Review (+ Giveaway): Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh

Reviewer: Casee
Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh
Series: Psy/Changeling #13
Also in this series: Mine to Possess, Hostage to Pleasure, The Magical Christmas Cat , Kiss of Snow, Tangle of Need, Slave to Sensation , Wild Invitation, Heart of Obsidian, Shield of Winter, Visions of Heat, Mine to Possess, Caressed By Ice, Branded by Fire, Blaze of Memory, Mine to Possess, Hostage to Pleasure, Hostage to Pleasure, Shards of Hope, Shards of Hope, Heart of Obsidian, Caressed By Ice, Branded by Fire, Blaze of Memory, Play of Passion, Allegiance of Honor, Kiss of Snow, Tangle of Need, Shield of Winter, Shards of Hope, Allegiance of Honor, Allegiance of Honor, Wild Embrace, Wild Embrace, Wild Embrace, Silver Silence, Silver Silence, Tangle of Need, Ocean Light, Ocean Light , Caressed By Ice, Wolf Rain
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: June 3rd 2014
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 464
Add It: Goodreads
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Series Rating:

“The alpha author of paranormal romance” (Booklist) draws us back into her extraordinary Psy-Changeling world, a world torn between violence and peace, passion and ice...
Assassin. Soldier. Arrow. That is who Vasic is, who he will always be. His soul drenched in blood, his conscience heavy with the weight of all he’s done, he exists in the shadows, far from the hope his people can almost touch—if only they do not first drown in the murderous insanity of a lethal contagion. To stop the wave of death, Vasic must complete the simplest and most difficult mission of his life.
For if the Psy race is to survive, the empaths must wake…
Having rebuilt her life after medical “treatment” that violated her mind and sought to suffocate her abilities, Ivy should have run from the black-clad Arrow with eyes of winter frost. But Ivy Jane has never done what she should. Now, she’ll fight for her people, and for this Arrow who stands as her living shield, yet believes he is beyond redemption. But as the world turns to screaming crimson, even Ivy’s fierce will may not be enough to save Vasic from the cold darkness…

 

Slave to Sensation began with Sascha Duncan, an E-Psy whose gift had been stifled by the Psy Council; even by Sascha’s own mother. In Shield of Winter, it’s fitting that the series comes full circle back to the E-Psy, the only Psy that can save their race after Silence fell and the PsyNet started rotting from the inside out, some Psy tipping into a violent madness.

As a small, but important experiment, Kaleb Krycheck’s elite squad of Arrow’s enlist the help of ten Cardinal e-Psy, some who don’t know of their gift, some who haven’t accepted it. With one Arrow per E, they hope to figure out a way to battle the infection in the Net which could take millions of lives—Psy, changeling, and human alike—if they can’t figure out a way to combat it.

Vasic is a TK-V, a designation that is so rare that there is only one other Psy he has met that has the same gift. Being able to teleport by only a visual lock, he is like no other Arrow or the entire Psy race. In the past books that Vasic has been a part of, it’s apparent that he is hero that sees himself as a killer. He saves people by route, kills when it is necessary, but never realizes that he helps more people than he hurts. Everything changes when he meets his E, Ivy Jane.

Ivy Jane was put through an intense reconditioning around age sixteen when Silence obviously wasn’t working. It was so intense, it was almost a Psy rehabilitation. Almost unheard of, her biological Psy parents took her and ran. Now at age 23, she has found peace with her family, though she still feels broken. When Vasic shows up at her farm, she is sure he is there to kill her. Then he tells her what her true Psy designation is and all the pieces fall into place, including the reason that she could never be Silent.

The only person that could truly be a mate for Vasic was an E-Psy as extraordinary as Ivy. From the beginning she knows that the chances of making him her Arrow are slim, but she won’t give up. It’s obvious to both Ivy and Vasic that he feels something toward her at first, even if it’s only the desire to protect her. Through the beginning of the experiment, the one Arrow to one E gives them a chance to bond in a way that brings Vasic back from the precipice has been on for years. The one that made him think his life was of no value. Ivy brings him back from that edge and he is soon desperate to live for her. Of course it’s never that easy.

Bonding with Ivy and trying to save the PsyNet while trying to save Vasic’s life are not easy tasks. Yet these are two strong people that have gone through hell and somehow found each other. Even after all the books in this series, I still wonder how I can get hooked into a book like it’s a brand new series. I also wonder at the craziness of people that started then stopped this series. Nalini told me years ago that she had a story arc planned for this series. I wondered if this was going to be the last book because it’s so complete. Yet there is still Aden. Alice. And Ming LeBon. He definitely has to get what is coming to him before the series ends.

4.5 out of 5.

Giveaway: We’re giving one hardback copy of Shield of Winter away (US Only)! Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter.

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You can buy it here or here in e-format.

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