SHIELD OF WINTER

 

Shield Of Winter by Nalini Singh
Book 13 of the Psy-Changeling series
Narrated by Angela Dawe
Genre: adult urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

 

 

About Shield Of Winter:

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…

Source: Info in the About Shield Of Winter was taken from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20703002-shield-of-winter on 04/03/2018.

 

My Thoughts:

In the previous book I wondered if there would be a Vasic book, and I’m glad that he does. He just seem so hopeless… and did I say that I’m a sucker for angsty heroes? Well, Vasic is that… and more…

I still, so am not very fond of Angela Dawe‘s singsong narration. It seems to have gotten worse with this book.

 

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 4
World Building = 4
Character Development = 4
Writing Style = 4
Plot = 3
Pace = (15 hrs and 47 mins listening time)
Story Itself = 3
Ending = 4
Narration = 1
Cover Art = 3

 

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

 

Books In The Psy-Changeling Series:
 

                                       
 

 

HEART OF OBSIDIAN

 

Heart Of Obsidian by Nalini Singh
Book 12 of the Psy-Changeling series
Narrated by Angela Dawe
Genre: adult urban fantasy
Format: hardback & audiobook

 

 

About Heart Of Obsidian:

A dangerous, volatile rebel, hands stained bloodred.
A woman whose very existence has been erased.
A love story so dark, it may shatter the world itself.
A deadly price that must be paid.
The day of reckoning is here.

From “the alpha author of paranormal romance” (Booklist) comes the most highly anticipated novel of her career — one that blurs the line between madness and genius, between subjugation and liberation, between the living and the dead.

Source: Info in the About Heart Of Obsidian was taken from https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15781026-heart-of-obsidian on 04/03/2018.

 

My Thoughts:

I am still not fond of Angela Dawe‘s singsong reading but I am getting used to it. However, I still wish they would get another narrator for subsequent books.

In this book we see a bit of Ming LeBon, but not his move towards Sienna Lauren. I find this surprising when he has the biochip and all. So I was wondering what has happened to that thread in the story. Hopefully the author will pick up this thread again in subsequent books.

This book is a whole lot better than the previous one even if I still couldn’t say that Nalini Singh has gotten her grove back. I like the idea of Kaleb getting his HEA. Guess I’m a sucker for angsty anti-hero.

 

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 4
World Building = 4
Character Development = 4
Writing Style = 4
Plot = 3
Pace = (13 hrs & 8 mins listening time)
Story Itself = 3
Ending = 4
Narration = 1.5
Cover Art = 3

 

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

 

Books In The Psy-Changeling Series:
 

                                       
 

 

Review: TANGLE OF NEED

Tangle Of Need by Nalini Singh
Book 11 of the Psy-Changeling series
Narrated by Angela Dawe.
Genre: adult urban fantasy
Format: hardback & audiobook

 

About Tangle Of Need:

Adria, wolf changeling and resilient soldier, has made a break with the past — one as unpredictable in love as it was in war. Now comes a new territory, and a devastating new complication: Riaz, a SnowDancer lieutenant already sworn to a desperate woman who belongs to another.

For Riaz, the primal attraction he feels for Adria is a staggering betrayal. For Adria, his dangerous lone-wolf appeal is beyond sexual. It consumes her. It terrifies her. It threatens to undermine everything she has built of her new life. But fighting their wild compulsion toward one another proves a losing battle.

Their coming together is an inferno…and a melding of two wounded souls who promise each other no commitment, no ties, no bonds. Only pleasure. Too late, they realize that they have more to lose than they ever imagined. Drawn into a cataclysmic Psy war that may alter the fate of the world itself, they must make a decision that might just break them both.

Source: Info in the About Tangle Of Need was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12059093-tangle-of-need on 15/08/2013.

