Title: Kiss of Snow
Author: Nalini Singh
Series: Psy/Changeling, Book 10
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: May 31, 2011
**Warning – Contains mild spoilers for the previous books in the series***
Blurb from Goodreads:
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…
Hawke’s book has been highly anticipated by me since I first read Slave to Sensation, the first book in this wonderful Psy/Changeling series. Over the past year I’ve tried to subdue that anticipation as much as possible – sure that it could only lead to disappointment.
I couldn’t have been more wrong.
This is the story I’ve been waiting for. The sexual tension between Hawke and Sienna is nearly explosive. Hawke doesn’t take too long to come around to the decision that his wolf has been pushing him towards – pursue Sienna. It might take a little creativity on Sienna’s part, but once he does; Oh boy. There are a few ‘almost’ moments, where Hawke and Sienna’s courting is interrupted by everything from injuries to Psy scouting parties to outright attacks, and you could feel the frustration, as well as the responsibility in each of those moments.
Hawke was the same alpha that I’ve always loved. The alpha who has feral wolves claiming him as their own alpha. In this dangerous war with the Psy, Hawke barely has time to set aside his responsibilities. So he never does. He and Sienna steal small moments, with the help of their Pack, and they don’t give up on what they have together.
Learning more about Sienna, and what she has grown up with, what she’s grown up expecting – to die before she reaches 25 – was heart-wrenching at times. And yet she always managed to impress me with the way she’s managed to become such a strong young woman. She is absolutely more than a match for Hawke. But she’s so much more than a perfect match for him, she’s a fierce, beautiful, determined, resourceful woman that’s not afraid to take chances with her heart, and will protect those she cares about, no matter the cost to herself.
There’s an additional side story between Lara, SnowDancer’s healer and Walker Lauren. It’s an incredibly sweet story that I was happy to read. There’s a lot of focus on the Lauren’s in general in Kiss of Snow, with more of one of my favorite characters (Judd) showing up quite a bit too.
By now there are around 50 distinct characters that we’ve met more deeply than passing by in Nalini Singh’s Psy/Changeling world. She continues to give each of them a voice that is solely their own. They act within their character all the time and are each noticeably different. Combine that with a world that continues to grow while following its own rules and Ms. Singh continues to blow away all my expectations.
Kiss of Snow satisfied every one of my expectations, and then some. It’s a sexy, sweet, enthralling story from beginning to end. I literally could not put it down from the moment I started it and was up late into the night inhaling this story. There’s no end in sight for my love of Nalini Singh’s writing, and I’m eagerly anticipating her next release.
Grade: A
