#vasic/ivy

[mashithamel]

Shield of Winter

Have I mentioned I love Vasic? I’m as happy as Aden that he gets a happy ending. Let’s get to the running commentary:

* “Kaleb didn’t see the point in informing the male of his certain demise—because there was no cure.” There are specific medical ethics that address this Kaleb, and much as I adore you, you suck for this. Do you really think it was ok to let him kill someone on his way out? Sahara needs to up her job acting as your conscience!

* “Keeping [the Es] safe wouldn’t earn him absolution, but perhaps it would give him peace for a splinter of time.”

* “If I’d meant to kill you,” he pointed out, “you’d be long dead, your body disposed of in a crematorium incinerator.” Blinking, Ivy stared at him with those unusual eyes that made him feel stripped to the bone. “Maybe it’s better if you don’t meet my mother.” It’s even funnier because he didn’t mean it to be funny.

* Vasic falling for Rabbit, and kind of healing along the way, is a nice parallel to Ivy’s recovery.

* Everyone loves Judd, and that is exactly how it should be.

* “I’ll get it.” “Oh, thank you. It’s just inside the back d—” And she was talking to air. “That could get extremely annoying extremely quickly.” Heh

* “He’d watched her as if she was the only thing in the entire universe.” 🔥

* “a warrior-priest from eons past. Strong and unwavering in the face of evil, and with a courage that defied comprehension.” It is a good thing Silence fell because this poor girl was not made for it.

* You can’t enslave my man Vasic, Ming!!!! He’s much too cool and tortured to go out that way!!!!

* Oh! He’s Lan coded! Noble, completely loyal, and with a death wish. All hard lines, emotionless expression, deadly. No wonder I like him.

* I love Rabbit with Hawke in wolf form. He waits for him to give the ok before going to Ivy! I love that little bit.

* He has a private Ivy file ❤️

* “He should have showered.” Yeah, Nalini Singh is really slacking on the whole showering thing this book!

* I appreciate that Kaleb has no reluctance to call himself a dictator, but…is Sahara the only thing keeping him from just wholesale slaughter of dissadents??

* “But he couldn’t feel her. And for the first time, he began to question his choice to allow himself to be used as the guinea pig for the experimental fusion.” 🥺

* I like how, from Aden’s view, Ivy’s shrug is written as “her shoulders rose and fell,” because they’re Silent and don’t have an automatic understanding of the movement.

* She sent him nudes and he *fell to his knees* 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

* “Your Silence is terrible, little one.” That is a baby, Vasic! Wearing a little shirt that says Girls Rule. It’s adorable.

* Kaleb (I guess I’m calling him Kaleb now—I mean, we have gotten all personal with him) knowing details about the Arrows is exactly the thing I like about him. Which makes his ignorance about Anchors that much harder to believe!!! You really think he hasn’t figured out everything thers is to know about every Anchor, as soon as they became targets???

* “Send me another image,” he said before he was aware of forming the words. “D-do you want to see me, rather than an image?” 🔥🔥🔥

* The not touching but totally losing control just at the sight of her is totally hot.

* “How could you do that? How could you value yourself so little?” He gripped her wrists, her skin delicate and warm against his palms. “Because I was already dead.” A walking, functioning shell. “You brought me back to life.” And “Why didn’t you wait for me?” ❤️😭❤️😭❤️😭

* “I won’t forgive you,” his partner said into the quiet. “Don’t ask it.” “If you were weak, you’d have killed yourself years ago. It’s your strength that doomed you—and your loyalty.” Aden and Vasic are so great together.

* Ok, I get not causing a panic as a reason not to tell people they are infected, and they are technically under a doctatorship, but not giving them that info? I mean, if I knew I’d stay away from my kids, human coworkers. I might have affairs to get in order. That knowledge is terrifying, but vital to my autonomy.

* I really like the bit where Vasic teleports to Sascha and almost instantly Lucas has his claws at his throat. It’s a nice reminder about just how lethal he is

* “I was self-destructive when I volunteered,” Vasic answered. “I no longer am. Can you remove it?” The engineer shot him an incredulous look. “I’m brain damaged, you idiot…where are my tools?” Underrated humor.

