Thanks for keeping the comments spoiler-free everyone! I know many readers of this blog are still waiting for their copies of Kiss of Snow, so it's very much appreciated.
However, I know those of you who have read it would like to discuss it with spoilers - please do so in the comments to this post only.
As always, please respect one another's opinions. Happy discussing!
201 comments:
1 – 200 of 201 Newer› Newest»OMG kiss of snow was just beautiful and unbelievably exciting!!! I have read it twice already :D
Now I cant wait to see what Vasic and Aden get upto... and also I am really happy that the next book is going to focus on a SnowDancer hero because I am hoping to catch some glimpses of Hawke and Sienna after their mating :P
I also want to see what Ming LeBon does now that he knows the Laurens are still alive.
OMG OMG OMG OMG - i was absolutely blown away by Kiss Of Snow - so worth the wait.
So many books have let down when one of the main characters eventually gets their HEA, but not the incredible Ms Singh.
It was a wonderful love story, and wonderful plot, great new psy talent, fantastic sub stories and the continuation of the characters we love...
Kudo's to you Nalini, it was well worth the wait
I loved the Walker and Lara subplot. Just loved it. Of course, Hawke and Sienna were awesome, but one of the things that I really enjoy about Nalini's writing is how much I come to love the side characters. There are so many that I want to know more about! I'm looking forward to more about Alice, to Kit's story, hopefully Anthony will get screen time. And Ben. Ben just steals every scene he is in! All that to say...loved the book! Can't wait to for the next.
And on a side note, I was so looking forward to seeing Nalini at Barnes and Noble tonight. Unfortunately, I have a friend who is going through a crisis and desperately needs to spend the evening talking through some stuff. I'll be sending good thoughts and wishing I could be there! I hope the evening is terrific for those of you who get to go.
I've read the book twice in two days! My eyes are tired, but this morning I started on round three!! I just cannot put this book down. I loved it. LOVED. IT. The slow progression of Hawke's pursuit of Sienna was sooo good. *sigh* I jsut cant get enough. This was worth the wait. Awesome job, Nalini!!
***spoiler***
I had a feeling the mating bond was showing itself with out Hawke consciously realizing it. Only because she would think something and he would "know" that some thought had crossed her mind.
I told myself I'd wait till my day off so I can fully concentrate on Kiss of Snow but that didn't happen. I started it on my nook during my lunch break. Then when I came home, I continued it even though I knew I had to be at work at 5am the next day. Even though I got 4 hours of sleep, I finished it and LOVED it. I, of course, will have to read it again because I did rush through it. Hawke and Sienna were just too cute. I just knew that Sascha would have a girl. I loved seeing Lucas and Sascha in this one :)
kiss of snow was just awesome!!I love the ending prt wuth the name!!! i am a bit curious about vasic though....ooooooohhh i hope jem aand kenji will heve their own book!! I am SO looking forwaard to the next book!!! =D
Love it!!!! Soooooo worth the wait :D I just loved everything that happened all the subplots and the insights into everyones lives <3 I sooooo Hope Henry is dead I want to hiss at him ;) loved Kaleb's appearance it made melaugh for some reason :3
The Kiss has arrived in the Netherlands on June 1st. I was so happy; I am still reading (I am not a fast reader) and loving every minute of it.
Thank you Nalini! Janet
One of the things I love most about Ms. Singh's books are the appearances of characters from previous stories; it is great to see them again and know a bit more about their lives; and the children are wonderful. I hope this pattern continues in the following books. Have read Kiss of Snow twice so far and as much as I also like the Guild books I must admit that the changelings are number 1 with me. Can't wait for the next; congrtulations on a job well done Ms. Singh.
I'm sitting here at work - reading your comments and wishing my local book store will hurray up and call me to say my copy has arrived(waiting on USA copy in UK). Yes I know I've read some spoliers but its worth it for the additional info.
Your comments make it sound fantastic and i've loved the quotes that Nalini has been putting on the website! I've reread all the previous book just to make sure i'd not forgotten any part of this fantastic series!
Nalini - your book are absolutly great, am off to ring the bookstore again!
Hugs to all of you
I've come to the conclusion that Kaleb is not The Ghost and it's someone so under the radar, when it's revealed, the shocks will be heard everywhere.
I agree, I don't think Kaleb is the Ghost. How about Aden?
I absolutely devoured this book. I now want Nalini to write a Kiss of Snow sequel. :D
The Psy Council fracturing is a good place to start the next arc. Although I wanted to see the Changelings take down Ming or Henry, I get that there is more coming in that battle.
Who else is a bit annoyed that the next book is not due till June'12? Thats such a loooooooong wait.
I am so happy with KOS book, that i have no word. The Walker and Lara story is just wow, Hawke and Sienna, no words. I juste have a feeling like, it is the end of somthing and that make me a little sad.
I don t think Kaleb is the ghost, and tha make me crazy because who the hell is he!!!!
And Kaleb...OMG i just love him.
Lucas and Sacha they are just so great toghter. A love seeing the other couple in the book.
And Sacha mother, she is really bad ass! I love that women.
I Have a question the next book is about who?
Nalini tanks soooo much for your witting.
It feels like I've been waiting forever for Hawke and Sienna's story; they're both such amazing characters and there's been this tremendous build-up to their story troughout the series, so that I was really expecting to be blown away by KoS. It didn't happen. Of course, I liked the book (I like everything that Ms. Singh writes), but I didn't love it.
Here is the main reason why: I was very disappointed with the way the whole mating aspect was handled. Until now (over the course of 9 Psy/Changeling books and several novellas) I firmly believed there was only one mate for a changeling -- only one perfect other half; this was actually, for me, a major part of this series' magic. But now, in KoS, we're told that there are actually several possible mates for a changeling, each of them having the potential of becoming that changeling's perfect mate (do these potential mates are practically interchangeable)? Say again???
It is unequivocally stated that Rissa was Hawke's future mate. Yeah, I get it that they didn't actually mate, because they were too young, but the fact is, had Rissa lived, she would have become Hawke's mate. Which means bye bye Sienna. Sienna would have met Hawke when she was 16 and he would have felt NOTHING for her. So how I am supposed to believe these two were meant for each other? I can't. But for an accident of fate (Rissa's death) they would have never loved each other, never mated.
So yeah, that there actually seem to exist a whole series of potential mates for a changeling - and that the actual mating happens on a 'first-come-first-served'-basis really disappointed me.
~Alyssa
Alyssa --
Actually, this sort of bothered me too. So I went back through several of the previous books to see when/where mates or mating was discussed/mentioned.
It actually was never stated in any of the previous books that there was only one mate -- only that there could only ever be one mating. The only references to "your my one and only" type stuff come up only after the two have started their mating dance. Which, in the way that it was explained in KoS, makes sense. That, once having mated someone, it would be inconceivable to ever mate someone else.
Make sense?