 

My Thoughts:

This is the book which brought my “following” of this series to a halt. It took me several years to finish reading this book even with the convenience of the audiobook. I guess it gotta happen sometime, to any great series or good author. Hopefully, Nalini Singh would have gotten her grove back by the next book…

This is the first Angela Dawe book that I’ve listened to. She reads with a cadence that is almost like a singsong that I am not fond of at all. However after a while, as I get sucked into the story, the singsong fades into the background. However one has to listen carefully because she does not pause between scenes. She reads on. So if you were not paying full attention, you get confused about the story line changing without notice. So not good in an audiobook bought for the convenience of an audiobook… I often listen to audiobook while driving to work and home. So i don’t really pay 100% attention to the audiobook as I am paying more attention to the road. In other words, not the kind of audiobook I can play while driving. Brings the rating of this book down to the boots!

 

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 4
World Building = 3
Character Development = 3.5
Writing Style = 4.5
Plot = 3.5
Pace = 1
Story Itself = 1.5
Ending = 4
Narration = 1

 

Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 cherries

 

Books In The Psy-Changeling Series:
 

 

 

WW28: LORD OF THE ABYSS

WW28 book offering: Lord Of The Abyss by Nalini Singh
 

A startled pixielike creature looked up from where she stood by the large freestanding bench in the center.

 

Looks like this book is poepled by interesting fantastical characters 🙂

 

About Lord Of The Abyss:

Once upon a time… the Blood Sorcerer vanquished the kingdom of Elden. To save their children, the queen scattered them to safety and the king filled them with vengeance. Only a magical timepiece connects the four royal heirs… and time is running out. …As the dark Lord who condemns souls to damnation in the Abyss, Micah is nothing but a feared monster wrapped in impenetrable black armor. He has no idea he is the last heir of Elden, its last hope. Only one woman knows — the daughter of his enemy. Liliana is nothing like her father, the Blood Sorcerer who’d cursed Micah. She sees past Micah’s armor to the prince inside. A prince whose sinful touch she craves. But first she has to brave his dark, dangerous lair and help him remember. Because they only have till midnight to save Elden.

Source: Info in the About Lord Of The Abyss was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11866314-lord-of-the-abyss on 29/12/2012.

 

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous – WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

Review: ARCHANGEL’S STORM

Archangel’s Storm by Nalini Singh
Book 5 of the Guild Hunter series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback

 

About Archangel’s Storm:

With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason must tie himself to her bloodline through the Princess Mahiya, a woman with secrets so dangerous, she trusts no one. Least of all an enemy spymaster.

With only their relentless hunt for a violent, intelligent killer to unite them, Jason and Mahiya embark on a quest that leads to a centuries-old nightmare… and to the dark storm of an unexpected passion that threatens to drench them both in blood.

Source: Info in the About Archangel’s Storm was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9738483-archangel-s-storm on 06/05/2013.

 

Review:

This being Book 5, I already know the style of this series, so to speak. So I was looking forward to reading this book even though I am not really a fan of Jason. From his appearances in previous books, he was alright I guess, but he didn’t exactly shine or inspire a reader to want to know more about him. He was very easily forgettable. Then all of a sudden we have him showcased in his very own book. Okey, fine. The author writes what she wants to write. As a fan of this author and of this series, I would still buy Jason from that point of view alone. Anyway, I went into this book wanting to like it and I found that I did liked it. But also found myself needing lots of breaks from the book. That came as a surprise for me because normally Nalini Singh‘s story telling quality grabs me by the throat and drags me into the story and don’t let go until the very last page. It made the pace of this book a bit longer than expected. Now, let’s talk about covers. I like the US cover. It is appropriate to the story and it pings my fantasy geek radar. The UK cover however is rather a bit too bland and doesn’t really suit the story. What is that cover all about?!! Just because the story got lots of angels in it doesn’t mean you can just slap an angel wing tattoo on to it and that’s that. As a marketing tool, it’s a miserable failure. Anyway, unsuitable cover or not, I still enjoyed this book and looking forward to reading the next book in this series!