* This discussion with Judd of telekinetic damage done during sex is hilarious. And it brings us another mention of my beloved, Stefan ❤️❤️❤️. I’m just bummed we don’t get to see Vasic meet him!

* “Enough,” she wanted to cry, “he’s done enough! Let this gladiator rest.” 😭

* Sascha and Lucas showered before Ivy did.

* The awakening of the E’s is very *hand wavy* brushed over

* The end is so melodramatic. I mean, we’re dealing with E’s, so excessive emotion is a given. But still, it’s very soppy.

* “The man I was, the man I am, the man I will be, the man I want to be, they all belong to you. Always.” Goooood line

* I like that Vasic is able to close up Dorian’s order, with regards to writing a memorial to the people he had to erase.

* Yeah, telekinesis during sex is just an unfair advantage.

* “p.s. I bought a new manual just for you. I haven’t even opened it. Come home early.” That’s cute!

* I love that the Arrows find a new purpose after Silence, and the wedding in the apple orchard.

This has some wonderfully angsty and/or hot moments, but is just so goopy at the end, and the action kinda feels like the author doesn’t feel confident with that much action and so really glossed over it. Strong start, not so strong ending, unfortunately.

Number of showers: appallingly low. I feel like Ivy would appreciate getting soapy and clean, and yet we never see it, lol

Vasic: 4

Ivy: 1 (Not until 79% into the book!!!)

Rating: three cold showers, but we run out of cold water before it’s done.

[aaronwarner]

Ivy’s sweater slipped off her left shoulder when she leaned forward, baring skin of golden cream to the morning sunlight. “Okay, I get that.” She didn’t notice when he nudged the sweater back in place with [telekinesis], the temperature too cold for her to be so exposed. [...] “How did they know your subdesignation so fast?” Her sweater slipped again and he nudged it back. “It usually takes time to be certain, even with genetic markers.” [...] Vasic glanced at her shoulder, nudged the sweater back up. This time, she noticed, color on her cheeks as her hand went up to the spot. “How many times?” “Five.” He got to his feet before he could make it six. “I need to rest.”

SHIELD OF WINTER by Nalini Singh

[antonio-velardo]

Antonio Velardo shares: The Elevator Pitch That Led to Love by Ivy Manners

By Ivy Manners Alexa Nicolette and Mladen Vasic’s brief encounter on an elevator nine years ago is proof that you can fall in love in a New York minute. Published: September 29, 2023 at 12:00AM from NYT Style https://ift.tt/6NL83r4 via IFTTT

[blog-sliverofjade]

Ivy: It’s like half of my jokes go over your head

Vasic: Nothing goes over my head.  My reflexes are too fast, I would catch it.

[timetravellingshinigami]

Vasic zen all the time:

[nicholasambrosiusgautier]

*Mine,* she said, mind to mind. *You are mine. Every breath, every scar, every perfection, every flaw, every light, every darkness. It’s part of you, and it’s mine.* Vasic shuddered and collapsed onto her. *The man I was, the man I am, the man I will be, the man I want to be, they all belong to you. Always.*

Shield of Winter, Nalini Singh

[becauseshakespearesaidso]

“Pfade im Nebel” Nalini Singh

Das Medialnet ist verseucht. Die Seuche breitet sich rasend schnell aus, Mediale fast aller Kategorien fallen ihr in immer größer werdenden Zahlen zum Opfer. Da alle Medialen ans Netz angeschlossen sein müssen, um geistig gesund zu bleiben, ist es nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis die Gattung ausgerottet wird, wenn nicht etwas passiert. Rettung bringen könnten nur die Empathen, eine Kategorie der Medialen, die unter Silentium verleugnet und gebrochen wurde, um die völlige Abwesenheit von Gefühlen zu ermöglichen, die dieser Zustand benötigt. So weit, so gut. Die Handlung des Buches ist - wie sich hieraus erahnen lässt - sehr spannend.  Ich habe von der Autorin und dieser Reihe zuvor nicht so viel gelesen, nur immer mal wieder ein Buch, aber ich hatte eine Idee davon, auf was ich mich da einlasse. Das Buch hat mich auch nicht enttäuscht: Es ist hervorragend geschrieben und zeigt tiefe Abgründe in der Gesellschaft der Medialen aus. Dieser Fantasy-Roman spielt in der Zukunft, die Utopie ist auch recht gut ausgefeilt, so weit ich das beurteilen kann. Die fiktive Realität jedenfalls liest sich sehr real.  Ich war als Leserin mit großer Aufmerksamkeit dabei, das Buch ist sehr spannend. Die Liebesgeschichte zwischen dem T-R-Medialen Vasic und der E-Medialen (Empathin) Ivy Jane ist sehr emotional gemacht. Die Handlung ist schnell, es geht Schlag auf Schlag. Kann ich nur empfehlen!

[ellanainthetardis]

Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh My rating: 4 of 5 stars 4.5 I will admit that while Aden and Vasic were characters who intrigued me, they were never my favorites and never big on my radar, which means I wasn't expecting a lot going into this. However, I think this book is one of my favorites of the series. Not as beloved as Heart of Obsidian but very close. I felt a real shift in the writing since Heart of Obsidian, it's a lot more mature and flowing in terms of style. There was also a lot less of smut in this one, the romance was more slow born and on some level that was sooo very good for the plot. In terms of the global plot, also, this book was so satisfying because we're finally reaching the end, the thing we've been working for since book 1. I love how much more present Sasha is lately after months of focusing on SnowDancers (I do love the wolves but I think we spent too many books in a row in the den and it impacted a lot in terms of quality regarding the global world *cough* what was tangle of need for? *cough*). It is all tying together and you can see there were stuff in there that were already in place from the 1st book and that speaks of good worlbuilding. As for Vasic, I actually really liked him. I adored Ivy and Rabbit. I loved that we saw some of Kaleb and Sahara and I'm sad I'm slowly but surely nearing the end of the first series. This was a great instalment. View all my reviews

[ana-isnt-dead]

not to plug heterosexual couples on main but when nalini singh wrote the scene where vasic says to ivy "what a strange and beautiful alliance" and ivy says "who, us?" and he says "no, arrows and empaths. us? we're just beautiful." like.... that shit was breathtaking bro

[deejayers]

Tagged by @balladofthesadcat, thanks! <3

Rules:

Tag people you would like to get to know better :)

Relationship status: married

Favourite colours: black, deep or royal blues, reds, purples

Top 3 ships: Oh, man. I always go back to HeeroxDuo, KaixRei, and EzioxLeo or AltMal as far as fanfiction is concerned. I don’t consider my fierce, burning love of other couples from my favorite books to be quite the same as my fic ships I guess? Cause that’s a whole other set that takes a looong time, lol.

Lipstick or chapstick?: Chapstick when I need or want it, always have it on me. Lipstick on rare occasions. 

Last song: Higher Ground - Rasmussen (from Eurovision this year if you haven’t heard it!)

Last movie: Deadpool 2 fuck yes

Top three shows (atm): Critical Role... uhhh not really watching anything else right now? Gundam Wing is always in my top favs. 

Currently reading: Just finished my umpteenth reread of Silver Silence by Nalini Singh and probably going to be picking up Shield of Winter by her because Ivy and Vasic are freaking amazing.

Tag: @sandetigerr @godofalleyeteeth @robo-rad if you guys feel like doing it. C: No worries if you don’t feel like doing it!

[mashithamel]

My Psy-Changeling couples ranking:

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A post shared by Michelle Taiki Art (@michelletaikiart)

Cause why not? From the bottom!

Just the worst:

22. Dev/Katya: the very moving part as he prepares for her death does nothing to redeem him or this terrible relationship.