Of course that Kaleb is the Ghost!!! ;)
In their scenes, they are both described as these all-powerful Psy: Kaleb hast almost absolute control over the Net/DarkMind, and the Ghost will supposedly irreversibly alter the Net when he shatters his silence. They are both super-badassess, they have similar modus-operandi -- what are the odds that they are in fact different persons? Very small, I say. Besides, funny how the Ghost does things (like planning the assassination of Marshall) which benefit Kaleb (who wanted Marshall's chair as Council leader).
Oh, and of course that the Ghost can't be Aden, he only learned that Judd was alive (and came to see him) after Sienna's X-fire attack. The Ghost had known all along Judd's identity.
@Anon:
Thanks for explaining that! I was a little confused too about how the mating worked out in the end. It makes sense that even if there are several possible mates, once you mate with one it's forever.
I loved loved loved Kiss of Snow! I loved Hawke and Sienna, and Lara and Walker. The final few scenes of the book were so crazy, with the fight and the synergy and Walker's star. :)
I am also really interested in what's going on in the Council and with the Arrows, and I'm looking forward to seeing more about that in future books.
-Sarah M.
Anonymous,
I get your point. And true, I don't remember for sure if it was ever said that there can only ever be one mate; I am, however, sure that even if this was not explicitly stated, it was strongly implied. Otherwise, why wouldn't Nate have looked for someone else (another mate) after feeling that Tammy would be his mate? Or what about Clay, who would have mourned Tally (whom he believed dead) for the rest of his life, because he knew she would have been his mate, and that there could be no one else for him?
And anyways, my disappointment isn't even so much because of an alleged inconsistency in the series; it's about my feeling of disenchantment at the fact that a changeling's potential mate isn't so special after all, that she/he isn't unique. Can you imagine Lucas mated to somebody other than Sascha? Or Vaughn with someone other than Faith? Why shouldn't we, when we are lead to believe that Hawke and Sienna's mating is no more special than Hawke and Rissa's would have been?
Sorry, but I see enough of this 'you can be equally happy with any of many different persons and who you actually end up married with depends on nothing more than circumstance/ happenstance' in real life; in fantasy I'd rather read about one's true soulmate (who, by definition, is unique for each person).
~Alyssa
Alyssa,
I agree with you 110% everything you said in your posts is what I feel.. i loved KOS.. like everyone else Hawke and Sienna was what I was waiting for.. I'm over the moon that they have the mating bond. BUT the Rissa situation has disappointed me a great deal. I can't get over the fact that had Rissa not died.. they would be no Sienna and Hawke.. like you said Hawke would feel NOTHING for Sienna she would just be another pack member to him. So I'm finding it difficult to actually believe what Hawke and Sienna have with each other is special, epic or one of a kind.
Sienna is Hawke's second chance and no one else shares Sienna's heart and soul except Hawke.. but Sienna will always have to share Hawke's heart and soul with Rissa.. every other mated couple don't need to share their mate with anyone but Sienna will always have to.. I think were one of the few who will never really be satisfied with how the mating issue was resolved.
ferdy
First of all I loved, loved, loved Kiss of Snow. The book managed to gracefully weaved together so many story threads. The intensity of Hawke and Sienna romance contrasted with the almost "softer" connection with Walker and Lara. On the psy side of things the story also furthered the psy story lines like Ghost, the brewing council civil war, and the arrows.
I wanted to respond to a couple of comments from above.
-First with Hawke and Sienna's mating, I like the explanation Anonymous gave about there only being one mating. Additionally, I don't think the mating bond would have kicked in if it weren't for the fact that Sienna punched through Hawke's shields when she went critical. If it had been any other psy or changeling I don't think that they would have had the power to punch through Hawke's shield's enough to let the bond snap into place.
-Secondly, regarding Ghost's identity specifically Kaleb and Aden. One piece of evidence that may eliminate the possibility of Aden being the Ghost is that there are indications Aden's silence may not be perfect. The fact that Walker had taught him to psychically protect part of himself seems to hint at that. Additionally, Aden has an unusually close bond with Vasic. The books indicate that Ghost's silence is perfect, that he doesn't think he EVER had a soul. The other major candidate for the Ghost is Kaleb. There is quite a bit of evidence that seems to indicate that Kaleb may in-fact be the ghost. That said, the only hesitation I have completely accepting that theory is the Ghost's mission was initially to destroy silence, then to destroy the council. Why would he want to destroy the council when he seems intent on ruling it? Just a thought.
- One last comment, I've noticed in the books that the way that the psy under silence utilize their talents either cut off part of a talent or warp it's purpose. There are several examples of this; Sasha being the clearest example of a psy talent being almost completely blocked, Faith's foresight not being used to save other people, Judd's ability to physically heal, Sienna's ability to be a power source, Walker's ability to be a valve. This seems to be one more crime that the council has committed against its people.
KoS was very enjoyable.
I liked how the previous characters made an appearance.
I'm thinking there might be more books with Arrows though now that the Kincaids and the Laurens are done...
I liked the Walker/Lara subplot(?) but at the same time, Walker was a teacher...granted a teacher of assassins, but we never saw the teach show any skills! (darn, personally) I understand that Lara needed a dominant, but the man gave new meaning to "still waters run deep"
The book did not disappoint. I'm just now wondering if Sienna will now constantly need to just funnel her X-fire to Walker....(Imagine her simply constantly streaming X-fire to uncle who redistributes it to the Web)
I'm VERY interested in the Arrows now...and Kaleb. If the character list on the other site is correct, then Aden is an MPsy (field medic in Hostage to Pleasure) with some telepathy skills...who was born to Arrows...And who had to monitor the group An M-Psy as an Arrow? Interesting. Vasic is even more so...due to staying in the Net and even helping out the rebels...
As for Kaleb, the man with a star-like keychain charm searching for a lady that he can't quite seem to find...My guess would be she's human (natural shield)...esp since the man had a faded tattoo of human alliance, perhaps? Anyway, I look forward to his story. (I'm pretty confident that he has a story...especially since he played an interesting role in Bonds of Justice)
I understand the feelings mentioned about Rissa but I did want to point out that this isn't inconsistent whith the story - if you recall in StS the entire reason Sascha fought the mating bond was because once she accepted it Lucas wouldn't be able to have another mate (so the stage was set from the beginning) - As to the specialness of Rissa vs Sienna it helps me to realize that Siennna wasn't born until after Rissa died - so maybe if Rissa had lived then Sienna's soul woulda been bound to someone else? I like to think so :)
@ anonymous, just to respond to a point you made earlier about Nate and Tammy, the reason Nate didn't try to find another mate is because he didn't feel that tammy could be his mate, as far as I've understood, when he went to Tammy's to wish her happy birthday the mate bond between them kicked in straight away, he just had to keep a stranglehold on it because Tammy was too young.
I absolutely loved kiss of snow, i loved the way the relationship between Hawke and Sienna developed in the book and I loved, loved, loved the Walker/Lara plot in the background-I thought it was brilliant.
As for Aden or Kaleb being the Ghost, I have serious doubts about it being Aden, at the end of book when Aden comes to talk to Judd when Judd firsts sees him he devines that Aden was given an order to kill him, another thing that bothers me with it being Aden is that earlier in the book Judd won't look at the ghost saying he has triggers set in his brain to wipe out all he knows including the ghosts name if he's taken , therefore Judd knows who the ghost is and if he knows who it is... well that scene from the back of the book just doesn't really fit (for me) the idea of him being the ghost. I'm more of the opinion that it's Kaleb I could of course be completely and utterly wrpng, but I'm sure we'll find out when Nalini's ready and I'm certain it'll shock us :)
Great- I am going to copy the post I made earlier to the fan site:
Okay- like many of you a stayed up all night when this came out (than went to work) and finished the book after. I then crashed so I need to go back and reread parts of the book -now that I feel human again!
Some thoughts:
1) I had no idea E's could do a total wipe of a persons memory that way. I wonder what else they can do!
2) Walker is amazing and his role training the Arrows explains so much as to why so many of them were able to resist Ming. I cried when Walker was talking with Lara about not being able to protect his child.
3) I want to applaud Sienna-what a brave, strong person! Love how she told Hawke she would give him everything but her obedience to orders because he was Alpha & called him a coward!
4) The Alice story line reads to me like a setup for the future. I admit to being absolutely shocked with how it all played out. (and are there any others out there in that state)?
5) Nikita & Anthony are a very interesting combination. I think that potential storyline could be very strong.
6) Judd found out some information on the person Xavier was looking for. I hope this leads to some peace for him.
7) Why do you think this is the end of the arc? Is it because now the Council no longer is in control and it is now open war?
8) What do you think the significance of the statue was to Titiana? Whatever it was, it was enough to make her back off for the time being.
9) I wonder if Henry is dead-probalby just severly injured as Arden did not mention his death. Too bad!
10) I really hate Ming! Hearing about this training techniques lead to wonder how horribly Santo Enrique treated his protege Kaleb.
Actually i wonder if Caleb's missing lady is Savanah? Faith's vanished F-psy cousin.
Arrows have made me curious to, wonder who they will support when things realy escalate.
This book was AWESOME! I was not at all disappointed! As for what many of you have been saying re: Rissa, I like to think that had Rissa lived, Hawke would now be a completely different person. He would not have become the hard, badass he is because he would have had his mate to balance him all along. Thus, when he met Sienna down the road, he would have been a totally different person and the two would not have had the same connection, chemisty, and understanding of one another. Since Rissa did die, Hawke entire lifepath altered making the mating with Sienna possible. Even if Rissa were some alive now, the person she would have become and the person Hawke is now, might no longer connect the same way...
I echo everyone's questions, and I really really want to know if Alice Eldridge is ever going to be able to wake up and how she's going to deal with being a century out of her own time. Ouch!
I do believe Kaleb is the Ghost but I guess we will eventually find out...
There's so much poised to happen now, and remember they say at the end that the war will begin in only a few months. Eeep.
Nalini said in the newsletter that the next Psy/Changeling book is Riaz's story. Since he told Indigo in Play of Passion that he had met his mate but she was married so he had to leave her alone, I guess we will get to see how changelings manage to fall in love without the mate-bond.
It's going to be soooo hard to wait for the next book!!! Oh well, Dimitri's story and the GH short stories will help feed my Nalini addiction until then....
I love this book...it is officially one of my favorites. Ofcourse I love blaze of memory and that seems to be one of the least favored. Regardless I love this story.
In response to a few things:
Ghost- kalebs brief involvement originally made me feel that he was not the ghost. However it is still an enigma. It could be vasic of course though I've decided he and aden have a pseudo mating bond...perhaps aden is the one person vasic can't do with out. Though the more the ghost reveals through the story the more it points at a cardinal strength individual.
Mating bonds: love is eternal and its strength and variability is quite beyond our comprehension. If rissa had lived I think hawke would still have loved sienna, it just would have expressed itself differently. And rissa would have loved sienna as well. They would have become a strong presence in her life. However it's important I think that rissa did die before the mating bond could form...else I don't think that snow dancer would have survived. Without his pain he would never have been strong enough to truly mate sienna.
Ming: I think we will continue to see much more of.sienna and hawke. Ming will not give up on trying to capture sienna now that he knows she exists.
Eldritch: I have a feeling she wil play a prominent role in future novels. Her story will be very rick and interesting.
Nakita and sasha: I loooove how this relationship is maturing and I look forward to sering where our goes next.
Baby....i don't want to have to wait a year in the timberline to see her shift! She is soooooo cute. More babies!
I think that Vasic is the Ghost.
Kaleb could be, however, his goal seems to be looking for someone and the Ghost's goal seems to be getting rid of the Council and their hold over the Psy.
Vasic is a powerful TK-teleporter which would fit with the Ghost's abilities. TK's are able to communicate well with the Netmind so it would fit.
I can't wait until we know.
Anon - My theory is that Rissa was never meant to be Hawke's mate. He thought she was and his family thought she was, but he never got to find out. So, he may have formed a long-term relationship with Rissa before Sienna came (like the Snow Dancer Lieutenant, who found his mate married to another man, in Play of Passion). However, I believe that Sienna was his true mate. Or, perhaps, Sienna is the true mate for the person he is now.
Clay did not know Tally was the "one" until she reappeared in his life as an adult. Nate did not know Tammy was his mate until she was 16.
Therefore, I believe Hawke and Sienna were meant to be. I hated that Hawke, though, even considered sleeping with the other woman. That action I believe would have ended their relationship.
About the Ghost - I think it's Kaleb. In the part near the end of KoS where Judd meets the Ghost, the Ghost thinks that Judd is probably the only person who knows his identity, and even Xavier hadn't "made the connection." That makes me think the Ghost is someone the general public would recognize, which takes the Arrows out of the running. The only other possibility is that the Ghost was one of the Psy sent to destroy Xavier's village, but I somehow don't think so. If that were the case, though, it would just about have to be Vasic since Aden is a field medic, not a soldier.
About the mating bond - It makes sense to me that Hawke and Sienna are mated, and I don't see it as a second-best kind of thing. Changelings only get one mating, not only one potential mate. For me, the concept is simlar to an observation Max made about the Psy Net. He said it made no sense for a living construct like the net to deliberately cripple itself by producing insufficient anchors.
Well, it makes no sense to me for a living construct like a mating bond to cripple itself by making it impossible for a changeling to mate if their original "intended" dies before that mating actually takes place. The changeling birth rate is very low as it is. The "one or none" concept could endanger the population of changelings (at least those who mate for life) if the Territorial Wars or something similar caused massive loss of life among the unmated. I see it as a survival thing.
It never occurred to me that Hawke's mate could have been anyone after Rissa died. As far as I'm concerned (and this is just me), the bond somehow reset itself, for lack of a better word, after Rissa died, and Sienna was the only one it would recognize. That still makes her first-best from my POV, but again, that's just my take on it.
I loved this book! Just finished reading it for the second time. There are so many things I want to explore:
-the whole interaction between Sienna and Hawke was incredible, I loved the story, the slow but hot, hot, hot courtship was perfect. I believe the mating was explained great, I agree with the previous comments that if Rissa had lived, then Hawke and SnowDancer would not be the same strong alpha and pack that they are in these books and the point would be mute anyway. I think it would end up a completely different story.
I cannot wait to see more of them!
-the scenes with Lucas and Sascha were beautiful, love the baby!
-really enjoyed the Walker/Lara story, very happy that they ended up together!
-also really enjoyed the scenes with Judd and the rest of the previous characters
-it will be so interesting to see what happens with the Arrows and the Ghost, only a year to wait!
Thank you so much Nalini for this beautiful story!
I just loved this book. I laughed, I cried, it had everything.
I think the ghost is Vasic, but see how it could be Kaleb too. I can't wait to see how it plays out.
It is such a long wait until Riaz's book and I'm really curious how the storyline will play out as his mate is Adria, Indigo's unhappily married aunt whose husband can't handle a more dominant wife.
In the newsletter, Nalini said that there is also 2 novellas due next year. I really hope that one of them is Cooper and Grace and the other Jem and Alexei. What do you think?
OMG LOVE THE BOOK couldn't put it down for a second read it in a day and reread it some more sooooo additive but still want more. I love Hawke and Sienna story.
Love the book and CANNOT wait to see updates of Sienna and Hawke in future books!
I need more Hawke and Sienna please!!!!
for the person who posted this:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Actually i wonder if Caleb's missing lady is Savanah? Faith's vanished F-psy cousin.
Arrows have made me curious to, wonder who they will support when things realy escalate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
its Sahara not Savanah
just saying =]
I LOVED Kiss Of Snow!!! I loved all the characters, especially (not surprisinly) Hawke and Sienna! Also, Nikita always makes me laugh. It's as though she cares so much about Sascha and stuff but she doesn't want to show it. The plot keeps getting more exciting with every book! And Walker is just so amazing, Toby, Marlee and Ben are so innocent and cute, and I enjoyed the reappearances of all the characters and seeing them work together. Woohoo!
hey the book was aaaammmmaaazzziiiinnnngggg. i read it the minute, I got it loved Kit's humor and Sara & walkers story. But there wasn't enough baby time and i was wondering if the we are going to know the baby's power soon also if it could shift
Trying this comment thing again.
Loved the book.
About the mating bond- which is a great topic.
I didn't get the impression that Rissa was Hawke's mate, my take away was that she was his best friend. As a boy he confused the feelings that he had for her but as a man he realized that it wasn't like the way he feels about Sienna. Now I have to go back to see if I missed something. Plus I want to brush his hair again, all over. :-)
<3 Ben, wish there had been more of him.
Kaleb has to be the Ghost, makes most logical sense. His girl can't be Sahara as she is too young?
How awesome would an Aden-Vasic pairing be?
Also, loved how the Arrows know about Judd and Sienna's happiness and it gives them hope.
I wonder what the reaction on the Psy-net will be to there being a stable Cardinal X-Psy who's dropped from the Net? If Sascha and Faith caused ripples, what will Sienna's existence and life do?
I loved Kiss of Snow, and I would say that Sascha and Lucas are my favorite couple, Judd my favorite character, and Kiss of Snow my favorite book. And I adore how the book was epic, but didn't have everyone dying left and right.
I thought the mating bond issue was handled logically (not everyone recognizes their future mate right away anyway), and I can't wait to see how this effects the future of changelings that had given up hope of ever having a complete mating bond.
It's such a Spectacular Story!! I really love Sienna's cardinal X-Fire. I've been looking so much forward to seeing what's so special about an X-designation. And it's so much more than I could've ever envisioned. NS's imagination is defo Uber Awesome!! What Sienna has can defo negate her age. She's a prefect ALPHA MATE to Hawke. I was shocked that she could punch through his mind!! WOW!! An Alpha's mind has to be titanium strong. She just waltzed right in ..and ended up saving her pack & everything he treasured. Love when Hawke returned the favor by slamming right back via their mating bond to put out her cold blue fire!!
I'll come back with more comment on what I LOVE about KoS..Namely.. KALEB *HEART*
I´m a big Ming fan, so...
Have anyone noticed that Ming had recogniced Sienna`s power and didn`t alert Henry? He tricked him.
Even more, there a references in the past books, that he fooled the hole council. He has definitely also his own agenda.
I still think, that Kaleb is not the Ghost. More an Arrow, Anchor or unknown Psy.
Adan and Vasic seem to have a - for Psy under Silence - unusual old friendship since their childhood. Maybe thanks to the help of Walker? I would love to read more of these two.
Adan`s "Those are my order" when
he met Judd: Let me wonder WHO gave these order. Especial, when it `seems` that it wasn`t Kaleb...
Nalini - thanks for KOS. It was like eating the most delicious unbelievable dessert and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
I'm only bummed out because I'm going to have to wait a full year before I can get a dose of the changeling world again! How can I bear it! LOL.
Keep it coming Nalini and thank you!
Great Bk! I thought I was going to gulp it down (LOL!) on the first read but I couldn't, I just didn’t want to miss anything, it was what I was hoping for and more, I started to read it on Wednesday, finished it yesterday afternoon and started it all again last night, the best of the series and my favorite so far, definitely worth the wait. Congratulations on your great story, I think It will be a huge success (if is not already ^.~) So many favorite scenes and quotes…like “Touch me and I’ll singe your eyebrows off.” that was a good one, Oh! and for me…strip poker now has a whole new meaning LOL! *sigh*…Miss Singh, you have a great gift, thank you for sharing it with us your fans. Can’t wait for your next changeling book…any hint who’s going to be about?
I have now read all but one the spy/changelin novel and all the guild hunter novels - every single one has been amazing. I loved kiss of snow. - beautifully written but what I absolutely love about Nalini is the depth of her characters and the richness of the world she creates. It hasn't gotten old or boring - it field like family and you get to see all the people you've come love throughout each book.
Thank you for giving me something worthy to read - I even enjoyed the love scenes - in other books I just skip over them because it like watching porn but not your books - plus I don't ever reread books but can' t get enough of your books - so I reread them.
At first the whole Rissa thing bothered me too. I didn't like the feeling that Hawke and Sienna weren't "meant to be". But after I thought about it for a while, I came to the same conclusion as some of the other posters. Hawke and Rissa were meant to be mates. That is 10 year old Hawke and 5 year old Rissa were meant to be mated. Had Rissa survied, the death of Hawke's parents, taking over the pack, all the events in his life up to where we are now would have molded him into a completely different person. Since he would have had the strength of the mating bond to rely on, he wouldn't have been all dark and broody by the time he meets the Laurens.
While I have no doubt that Rissa-Hawke would have still taken in the Laurens, Sienna and Hawke would have had a much different relationship. Perhaps there would have been another SnowDancer that could have handled Sienna, or maybe there would have been an attraction to Kit instead. Who but Nalini would know what might have been? While Rissa's death was sad, I'm very glad that we got Hawke and Sienna.
Eva: Ming's evil. He locked Katya's mind & practically left her to die. But you've made a valid point about his keeping his knowledge about Sienna's signature mental combat strategies to himself. Still, I'm afraid you could end up having your heart broken when Ming's true nature came out to play. Don't forget even the Arrow Squad left him for Kaleb. *HEART* That's an unarguable judgment call for sure.
ITA that Kaleb isn't the Ghost. Nothing specific to support my thought but I kinda feel that the Ghost is elderly.. well older.. LOL.. while Kaleb's so Young, so uber Gorgeous. LOL. Hope you recall how many times Max's J-Psy, Sophia mentioned Kaleb's BEAUTY!!
HG: Didn't NS mention somewhere that her next story would be about one Lieutenant & his heroine? I hope someone else remembered which LT. WOLF NS had in mind. I have my speculation.. but wanna hear what you guys know.
loved KoS but have a question. Why didn't Hawke leave his scent on Sienna like the other couples did to warn of other males?
@AlwaysV and HG- It was in her news letter, it will be Riaz and Adria
@AlwaysV: "Still, I'm afraid you could end up having your heart broken when Ming's true nature came out to play."
- LOL. Don`t worry. My heart is safe. I like him as the evil man Nalini has created. He`s a very complex and fascinating charakter. Don`t you think? Is not Kaleb the same? He`s also an killer. Same with Nikita. I see the councilor more in grey instead of white/black.
Christina: *BIG HUGS* Thnx so much for the info!!! Yeah!! I actually got that right!! Now we'll see another take on the WOLF dealing with his courting.. LOVE IT!! I should subscribe to NS's Newsletter..
Eva: So true about the gray area for many Psy. Now I feel better for you. *Big Grins* No broken heart. LOL.
Kaleb is different. HAHAHA. He wooudn't tolerate Senseless Butchering. True? Don't you love how he got rid of Bonner? In Bonds of Justice. That one is MY FAVE BOOK!! Kaleb was all over the story.. :) What he did there showed how special he was. He was a protege of a cardinal sociopath Santano.. after all. How he could survive those years & could understand how wrong it was to allow a serial killer to live.. that just blew me away about him. Hey, I should stop here cuz I could defo go all day worshiping Kaleb..LOL..
Love the whole book but here's a part that I LOVE JUST A LIL BIT MORE..
Hawke said "Pretty Baby".. but Brenna was on the other end of the phone..LOL..
Wonder if the twins.. Julian & Roman are now ready to move in with Sascha & Lucas .. so they can protect & take care of Baby Black Panther Cub NAYA. Can't wait for their first scene together.
I have always wondered who pulled the train off of the female teacher who mated with a leopard? Vasic or Kaleb?
Concerning Rissa, Hawke & Sienna: didn't we all have a childhood love that we thought was the end all while it was happening. Hawke just never matured in this area until someone called him a coward.
@Anon: I wondered the same thing, so I went back and looked. Annie says that the boy had cardinal eyes, so I'm betting it was Kaleb! Vasic has gray eyes. This just makes me love Kaleb more. :)
-Sarah M.
I have a question: When Sienna used her gift, did only the Psy and the surrounding land get torched? Did it jump the line or did it recognize the wolves and save them? Sorry I got confused.
Ann
Re: Why Sienna didn't carry Hawke's scent
Well, there was no mating dance, just the actual mating which happened very late in the book, at which point Sienna would have totally carried Hawke's scent. Earlier, after they became intimate, she would have also carried his scent, though to a lesser extent. I think this wasn't mentioned not because it didn't happen, but because it was just one of many details that didn't make it in the final book (along with how the pack reacted to Hawke and Sienna's mating).
Re: Who was the Tk who saved Annie when she was in the train wreck
He had cardinal eyes, so I'm almost certain it was Kaleb.
Re: Who did Sienna actually scorch with her X-fire during the final battle
Only the Psy. She pushed through Hawke's shields and gained his knowledge about all the packmates and wolves that were in the field, so that her gift would recognize them and leave them unharmed. She didn't hurt any SnowDancer, and she didn't hurt the wolves; Hawke told her there was nothing to forgive.
Re: the next book in the series
In the newsletter, Ms. Singh says that the next book will be about Diaz and that his mate will be Adria, whom we met in Play of Passion.
Well, Diaz's mate was supposed to be married to a good man (which is why Diaz wouldn't/couldn't intefere), which doesn't pan out with Adria's character -- remember, she is Indigo's aunt, and she loves and is partnered (not married) with the less dominant Martin, who doesn't treat her well AT ALL. So I'm confused at the inconsistency...
~Alyssa
Im surprised so many people don't think Kaleb is the Ghost. I was convinced it was him for so many reasons. Now, I'm thinking that it could be Vasic.
The mating bond was handled exactly like I thought it would be. There were too many allusions to the fact that Hawke and Rissa never mated.
Can't wait for Adria to ditch that loser. Riaz is sexy.
Marie
@Alyssa: I was wondering that too, and I can only think that Riaz wasn't talking about Adria when he told Indigo about his mate. So maybe we'll have another more-than-one-potential-mate story like in Kiss of Snow. Or maybe Riaz and Adria will just be the first changeling couple to end up together without the mating bond in this series. Knowing Nalini, I'm sure I'll still love the book even if that happens. :)
Sienna did start carrying Hawke's scent after they first got intimate. He made a comment about their mingling scent and that it would stay intermingled as long as they were lovers, which he said would be forever. It was a really cool scene!
I just powered through the book (practically ripping it from my mailman's hands, poor dear) and I can't stop my excitement over KOS! Usually, I am always disappointed when I finally get my hands on a much anticipated character's book.
My only disappointment is that it ended too early. I wanted to see more of Hawke and Sienna after the mating, after they discuss it. I *really* want to see the den's reaction to their mating (and I can't wait till June, 2012 for the next book to see this reaction!). My only complaint about the book is the end, when Sienna says she will accept the authority of the other soldiers over her. Shouldn't she hold a special place in the pack like Sascha? I felt a little short changed, even if I understand its a question of her age.
I loved the Lara and Walker moments! I was so happy to finally know what was going on with Walker's star! (And nearly dropped the book when they whipped out a (somewhat) living Alice 0_o)
I want even more Kaleb now (I was definitely Team Kaleb on Nalini's livestream interview on Facebook). And Nikita was totally awesome!
So many thoughts... I'll have to finish reading everyone else's comments
i haven't read KoS yet, but my aunt baught in america for me so am waiting for her to ship it...... but i love the comments u guys made, it makes the book sound so interesting and i can't wait to read it....... I WONDER, AM I THE YOUNGEST PERSON WHO COMMENTS ON THIS SITE am 17........ NAYA what a cute name, how did sascha and lucas came up with that..... and is NOOR and KEENAN, menton in this book, cause i seriously love those two. and JON too!!!!!!11
As for Kaleb, I have always thought he was the one to pull the train in the accident as a child. I use to think he was the GHost, but the last several books have me thinking the Ghost is Vasic, or someone who will shock us (probably the later).
I personally didn't think Rissa. I was annoyed (much like Sienna) that Hawke *thought* Sienna was a second choice. But to me, I always thought the way Sienna did: they never actually mated, so he was free to mate with someone else.
Nalini has always said in previous books that it was a choice of the female that snapped the bond into place. I very much felt that it was Hawke decision in this book--he pushed his way into Sienna at the end, snapping the bond in place. I think it is when it finally hit Hawke that Sienna was his true mate (of course, it hits him right when he's about to lose her, stubborn man ^_~)
@Erin E-- I loved that scene where he mentioned their scents intermingled, too :) Hawke was constantly putting his scent on Sienna covertly, I thought, with the number of t-shirts and sweatshirts he had her wear
Anon: Glad you used the word LOSER referring to Adria's lover. I went WTH!! when I realized who she was. She's gonna be the next heroine?? No way!! Indigo had a hard time accepting Drew in the beginning cuz of Adria's lousy relationship with this loser. They seemed to be living together for years. Now she would have Riaz for a true mate? Arrrkkk..No way..where's the smexiness? The romance? The out of this world gorgeousness? Riaz himself gave his heart to a married woman..his mate. hahaha..Not funny. His situation was different than Hawke's though. Hawke was a boy when Rissa claimed his heart. Riaz was an LT.. a full adult. I do want to see how Adria could claim his heart. She couldn't even make that loser Martin love her wholeheartedly.
But.. I know we need to trust NS's visions. If Riaz & Adria talked to her.. told her their story, then we don't need to be worried.. True?
I'm positive I'll end up falling crazy in love with the story in June 2012. No doubt whatsoever. LOL
I adored Kiss of Snow outrageously. Hawke and Sienna were wonderful, but my heart belonged to Walker and Lara, and I wished there was more about them! I thought Sienna didn't really 'match' up to Hawke's alpha-ness and I wished she'd show more teeth in the future.
I loved all the side characters (past heros/heroines from other books). However, I must say I've fallen deeply for the Psy. I really need to read more about the elusive Arrows. Aden, Vasic, and Kaleb are amazing characters. I wonder if Walker trained both Aden and Vasic - I wouldn't be surprised. I look forward to seeing them intermingle with the changelings. I think these Arrows haven't been silent for a long time, they just need to figure out where they are at. My heart breaks for all of them.
I hope they can all win the civil war and kick some butt under Nikita.
Anon: Yup.. you could defo be the youngest poster on this thread. But don't be worried.. only 2 years younger than Sienna herself. :)
Lucas introduced his baby as Miss Nadiya Shayla Hunter.. Naya is a pet name. I'm checking out to see if he said anything else about her name.
Hope you get to read KoS really soon. You know you'll LOVE it.
Hey, Anon: I got how Sascha & Lucas chose the name for Naya. Sascha explained it to her mother that Naya carried a Russian first name.. for Sascha's grandfather. Her middle name was to honor Lucas's healer mother. So meaningful.. so pretty. Nikita said Sascha should've severed all ties with her past. PP. 244-245.
And sorry...no mention of Noor, Keenan, or Jon in the story.
Hi Nalini, LOVED KoS - thanks so much for the care you took in crafting it. My husband made the mistake of interrupting me 6 times while I was reading it - just with idle chatter. Now he is reading it, and it's payback time. Mwa ha ha! We both love your books. Perfect timing for the long weekend (Queen's Birthday).
Hi Nalini, I live in Melbourne and I'm taking a quick trip to New Zealand in November. How about I call in and see what you've got fnished on Riaz and Adira? Oh and Aden and Vasic. Can't wait till June 2012. Waiting for KOS was bad enough. No really it's absolutely no problem and I can keep a secret. Heh.
KoS was well worth the wait! A great book that left me satisfied. Can't wait for the next one to see how everyone is doing :)
Thats one of the best books, NS ever write. I love it and can´t stop reading unit I finished it. I like the roller coaster of the feelings of S&H. After finishing the book, I´m looking for a song, thats fits the story and atmosphere of the book (like I always do). I choose the song "century" of Erik Faber. What do you think, it is the right one? Or do you have better possibilities?
Thanks for discussing!
@Christina: I totally agree with you on being dissapointed with Siennas rank in the pack. I get that she's a soldier and she was just telling him that she's mature enough to accept her place but isn't she part of the Alpha pair now, shouldn't she hold the highest rank right next to him? I was re-reading BoM and Sascha mentions taking over many of Lucas's alpha duties to help him out/shoulder the burden. I really wanted that for Hawke. This said, this in no way lessened the book for me, I LOVED IT! and trust in Nalini :)
I'm doing a s.l.o.w rereading of KoS..Looking for my fave images..Here're some at the top of my list:
@feral wolves piling up sleeping next to Hawke..That's unconditional love for sure.
@Sienna stood at the spot Hawke told.. watching her packmates got smashed by Pure Psy.. waiting for Hawke's GO SIGNAL. She could've blasted the Psy on her own but.. no matter what.. Hawke had to give her a go. That's unconditional devotion.
@Lucas experiencing Sascha's birth pain.. Yup.. nuff said. Sharing the pleasure in conceiving Naya.. it's just fair to share the pain equally.
@This one.. hahaha.. difficult to envision.. but I can see it!! Sienna dancing on the bar..when Hawke walked in.. LOVE IT!!
@The best image EVER!! Sienna dancing with Hawke..in the forest under a starless night.. a hidden night..the darkest night..
TWO ALONE ON THE WHOLE PLANET...
@Hawke gave Sienna a penguin in a tux.. & it played their dance song.
@Another one before I gotta go.. Hawke gave Sienna a key & told her to stay alive so she could use it to open her gift.. I'm so crazy in love with this ALPHA PAIR <3..<3..<3
*BOWS LOW TO NS*
THNX, NS for having written such a Uber Gorgeous Story!! True.
I loved loved loved this book!!!! I know a lot of people are mentioning the Rissa situation but the way I see it is: mates are fated, if it's meant to be it will be, I also believe life and death are fated and therefore it's fate that Rissa died making Hawke who is was and leaving the gap for Sienna. I just can't imagine any alpha being with a submissive, even sasha is a cardinal so in her own way she is a dominant!!
I also agree Kaleb is the ghost, the ghost said there are places in the net only he can go and we already know Kaleb has control over the netmind so I don't see how it would work the ghost being anyone else!!
I'm so glad that there was that line about Nikita hurting sasha to keep her safe, I've been thinking that for the last few books and I'm hoping she gets a book, maybe Teijan??
Here's my theory for Alice Eldridge. . . I'm seeing and encounter with 2 little mind healers in her future. . . Noor and Keenan
Speaking of Alice, Are we going to see her again?? Will she have her own book? I really hope so because I can see her mated to a certain arrow or maybe to a wolf...or to a cat *winks*
i haven't got my copy yet and it looks as if i'll have 2 wait till next month! So annoyed espacially since i paid over the odds 4 it. It's out of stock! As 2 the next book: i can't see that Riaz was talking about Adria in POP i mean, knowing that his mate was her aunt, he would have still been willing 2 give it a go with Indigo? I can't see it somehow.
@Lou, Nalini said in the Livestream interview on facebook Teijan (rat alpha) will appear in more books, but won't be getting his own (unless something big changes, I'd imagine).
@Cristina--glad I'm not the only one! I'm hoping we will see Sienna as an equal share in the alpha relationship next book. I want to see more, Nalini! More of their relationship as alpha pair for the pack.
(even if it is just a deleted scene on the website to sate my curiosity!)
After rereading KoS: What could the other reason - beside Sienna`s X designation - be; that Ming wanted her?
And I´ve to agree, I want definitely more insight in Hawke`s and Sienna`s new relationship.
I know it`s a bit soon (they`ve just mated), but... a cardinal changeling baby would be unique. Don`t you think? I mean, Sienna is powerful enough so this could be a possibility, or?
I devoured KoS in a couple of days and I LOVED IT! Nalini didn't disappoint me at all, and I loved the slow courtship Hawke engaged with Sienna taking into account her age and the fact that she's a virgin..all the special things he did for her, like the dancing, the penguin and the hair brushing meant that he was falling more in love with her (even though he would have denied it)..
I'm sure as with Luc and Sasha's books we will get to see the Aplpha pair interacting in the next few SnowDancer books, so that's something Nalini never fails to deliver on, so not worried about the ending and how we didn't get to see what the response would be to them as a couple, but the fact that she saves everyone in the end surely means that she has their loyalty and undying love right?
I think that the Ghost is Kaleb, the reason for this is because he is searching for someone, and the Ghost also thought about destroying the Psy net but couldn't as it would mean destroying someone special to him..too much of a coincidence?? Hmmm will have to wait for the reveal, which for some reason I thought Nalini would finally let us know who the Ghost was?? of well will Keep reading..
I think that the reason Vasic and Aden are close maybe due to the fact that they have an understanding (an alliance??) of how the Arrows must conduct themselves, and how they should not be corrupted to bend to some Councillor's political whims..Also they maybe each others Anchors which allows them to continue living without going insane under silence..these are just my thoughts..None of them are probably correct, as Nalini has probably got it all worked out years in advance lol!
Also loved Lara and Walkers love story, 2 nurturing people finally find and come together I'm glad they got their HEA.
As for Alice?? I can see her finally waking up and being fascinated with the whole Silence concept and trying to figure out her place in the Den (I have no doubts that she will be a Snow Dancer adoptee)
Bring on Riaz and Adria book, and in the Newsletter Nalini stated the following:-
'The book will feature SnowDancer Lieutenant, Riaz, and a fellow SnowDancer you met in Play of Passion. Her name? Adria. Yes, there will be fireworks!I have a feeling the Arrow, Aden, will play a strong role in this story, as will Councilor Kaleb Krychek. More info to come as I get further into the book.'
I can't wait..Well done Ms Singh, you've made me a very happy women xxx
I bought the Psy book 1 just over a month ago after reading "Stroke of Enticement" in the group of novellas "The Magical Christmas Cat" Since those readings I have bought via Kindle ALL the books.
"Kiss of Snow" was wonderful. I read the book in one day. My husband laughed and asked me how a "romance" could be so enthralling. My answer was simple.
Most books create little worlds to visit. But sometimes the create something for our imaginations that is bigger. The characters are vibrant. The locations are enough like places we know that I can visit them in my mind. The conflicts are believable and I can feel the conflicts. Thank you for creating a world and people, I want to visit over and over again.
I was confused at the end. Why didn't the xfire kill hawke and the others before it reaached walker on the psychic plane? I assume the fire knew not to hurt them? Also, if the valve appears when x's are born, then why weren't others saved in the psynet? There should have been valves there, right? I'm just wondering if I missed something. I loved KoS, regardless.
What I am dying to know about is more about the snowdancer web. Sienna's power/energy hit everyone including mates so from Riley to Mercy to Lucas etc... Can the power hit/help Dark River as well.
OK KOS was definitley an worth the wait and a really good read (yep I need to read it twice more) but my favorite is Caressed by Ice. I have been reduced to reading them all over again, and it keeps my son from pinching them which he is desperate to do! Keep them coming please and thank you for sharing xxx
Loved the book :) Lara and Walker's story was very cute, and it was hilarious to see everyone being overprotective of little Naya. I've been rooting for Hawke and Sienna since the beginning, so it was nice to finally see them together.
Sienna was more and less than what I expected her to be. Loved her fiery personality, but felt like Ming's training would have made her harder/more mature (for lack of a better word). Also, why wasn't her knowledge about Ming's patterns, etc used by the pack before this? I would have thought that she would be a valuable resource, regardless of her age.
I wasn't a fan of how the mating bond was handled, but I almost expected it... everyone wants a perfect HEA, not a nice, realistic HEA. Like someone above mentioned, the idea of there only being one mate per person was a rule that felt ingrained throughout the series. If Sasha had died in the first book, Lucas wouldn't have a mate. Period. Nothing saying he couldn't have fallen in love and had a non-mated relationship, but it wouldn't have been the same as being mated. At least, that was how I understood it. Hawke's mate was Rissa... regardless of the age he found her, or the fact that she later died, she was his mate. And I don't think Sienna should have magically been able to step in, regardless of whether Hawke and Rissa ever actually mated. Wasn't that the whole idea behind Annie and Zack's story? That he would never leave her, that she was the only one for him... not "oh, you haven't accepted the mating bond, I'm going to go out and find myself a new mate now."
Anyway. Just my 2 cents. Wondering how Riaz and Adria will work out... especially since she's already mated. Also, didn't Riaz say he found his mate while he was off traveling/exploring? Not that he came back home and realized it...
Anon-The X-fire didn't hurt Hawk, his people or the feral wolves because Sienna punched through his shields into his mind at the last moment and was able to control the X-fire enough that it 'identified' the SnowDancers as friendly through what Hawke knew and protected them. Hawke and Sienna actually discuss this later on in the book.
I also wondered about the valves being used to save other X's. I'm just assuming that like with everything else to do with Silence that the valves who are immersed in Silence completely can't function properly to save the X's. Nalini has certainly showed time and again that Silence has screwed up a lot of the designations abilities!
@Anonymous--the SnowDancer and Dark River webs are not connected because neither Lucas or Hawke will accept one another as Alpha. WHen Mercy and Riley mated, their mating bond links them together as individuals, but the two webs and changeling groups are distinct, so the Sienna Juice won't affect Lucas (or any Dark River except maybe Mercy).
