REVIEW: Last Guard by Nalini Singh

In Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) by Nalini Singh, As the face of her family’s thriving business in Delhi, Payal Rao is known for being ruthless and cold. Exactly what one would expect from a teleport-capable, telekinetic Cardinal Psy–well, pre-Silence that is. Since the fall of Silence, her fellow Psy have begun to feel emotions again. Something Payal isn’t sure she’s capable of given her horrific childhood and her backbiting family. Then she’s drawn into the search for a way to repair the failing PsyNet. As an Anchor, it’s her duty to do so. But it becomes Payal’s honor to be among those chosen by Canto Mercant, particularly when their shared past comes to light and the bond they had formed strengthens even more.

‘She could protect herself, had done so all her life, but to know that he thought she was worth protecting? It meant everything.’

Psy Cardinal telepath Canto Mercant still fights the occasional mental struggle to push past the broken boy he was and remember the somewhat more together man he’s become. While he might still have limitations from his spinal injury, they have no bearing on his intel work for his family’s businesses. Or for his job as an Anchor in the PsyNet. Reaching out to Payal and other Anchors to fend off the impending breakdown of the Net, Canto is shocked to find the connection he has with the Delhi beauty. It only makes him more protective of Payal and heightens his desire for her. But with the PsyNet about to meltdown and Scarabs adding more chaos to the mix, Canto and Payal will have to make sure their relationship also remains a priority–for it could prove to be important for more than just themselves.

‘He wanted to give her the world, give her his heart, give her whatever she wanted. The only thing that stopped him was the need to give her freedom.’

Does Nalini Singh write anything that *isn’t* epic? Last Guard was an exquisite slow burn romance that also had a wildly exciting plot about ongoing issues with the PsyNet. New details emerged, new alliances were formed, but evil still lurks in the shadows.

“We’re battling for the survival of the entire PsyNet. We are the last guard against a total system failure.”

If you’ve been following the Psy-Changeling series, which is now into book five of the Trinity (altogether for the series I believe it’s twenty books total), this was a pretty thrilling installment. The two focuses here were Payal and Canto’s budding relationship and the continuing breakdown of the PsyNet. For some reason–and it’s probably just me–it took a couple of chapters to get my head in the game and feel like I was immersed in the story the way Singh’s usually do for me. But once I was there, I couldn’t get enough…especially of Canto and Payal. Sigh.

What I found the most interesting about Payal and Canto was that they were very different from the personas they showed the world. And of course there were important reasons why. Payal was a little tougher to get a grasp on for me where she seemed like she was Psy through and through, robotic and ruthless in business and her personal life. I’ll let you find out on your own why she had to put up that front, but I can say it had to do with her (mostly terrible) family. Both Payal and Canto had pretty rough beginnings to their lives. And it created a special bond between them that, while raw and at times difficult to navigate, it helped them understand each other quite well. It also meant Canto and Payal knew how to support each other with their own personal demons. Something that was tender and oh so lovely.

The damage to the PsyNet had some glimmers of hope for the future by the end of Last Guard. Let’s just say that different groups combining their skills seems to be the way forward, although the Architect and the Scarabs were still issues. That part of the plot remained as intricate and captivating as it has been right along. And I think there are some surprises in store for fans coming up soon, from the way things were left off here.

You simply can’t go wrong with anything by Nalini Singh. So if you’re looking for a paranormal romance with splashes of science fiction (and even some nosy bear shifters!) Last Guard will be keeper shelf material.

QOTD: This series has shifters, Psy, and humans while Nalini Singh’s Guild Hunter series has archangels, humans, shifters, and vampires. Do you have a favorite paranormal/urban fantasy character type? (Mine are typically shifters, vampires, or witches)

Book Info:

Publication: Expected publication: July 20, 2021 | Berkley | Psy-Changeling Trinty #5

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to a world devastated by change in her award-winning Psy-Changeling Trinity series, where two people defined by their aloneness hold the fate of the Psy in their hands…

Termed merciless by some, and a robotic sociopath by others, Payal Rao is the perfect Psy: cardinal telekinetic, CEO of a major conglomerate, beautiful—and emotionless.

For Canto Mercant, family and loyalty are everything. A cardinal telepath deemed “imperfect” by his race due to a spinal injury, Canto cares for the opinions of very few—and ruthlessly protects those he claims as his own. Head of intel of the influential Mercant family, he prefers to remain a shadow in the Net, unknown and unseen. But Canto is also an Anchor, part of a secretive designation whose task it is to stabilize the PsyNet. Now that critical psychic network is dying, threatening to collapse and kill the entire Psy race with it.

To save those he loves, Canto needs the help of a woman bound to him by a dark past neither has been able to forget. A woman who is the most powerful Anchor of them all: Payal Rao. Neither is ready for the violent inferno about to ignite in the PsyNet…or the passionate madness that threatens to destroy them both.