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Book CoverGwen’s review of Caressed by Ice (Psy-Changelings Book 3) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal romance released by Berkley Sensation 4 Sep 07 

This is the first of Singh’s Psy-Changlings books that I’ve read. I think I have Book 2 in my TBR and I’ll be looking for Book 1. This was a very fun book about an alternate world where changelings and telepathics/telekinetics vie with humans and each other for their piece of the pie. It’s a fascinating world that is built meticulously and entertainingly. 

Singh has created an amazing world in her Psy-Changling books. It’s rich with political intrigue between all the races – Psy who are tele-somethings who live almost solely in their minds, Changelings of many species, and humans. Her world has complicated social structures, backstabbing (literal and figurative), and complicated business dealings. There are also taboos and social mores that make life even more complex for the denizens.

All of the characters in Caressed are complex, multidimensional people. Singh’s world-building is smart and she doesn’t do “brain dumps.” You learn as you go along, which always feels more natural – and that applies to her characters as well. She brings secondary characters into the story when they’re needed. I never felt like a to-be hero/heroine was shoehorned into the book for the sake of the next in the series. It all made complete sense.

The relationship between the Judd and Brenna was sweet, complicated, and different. Judd’s conditioning makes it painful for him to feel any emotion, so it’s literally painful for him to love Brenna.  Brenna was brutalized by a madman before she met Judd, making trust a very big deal for her.  These two damaged people manage to find each other and fall in love in a most non-traditional way.

This was a very interesting, engrossing book. I can’t wait to read the others in the series and the next. I think I’ll find them all equally compelling. Highly recommended read if you want something to really sink your teeth into.

faye.jpgGrade: B+

Here’s the book blurb:

Explore new heights of sensuality in this return to the world of the Psy – where 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…

Read an excerpt and an excerpt.

P.S. You can find all sorts of interesting bits and pieces about her world-building, characters, and what not on Singh’s website.

Other books in the series:

Book Cover Book Cover mtp-by-singh.jpg

Mine to Possess, Feb ’08 (read an excerpt)