Delighted Reader

Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh 
Series: Psy-Changling, book #13 
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Shifters 
Published by Berkley 
Published on June 3, 2014 
Pages: 448 
Format: eARC 
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Rating:  

The Delight

With each new book, Nalini Singh takes us into the Psy-Changeling world and weaves a web of intrigue, acceptance, sexy love and the reality of our actions in the world we read about and live in. Going from cold to an infernor takes skill and Nalini Singh has them all. This book rocked my 2014 reading experience and I want to read it again.

 

 

After Heart of Obsidian, I didn’t think Nalini Singh could do much better. Seriously, that book knocked me out. But here comes Shield of Winter, a story of two Psy’s who know Silence is broken, but feel they are broken deeper than that. A society is falling from which it brought itself by instituting Silence in hopes of saving their race from insanity only to drive them back into insanity by ignoring their true core. Now Silence is falling, dark voids forming in the Psy-Net. But who holds the key to saving the Psy-Net?

Vasic is a broken hero. Conditioned by Silence to be a killing machine, he really isn’t unfeeling. He remembers each and every life he has taken under command, under the Silence that was forced upon him early in life. He is utterly cold on the outside, but inside he is a hot rolling mess of emotions, guilt and the feeling he must right all the wrongs he has committed. He feels his life has little value from what he can protect. At any moment he is ready to die.

When sent to protect an E class Psy and bring her into the fold, he determines that it is his ultimate mission to protect Ivy at all costs. But the E classification has almost been eliminated because E involves emotions. Ivy almost didn’t make it through her reconditioning to remove what they thought was wrong from her. Her parents, while Silent, also loved their daughter in their own way and took her from society so she could quietly heal amongst others that weren’t totally Silent themselves.

But now Ivy has a mission to possibly be one of a few Psy who might be able to save the Psy culture. Together Vasic and Ivy along with others, set forth to heal a dark void that could destroy all the Psy. Along the way, we see the slow growing of love between these two. Both virgins, and both untrained on what love entails. There is a sweetness to their love, almost a purity as it grew. Vasic thinking he has nothing to give and Ivy knowing she has too much love to hold back. Throw in Judd giving sexual advice to Vasic and I was charmed by the sweetness that instantly turned in to erotic hotness.

I often wondered what the relationship between Vasic and Aden was through the other books, and you get a closer, intimate look into how their relationship works. Aden is the character I want next to find a happy ending. He is one strong dude that needs to find love *nods*.

We get to see old favorites…Sasha, Lucas, Judd, Aden, Krychek, Sahara…and many more. You get to see Sasha find her calling as a Cardinal E Psy along with Lucas fighting tooth and nail to protect her, even from herself at times.

There are great battles, harsh conditions, internal fights, redemption, saving life and so much more to this book. Nalini Singh takes a gray world, one devoid of emotions and gives it life in beautiful colors. While some words seem too technical, she weaves those words into a tapestry of beauty that makes us realize nothing is as cold or black and white as it seems.