 

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 5
Ending = 4
World building = 4.5
Cover art = UK: 1.5 / US: 4.5
Pace = 3.5
Plot = 4.5

 

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

 

Books In The Guild Hunter series:

Review: BLAZE OF MEMORY

Blaze Of Memory by Nalini Singh
Book 7 of the PsyChangeling series

Genre: adult urban fantasy

About Blaze Of Memory:

Nalini Singh returns to the Psy/Changeling world and its “breathtaking blend of passion, adventure, and the paranormal”* as a woman without a past becomes the pawn of a man who controls her future…

Dev Santos discovers her unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All she knows is that she’s dangerous. Charged with protecting his people’s most vulnerable secrets, Dev is duty-bound to eliminate all threats. It’s a task he’s never hesitated to complete…until he finds himself drawn to a woman who might yet prove the enemy’s most insidious weapon.

Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor, and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder, Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her sanity itself. Her only hope is Dev. But how can she expect to gain the trust of a man who could very well be her next target? For in this game, one must die…

Source: Info in the About Blaze Of Memory was taken from the author’s website at http://www.nalinisingh.com/blaze.php on 05/06/2011.

My Thoughts:

Blaze Of Memory has the same masterful author’s voice that I know of from Nalini Singh. However this book did not read as good as the previous books. For some reason this book felt like Ms. Singh was not in her usual top form when she wrote it. It was still a wonderful read, don’t get me wrong, it just didn’t read as good as the other books in the series to me. It was also a slow start but I persevered because I thought that I had to read it anyway to have a better appreciation and understanding of subsequent books in the series which I fully intend to read, me being a long-time PsyChangeling series fan. So I trudged on. And I was glad I perservered because it did pick up about three quarters into the book until the end. It was a heart-wrenching read! But I am not going to say anymore about the end because otherwise I’d be giving out major spoilers which could potentially ruin the book for you, so that’s that. I also have a couple of minor issues with this book regarding the male protagonist which did not quite make sense, but I choose to ignore it for now. Overall, I enjoyed this book though it wasn’t the best book in the series.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story Telling Quality = 4
World Building = 5
Character Development = 3.5
Writing Style = 3.5
Plot = 4
Pace = 3
Story Itself = 4
Ending = 3

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Psy-Changeling Series:
Click on the cover image for more info.

WW28: PLAY OF PASSION

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous – WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering : Play Of Passion by Nalini Singh

“The lieutenant was waiting for him to say it.”

Now that line doesn’t say much, so here is the next lines:

“When he did, she’d forgive him –

both because she wasn’t the kind of woman to hold a grudge and because it would shove them firmly back into the roles she’d decided were the only acceptable ones.

His wolf went quiet, thinking.

Better, he thought, feeling sneaky and downright delighted with himself, far better to keep her angry and thinking about him.”

And that is our main protagonist. Sneaky much?

About Play Of Passion:

In his position as Tracker for the SnowDancer pack, Drew Kincaid must rein in rogue changelings who’ve lost control of their animal halves- even if it means killing those who’ve gone too far. But nothing in his life has prepared him for the battle he must now wage-to win the heart of a woman who makes his body ignite…and who threatens to enslave his wolf.

Source: Info in the About Play Of Passion was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7831145-play-of-passion on 13/08/2011.

WW28: BLAZE OF MEMORY

WW28
A chance to showcase your favourite!

• First you grab our Wicked Wednesday pic.
• Then you grab a book. Turn to page 28. Take the first sentence. And then you post it in your site with a link back to WW28.
• Come back to Cherry Mischievous – WW28 and give us the url of your post (in a comment at a WW28 post) so that other WW28 readers can find your WW28 offering.

WW28 book offering : Blaze Of Memory by Nalini Singh

Page 28, 1st Sentence:

It’s not that I have anything against Catherine and Arif.

Sometimes we get the most lousy lines in WW28 that don’t make a lot of sense, but I’ve just started reading this book so can’t give you a better sentence than that yet… but this a PsyChangeling book and all of the books in that series are good so far…

About Blaze Of Memory:

Nalini Singh returns to the Psy/Changeling world and its “breathtaking blend of passion, adventure, and the paranormal”* as a woman without a past becomes the pawn of a man who controls her future…

Dev Santos discovers her unconscious and battered, with no memory of who she is. All she knows is that she’s dangerous. Charged with protecting his people’s most vulnerable secrets, Dev is duty-bound to eliminate all threats. It’s a task he’s never hesitated to complete…until he finds himself drawn to a woman who might yet prove the enemy’s most insidious weapon.

Stripped of her memories by a shadowy oppressor, and programmed to carry out cold-blooded murder, Katya Haas is fighting desperately for her sanity itself. Her only hope is Dev. But how can she expect to gain the trust of a man who could very well be her next target? For in this game, one must die…

Source: Info in the About Blaze Of Memory was taken from the author’s website at http://www.nalinisingh.com/blaze.php on 05/06/2011.

WISHLIST: BONDS OF JUSTICE

WISHLIST:

Bonds Of Justice by Nalini Singh

Genre: urban fantasy romance

About Bonds Of Justice:

Return to the powerful, turbulent Psy/Changeling world created by the “amazingly talented”* Nalini Singh, as a human detective finds himself working the most unlikely of cases—in the dark heart of a Councilor’s domain…

Max Shannon is a good cop, one of the best in New York Enforcement. Born with a natural shield that protects him against Psy mental invasions, he knows he has little chance of advancement within the Psy-dominated power structure. The last case he expects to be assigned is that of a murderer targeting a Psy Councilor’s closest advisors. And the last woman he expects to compel him in the most sensual of ways is a Psy on the verge of a catastrophic mental fracture…

Sophia Russo is a Justice-Psy, cursed with the ability to retrieve memories from men and women so twisted even veteran cops keep their distance. Appointed as Max’s liaison with the Psy, she finds herself fascinated by this human, her frozen heart threatening to thaw with forbidden emotion. But, her mind filled with other people’s nightmares, other people’s evil, she’s standing on the border between sanity and a silken darkness that urges her to take justice into her own hands, to become judge, jury…and executioner…

Source: Info in the About Bonds Of Justice was taken from the author’s website at http://www.nalinisingh.com/bonds.php on 02/06/2011.

MR. MAILMAN: KISS OF SNOW

A huge THANK YOU to Tyra of Tyra’s Book Addiction for hosting Hoppy Easter Eggstravaganza Giveaway Hop 20th-25th which made it possible for me to win Kiss Of Snow by Nalini Singh!

Couldn’t wait to find it in my mail!! *big smile* This wait is worth another Mr. Mailman feature! A kind of “blog meme” started by Juju over at Tales Of Whimsy.

About Mr. Mailman:

Mr. Mailman is a feature Juju decided to try. Periodically when there is a book in route which she is anxiously hoping to find when she gets home to her mailbox – Juju would feature Mr. Mailman.

Mr. Mailman is a hybrid of Waiting on Wednesday by Breaking the Spine and In My Mailbox by the Story Siren. Please feel free to grab the logo and feature your Mr. Mailman request on your site. Please leave a link to your Mr. Mailman request in the comments at Tales Of Whimsy.

Source: Info in the About Mr. Mailman was pinched from Juju‘s blog, the Tales Of Whimsy, on 04/12/09.

Kiss Of Snow by Nalini Singh
Book 10 of the Psy-Changeling series

About Kiss Of Snow:

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would’ve been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other’s secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight…

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna’s darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home…and the alpha who is its heartbeat…

Source: Info in the About Kiss Of Snow was taken from the author’s website at http://www.nalinisingh.com/snow.php on 29/04/2011.