Caressed by Ice
Psy-Changeling, Book #3
By Nalini Singh
ISBN# 9780425218426
Author’s Website: http://www.nalinisingh.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
Wolf Changeling, Brenna Shane Kincaid, is still trying to recover from her abduction and torture at the hands of a Psy sociopath. Her physical wounds have healed, but her mental and emotional injuries are much deeper. But she’s tired of everybody, especially her brothers, being on pins and needles around her and trying to babysit and protect her. There is only one person she longs to go to with all her mixed feelings, only one person that truly makes her feel safe. Judd Lauren; which seems like an odd choice since he is not only another Psy, but even the same designation as the one that hurt her.
Judd wasn’t just your average Psy, he was a trained killer, part of the Council’s secret army, The Arrows. He can kill someone with a simple thought and he has killed many over the years. But he defected from the Psy to save his family and did it in a way that the Council believes the family to be dead. They now live with the wolf changelings, the SnowDancers. As Judd sees other Psy defecting and breaking the Psy protocol Silence that keeps them from feeling any emotions, he knows that he can never break it for himself. It’s the only thing that keeps his powers under control; without it he could hurt those around him without even meaning to. But as he grows closer to Brenna he realizes that he can no longer live the way he has for all these years. He must find a way to gain control of his powers, but to also give himself the ability to feel and give her the touches and comfort she craves.
Meanwhile, there is a killer on the loose. He has already killed one of the SnowDancer males and it quickly becomes obvious that he has his sights set on Brenna. Judd will do everything in his power to keep her safe, but will it be enough?
I felt this book got off to a pretty slow start, especially when it was delving into Judd’s past and his extracurricular activities trying to stop the Council’s latest Protocol idea for the race. And, if I ever hear the word dissonance again, I’m going to scream! It was the most overused word so far in this series; chapter 12 was by far the worst in that regard!
I thought the romance would bloom pretty quickly considering the two have both been living within the pack, have been sharing tender moments together, and the fact that there was no figuring out how Judd was to defect from the Psy since he already has. But surprisingly this relationship took quite awhile to develop. But the wait is definitely worth it! I especially loved their first time together and all of the talk about Judd’s plan. And, it only gets better from there!
I kept thinking the other things that were going on around the couple where going to have some on-the-edge-of-your –seat suspense, but they seemed to fall flat, the anticipation being better than the end product.
But, despite the flaws, I still enjoyed this book. It was nice to have a story featuring the wolves, giving us a whole new cast of characters to get acquainted with. This book has seriously whet my appetite for Hawke’s book…. Although I’m sure it’s well into the future.
Now I’m on to the next installment!
