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Veena’s review of The Last Guard (Psy-Changeling Trinity, Book 5) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 20 Jul 21 

She was a powerful TK, the face of the Rao corporation out of India. He was a shadow behind the powerful Mercant family, grandson to THE Mercant. They’ve survived a brutal childhood, their bond forged in blood and tears where they only knew each other as a number.  Together they have the power to change their world. What an exciting new chapter in the series where we get to catch up with some of our favorite characters, enjoy a few laughs with the bears, and welcome a new dawn in the Psy-Changeling world.

Payal definitely knows how to maintain the icy façade of the silent, but inside she is a screaming mess that only one person can calm. The treacherous Rao family is the stuff of nightmares, and it’s a wonder that Payal has survived them with her inner sweetness intact. She’s a powerful anchor, and it’s a pleasure to see her hold her own against the likes of Nikita and Kaleb.  Her façade is perfect that even the formidable Ena Mercant cannot penetrate it.

Canto has never been silent, but, hidden as a shadow within the folds of the powerful Mercant family, his secrets are safe. He seeks out Payal to be the Anchor spokesperson, little realizing that she is the 3K whom he has been searching for all his life after they were brutally separated. Living on the periphery of bear territory, readers get the benefit of the bear visits, especially the lost little baby bear. If you hadn’t fallen in love with the bears already, you’ll definitely succumb this time around.

All of the books in this series are compellingly different, making one wonder where Ms. Singh finds her characters and plot lines, but this one is probably one of the best.  The Psynet is crumbling and the fate of the Psy people is in jeopardy, plus you have the scarab weaving her own plot to take control of what would be left of the Psynet.  When all seems lost, can Payal and Canto help bring hope of a brighter future?

Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Grade: A+

Summary:

Termed merciless by some, and a robotic sociopath by others, Payal Rao is the perfect Psy: cardinal telekinetic, CEO of a major conglomerate, beautiful—and emotionless.

For Canto Mercant, family and loyalty are everything. A cardinal telepath deemed “imperfect” by his race due to a spinal injury, Canto cares for the opinions of very few—and ruthlessly protects those he claims as his own. Head of intel for the influential Mercant family, he prefers to remain a shadow in the Net, unknown and unseen. But Canto is also an anchor, part of a secretive designation whose task it is to stabilize the PsyNet. Now that critical psychic network is dying, threatening to collapse and kill the entire Psy race with it.

To save those he loves, Canto needs the help of a woman bound to him by a dark past neither has been able to forget. A woman who is the most powerful anchor of them all: Payal Rao. Neither is ready for the violent inferno about to ignite in the PsyNet . . . or the passionate madness that threatens to destroy them both.

Read an excerpt.

Other books in this series: