Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling, #13) by Nalini Singh Series: Psy-Changeling #13
Published by Berkley Hardcover on June 3rd 2014
Genres: Paranormal
Pages: 431
Goodreads
Awaken the Empaths
“To be an Arrow is to be an island, devoid of attachments that create vulnerability.”
THE STORY: Vasic is an Arrow with the ability to teleport. He believes himself beyond Silence and irredeemable because of what he did to help preserve Silence. He knows he has not future…until he meets Ivy Jane. Ivy is a reconditioned empath who has lived her whole life believing that she is flawed. When the psy-net becomes more infected, the governing coalition realizes that empaths must be awakened to try to restore the psy-net to health. Ivy gives Vasic hope and the two begin a sweet romance.
OPINION: I loved how the darkness of the story and the sadness and pain of Vasic and Ivy’s past was paired with an almost sweet and gentle romance between the two. It was unexpected and gave lightness to a story that could have been dark. SHIELD OF WINTER continues to have much of the humor that is present in most of the Psy-Changeling novels. What was interesting to me is how normal the developing relationship between Vasic and Ivy felt even as they were involved in extraordinary events. That compelled me to keep reading to find out how things would be resolved.
WORTH MENTIONING: There were small scenes with Kaleb and Sahara from HEART OF OBSIDIAN and I really enjoyed seeing how they are dealing with their relationship and how Sahara is keeping Kaleb in line.
FINAL DECISION: I love Vasic and Ivy’s story. In the midst of darkness and death and potential calamity, I found their almost innocent love moving and sweet.
CONNECTED BOOKS: SHIELD OF WINTER is the thirteenth book in the Psy-Changeling series. Singh’s series creates a complicated and intricate world in her series and while this book can be read separate from the series, I think it is best appreciated as part of the collective. Each individual book builds on the world and its mythology so that the characters and events resonate more with the background knowledge of the prior books.
STAR RATING: I give this book 4 stars.