Book Review: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh

Shield of Winter
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy/Changeling (Book 13)
Publication: Berkley (June 3, 2014)

Description: 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…

My Thoughts: SHIELD OF WINTER is Vasic's story. Long a side character of mystery and danger, he gets to find his own romance with Ivy Jane. Ivy is an empath. The Psys have been trying to breed the empaths out of the Psy. Now they find that the PsyNet is falling apart and it might depend on those same empaths to save everyone.

I loved Vasic. He was so badly damaged by the various abuses and tortures that made him into a fearsome Arrow that he had given up on himself. He was the perfect warrior who made life safe for everyone but had to stay on the outside himself. The Arrows are the enforcers of the Psy. They are the ones who take care of the Psy who turn serial killers.

When this story begins, Silence has fallen and caused all sorts of disruption for the Psys. The PsyNet also seems to have been invaded with a virus that causes Psy to go crazy and become violent. Kaleb Krychek has a plan to awaken the empaths to see if they can find a way to get this virus out of the PsyNet. If they can't, he will take stronger measures.

Ivy has been living with a group of other Psy who were also having trouble with their conditioning. She has the strong support of her parents which is unusual for the Psy. She agrees to become part of this experiment to reawaken the empaths and Vasic is assigned as her personal guard.

The romance was amazing. I also liked the way the story resolved an on-going plot thread that has been building through the last few books. It was also nice to see some of my favorite characters from earlier stories make appearances in this story too.

Favorite Quote:

"You're my hope, Ivy, my beacon home on the darkest night."

I bought this one. You can buy your copy here.