Reviews
This is where Nalini begins to hit her stride with the series. Love the character dynamics and the threads of mystery throughout
Brenna Shane Kincaid, after being kidnapped and tortured by a serial killer, is vulnerable. Brenna has been violated especially by her mind, and she can sense evil very easily. Brenna is one of the Wolf Changelings, but ever since her kidnapping she hasn't been able to shift, only use her claws and teeth. Brenna wonders if she will ever regain her wolf, for she feels lost. Having older brothers, who are very over protective and she want's to have space and freedom back. Judd Lauren is a elite soldier of the Psy, and now having defecting from the council and the ranks knowing he doesn't want a future of having doing terrible things in the name of the Psy. Having been silenced ( feeling no emotion) he is a cold unfeeling being, however when he meets Brenna he finds his cold nature melting away. Passion and desire ignite between Brenna and Judd, that shock and delight them both. Judd unused to what he is feeling, feels the silence slipping away from him, and desiring the touch of the one woman that fires up his passions. Brenna seeks Judd at first to help her with what has gone on in her mind, however she seeks more with him than just mental assistance. She starts to care for him in a way that she never expected of a Psy. But will their connection and love they find together be strong enough to survive the upcoming dangers that could destroy everything they have built and what they have found in each other? This was the first book of Nalini Singh that I have read. I wanted to read this Psy-changeling series in order, however since this one came through the library, I might have had to wait weeks, and I wanted to read her books, and I found that even though I wished that I could have read the series in order, I didn't need to. I can usually figure things out pretty fast, and I did with this one. It was a intense love story that mesmerized my senses. Brenna was the kind of heroine that I always love reading, her kind of character creates a kind of conflict that I love reading and enjoying their journey of healing. She has been defiled and treated abominably yet she remains strong, and despite her brother's wanting to protect her. Brenna doesn't want their protection, despite her love for them. The one that she wants protection from is the cold and ruthless Judd. I also enjoyed seeing how despite how cold he is at the beginning, he definitely starts to heat up throughout the rest of the story that captivated my attention. He knows that Brenna needs touch often, so he tries to accommodate her, to help her in her challenges, but Judd never expected to start feeling. I also loved the love scenes between these two characters, definitely heated and timed perfectly throughout the book. I am so glad that I finally was able to get drawn into the world that Nalini Singh has created and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!!!
*2.5
4 stars - loved it
4.5 ⭐️
I thought Brenna and Judd's story was really interesting. Brenna is recovering from her trauma at the hands of a serial killer, and Judd is the only man that treats her like the strong woman she is while still providing support. The formula of these books is the same: political plot, murder mystery, moderate steam level romances, Psy who need to break conditioning to fully be in a relationship, and testosterone-y male mates. This was the first book where the Psy was the man, but he still read like the other male characters. The series is becoming repetitive, and there's like 17 books to go. I'm not sure how far I'll make it if they're all the same. I also want to mention that the books have an annoying habit of including what I call "cut scenes" where the characters will be in the middle of a scene, and then without any notice hours have passed. This was most irritating during the steamy scenes. It really takes you out of the story when that happens.
I was SO right not to give up on this series after reading Visions of Heat! Let's talk about the "serious" stuff before we get to the sighing and heavy panting yumminess shall we? Because yes, what got me hooked to this series is Singh's fantastic world building. The idea of the Psy and Psy-Net is absolutely brilliant and one of the most original concept I've come across in a long time. Visions of Heat was a big disappointment for me because I wanted to know more about the Psy world but Singh didn't expand it much in that instalment. But here? Lots of Psy awesomeness! We get to meet the Ghost and go "behind the scenes" with the Council. We learn a lot more about the Silence Protocol, its genesis and evolution. Sabotage, talk of revolution, talk of war. Very cool. This would make such a fantastic UF series! I know most of you guys are suckers for romance but what can I say? I like action & violence more than I like rainbows and chirping birds. Nobody's perfect. Anyway, the fact that I gave this book 4 stars despite my natural aversion to romance says a lot about Singh's talent. Woman you're good. Very good. Why didn't I give this book 5 stars? The mystery part of the plot. So far this has been a recurring weakness in the series, especially when it comes to the resolution and culprit. I'd rather read more about the Psy/Changeling world than about a mystery that doesn't add much to the book. I guess I'll have to learn not to expect much from that part of the story in instalments to come. Now for the characters. I love Sascha but Brenna is an amazing character. Girl you are it. She is extremely complex and the character development she goes through here is fantastic and remarkably well-written. She is broken but strong, barely coping but fierce, damaged but strong-willed. Amazing I tell you. Judd? *sighs* When I found out this book would be about Judd I was less than happy about it. The little I read about him in Visions of Heat really left me cold (bad pun I know. Live with it). I thought his character would be boring. I wanted an Alpha instead. I can be so stupid sometimes… *facepalm* Seriously, who needs an Alpha when Judd Lauren is around? For all his coldness the guy is HOT. I think I'm in love. Iceman Judd is thawing? Now let's talk about the good stuff. Actually there isn't a lot to say here. The sex scenes in Slave to sensation were yummy enough. Were the sex scenes in Caressed by Ice any good? YES. Were they hot & steamy? HELL YEAH. Never again shall I underestimate an unemotional, cold as hell male Psy. And ultimately Hell yes. Hey I said I didn't like romance, I never said I didn't like smutty stuff. Can I start re-reading this yet?
First reread 9-8-21: Judd and Brenna are *chef's kiss* Also, I keep listening to the audiobooks instead of physically reading them and have zero idea of how to spell all the names🤡
Why did I wait so long to read this book?! Definitely my favourite of the series so far. I knew Judd was gonna be totally awesome. That man had hidden depths and I loved it. And Brenna ❤️ I love her so much and deserved this story of healing and love. She had a tough time of it and I really felt like this book have her the room to grow and for us to get to know her. In the first two books you could easily mistake her for being... not weak, never weak, but you could mistake her for not being as dominant a personality. She'd been through a lot and it was wonderful to see her come into her own and truly witness the strength which helped her get through everything. And hot damn this romance! It was slow burn and brilliant and although this book was dam. Long I didn't care because I needed to get to the end. That's how good it was.
So I gave this 4 stars but it’s more like 3.75. I enjoyed Brenna & Judd’s story but honestly, what is it about this series that doesn’t have me totally hooked? There definitely is tension between the characters but so much of it feels a bit forced and cheesy. I don’t know. The only characters I care about are Hawke and Kaleb. Maybe I’ll just skip to their books and see!
4.5. This installment of the series is a step above. The two characters in the couple are very interesting and struggling with deep trauma. Judd is a former assassin under one of the Psy council members. He had to escape with other members of his family to keep all of them alive. They defected and dropped out of the Net together, seeking sanctuary with the pack of changeling wolves. Judd depends on the control of Silence conditioning to keep his dark power in check. He believes he is a monster. Brenna has recovered surprisingly quickly from being tortured mentally and physically by a Psy serial killer. She barely survived. Now she is falling apart and loosing control of her anger. She also finds herself increasingly drawn to Judd, even though he tells her that he cannot give her what she needs. Brenna is convinced he is wrong and determined to break through his glacial defenses. The political plotting and the world building continue to expand. Judd must finally make a decision about where his loyalties lie. He has been keeping secrets. The tension is very high. The steam level is high when the two lovers finally connect.
Extra bits I am slowly reading the Kindle versions of this series as my hard copies are a little dog earred and taking apart and I am learning that the ebooks have more to them there like the unedited version with jucy bits. I love this series and the ebooks are making that a whole lot more fun to re read
