Review: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh
SYNOPSIS:
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…
REVIEW:
Oh where do I start, where do I start…how about the fact that we went back to characters I just don’t care about. But in a pleasant turn of events, I actually really enjoyed Vasic and Ivy! This book was a nice balance of a new couple, a new issue, and a mixture of old characters I have already fallen in love with. I really enjoyed the harshness of Vasic and it blended well with the tender-stubbornness of Ivy. I was cheering for them and really enjoyed how everything played out. There were plot twists that were unexpected by joyfully welcomed and a few scenes where Vasic’s “dry humor” had me laughing out loud. New characters also bring a balance with the crazed and the calm.
I had a few problems though…Nalini’s sex scenes, some of the phrasing is so cringe-worthy it is like a knife is the story. I never want to hear anything about a seed or see the word testicles during a sex scene, no, just no. Another issue I had is the Pure Psy and Ming problems, I felt like they were named dropped a few times throughout the story but no resolution was brought about which was disappointing.
I am not sure why Nalini decided to wait to address these issues, if it’s because she wants to drag out the story and cash in on a few more books or if its because she just didn’t have time and simply wanted to remind everyone. Judging by the fact that the story goes to book 15 and then branches into a “spin off series” I am inclined to think she wants to cash in. I will be stopping after book 15 and while I enjoyed this journey…its becoming time for something different.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble
