Caressed By Ice (Psy/Changeling, #3)

by Nalini Singh

The author of Shards of Hope and Shield of Winter presents a Psy/Changeling novel in which two people who know evil intimately must unlock the good within their icy hearts…

As an Arrow, an elite soldier in the Psy Council ranks, Judd Lauren was forced to do terrible things in the name of his people. Now a defector, his dark abilities have made him the most deadly of assassins—cold, pitiless, unfeeling. Until he meets Brenna…

Brenna Shane Kincaid was an innocent before she was abducted—and had her mind violated—by a serial killer. Her sense of evil runs so deep, she fears she could become a killer herself. Then the first dead body is found, victim of a familiar madness. Judd is her only hope, yet her sensual changeling side rebels against the inhuman chill of his personality, even as desire explodes between them. Shocking and raw, their passion is a danger that threatens not only their hearts, but their very lives…

"The alpha author of paranormal romance."--Booklist

• ISBN10: 0425218422
• ISBN13: 9780425218426
• Publish Date: 4 September 2007
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425218426

Reviews

[Berls]

Can I give this book 4.25 stars? I feel like it's a bit more than 4 stars, but not quite 4.5 for me. So far, Caressed by Ice is my favorite full-length story in the series (the short with Stephan and Tazi is my favorite overall). I buddy read it with Anne and I know she also enjoyed it quite a lot and is giving it 4 stars.

First off, the characters. I LOVE Judd. I think I like having the male Psy for a change, since it brings in a different kind of emotion when breaking silence. Yes - it's PNR so it's all about falling in love, but in Judd's case it's born of a protective instinct, seen first in his love for his niece and nephews. I think that's why I love him so much - I have a really soft spot for kids and for men who are good father figures (seriously, my husband pretty much stole my heart because he was a good dad). His very different experience as an Arrow Psy (as opposed to Faith's F designation and Sasha's E designation) was also very interesting and changed the threat of his breaking silence - it was less external and more internal.

Brenna is also a great character. I like that we're connecting to what happened in previous books - we learned about Judd's ability in the previous book and Brenna was a victim of a Psy sociopath killer in the first book. Her strength is incredible and while she definitely isn't making some of the smartest choices, you can see it's her fighting to reclaim her independence, sexuality, and confidence.

In addition to the characters, the situation between the Psy and Changlings is really progressing with each book and this book raises a lot of questions for me about some key players and where things will go.

And - of course - I listened to this book, because Angela Dawe. Seriously, if you haven't listened to her narration your missing out.

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

First Time Read: March 3, 2020 for #Romanceopoly2020

Second Time Read: April 25, 2021

I don’t want to give the book away to anyone who hasn’t read this book. Check out the book’s synopsis since it provides an excellent brief description of the story and the main characters.

Here are the items I loved about this book:

1. Judd Lauren. He may have an icy heart due to having no feelings, but I fell hard for this elite soldier. The Psy used him for his dark abilities, and those abilities can now help the Changelings. He’s trying to prove himself with the Changelings, and he will, even though some don’t trust him. I loved how Nalini made this non-feeling male hero show himself at his most vulnerable and most robust. 

2. Brenna Shane Kincaid. She was abducted by a Psy that violated her mind, but she was one strong female heroine proving she can be strong. She’s full of emotions, and she is trying everything to deal with everything that she’s been through and deal with difficult brothers who won’t let her live her life. I adored how much she fought to be with Judd, even though he tried to warn her off so many times that he had no feelings. I loved them as a couple because they are complete opposites of each other. 

3. The plot/drama. The politics between the Psy and Changelings are significant in this story and how much the Psy wants to destroy the Changelings. They even go out of their way to turn Changelings against each other. It’s crazy. The Psy have some evil to them, and I hope the Changelings start fighting back even more. The ‘Ghost’ in the story that Judd works with is also a spy. I can’t wait to learn more about him. 

4. The romance between the Opposite Characters. I love this kind of passion for stories. Judd is the ‘Ice’ due to having to suppress his feelings. He doesn’t want to lose control. Then there’s Breanna, who is the opposite, and her feelings are everything. These two together will eventually find a way to be with each other. It won’t be easy, so be prepared when you read the story.

I could go on and on about what I loved about this story. If there is one of many reasons why I love reading Nalini Singh’s books right now is due to her world-building skills and addicting characters. I’ve only read three of the books in the Psy-Changeling series, but I know Nalini will make me fall for each book no matter what.

I love this series by Nalini Singh, and I can’t wait to dive more into this series. I’ve meant to catch up on this series for so long now.

[thebookdisciple]

Lots going on: Brenna's recovery, who killed Tim, Will Judd break silence, will it kill him or make him kill everyone else. Overall, good but I didn't like Judd and Brenna as much as Sasha and her mate.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Judd Lauren is an Arrow, an élite soldier in the Psy ranks who defects when his entire family was slated to be destroyed. Hiding among the shifters and working with the resistance he has not let go of the silence because he fears it will unleash his murderous instinct. Gads, Judd made me swoon on so many levels. I felt for this mighty warrior who carries such a heavy burden. Seeing him come undone and break his chains around Brenna was delicious.

Brenna Shane Kincaid is a badly damaged. She is a fierce wolf who survived an abduction by a brutal Psy serial killer. She fears she is slipping into madness as visions of blood and murder fill her dreams. With over protective brothers and a fear of opening up to others, she finds herself drawn to Judd. The tale that unfolds delivered a hot, sexy, tender, humorous romance and I found myself lost within their story. Brenna has been altered and her impact to the overall arc was fascinating. I loved how fearless, determined and oh so stubborn she was.

