Shield of Winter (Psy/Changeling, #13)

by Nalini Singh

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 ...

• ISBN10: 0425264017
• ISBN13: 9780425264010
• Publish Date: 3 June 2014 (first published 1 June 2014)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Berkley Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 431
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

OMG! I feel like I keep saying, but this book is my new favorite! Seriously, they just keep getting better and better! And considering that the last few have been 5 stars I feel like this may need to jump to 6 star status somehow.

This book was good for 2 main reasons:
1 - the plot progression was phenomenal. So much action and intensity, as the E Psy try to unlock their suppressed abilities to save the diseased PsyNet and their race. It's literally a race against time as the situation continues to devolve and more and more Psy - as well as their human and changeling neighbors through proximity violence - continue to be injured and killed. It was so exciting and just really struggled to put it down once I got started.
2 - Vasic. He has to be the best hero of the series so far. I love many of the men in this series, but Vasic is special. He's so powerful and so fierce and yet so gentle and so broken, because of having been asked forced to do a job that his temperament is not suited to - forced through abuse and conditioning snice he was 4 years old. He's heartbreaking and watching his E, Ivy, love him and reverse the rolls on him and protect him, was fantastic.

And that's just what made the book good. Then you add in the myriad of other components and the book crosses over into great... such as:
- the adorable, loyal dog, Rabbit
- watching the Arrows form relationships with E Psy and begin healing
- the continued relationship between Kaleb and Sahara
- the development and increased understanding of the E designation
- and so much more that would be spoilers!

I continue to listen to this series and I really enjoy Angela Dawe's narration. Seeing as this is 13 books in now, I'm like a broken record. But she really does deliver a fantastic performance that make all these characters so real for me. I'm excited to finish the series with her narrating.

Qualifies for COYER Fall Scavenger Hunt Item #8, part of the PsyChangling Readalong.

[thebookdisciple]

Shield of Winter continues the story of the Psy-Changelings. The Psy-Net is being destroyed by a 'virus' of sorts and if the Psy people can't find a cure, everyone could die. I adored Ivy and Vasik. Ivy is an empath who, under silence, has been forced to hide her broken silence and undergo reconditioning that nearly killed her. Vasik is a true TK-V who can transport to anywhere with just a visual of a person or place. He has been in the Arrow squad and feels that he has done such harm over the years that he cannot be redeemed. These two seemingly opposites attract in a major way. I have always loved the empaths too, so getting more of them was awesome. In an attempt to save the PsyNet, the empaths join together with an Arrow squad member as their guardian. You have a major plot arc solved in this book and Singh did a great job tying it all together. I am curious to see where we go from here. The net is 'safe', the council is gone....what will happen next?

Its no secret I LOVE this series. Seriously, look at my instagram page. I think I have posted more Psy-Changeling pictures than any other book or series. The world is so rich and engaging that I am pulled in right away. The woven layers of the plot fit so perfectly together and they flow so well you don't even realize a connection until it slaps you in the face. I also love that previous characters are still making appearances in the stories that follow. If you haven't checked out this series, you really are missing out! Shield of Winter can't be read as a stand alone though. You really need to start at the beginning; trust me, this is no hardship!

Shield of Winter, like all the Psy-Changeling books, is narrated by Angela Dawe and she is flawless. She is one of my favorite narrators!

 

• POV: 3rd


• Tears: no


• Trope: opposites attract


• Triggers: none


• Series/Standalone: series


• Cliffhanger: no


• HEA: yes

The Seven series by Dannika Dark, The Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews, The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward...then you will probably like Shield of Winter!

 

Shield of Winter

 See full review on The Book Disciple

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews
Shield of Winter is definitely a tipping point in the overall story-arc when it comes to the Psy-Changeling series. Strong characters move the story forward, helped by a tough plot.



Somehow, I had read the book that is after Shield of Winter in this series, but not this one. I was so happy when I realized I had an unread Psy-Changeling book on my kindle just waiting for me to indulge. Vasic is a character who has intrigued me since I was first introduced to the deadly Arrows, and seeing him with a seemingly fragile E psy, one who might be able to save the Psy-Net, made him seem more human somehow.

