Review: Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh

Shield of Winter: Vasic and Ivy Jane

(Psy-Changeling #13)

Summary:

From Goodreads.com

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:

So basically the Psy-Net is dying and Caleb has an idea.. It’s time to “wake” the empaths. Ivy thinks she is defective, she was once rehabilitated to the point where she almost lost herself. Now she has managed to carve a life out for herself but she is fundamentally flawed so when an icy solider comes to her and tells her she’s not flawed but an empath and gives her the means to explore her abilities she jumps on it. Maybe even hoping a little bit that she’ll get to spend more time with the enigmatic soldier who protected her??

Vasic is damaged, in body and in mind. He knows he’s been put on empath duty because Aden is worried about him but he can’t bring himself to care.  The more time he spends with Ivy the more he thaws a little. Vasic has one of the more drastic transitions out of Silences, because he was so close to the edge before. Vasic has long since been one of my favorites and I was eagerly awaiting his book. I really wanted a leopard Changeling for him but after reading this book I can see that an empath and in particular Ivy is a better match for him. Ivy is the sole person who can break through his ice and make him whole again.

As far as storylines go, I have to admit this one is kind of depressing. Just so many people die as the Net collapses. Despite all of the death the main theme in this book is hope. Hope that as a race the Psy will be able to come together to save themselves, to put their fears and hatreds aside. I think that by the end of the book, there is a better chance of that than ever. This was another fantastic installment of this series!