Review: Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh

Publication Date: June 4th, 20113
Finished Date: June 8th, 2013
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Format: eBook
Pages: 368
Series: Psy-Changeling #12
My Rating: 5/5!

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Blurb from Goodreads:

Step into New York Times bestseller Nalini Singh’s explosive and shockingly passionate Psy-Changeling world…

A dangerous, volatile rebel, hands stained bloodred.
A woman whose very existence has been erased.
A love story so dark, it may shatter the world itself.
A deadly price that must be paid.
The day of reckoning is here.

From “the alpha author of paranormal romance” (Booklist) comes the most highly anticipated novel of her career—one that blurs the line between madness and genius, between subjugation and liberation, between the living and the dead.

I basically devoured this book the moment I got out of camp. Everything about this book was so awesome - the romance, the plot (the arc of the series really moved quite a bit in HoO), the interconnection between Psy, the changelings and the humans. This book did not disappoint the waves of anticipation and hype prior to it's release.

“And when she looked up, it was to see Kaleb's eyes looking down into her own. There were no stars, but the obsidian was sheened with midnight colors, beautiful and mysterious.

Her fingers clenched on the muscled heat of his back, the fine cotton of his shirt crumpling under his touch. "You came back." ”

I won't go on very much about the plot cause there's a lot of mystery enshrouding the two protagonists in HoO, and learning them along the way with them is vital in this amazing series.

This story literally revolves around the lives of two people - ex-Councilor Kaleb Krychek, known to be the most powerful Psy in the world, rumored to be a dual cardinal with enough power to level cities and cause earthquakes, and his childhood friend, (view spoiler)Sahara. I hope that's not too big of a spoiler (I didn't reveal her last name, so you can't blame me for not trying!).

Even though I haven't read all the installment in this series yet (but I am a hardcore Nalini Singh fan, I really am! I've read each book in her Guild Hunter series multiple, and I mean multiple times), I think this will probably take the top second spot right below KISS OF SNOW. (Hawke~!!)


My Brief Summary (Spoilers alert!)
(view spoiler)Kaleb has been searching for a certain someone for seven years, three weeks and two days, and by now, everyone knows it's this mysterious Sahara ahem-ahem-ahem. His abilities honed to a lethal edge, financially, politically, economically one of the world's powerhouses, he also has the infamous Arrow Squad behind his back. Now that he's finally found the only person in the world whom he cares about, he's going to make her abductors pay for what they've done to her for the past seven years.

Sahara's had a relatively stable and caring family, up until the day she was taken and held captive in sterile and brutal conditions. To keep the secrets in her mind safe and her unique powers from being controlled by the wrong hands, she did things to her mind that makes her now a shell of who she used to be.
(END of spoilers!)

Kaleb isn't the gentlest of caretakers, he can seem heartless and uncaring, but deep down, he's just a man who hadn't received much love or kindness in his life, and so doesn't know how to express his feelings very well. But he does a mighty fine job in his own way, and it's so heartwarming to see him protecting (view spoiler)Sahara any way he can, even if it means letting her stay away from him. It broke my heart just a little at the end when everything came full circle for them. ;)

I loved the interactions between the side characters too! How Aden, Vasic of the Arrow Squad, leopards from DarkRiver and even Nikita Duncan and Anthony Kryiakus came into the picture; It gave the story a depth and life to it. The plot moved so much more than the prequels that seemed more like backdrops for the romances between each couples, but HoO showed us where Singh is trying to lead the arc to, and I have a rough idea of what the plot for Psy-Changeling #13 will be. However, there were major parts of the book that was just about Sahara's healing/recovery and Kaleb's part in it, so the plot had to take a backseat and the pace dulled down quite a bit, only really picking up again around four-fifths through, that's why HoO comes in as a close second to KoS.

But all in all a mighty fine read with tons of slow, compelling, tender and sweet romance, redemption (really, I'm not trying to be melodramatic or anything...ok, maybe a little, but this book is quite dramatic!) danger, and political intrigue. I don't know how Singh does it, but her style is just as addictive as ever! Recommended to every Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance fan out there; Maybe throw in a little thriller and action!

5-amazeball-stars!

 

 
P.S. Miiiiight be doin' an interview and giveaway soon. ;)