21. Nate/Tammy: omg, stop giving me a stomach ulcer and just treat her like the love of your life like she deserves

Snooze-worthy:

20. Aden/Zaira: I tried so hard to like this one and failed both times. Just boring.

19. Kenji/Garnet: the only thing that saves this is the shower scene at the end

18. Max/Sophia: the ending with the serial killer and Kaleb just jumping in is almost enough to save the story

These just don’t quite work for some reason:

18. Bastien/Kirby: could be great, but loses the plot with too many unsexy details later on

17. Emmett/Ria: cute, but not hot

16. Vaughn/Faith: I like them as individuals, but not so much together

15. Vasic/Ivy: he *falls to his knees* when she sends him nudes, but the back half is boring and goopey

The middle of the pack:

14. Walker/Lara (novella): I love a Silent Psy figuring out skin privileges. The plot is fine.

13. Clay/Talin: these guys get on my nerves most of the book, but I do end up rooting for them, and I love a romance that starts in childhood.

12. Dorian/Ashaya: a solid couple, good chemistry (and Vasic and Aden do cool stuff!) just not my favorite

11. Lucas/Sascha: a good start to the series, just doesn’t stand a chance against my favorites

10. Drew/Indigo: sexy, fun; just feels like a filler episode waiting for Hawke/Sienna

9. Riaz/Adira: annoyed me too much in the beginning, but I love how two people who lost at love get another chance for something real

The solid reads, worth it beginning to end:

8. Mercy/Riley: 🔥🔥🔥chemistry, liked this one much more the second time through, they are a great couple

7. Felix/Desiree: a sweet, fun little romance

6. Judd/Brenna: I adore everything Judd, and so enjoy his story. Plus Brenna’s pretty great, and the non-romance plot is good.

My inner angsty teen is in love:

5. Hawke/Sienna: surprised by how much I loved this one the second time around. Angst and longing and everything. Plus, a really nice Lara/Walker

4. Kaleb/Sahara: it’s dark, compelling, angsty, powerful, and sexy. Nothing I don’t love about it.

Best of the best:

3. Zach/Annie: just the perfect first date. I adore them so much.

2. Stefan/Tazi: Stefan, my beloved! Their story sweeps me off my feet everytime.

1. Cooper/Grace: nothing crazy from the main plotline, but such a sweet, sweet love story and lots of lovely foreplay. Let me go read it again…

I had so much fun doing this. Gonna take a break before getting into the Psy-Changeling-Trinity books (I am so looking forward to a reread of everything bearclan! And Alpha Night! And Ivan/Lei!). But this has been so much fun I’m considering doing it for Kit Rocha’s Beyond series too. Cause why not? 😊

[glitpriym]

If you’re into fantasy, then this series is a good one! Book number 13 in the series.

Assassin. Soldier. Arrow. That is who Vasic is, who he will always be. His soul drenched in blood, his conscience heavy with the weight of all he s done, he exists in the shadows, far from the hope his people can almost touch if only they do not first drown in the murderous insanity of a lethal contagion. To stop the wave of death, Vasic must complete the simplest and most difficult mission of his life. For if the Psy race is to survive, the empaths must wake

Having rebuilt her life after medical treatment that violated her mind and sought to suffocate her abilities, Ivy should have run from the black-clad Arrow with eyes of winter frost. But Ivy Jane has never done what she should. Now, she ll fight for her people, and for this Arrow who stands as her living shield, yet believes he is beyond redemption. But as the world turns to screaming crimson, even Ivy s fierce will may not be enough to save Vasic from the cold darkness

[gaeleatiamindeed]

Shield of Winter: Psy-Changeling #13 by Nalini Singh

Shield of Winter: Psy-Changeling #13 by Nalini Singh @NaliniSingh #KsReading @KikiSidira @BerkleyPub

Possibly the only book in the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh that I had trouble connecting to. If not for my choice to reread the whole series, I’m not sure I’d have touched it again. Please read on for my review of

Shield of Winter

Even if I still cannot connect with Vasic and I never doubted he would make it out alive, this time I definitely felt more tension in this re-read.

Vasic and…

[willreadforbooze]

Hey everyone!!

We have some EXCITING NEWS dropping this afternoon. Check back here for an pretty rad announcement!!!

Sam’s Update

Man, have I been productive this week. I feel like I’ve finally gotten over the work-stress hump for now… which is really exciting. Hopefully my slump is over and I can get back to my favorite thing in the world… reading.

What Sam Finished:

Age of Death by Michael J. Sullivan: I am very upset. I cannot believe that’s how this book ended. This is the 5th book in the Legends of the First Empire series, so I can’t say much here. But just so you know… last week my kids were happy… by the end of this book they very much aren’t and I am not ok.

Fire by Kristen Cashore: These books are a fucking delight. There were such touching moments about this book. Slow burn romance and such a cool world. I will definitely be picking up the next one.

What Sam is Currently Reading:

Sword in the Stars by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy: This is the sequel to Once & Future a gender-bent queer King Arthur retelling in space. I LOVED the first one. I didn’t think I would but I did. I’ve only just started this but being back with these dumb nerds makes me so happy. The change in scenery is fun too ;).

Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa: This is the sequel to Shadow of the Fox, which I also loved. Our main half-fox is in search of her bae who has been possessed by the demon he was trained to protect. I struggle with the names because I’m listening on audio and I would destroy the spelling. I love our fox-girl’s band of folk. The noble, the ronin, the priest, the priest maiden. They’re all fab. About half way through and I’m enjoying it so far.

Ginny’s Update

This has been a week of getting shit done! Which includes finishing a book I’ve been reading for approximately 25 years.

What Ginny Finished:

The Secrets of Love Story Bridge by Phaedra Patrick: Sam picked this up for me as an ARC from ALA. I’m definitely going to be writing a review but the short summary is that a single dad goes to save woman who fell of a bridge only to be sucked into the families drama because the woman he saved had been missing for a year.

Shield of Winter by Nalini Singh: This is the 14th book in the series and was a lot of fun. Vasic, known as an Arrow, has been showing up in books for a while and it was really fun to see more about how the Arrows functioned, and how they can thaw. I was also happy about the main character, Ivy, another empath. It’s been a while since an empath has been a focus, and seeing a relationship with two Psy who have no understanding of what should actually go into a relationship was both very sweet and very fun to read.

Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work In Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland: Man did this book take me forever to do. I’m proud of myself for finishing it. But yeah, this is a book I was reading for work about management styles. I feel like drinking the kool-aid for any kind of tool is probably not the right way to go but there are definitely some good things about this particular style. I won’t bore you more with more information.

What Ginny is Currently Reading:

Hilariously Ever After by Various Authors: Now that I’ve finished Scrum this is the next book I gotta dig back into. It’s just hard considering I’m kind of just unimpressed with a lot of it. Not exactly high praise.

Tricks for Free by Seanan McGuire: See, this one I am really excited for. The last book left off in a really interesting place so it’s going to be interesting to see how Antimony (the youngest of the Price’s deals with having to SPOILER technically be on the run). Only two chapters in and already I’m super here for it.

Minda’s Update

What Minda is reading now:

Music From Another World by Robin Talley – Follows a closeted young woman in the 70s as she discovers love and I can only assume herself. Was excited about it when I read the premise! Received the ARC from NetGalley.

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold – A red riding hood type retelling with murder that covers sexual assault. Promising, but tackles some tough topics.

What Minda finished:

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow – The story sounded promising, but for me this didn’t live up to expectations. I did appreciate that a lot of it was a love letter to books and music. So mostly enjoyed overall, with reservations.

Until next time, we main forever drunkenly yours,

Sam, Ginny, and Minda

Weekly Wrap-Up: Mar 2 – 8, 2020 Hey everyone!! We have some EXCITING NEWS dropping this afternoon. Check back here for an pretty rad announcement!!!

[blog-sliverofjade]

Ivy: Hey, baby, wanna spice things up a bit?

Vasic: You know that I can't eat spicy foods

Ivy: What? No, I meant in the bedroom.

Vasic: I can't eat spicy foods anywhere, Ivy

[timetravellingshinigami]

I know no ones going to give a damn...but I've been dying to make a fancast for my fave Psy characters from Nalini Singhs Psy/Changeling series...so here it is

*I've tried to keep the physical features as close as to how the author described them

Judd Lauren x Brenna Kincaid

Vasic Zen x Ivy Jane

Aden Kai x Zaira Neve

Walker Lauren x Lara Knight

Keleb Krychek x Sahara Kyriakus

I'm adding Stefan Berg x Tazia Nerif in a reblog because Tumblr doesn't care for more than 10 images 😩