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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I’m into the final stretch of this series, book thirteen of fifteen. And I already have the next two checked out from the library (no more waiting in between books!).
The book centers on one character we’ve seen quite a bit, but still don’t know too much about: Vasic. Having been introduced to him as an Arrow, a very powerful natural Tk and teleporter, and super Silent and intimidating. But we also know, from a few interactions with Judd and the Arrow’s leader, Aden, that his mental state, after everything he was forced to do by Ming, isn’t great; his guilt is overpowering and he’s already started to give up on life. On the other hand, we get a completely new character in Ivy Jane. She’s a suppressed Empath, a powerful one, and one of the first that is approached by Kaleb to help with his E-based experiment to combat the sickness in the PsyNet. When Vasic is assigned to be her personal guardian, the protective instincts he has in general turn into something more for Ivy. For her part, Ivy cannot help but feel for the Arrow whose violent history is threatening to bury him, and decides to protect him, fight for his life/future, as well.
Well, if you made it to this book/review, it’s no secret that Silence has fallen in the Psy population. But people area still very unclear what that means. There is dissent from those who liked or depended on Silence, fear from those who want to come out from its oppression but aren’t sure it isn’t a trick or that it will last, and those like Vasic who think that even though they got what they fought for in Silence’s dissolution, it’s too late for them personally. This pairing of an (outwardly) cold-blooded assassin and a (newly coming into her own) deeply emotional being is a match made in “too convenient” heaven, but honestly that didn’t stop me from being super invested. I honestly thought it would have. However, I am always on board for a good “dark” hero (for lack of a better way to describe it), so I should have known better. Even if the pairing was convenient, the way the world has been set up over the last 12 books, the way this forced proximity situation fell out does make sense. And I know I mentioned this in my last review, but I was also very excited for the rest of the Arrows to find their deserved peace/happier endings (like Judd), because seriously, they have really suffered so much. Anyways, all that to say, I was actually quite into Vasic and Ivy. They were a great light and dark couple and their parallel but very different forms of extreme protectiveness matched the other well, and the hope they gave each other towards redemption and/or coming into their own was nicely developed. Also, their “discovering how to be intimate” together was adorable. And sometimes hilarious – the spontaneous teleporting was definitely one of the favorite Psy intimacy side effects.
This book also had a ton of forward movement in the overall, Psy storyline, as the Net was breaking down/restabilizing post-Silence. (There was quite a bit of death and violence related to this aspect of the story, so I do recommend I was interested in the various sub-designations for the Empaths that showed up as they started to figure more out about themselves (I identify a lot with their abilities, so I liked reading about the subtle ways they differed to help people). The final discovery, for how everything played out to save the PsyNet, was a really cool take on the importance of emotional connection, its protective factors. I was into that.
The focus here was, naturally, a Psy-Psy relationship and the dire straits of the PsyNet, so there wasn’t as much cameo-ing from other races and previous couples. Obviously, we saw a bit of Kaleb and Sahara, as well as some Sascha and Lucas, due to the major roles they clearly have in saving the Net and related to Empaths. But otherwise, we got a lot of vague statements about how the changelings and humans were helping control violent outbreaks, but not of lot of specifics. I see why, but I am hoping that we get a little more from the others in the final books. This new world situation is going to call for a lot of cooperation and I don’t want those threads to be left hanging, because this series has honestly done a really great job with world-building and interconnectedness of stories (more than I was every expecting) and I know it’s a lot to pull together, but I want to it to end strongly.
The long and short of this review is that I liked this one a lot more than I was expecting too. Vasic and Ivy’s relationship and character development (together and separate) got me right in the deep feels and I loved that. The single-species-focus plot made sense at this point in the story and is clearly setting up for the “end” that is coming. And you know me, I’ve already started the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement and Abandonment
now_booking's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really enjoyed this latest edition to the Psy-Changeling series featuring Vasic, a Psy Arrow, and Ivy, a high level E-Psy. The premise is that with infection plaguing the PsyNet, there is a hypothesis that the previously proscribed and unacknowledged E-Psy designation might be the solution to healing the PsyNet. However, with certain sections of the Psy being pro-Silence and anti-emotions, the Psy special forces, the Arrows, are brought in to protect the newly-recognized Es who are part of a pilot experiment. When Ivy meets Vasic, it’s instant chemistry.
I loved the previous book in this series with Kaleb and Sahara and thought it was my favourite, but Vasic and Ivy, I think, have taken that title. Vasic is the epitome of a strong, silent-type damaged hero whilst Ivy is an absolute delight as a character. Their relationship is believable, their path to healing is a comfort, their discovery of intimacy is realistic and really well handled, the overarching theme of this book of the importance of feeling feelings and emotion and connection are dealt with gorgeously. This book is action-packed and emotional and there are multiple high stakes that make your care and keep you turning the pages. I adored this book and highly recommend. Unfortunately, it’s not really standalone (well I suppose you could read it that way but you lose out a lot) and should be read in order at least after Book 12.
I loved the previous book in this series with Kaleb and Sahara and thought it was my favourite, but Vasic and Ivy, I think, have taken that title. Vasic is the epitome of a strong, silent-type damaged hero whilst Ivy is an absolute delight as a character. Their relationship is believable, their path to healing is a comfort, their discovery of intimacy is realistic and really well handled, the overarching theme of this book of the importance of feeling feelings and emotion and connection are dealt with gorgeously. This book is action-packed and emotional and there are multiple high stakes that make your care and keep you turning the pages. I adored this book and highly recommend. Unfortunately, it’s not really standalone (well I suppose you could read it that way but you lose out a lot) and should be read in order at least after Book 12.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Genocide, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty and Mental illness
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