The overall arc continues as we move farther into the Psy world and that of the Silence. This time they are trying to weaken the pacts, and someone within the Psy network is implanting the next protocol in the Silence. They are attempting to achieve a hive mentality that will give them ultimate power. This power-hungry group will not hesitate to use their own young as test subjects.

Caressed by Ice was another wonderful addition to the overall series. I loved watching the packs work together and learning more about this world. I am anxious to move on to the next couple in Mine to Possess. There are currently fourteen books and oodles of novellas in this series available. The last book releases this summer. This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer

[Rowena]

Where do I even begin with this review? I mean, seriously?

This is the third book in the Psy-Changelings series and it’s my favorite read so far. Nalini Singh is doing a fantastic job of sucking me right in with each and every single one of her books. I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about this book, and about Judd, that I couldn’t wait to start it. I didn’t think that this book could hold up against the expectations that I had for it but Singh proved me wrong.

This book follows Judd Lauren and Brenna Shane Kincaid as they battle their way toward that happily ever after. The happy ending that Judd never expected to have for himself. Something he didn’t even want or care about until Brenna came rushing into his life and not giving him a moment’s peace. The protectiveness that he felt toward her confused him because he’s a cold man. So cold, he’s ice cold and he’s that way because he needs to be.

If you read the books before this one, you’ll remember Brenna from the SnowDancer pack. She was taken and brutally abused both emotionally and physically by a Psy serial killer. She’s back in the safety of her pack but she’s becoming overwhelmed by the over-protectiveness of her two brothers, Riley and Drew. And by Hawke, her alpha and while she feels as safe as she can feel with her pack, the only person she feels completely safe with is the cold Psy that helped her recover. For some reason, being around Judd is what she craves and her changeling spirit clashes with his Psy coldness throughout the entire book.

There is so much going on in this book but Singh balances everything so wonderfully that you can’t help but get caught up in everything. The romance between Judd and Brenna was such a treat because you can see Judd’s confusion and then the fierceness with which he fought what was happening between him and Brenna. He had to protect his family’s place in the pack and even though Hawke took them in, he never felt like it was permanent. He had to keep his distance from everyone to protect them…from him. I ate it all up.

My heart hurt for Judd and for Brenna. They kind of reminded me of the couple on the X-Men movies that couldn’t touch each other without one of them killing the other. Ice Man and Rogue, I think that was them. But they also reminded me of Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak on the show, Arrow. He’s the serious one, the one that everyone thinks is going to blow up the den and she’s the computer hacker who captured his heart.

*heart eyes*

I loved that Brenna never gave up on Judd and I loved Judd’s jealousy that he didn’t understand. I loved that Nalini Singh kept Judd’s character true from the guy that we know and were curious about in the previous books. I loved that Brenna and Judd helped heal each other. I loved that they accepted each other for the people they were and not who they wanted the other to be.

I’m really enjoying the background story that is building ground over the course of the series. I find that part of the books very interesting. Actually, I find the whole Psy community interesting. The way that they handle things, all of the secret, shady business that goes on behind the scenes and just seeing them underestimate the changelings at every turn cracks me up.

I couldn’t help but jump right into the next book. I’m completely obsessed with all things Psy-Changelings right now. I’ve pored over every single website that I could find (with Holly’s help) and I’m dreaming of Psy-Changeling things. I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again and I can’t even blame Nalini Singh because it was Julie James who turned me on to this series.

This book had it all. A great story with wonderful characters and a hero and heroine who will capture your heart. To read this book is to love it and there’s a reason it’s so popular. It’s so popular because it’s a damned good book and if you haven’t read it already, you should change that because everyone needs Judd in their lives.

[Chelsea]

I can’t believe I put this book off for so long. I had no reason to because I knew it was going to be good. I wasn’t disappointed. Her love stories are just so good! What I really like about it is that it’s a love story but there’s so much action and political stuff too. I just loved everything that happened in this book. This book was different from the others because of the perspective but you can still tell it’s part of the same series.

There’s so many more characters I want to read about! I love Brenna and Judd! I was also really excited to see that we we’re in SnowDancer territory this time. It was a nice change. PLUS all the characters we love like Lucas, Sasha and Faith, were in it too! I just loved everything about this book. I’m really, really glad I found this series. It’s really well written and the author created an interesting world. I can’t wait to read the next one!

[EBookObsessed]

I really enjoyed watch Brenna break through Judd's hard psy shell.

Some of this story seemed awfully familiar as I listened to it, but I can't imagine if I had read this story before, why I wouldn't have grabbed the whole series. Odd.

This was one of my favorites of the series.

[wyvernfriend]

Brenna Shane Kincaid was abducted by a psionicly powerful psychopath. She was damaged both inside and out, the physical damage is taking less time to heal than the psychological damage.
Judd Lauren is another damaged soul, he's been told that losing control could kill other people, and it did, once accidentally. He has killed again and he really tries not to feel, there are feedback loops set up in his mind that will kill him if he becomes too emotional. He has being helping Brenna heal and he is starting to care for her, too much.

There's someone who is trying to kill them, someone who appears to be inside their very sanctuary. There are also complicated plots to try to get the shifters infighting and someone has plans with impants and the psy.

I liked the relationship between Brenna and Judd, they accepted that things weren't going to be easy, they had moments of terror and Brenna's trauma wasn't just dismissed easily, and you know at the end that there will still be aftermath. It wasn't an easy romance, but it was interesting.

[Linda]

4.5 stars, another excellent book! I love how the main characters from other books are included, and I fell for the Judd / Brenna couple. They were both so damaged, but still managed to become stronger so that they could be together.

It is now official, I love this series.

[Melanie]

The Psy are starting to grow on me. I still enjoy the changelings a lot more. I can't wait to get to Hawk's book. I am reading mostly to get to his book. I really like him.