Shannon C.’s review of Caressed By Ice (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 3) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal romance released by Berkley 4 Sep 07

I know my reaction to Angels’ Blood, Ms. Singh’s latest novel, was fairly meh, but I still adore her Psy/Changeling series. Recently, my friend Bree got onto a Nalini Singh kick, and so I picked up the third of Ms. Singh’s Psy/Changeling books to read along with her. Read on to see what I thought of it.

For those of you who, like me, haven’t caught up with these books, this is the story of Jud, a psy who has dropped out of the Psy-Net with the rest of his family and now lives in a Changeling wolf pack. He is drawn to Brenna, a wolf changeling who was viciously attacked in the first book. Psys are supposed to be cold and emotionless, and none more so than Jud, whose telekinetic powers could be deadly if not tightly controlled. Brenna threatens to break Jud’s control at every turn, and to add to their confusion, someone is threatening Brenna, and there’s more Psy intrigue going on.

I confess this was the one book in the series I wasn’t looking forward to reading. I really like the strength of Ms. Singh’s heroines, and I was afraid Brenna would be too weak and clingy for me. Thankfully, she wasn’t. She’s been through a lot, but even she admits that she hates feeling like she’s wrapped in cotton wool. I really liked watching her grow into her own strength. And this is definitely one of those perfect romances, where the hero and heroine both have to grow together before they could be happy. Jud has to accept his own strength and his feelings for Brenna at the same time that Brenna has to work through what’s been done to her. Watching them grow together was a delight. And, of course, the two of them have smoking chemistry.

There’s more intrigue with the Psy Council, who quietly run things in the background. I find scenes with them fascinating, but am glad they don’t overpower the story. There are hints of future plotting in this book, and I’m really glad the fourth book in this series features a human heroine, since we haven’t seen much of that so far.

This one wasn’t my favorite in the series, but I did enjoy it while I was reading it, and I know that this series can be counted on for a perfect comfort read which will provide a captivating and thoroughly enjoyable story.

Grade: B+

See Gwen’s and Sandy M’s reviews. And read more reviews on this series by following its tag.

Summary:
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Read two excerpts here (scroll down).

Other books in the series:

Sandy M’s review of Caressed by Ice (Psy-Changelings Series, Book 3) by Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 4 Sep 07

Don’t ask me how I somehow missed reading this book back when it was released. It’s the only one of the series I haven’t read, and, as much as I love the series, it baffles me too how this one slipped by me. But I finally remedied that, and I’ve vowed not to let such a thing ever happen again with one of the Psy-Changelings books.

While this book is not my favorite of the series, it’s still a pleasure reading Ms. Singh’s writing.  She could probably write a book about the dictionary and it would be worth reading. For some reason, though, Judd as a hero didn’t quite grab me as other heroes, Lucas or Dorian, for example, but he is an interesting character and I enjoyed watching his logic erode when he eventually is unable to resist Brenna’s love. The process he goes through near the end when he finally relents and decides to take the risk of freeing himself of Silence is so very intriguing, learning how the Psy had conditioned his mind and the depth of that conditioning is simply amazing.

Both he and Brenna are mega tortured souls; his due to Silence and the lengths his superiors went to in making him the perfect killing machine and Brenna’s due to her attack by a madman who physically and mentally tortured before her rescue. She ended up with many residual fears, but the most fascinating to me was the loss of her shifting ability. All readers of this series know of Dorian’s latency which prohibits him from shifting, so it was only logical Brenna seek him out to ask questions and learn whatever possible from him.

Another intriguing concept for this couple was the fact that though they love one another, there isn’t the mating bond as with most mated pairs, and I liked the twist Ms. Singh comes up with for that. Of course, these are just a couple of things that stand out, but the book is full of fascinating happenings and this review would go on for pages just to cite them all.

I was glad to see the DarkRiver cats were included as much as possible here, though the story centered on the SnowDancer wolves. I did enjoy getting to know more of the wolves better, especially Riley and Drew, Brenna’s brothers. Which reminds me of the life-saving procedure Judd performed at one point on Drew.  My heavens, what a scene. It amazes me what this author comes up with in each succeeding book. I think of the characters left, I’m looking forward to Hawke’s book, especially after what was revealed about him in a scene with Brenna.

This series gets better with every book, as evidenced by Hostage to Pleasure, the book right after this one. Ms. Singh has one fascinating mind and I, for one, am so glad she’s chosen to write romances and share her talent and imagination with us.

Grade: A-

Read Gwen’s review here.

Summary:
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.

Other books in this series:

Gwen’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.

Grade: 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:

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