A lot happened in Shield of Winter, and it all was building on what happened in the prior books, both when it comes to the complex politics and the various storylines and plots that are happening in this series. From the first book in this series, I knew I was going to love it - both because of the very unique concept of the Psy, and the way Singh's changelings are a bit different from your average shifters. Also, the whole series is set in the future, and that makes a lot of the technology seem plausible, too.

Singh is an expert at bringing together characters that don't really have a lot in common - at least on the surface. And when Vasic first met Ivy, he was ready to just do his job - protect her with his life if necessary - and that was all. As he got to know the empath, though, he slowly come to realize that there was more to life than being an arrow - even if that was all he knew. I also really enjoyed that several characters from prior books in the series had important roles to play in Shield of Winter, and I especially liked seeing Sascha and Lukas who were the main characters in the very first book.

Between the fast-paced action scenes and the slower pace of characters getting to know each other, there were some very tender, and smoldering hot romantic scenes as well. I found Ivy's almost naïve joy for life, and her positive optimism and outlook on life to be the perfect counterbalance of the darkness that lived inside Vasic. They were both a bit broken, though, and it was beautiful to see them try to mend each other.

Written in third person point of view, past tense, but with a closer perspective on Vasic and Ivy, the story unfolded in a way that made me completely engrossed from start to finish. There are great dialgoues as well as the narration, and some notes and messages between characters to make the reader have a full view of what was going on.



Insanity, blood-soaked death, murderous aggression, this is the way the Psy were before Silence. No other race, it is said, bred more vicious, more intelligent, or more sadistic serial killers. But worse was the clawing madness that destroyed so many of them, saints and sinners alike, until it became known as the flip side to their incredible psychic gifts.

That, Kaleb would never accept, never permit. The world had taken seven years from them. It would get nothing else.

She stared at him, this woman whose presence caused him physical pain the same way Sascha Duncan's had. But he wasn't going to ask for another assignment if Ivy agreed to Krychek's proposal

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

If you told me when I first started this series years ago that I would like a book between two Psy, I would've thought you were nuts. Now, we've had two full Psy couples in a row and I think this might be two of the best books in the series. I think watching the cold, unemotional, purely silent Psy come into their feelings makes such a great story.

In this story we have Vasic, who is an Arrow on the verge of destruction. He is probably the most powerful and meticulous TK-Psy on the Net. He is also has a limited amount of time left. He has had a self destructive streak there for a while. He volunteered for a highly experimental gauntlet, which he uses for communication, data and even as a weapon. The problem is that it isn't function exactly as expected and is starting to malfunction.

Ivy has lived her life thinking she was flawed. She was never fully silent. Her parents sent her to be "rehabilitated" when she was still a teenager. It almost destroyed her. They moved her out into a quieter area to protect their daughter, knowing that it was not possible for her to ever be truly silent. When Vasic shows up at her little haven, one part of her sees him as the assassin that he is. But another part of her saw more in him.

Vasic seeks out Ivy because she was part of the little know E designation. The hope was that the Empaths will help the PsyNet will recover from the infection that is causing chaos sporadically across the globe. The Arrows decide to bring several of the strongest E's together to see if they can determine the best way to fight the infection.

While this book was between two Psy, we do get to see some of the changelings, just not as much as in past books. We also see a lot of the other Psy in the series, including Aden, Caleb, Sasha even Anthony Kyriakus. Alice Eldridge has a large part in this book too, but then that is no surprise with E-Psy being such a large part of this story.

I really loved learning more about the Arrows and E-Psy. We also get a deeper look into Vasic. We even meet a family member of Vasic's who was around pre-silence. It was great to meet someone who knows what is going on with the Psy before silence. The relationship between Vasic and Ivy is very fun to watch. The way that Singh describes each part with such great detail, you really feel like you are living it. This book is another winner from Singh.

