be together.

Kindergarten teacher Kirby was found outside a house that burned down when she was just a toddler, and the authorities were never able to positively identify her. She grew up in the foster care system, never really experiencing anyone loving her unconditionally. When Bastien comes along, generously showering her with affection, she soaks it up and can't seem to get enough of him. But lately she's been having intense pain for which there doesn't seem to be an answer. As it worsens, accompanied by other strange symptoms, Kirby, with Bastien's help, begins to search for answers in her background, and what they find surprises both of them.

Review

Secrets at Midnight is a novella in Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling world that falls between Heart of Obsidian and Shield of Winter in the series chronology. Our hero is Bastien, older brother to Mercy (Branded by Fire), who keeps scenting the female he knows is meant to be his mate. However, somehow she manages to elude him, sometimes smelling human and other times having just a touch of cat scent. All of this should be impossible, because once a male finds his mate, he should be able to track her anywhere, and the confusing scents are like nothing he's ever encountered before. While taking an elderly friend of his mother's home, he finally meets Kirby, who is also this woman's friend. Bastien isn't about to let Kirby get away again, so he gives her a ride home to her apartment in the city. Along the way, she starts to have severe pain, something that's happening a lot lately and increasing in intensity. Concerned for her health, Bastien takes Kirby to a medical clinic, but they can't find anything wrong with her. Over the coming days, he monitors her health, while also wooing her in hopes that she'll fall for him before revealing that she's his mate. But when the mysterious pains continue, Bastien begins to realize some surprising things about Kirby, which lead the pair to start searching for answers about her origins, in an effort to figure out exactly what's going on and how Bastien can help her.

Bastien is a dominant leopard who's a stock broker, managing all of DarkRiver's investments. Not having found his mate yet, he's kind of temporarily given up on the dating scene, even though his mother keeps trying to play matchmaker. Then one day, while in the city, he catches the scent of the female he knows is destined to be his, yet he can't seem to track her strange elusive scent like he should be able to. Finally he meets Kirby at the home of his mother's friend, and thereafter, he's pretty much stuck to her like glue. He insists that she get checked out for the mysterious pains she's been having and when that doesn't produce results, he sets about trying to find information about her background, seeking answers and never leaving her side until they figure it all out. In the beginning, Bastien comes on a little strong for my taste, but I recognize that since this is an insta-love story and a short one at that, things had to move pretty quickly. Also, with his mating instinct kicked in from page one, he's basically already there, so I tried to make some allowances. I did like how sweet and protective he can be of Kirby and how supportive he is, wanting to give her all the affection she'd been missing in her life. I also love how he practices enthusiastic consent, wanting to get her to fall for him and fully accept him before having sex, so that she wouldn't have any regrets or feel like he took advantage of her difficulties to get her into bed.

Kirby was found as a toddler outside a house that burned down with two people presumed to be her parents inside. Though the police tried, there were many obstacles to them identifying her, so she grew up in the foster care system, never really loved or cared for. Now she's a teacher who shares her own affection with the kindergartners she adores. Lately she's been having terrible pain that seems to be increasing in frequency and intensity, but since she's always had to look out for herself, she's tried to ignore it. Then Bastien suddenly comes into her life like a whirlwind, and starved for affection, she devours everything he has to offer. Not only does he give her love, he also provides a sense of family and home that she thought she'd never have. But when the pains get worse, accompanied by other strange symptoms, they must work together to get to the bottom of it and figure out who Kirby really is. Kirby is very sweet, but she still manages to stand up to Bastien's dominance and find her own autonomy. She's had a rough life, so being with Bastien is almost a Cinderella story of sorts. He's wealthy, kind, caring, and best of all, he gives her a place to finally feel like she belongs.

Overall, Secrets at Midnight was a pretty good story in this series, although not my absolute favorite. I think that's partly because with it being a novella, there isn't really much taking place in the wider Psy-Changeling world within it, although admittedly I've read other shorts in the series that I liked better that also had minimal connections to the world-building. So I really think that my biggest issue was that the stakes in this story are pretty low with virtually no conflict to speak of or any major issues to work out between our protagonists. Yes, there's a certain degree of mystery surrounding Kirby and her health, but nothing too intense. Bastien is already on board with mating her right from the jump, and although Kirby is a little cautious, she's generally accepting of all his affection and alpha pushiness. With Kirby's background, I think the author could have gone a little deeper into her psyche, and perhaps even had some internal conflict within her. Even without those things, though, I liked Secrets at Midnight fairly well. It just turned out to be more of a sweet, uncomplicated read than I'm used to with this series, but still a pretty enjoyable one.

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Nalini Singh

Themes

Amazing Animals