The amazing Nalini Singh thrills again with book fourteen in the Psy-Changeling world, SHARDS OF HOPE. I'm astonished every time how Singh can keep this series fresh and vibrant, and her stories are so incredibly compelling. The almost over-the-top action along with the suspense are heightened greatly by the intensity of emotions in the Psy-Changeling books. I am riveted from start to finish in Singh's PNR books.

Silence was mandated for all Psy to keep them from all emotion in order to help them control their psychic powers. Silence has created sociopaths, however. The Arrows are a squad of hitmen and women tasked with controlled those psychotic Psy who commits acts of evil under Silence. Recruited into the lethal Arrow squad as children, the Arrow trainees are fashioned into killers with powerful brainwashing and torture. Ming LeBon, the former leader of the Arrows, betrayed his Arrow squad by drugging them to make them into mindless automatons of killing. The Arrows thought they were assassinating evildoers, but imagine their burgeoning anguish when they discover they were carrying out vendettas only for Ming's selfish personal gains! Now, the Arrows are led by Aden Kai, who is trying to lead them out of despair and bondage into a life of choice and safe emotion, now that Silence Protocol has been dismantled.

Zaira Neve suffered unreal abuses as a child, and considers herself irreparably damaged. Silence has helped her to push her traumatic past to the back of her conscious in order to function as an Arrow. Zaira believes she is too broken to survive the loss of Silence, but she is determined to support and protect Aden as he works to set their fellow Arrows free from their previous bondage. The emotions that Zaira is struggling with are so crushingly disabling, it feels very visceral to read of Zaira's torment and her gripping desire for connection and love. Singh does an amazing job of making Zaira a sympathetic character, despite how lethal she is at her job.

Aden and Zaira find themselves teamed up to escape from captivity under a shadowy enemy. As they flee to the dubious safety of a hidden Changeling pack, they slowly discover that not only do they make great teammates, but also the perfect lovers. My only quibble with SHARDS OF HOPE is how often the characters muse about how doing what is right for the children. I did feel a bit bludgeoned with that theme, but the remainder of the story is fantastic. Singh writes with her usual masterful hand, creating a compelling world of paranormal war and intrigue as well as beautiful romance. SHARDS OF HOPE is an addictive read that joins many other Singh stories on my Keeper shelf.

Book Summary

The “smoldering heat, epic romance, and awesome action”* of Nalini Singh’s New York Times bestselling series continues as two Arrows find themselves caught in a chilling conspiracy that spans all three races…

Awakening wounded in a darkened cell, their psychic abilities blocked, Aden and Zaira know they must escape. But when the lethal soldiers break free from their mysterious prison, they find themselves in a harsh, inhospitable landscape far from civilization. Their only hope for survival is to make it to the hidden home of a predatory changeling pack that doesn’t welcome outsiders.

And they must survive. A shadowy enemy has put a target on the back of the Arrow squad, an enemy that cannot be permitted to succeed in its deadly campaign. Aden will cross any line to keep his people safe for this new future, where even an assassin might have hope of a life beyond blood and death and pain. Zaira has no such hope. She knows she’s too damaged to return from the abyss. Her driving goal is to protect Aden, protect the only person who has ever come back for her no matter what. This time, even Aden’s passionate determination may not be enough—because the emotionless chill of Silence existed for a reason. For the violent, and the insane, and the irreparably broken…like Zaira.