Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh (Psy/Changeling #10)
Paranormal Romance
May 31, 2011
Hardcover
Berkley

Reviewed by Mandi

Favorite Quote: “You sure you want to play with the wolf, baby?”

Favorite Quote #2: The crowd was chanting, “kiss, kiss, kiss” when Hawke walked inside.

That was when Sienna learned the meaning of the term alpha.

Favorite Quote #3: "Scared?" Hawke’s smile held no humor. "You should be baby." Then he kissed her and it was no tender exploration, no playful tease. This was the kiss of a man who knew precisely what he wanted.

Hawke, alpha of the SnowDancer pack and Sienna, a Psy that has found refuge with the SnowDancers have been dancing around each other for some time now. They both might have acted on their lust for each other but Sienna is just now 19. Sienna is also an extremely powerful X Psy – if her powers get out of control, she can decimate everything around her. Now living outside of Silence, no one knows exactly what is going to happen to her. Her powers are extremely volatile. She may be the only X cardinal ever born. No X-Psy has lives past their 25th birthday. And that was within Silence.

Hawke can’t deny the attraction, but he lost his mate when he was very young. Knowing a wolf only mates once, he doesn’t know if Sienna can handle the demands his wolf would place upon her. But as he says – Pack is life, and Pack knows these two are meant for each other. With their support (and threats from Sienna’s uncle) these two take a chance.

Meanwhile, the Psy Council is disintegrating. Sides are being taken, betrayals are in progress. There are those who want a race of Pure Psy – where Silence is law. While a civil war is on the horizon and some want to take the shifters down with them.

Kiss of Snow is one of my most highly anticipated books of 2011. I fell in love with Hawke many books ago, and we finally get his story with Sienna. First let me say I love how Nalini writes her shifters. So sexy, sensual and physical. And Hawke does not disappoint. Some of the things that come out of his mouth melted me into a puddle of goo. He calls Sienna “baby” a lot and it’s hot. He has to learn to walk the line between being Sienna’s alpha and her lover. He is of course alpha down to his core, and Sienna soon learns playing with his wolf is more fun than she ever thought. They play games, they dance around one another and in the end, they have a beautiful relationship.

While the sexual tension is off the wall, halfway through the book, maybe even a little farther I was ready for it to progress to more than just tension. There are so many “almost” moments – they almost kiss, they almost embrace, they almost get physical. But Hawke’s phone rings, or Psy attack, or someone interrupts them. At a certain point it became a little frustrating and distracting. But by the end of the book I was able to look back on their moments together with fondness.

Sienna is a X-Psy, and kind of in the dark with how to control her powers and what her eventual outcome will be. At a young age, she was taken from her home to be Ming’s protégé. She went into silence by the age of nine. There is a lot of unknown for her out in the “real world.” There is rumor of an elusive journal written in the 70’s that might give her some answers, and this plays in well in the book. I think Nalini Singh does a nice job portraying Sienna – she has inner strength and confidence, but when her power flares up she really loses all control.

I have been disappointed in the past few books with how the Psy war has progressed – or how it has not progressed. In Kiss of Snow I think that storyline has a little more meat. I still want more – maybe just more from the Psy’s point of view. But at least in this one, the Psy mean business and it felt more like they are a threat to the shifters.

Walker Lauren, Sienna’s uncle has a really nice romance in this one with Lara, the SnowDancer healer. I really liked both of them and thought their romance brought a lot to this story. We also get a lot with Judd, Sienna’s other uncle since he is so close with Sienna and helps her with her volatile powers. Oh Judd – you sexy former Psy. He has some great lines and one in particular very smexy scene. It’s so nice we get an intimate glimpse into some of the characters that have already had their book.

Sascha and Lucas have a storyline that will make you smile. I really enjoy the relationship the Cats now have with the wolves. It feels like a brotherly relationship with good natured bickering – very entertaining to read.

For such an anticipated book, Kiss of Snow delivers. I even think this one can be read as a stand alone. You might be a bit confused on the Psy war, but overall I think it would read well on it’s own. Of course, this entire series is great, and I recommend it to everyone.

Rating: B+

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