When I first started listening to this series a few years ago, I wasn't sure that I like Angela Dawe. I thought her voice flat. The more I've listened to her, the more I think she fits this series really well. She does a great job with different voices for the different characters. She always does well with both men and women's voices. The biggest issue I've had at times is getting her to put that emotion into the story. Sometimes, I think it is just the Psy thing, but I think she could put more emotion into the changelings. In this book, I think she really great job showing emotion with Ivy. You could almost see her smiling and laughing at times. I didn't like how she made the dog bark. It was too deep for such a small dog, but the dog doesn't bark a lot, so it wasn't that big of a distraction.

I like to thank Tantor Audio for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[EBookObsessed]

Last year’s Heart of Obsidian left us at the dawn of a new Psy world. Kaleb Krychek had declared the fall of Silence as a new way of life for the psy people. There would be no more rehabilitations and no more training out emotions by pain or torture. The psy people would be allowed to once again free to feel love and joy, anger and pain and they would no longer be persecuted for these imperfections. But has the fall of Silence come too late?

There is a virus which is oozing its way through the psy-net and when it finds a weakness, it breaks through into the minds of the unsuspecting psy and is causing madness on a mass scale. And it is not just those who are infected that are suffering. The maddened psy are going on a violent rampage and no one is safe from their attacks, not human, changeling or other psy.

Kaleb believes it is the missing E designation, the ones Silence tried to breed out, that hold the answer to stopping the virus but with 100 years of suppression and hiding, he must first find powerful E’s hiding among the population and then train them how to use the abilities they were always told didn’t exist.

Kaleb brings in the Arrows to help locate his test group of E designation and get them to agree to train with Sascha Duncan. He has made an agreement with the cats and wolves of Dark River and Snow Dancer to create a training camp for the E psy near Sascha and far from an infected site of the psy-net.

Kaleb needs the Arrows not just to locate the E’s but to protect them since not everyone is in agreement that the E’s can save the failing psy-net. There are many who fear that the re-emerging E designation are the cause of the infection itself.

Vasic has been trained as an Arrow since he was four. The Arrows have always worked in the shadows, being used by the now fallen Council as assassins. After two decades of bringing death and pain at the command of those who lied to bloat their own power, Vasic is at the precipice of darkness. He carries too much guilt on his soul and he can’t imagine anything further in his life but his own death. But it is his training and his loyalty to his fellow Arrows, that makes Vasic take the assignment to protect the E’s who he believes will save the psy people.

As the E’s learn and stretch their abilities, an usual side-effect is occurring, the emotional E-psy are bonding with the Arrows and healing the most Silent of the psy race.

Vasic’s charge is Ivy. Ivy was a gradient 9.8 on the scale for the “non-existent” designation of E, and after years of trying to suppress that power, in her late teens she volunteered for rehabilitation only to have her brain nearly butchered. If she can work past the damage done, she could be an asset in repairing the psy-net.

When the man who’s Silence is such a part of him meets the woman who has never been able to submit to the harsh structure, she sees past the blackness in his soul and accepts Vasic shadows and all, and he vows to protect this most precious treasure with his last breath. But choices Vasic has made on his descent into darkness are coming back to haunt him, and now that he has finally found a measure of peace, he might not be around long enough to enjoy it.

THOUGHTS:
Nalini Singh shows us that gaining freedom is just the beginning. You then need to learn what to do with it. Kaleb Krychek announced the end of Silence, but after 100 years of the protocol, the psy people don’t know what is the next step. The psy were trained not to show feelings so those who survive the attacks by the insane psy are just as afraid of the rescuers as the attackers since showing fear would have gotten you rehabilitation for your flawed Silence. They are also afraid that maybe the announcement was just a way to get the flawed to reveal themselves. There are also those who fear that the fall of Silence and the re-emergence of the E-psy are the reason for the infection through the psy-net so the E’s are constantly under attack.

After 100 years of suppression, these hidden E’s are also being asked to fix an escalating and deadly flaw when they don’t understand the powers that they have and were always told didn’t exist, only to find out that different E-psy have different abilities and they don’t all accomplish the same purpose.

I like the fact that the fall of Silence doesn’t mean just rainbows and puppies. “Great, we’re free to live without fear of failing, but now what?” We see that even Kaleb has to sit down and figure out what needs to be done next after the fall of Silence. Where do they go from here?

