REVIEW: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh

In Shield of Winter (Psy-Changeling #13) by Nalini Singh, Empath Ivy Jane knows the day has finally come when she must decide whether to face her future and develop her psychic skills or hide her emotions forever. Arrow and Tk-V, Vasic, has been sent to give Ivy the chance to repair the lock placed on her abilities she suffered through at age sixteen, and to help the Arrows find a way to contain the infection spreading in the PsyNet.

“Do you truly feel nothing?” she whispered. “Are you without fractures?”
“It’s better this way.” His eyes kissed her with frost. “The day I feel is the day I die.”

Ivy wants to finally be able to help others by putting her Empath skills to use and to feel emotions openly since Silence has ended. She also is drawn to the dark, devastatingly handsome soldier sent to protect her. Vasic is walking a razor’s edge, about to lose it, thanks to the years of suffering and unspeakable acts he’s had to commit under command. Ivy knows she could help him, if only he would allow her to do so. How can she convince him that he’s worth the effort when he’s never been show any consideration before?

“Thank you for holding me.”
“It’s what you need.”
“What about you?” she asked, leaning back in his arms so she could look up into his face. “What do you need?”
“This.” Having her so close, so trusting, was far more than he deserved.

Vasic Zen is an Arrow, meant to do the tasks that others can not and will not do. He has seen the devastation Silence has rendered on his fellow Psy and the Changelings but he has been conditioned to never feel emotions. Even if the guilt from the acts he’s done is eating at him every day. Vasic’s assignment to watch over Empath Ivy Jane while she works on a project to help the entire Psy-Changeling race is not all that different from other missions. Until he meets her. Vasic’s emotional walls get slowly chipped away by Ivy, day after day. She does the unthinkable by drawing him out and introducing him to the wonders of love and friendship. But is it too late for a war-hardened soldier like him to have a future with someone so pure and lovely?

‘Laughter escaped her in giggling bursts. Bright and beautiful and sexually addicting and *his*. No way in hell was he leaving her. No other man would ever have the right to touch Ivy Jane.’

Totally. Unbelievably. Wonderful. That’s what Shield of Winter is. If you haven’t yet explored the Psy-Changeling world, you’re missing out!

Paranormal Romance is one of my go-to genres and author Nalini Singh has become one of my favorites as well. Her writing is so incredibly detailed and complex that I can’t help but be drawn in to the story every time. I would suggest starting this series from the beginning where it is rather complicated. There are a lot of characters to keep track of and a whole language, really, to learn when it comes to the Psy and Changelings. But it is so worth it. And just so you know, this is not a quick, lighthearted romance. Coming in at just under four hundred and fifty pages, it is a lengthy one (although I didn’t want it to end!) and our characters must face horrors and choices that would make most of us cringe. In my humble opinion though, it just makes them that much stronger and heroic.

Vasic and Ivy’s relationship started off rocky when he was assigned to protect her, but it quickly became so much more. I love, love, loved watching them both begin to explore their emotions, especially Vasic. Ivy had a way, thanks to being an Empath, of connecting with the soldier and showing him tenderness and concern when no one else really ever had before. It was beyond sweet how Ivy cared for him and how Vasic eventually did for her as well. This was one of those love stories that I just enjoyed every aspect of it from beginning to end. And I liked how there were bits of humor mixed in amongst the darkness of their world. Not only with Vasic and Ivy, but the other couples from previous novels, too.

If you’re a fan of smartly written Paranormal Romance brimming with a myriad of emotions, Shield of Winter is the story for you. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Book Info:

Published June 3rd 2014 by Berkley Hardcover

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…