logo

Release-Day Review: Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #12)

logo

Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh (Psy/Changeling #12) // VBC ReviewHeart of Obsidian (Psy-Changeling #12)
Nalini Singh
Published on: June 4, 2013 (Berkley Sensation)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Book provided by publisher for honest review

Reviewed by: Amanda

Rating (out of 5): 5 stars

C’mon. You know that as soon as I say who the hero and heroine is of Heart of Obsidian, you’ll be spoiled. So if you’re bound and determined not to know anything beforehand, well… Otherwise, read on for as spoiler-free a review as you can get for a book that’s been wrapped in secrecy and cloaked in mystery.

By the time you read this, I’ll have already read Heart of Obsidian again. Possibly a third time.

If you were paying attention to the end of Tangle of Need, you know the hero of Obsidian is none other than Councilor Kaleb Krychek, and you know that he’s succeeded in finding his quarry after years of searching. The Psy who may be the most deadly man on the planet has had one goal, and only one goal: to find Sahara Kyriakus. And when he finds her, he finds a shell that may contain no trace of the girl he knew.

When the blurb for this book was released, it said it was a “love story so dark, it may shatter the world itself.” They weren’t kidding. Kaleb’s Silence is impenetrable to the point I had to wonder how Nalini Singh was going to redeem him, his hands so bloodied, his conscience a thing of the past, and yet, she does. Brilliantly. The man who is cold as black ice, is fiercely loyal to the one person who has always treated him like a human, and he would do anything to keep her safe. Any. Thing. Under the obsidian he encases himself in lies a rage so potent, he doesn’t think twice about killing anyone who has done her harm. The only person who can stop him is Sahara herself.

Sahara, surprisingly, doesn’t break under Kaleb’s will. She sees right through to him, to the soul he claims not to have. She brings him out of the darkness and won’t give up on him, not even after horrors from their shared past are brought to light. She is tiny, her shields fragile, but her Silence was never perfect, and the years she spent apart from Kaleb fractured it all together. It was only her ability and her mind’s fierce will to survive that kept her from being shattered.

Their relationship starts slow with a gradual climb out of the darkened hole of looming insanity for Sahara. She repairs her memories, repairs her shields, and takes advantage of the fact that no one comments on her broken Silence by cultivating friendships within the DarkRiver pack. It doesn’t take long for her to reach for Kaleb, though, touch something she needs to heal on an almost primitive level.

Kaleb, for his part, approaches the seduction with the icy calm you’d expect of a Psy with perfect Silence. He acknowledges her obvious attraction to him, conveniently forgetting the rush of sensations he feels at her touch. Sahara knows his moves could be, and likely are, calculated to earn her trust. But the violence of their attraction to each other is greater than either expected. And it is violent. As a cardinal Tk of unknown strength, Kaleb is rumored to have the ability to level cities. I’m surprised the house was still standing in the end.

While Heart of Obsidian is very much centered on the relationship between Kaleb and Sahara, it’s also about the approaching clash with the Pure Psy faction, those Psy determined to use Silence to prove theirs is the superior race. Catastrophic events around the world devastating both the population and the PsyNet itself lead to final chapters so tightly paced, I’m pretty sure I missed half of what was going on the first time I read them, I was reading so fast. By the end, you realize that what you thought was a conclusion was really only the beginning.

But this is, at its heart, a story of redemption for a hero who may not deserve it, except for the love of one woman who has always believed in him. Heart of Obsidian is a haunting, beautiful, passionate love story that we, the fans, have been waiting impatiently for—and Nalini Singh delivers. In spades.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go read it again.

Sexual content: Graphic, earth-shaking sex (literally)

10 Responses to “Release-Day Review: Heart of Obsidian by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling #12)”

  1. Ning @ DABR says:

    ok I skimmed your review. I had no idea who the hero is and now it’s ruined. not your fault haha I should’ve heeded your warning!! Gna read it this weekend, or tomorrow lol. Gna stay away from reviews of this til I finish!

  2. Gaëlle says:

    Oh my God, I’m so eager to read this book !!!!
    My only fear is my broken english…I’m french and I can’t wait the translation (2 years perhaps)so I’ll read it in english like the 3 lasts ones and I hope I will understand all the fineness… Thank you for this great review, makes me want it NOW !!!

  3. Angela says:

    I’m almost at 50 % and love it so far. Love how Kaleb tries to explain skin privileges and the use teeth. *lol*
    As I have strongly anticipated Kaleb’s book I thought no heroine would be sufficient. Boy, was I wrong… love Sahara.

  4. Amy M says:

    I have to get caught up on this series. I’m only at book 6!

  5. Leah says:

    This was such a fantastic book! I know what you mean about thinking how was Nalini ever going to make it work for them, but I should know by now that she never lets us down!

  6. Sara says:

    I was one of the few to be completely spoiler free (I had suspicions, but stayed away from anything that might contain a reveal. This book was one of the best of the series so far (and given the overall high quality of her books, that says a lot). Will definitely be reading multiple times.

  7. Mary says:

    I didn’t love this book! The two main characters did nothing for me at all. The problem that all other Psy characters in the series had didn’t apply to them, or at least not in a problematic way. For instance, being isolated from the Netmind and the biofeedback is supposedly fatal – not for Sahara or Tatiana. ( and I really didn’t like the way Tatiana’s fate is left up in the air.) breaking Silence is supposed to be painful, and we are told it is for Kaleb but then it is totally ignored for the rest of the book, except for the odd earthquake or two. This is never resolved either. The two main characters are supposed to be the most powerful beings in the world, capable of ending the world, but this makes them comic book characters to me. And Sahara isn’t ever going to use her powers anyway, except she did.
    Then there is the whole issue of her being in his power and him vowing never to let her go. Even when she is supposedly away from him, he teleports to her, or her to him, at the drop of a hat. She is soooo not out of his power. There is a creepy dominance thing in this book, much more than in the others of the series, all of which have a huge male dominance, protector of the little woman element.
    Having said all that, I did read it all, I was just very disappointed. I will read the next one but it will have to be magnificent to keep me reading the series. I have loved the series, the world building and the way events in every book have importance in subsequent stories but this one felt too contrived. I won’t be spending the outrageous amount of money hardbacks cost in Australia, that’s for sure.

Leave a Reply to Sara Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

logo
logo
Powered by WordPress | Designed by Elegant Themes
Malcare WordPress Security