Book Shelf: Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling #13) by Nalini Singh

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 stifle 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…

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Review:

Shields of Winter is the stellar 13th instalment in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series and is a deeply sensual and wonderfully written tale of romance, action and excitement.

Vasic is an Arrow; a highly dangerous solider and assassin. Known for his declining mental stability, Vasic has slowly become numb to life. And with his past littered with death and his hands covered in blood, those who know him know it’s only a matter of time before he unravels for good. Until he and the some of the other Arrows are asked to watch over a group of Empaths whose abilities may make them the Psy’s only hope to stop the deadly mental infection that is infecting their minds and turning them into mindless killers. Ivy Jane is one of those empaths; a beautiful and kind woman who has suffered for the abilities she could never before understand due to the Psy Council’s rules. Now tasked with possibly saving her race, Ivy can’t help but be drawn to the stoic Vasic who cares for her in his own unique way. Adamant that Vasic isn’t the hopeless case he believes himself to be, Ivy is determined to do everything she can to help save her people…..as well as save Vasic from himself.

Having never really felt one way or another of Vasic, I was surprised by how deeply I enjoyed this novel. Initially I started the book with the intention of quickly reading a few chapters, but then found myself utterly unwilling to put the novel down—that’s how entranced I quickly became with Vasic and Ivy and the delicious connection they share.

Both were strong characters with likable personalities and different strengths and weaknesses that I felt Nalini Singh explored well. As an empath, Ivy was understandably a caring person who truly wanted to help her people. Vasic surprised me with the depth of feeling hidden behind his cold exterior; a depth and truth Ivy slowly brought out. I ended up adoring these characters a lot more than I expected I would and thought they were a wonderful couple.

The attraction between them simmered from the moment they met and I loved seeing Vasic begin to experience desire and want. He’d never before craved affection and touch the way he did once he met Ivy and I loved seeing how she brought this all out in him. There’s a real sensuality to witnessing someone experience these kinds of desires for the first time and I loved that Nalini Singh explored Vasic and Ivy the way she did. It was sexy, sweet and endearing.

As with every other Psy-Changeling novel, Shields of Winter switches back and forth predominately between Vasic and Ivy’s POV’s but also allows us to see chapters from Kaleb, Sahara and Sasha; detailing a very well rounded view, not so much of the overall story, but the Net’s ongoing collapse. Seeing the importance of the empaths in this novel made me smile and think back to the very first novel where Sasha was deemed so very flawed for being an empath. Now the only hope the Psy have is to rely on the very individuals they spurned and ostracized. It’s a fitting kind of irony.

Shields of Winter marks another continuing development in the story arc of this series and Nalini Singh doesn’t disappoint. You’d think that after 13th books, she may have lost her edge, but this is never the case as each book continues to be as good, if not better than all the ones before! Highly enjoyable—I’m ready to begin the next!

Rating:
Source: I bought from The Book Depository
Publisher: Berkley
Format: Paperback
Release Date: June 3rd 2014
Purchase: Bookworld | Booktopia | The Book Depository | Amazon
Final Thoughts: Shield of Winter is one of my fave books in this series. I loved Vasic and Ivy and can't wait for more in this series!