Review: Heart of Obsidian

Reviewed by Jen
 

Move over Kiss of Snow.  As much as I loved that book, Heart of Obsidian is even better.  Easily and completely my new favorite in the Psy-Changeling series. I'm going to try very hard not to spoil the story beyond a basic set-up, but I am going to mention the hero and heroine by name, so beware.

Kaleb Krychek has been this powerful enigma ever since the series began. He is cold and calculating.  But there is a fire under that ice that is positively molten.  He has led a life shaped by cruelty at the hands of his mentor.  He was brutalized. He never knew love or loyalty, until he met Sahara Kyriakus.  As children, they became the best of friends. She was his one solace... until she was ripped away.  He has spent the past seven years searching for her.  And now that he has her back, he will never let her go again.

There is so much passion and emotion in this book.  Kaleb's devotion to Sahara is so complete, so unbreakable, it's breathtaking.  He is willing to do anything --give anything-- be anything-- for this fragile, abused woman.  He would burn the world for her, and, frankly, he has the power to do it.  His memories of her have shaped his entire life.

Meanwhile, she has no memory of him at all. Years of torture have robbed her of so much, yet she knows him on a visceral level. She trusts him; she is drawn to him.  And as she heals, she begins to remember him in bits and pieces.

I love these two as individuals, but they are exponentially more amazing as a couple.  What they bring out in each other is the very best part of the book.  Their love is unconditional.  They do not try to change each other.  They simply are better people because of each other.  Kaleb is no saint; he never has been. But Sahara doesn't expect him to be. She SEES him and loves him anyway... no --not in spite of who he is, but BECAUSE of it.  He was forged in fire and it was what made him the man who owns her heart.  It's her unflinching love of his true self that has changed his life; it is the delicate string that makes him a man instead of a monster. 

I could gush forever on the dynamic of the relationship... on how amazingly Nalini Singh crafted this bleak, unbending man who holds on to his humanity with the ray of hope created by one woman's regard.  I could warn you to arm yourself with a fan to cool off from the OHMYGODHOT sex.  But I would be remiss if I didn't also at least mention two other major points. One: We finally learn the identity of the Ghost and it's revealed in fabulous fashion.  And two: the ending is huge.  It will change the course of the series.  It speaks to just how epic the romance is, however, that when the story is done, that's really all you'll be thinking about.

I would not change a thing about this book.  It was phenomenal. Go buy it right now.

Rating: A+

*ARC Provided by Berkley

Click to purchase:Amazon

Heart of Obsidian

by Nalini Singh

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Publisher: Berkley