Review: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh

Posted July 12, 2020 by Kate

Review: Shield of Winter by Nalini SinghCheck out on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Also by this author: Rock Addiction (Rock Kiss, #1), Rock Hard (Rock Kiss #2), Heart of Obsidian (Psy-Changeling, #12)
Series: Psy-Changeling #13
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Source: My shelves

The “amazing [Psy/Changeling] series” (USA Today) continues from the equally “amazing storyteller” (Smexy Books)—New York Times bestselling author 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 suffocate 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…
INCLUDES DELETED SCENES

New to the series? Read my review of Slave to Sensationbook one.

Shield of Winter is Vasic and Ivy’s book :) Vasic, the Tk-V (telekinetic Traveler, specializing in moving himself and others around the world) is an Arrow, and symbolizes our first foray into the Arrow cadre, as Judd from a book three only kinda counted. Ivy Jane is a broken Psy – she’d been nearly rehabilitated once, and is only now starting to recover some of her past personality back, her Silence fractured. But Ivy is also the only hope the PsyNet has to survive, as a fetid corruption is infecting Psy individuals with madness after the race suppressed and strangled their emotion for decades. She has no idea that she’s an E (empath) until Kaleb Krycheck summons her to be part of an experiment with other E’s, to help brainstorm ways to combat the corruption before it kills them all.

Now, this is where I’m going to pause and say that while writing this review, I’m operating under the assumption that you know what I’m talking about because series spoilers are inevitable when reviewing book # 13 in a series. Please check out my review of book one, Slave to Sensationwhere I do my best to convince you to try this series out asap! 


Only with her Arrow could she be this bold; only with him could she strip herself to the skin and feel utterly safe.


Back to Shield of Winter. So Ivy goes and lives in her own cottage house, on the same plot of land as a handful of other E-Psy, all exploring their previously unknown Empathic abilities, and trying to save their race. The E-Psy are in an isolated location but protected by a team from the Arrow Squad, headed up by Vasic himself. Bodyguard romances? Never get old. Each Arrow on the team is assigned an E to personality look over and protect, and Ivy is Vasic’s. But she’s got her work cut out for her because he is as remote and cold as ice (hence the title: Shield of Winter. Aye?).

Do you know what else also never gets old? A pet with so much personality, it becomes a character in its own right! Ivy’s pet dog Rabbit is my favorite character. My pup, Gabby, has so much personality, I loved how much personality Nalini gave Rabbit, because that definitely holds up with it comes to pets that are part of the family!

Anway. Ivy and Vasic’s romance was such a great slow-burn, but it was so much more heartwarming, tender, sweet and affectionate than I expected (which was a mistake, this is Nalini!). Vasic has a long way to go, as he’s martyred himself away as absolution for all of his past sins. But slowly, slowly, slowly Ivey begins to break down Vasic’s icy barriers and I loved watching it happen. The Changelings have always been my favorite romances in this series (except for when it comes to Kaleb Krycheck because god. damn! He just wins it all), but the E’s and Arrow Squad are quickly testing the knowledge that I previously took as fact. I love the sense of community and playfulness the changelings bring to their love matches, but the Arrows just have this steely conviction and cool eagerness to learn that just gets me! For gods sake. Reading manuals to be prepared for when their partner is ready to do the dirty??! I love their research ??????


“Trust me.”
He didn’t break the violently intimate eye contact. “It’s too late for me, Ivy. Focus your energies on the ones you can save.”


That said… this book is intense, full of tension and discoveries. Vasic’s a character that I’ve been looking forward to for a while, but his story isn’t easy, and neither is Ivy’s. They have to really fight. I loved how this book handled Silence, especially after Kaleb called for its fall in the previous book. It touched on the fact that it never truly worked, but there are tenets that may remain. For being a stepping stone into the new future of the Psy, it’s dark in places. Hundreds of thousands of people die, and though they dream with fervent hope for a future… it doesn’t look good there for a while, and it’s a breathless journey. The politics and political intrigue, maneuvering, and all the different factions that pop up in this one all seem very real, it served to make this world so much more rich and immersive for how realistic it was. But even for all the dark parts… Singh’s style shines through and there’s so much tender affection, love, family, friendship, and hope in this series that’s still a fun read.

Nalini Singh isn’t my favorite author for nothing, nor is she the Queen of Paranormal Romance on a fluke. Ms. Singh has a fluid, powerful, but subtle writing style that immerses you right into this incredible world that she’s built –  all without you consciously realizing it. I love her writing so much, and the fact that this series is so long and I haven’t been bored for a second tells you everything you need to know. My mom asked me, “Gosh, don’t you get bored of reading the same story over and over?” WHERE. This story is so intricate and incredible, it just keeps building and evolving, and I love watching each couple do their part as the series progresses, passing on the baton to the next duo. IN??CRED??I??BLE?? (Review of book one | Review of the previous book, #12)

Series Reading Order 

Fierce Females Cover to Cover Book Blog Kat Snark covertocoverlit Book Blogger Book blog reader reading Paranormal Romance Nalini Singh Paranormal Romance Review Changeling Shapeshifter Psy Fantastic book fall recommendations hate-to-love romances enemies-to-lovers forbidden-romance   Cover to Cover Book Blog Kat Snark covertocoverlit Book Blogger Book blog reader reading Paranormal Romance Nalini Singh Paranormal Romance Review Changeling Shapeshifter Psy Fantastic book fall recommendations hate-to-love romances enemies-to-lovers forbidden-romance Nalini Singh Psy-Changeling Visions of Heat Vaughn Faith NightStar F-Psy   Cover to Cover Book Blog Kat Snark covertocoverlit Book Blogger Book blog reader reading Paranormal Romance Nalini Singh Paranormal Romance Review Changeling Shapeshifter Psy Fantastic book fall recommendations hate-to-love romances enemies-to-lovers forbidden-romance Nalini Singh Psy-Changeling Caressed by Ice Judd Lauren Arrow P-Psy Ghost Assassin Brenna Snowdancer Enrique Victim Rape

Cover to Cover Book Blog Kat Snark covertocoverlit Book Blogger Book blog reader reading Paranormal Romance Nalini Singh Paranormal Romance Review Changeling Shapeshifter Psy Fantastic book fall recommendations hate-to-love romances enemies-to-lovers forbidden-romance Nalini Singh Psy-Changeling Mine to Possess Clay Bennett Talin Human and Changeling Were-leopard leopard changeling DarkRiver Pack San Francisco Second Chance Romance      

      

      

More reviews to come as I continue with my reread of the series

Other books you may enjoy…

   Fierce Females Cover to Cover Book Blog Kat Snark covertocoverlit Book Blogger Book blog reader reading Paranormal Romance Nalini Singh King Hall Kristen Ashley Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels Patricia Briggs Mercy Thompson   Curran Julie Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews on Cover to Cover Book and Blogging Blog by Kat Snark Kate Daniels Magic Urban Fantasy Paranormal Romance Sword Fierce Female Vampire shifter changeling slow burn romance

Have you read a book by Nalini Singh? Do you typically enjoy urban fantasy books? Let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!


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