As far as Vasic’s story, I find that I have enjoyed most the stories which involved Kaleb, Judd and now Vasic, the three most powerful psy’s who were basically tortured into accepting and being controlled by Silence, but who found a way to break that control for the right woman. I actually thought this would be a story of Vasic and Aden who is his best friend. Even under Silence, there was a strong emotional connection between the two men which shouldn’t have existed under Silence, and we will understand better the two young boys who should have trained against each other and competed against each other, and who grew a bond that made them the strong leaders they are of the Arrows. Aden has been watching Vasic spiral into a depression for the last few years and not knowing how to save his friend. Even he is amazed by the transformation after only being around Ivy a short time.

Ivy’s complete lack of Silence is why her parents kept her hidden from the net. After the brutal rehabilitation, she managed to reclaim her mind but still couldn’t even maintain a pretense of Silence as many others did. Just Ivy being herself around Vasic is what draws him to her. She doesn’t have to beat at his shields or fight to break him down. She accepts him as he is with his shadows and with his Silence and you see the subtle changes in their relationship in allowing a touch or leaning into her when she speaks or the telepathic contacts which he allows with her. The building bond comes through in simple things like getting Ivy a warmer jacket; as a TK Vasic can pull one from anywhere, but he brings her his jacket. He even learns to accept her dog when Psy don’t keep pets since that would require an emotional connection but it is all done subtly where Vasic is having a conversation with Ivy and picks up the stick to throw for the dog. No fanfare, no big declaration, just a subconscious decision to play with the dog, which is something the well-trained Arrow should never have been able to do.

Psy don’t have sex. They sign conception contracts and use in vitro to make children. It is fun to watch the previously unfelt sexual attraction build between them and the slight fumbling to get it right. Vasic keeps teleporting them out of the room any time things start getting out of control so they need to keep building up things between them.

Especially moving is that this subtle change in Vasic to accept and show affection for Ivy has a rippling effect through the Arrows since for the first time these trained killers and assassins can see that maybe they too can have a regular life some day. Maybe they aren’t all lost to a dark future in the new world.

This was a very enjoyable story and a wonderful addition to the series. I wasn’t sure where Nalini Singh would take us after Heart of Obsidian, which was a highly anticipated book and tipping point for the series, but there is no disappointment to be had for fans of the series. She is taking us in a whole new direction and it will be a bit of a bumpy and intriguing road for all.

Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

See more at http://ebookobsessed.com

[Cocktails and Books]

Shield of Winter is the thirteenth book in the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh. I have been waiting on this book for a while even before I knew who the mysterious person that was Judd’s contact inside the PsyNet. Vasic fascinates me right from the first time we saw him because he does not even realize that he can be saved but was willing to help so many others. Its was apparent that he was similar to Judd but it was not his time to leave the PsyNet.

Vasic is an Arrow in the PsyNet. He is a TK-V, a born teleporter who was able to access his powers even before birth. He is one of more rarer type of Psy’s. The Arrows are in charge of helping the prior unknown E Psy’s discover their power for any hope of controlling the murderous insanity that is striking the Psy in waves all around the world.

Ivy Jane is an E Psy who until Vasic appeared in front of her had no idea. She just thought she was a broken Psy only a 3.2 telepath. She had no idea she was a 9.8 E-Psy. It seems that Ivy like Sasha silence never really took. Ivy is such a strong and beautiful person inside and out. She knows not to push Vasic for more than he can give her at any one time.

The chemistry between Ivy and Vasic is blistering. I think the combination of Ivy’s E Psy abilities and Vasic’s obsession with helping Ivy both beat what was left of silence that was still inside Vasic so that Ivy and Vasic have the chance to fall in love. Vasic is so similar to the changeling’s its funny, super protective of what is there’s. They all are so willing to help those who need them.

I loved this book right from the start. This book was over way too soon. I enjoyed seeing some of the past characters from some of the other books and seeing how their relationships had progressed. I also liked some of the insights at the end of the book in regards to silence. It makes me wonder what Ms. Singh has set for the future. This book was very well written. I had a hard time putting this book down. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

Reviewed by Victoria for Cocktails and Books