@Anonymous--my gues as to why there are not always valves is because of some of Alice's emails. She said that in the older days (16th century) when psy were raised with family units (pre-silence) she thought the net had a way of accomadating the X's. My guess is that with Silence, since there are no loving family nets (usually), a valve does not develop naturally. Walker, though, was still loving towards those he considered family (despite the Silence) and therefore the net evolved him when Sienna was born.
As for the whole Rissa being Hawke's only fated mate, I can't accept that. Because if she had lived, Hawke wouldn't have turned to his wolf when their alpha died, he would have turned (in part) to his mate. He would have never have become the strong, vicious Hawke we all know and love (and what SnowDancer needed). So I think that he fell in love with Rissa and would have tried to mate with her, but Fate stepped in and killed her (so Hawke develops into the ALpha we all know and love). Sienna then is born and is the perfect mate for the alpha we have now. I think Hawke always interpretted his young, child like feelings as being the 1 mate because (as Sienna said) it was easier. To his wolf's sense of black-and-white world view, it was just the easiest choice. I hope this makes sense.
So much better than I thought it was going to be. Loved loved loved it. Especially Walker and Laras little story. I just know the next one is going to be exciting. Can't wait to see what happens next.
This book was just amazing!! I am already rereading it LOL Anyone dying for Hawke and Sienna's story will not be disappointed! I can't wait to see who the Ghost is and what's going to happen in this war. I can't say enough how much I thought this book was perfect!!
@Christina - the Wave wasn't a construct of the Web. If it had been just in the Web then the other healers wouldn't have been able to feel it. I assume they were able to access it because they pull energy from the Alpha. So if it was able to move from Riley to Mercy, then it could have moved from Mercy to DarkRiver.
Regarding the mating bond issue that Christina and others have referred to, I think the key is the animal. The wolf only chooses once, mates once. In the case of Rissa and Hawke, Rissa was too young for Hawke's wolf to have mated with, or chosen, though Hawke did know it would happen one day when they were older. That's why he was able to form the mating bond with Sienna. His wolf wanted and accepted Sienna, and because the wolf hadn't mated with Rissa. It took the man a little while to figure it out as he still stubbornly held on to the idea that Rissa would have been his mate had she lived and because it protected him from ever getting hurt like that again.
In the case of Luc and Sascha, or any of the other couples, the cat and the man had decided on Sascha so if she had died in Slave to Sensation, Luc would never have mated again.
That's the way I've come to see it. I hope Nalini pops in to help clarify this. I think the next book gives her the opportunity to really discuss the mating "rules", what with Riaz thinking he had found and lost his mate and Adria being in a long-term, non-mated relationship with Martin.
I love this book. I will be re-reading again and again the series waiting for the next one.
Adria and Riaz? I thought Adria had her partner. I can't get to read this book. She is suppoused to be really strong, so this is promissing to be a very Hot book.
@Mem,
The reason the other healers had the burst of energy is because they ARE in the SnowDancer web. All of the healers outside the main den are bonded to one of the lieutenants like Lara is bonded to Hawke.
Lulu,
I completely agree with you about Hawke's wolf recognizing Sienna and accepting her before his human side did. I've reread the book now and I'm noticing things I missed before. In the scene with Rosalie, Hawke's wolf was sullen. He didn't understand why. I think his wolf already recognized Sienna as it's mate and didn't want anyone else.
@MG, yes, I picked that up too when I re-read the book, about the wolf being sullen at being near Rosalie.
Also, do you remember the part in the cabin when Hawke is saying the furry handcuffs are a joke from Lucas and that Luc was probably "laughing his a$$ off at the dance you've led me?" Uh, mating dance, anyone? Seems like Hawke's wolf, then his subconscious was figuring it out waaaaay before his conscious brain!
Absolutely loved KoS! I actually waited a whole day to read it because of travelling. Way to go Nalini!!
I don't know about anyone else but what I REALLY want more storyline on is Mercy and Riley and their baby! What will it be!?! I want to see Riley becoming a father not just the responsible older brother he has always been :-)
-sarah h
Did I miss something in Kiss of Snow? Is Mercy pregnant? I only read the book 3 times so did I actually miss that? What part is that in?
I love this book I was so happy you did Walker and Lara's story. I love where you went with Hawke and Sienna. I'm also happy Lucus and Sasha had their baby. I hope you do a story for Kaleb soon I really like his character and I think he should have something big too happen with him.
Really love all these comments! A couple things stuck out...
First, about Sienna's rank in SnowDancer/relationship with Hawke as compared to Sasha's relationship with Lucas. I think the difference is due to the fact that Sasha entered DarkRiver as an adult cardial E-Psy.
Sasha was an adult from the beginning, and everyone knew what her cardinal ability was. Sienna entered the den as a juvenile (and an unsteady one at that), and I'm still not sure the whole den knows what her cardinal ability is - very few know what Judd is, either. Only the soldiers on the battlefield saw what she did, although it doesn't seem to be a secret amongst the Psy, so.... The pack will have to adjust to the fact that she's now mated to their alpha as well as to her real abilities.
As for why her military knowledge and talents weren't utilized earlier, I'm guessing it's because no one knew the extent of them. Maybe I missed something, but I got the impression in KoS that Hawke didn't realize how much time she'd spent with Ming, how early and thoroughly she'd been trained, or exactly what that training entailed. Even Judd didn't know the whole story. She said she'd continue to take orders from the senior soldiers and Lieutenants but I think that will all sort itself out naturally once everyone (including Sienna) figures out how she can best help protect the pack.
Second, about Walker's students. Aden said he'd been one of them, but I don't think Vasic was. Walker said Judd was a Tk and was therefore trained in a different location by different teachers. Vasic is also a Tk, so he would also presumably have been trained elsewhere. Walker was training more than just Tp's as Aden is an M-Psy, but it makes sense for the Tk's and more violent abilities to have more specialized training.
@Mem--I was clarifying the wave of energy Sienna passed through the SnowDancer net for someone else. I'll have to reread the book, but I don't remember the wave passing to the DarkRiver pack, for the reason's I said before (the 2 packs being 2 different nets). I meant that the twisting part of Walker's psy star (what Alice called the 'valve') was created by the net to protect/help Sienna's X powers.
Just finished the book..OMG I loved it, and it was perfect the way Hawke and Sienna mated and how it changed the web..I have a huge grin right now, it was really great!
:)
I have read at least half of the comments. 86% or more are really worth reading (of the half I read). But gotta say...Kaleb.
Why else would Judd KNOW that Kaleb had not Aden?
sorry... "sent Aden"....
@LuLu: Nope- you didn't miss it, there is no mention of Mercy being pregnant in KoS. What I meant was that there was a lot of talk about whether Mercy can have kids and what they will be in Branded by Fire and was hoping more would develop from that story. I also thought that in all three of the Kincaid books, there is a mention of Riley taking care of his brother and sister like a parent and I was just hoping more on this subject!
-Sarah H
I read it through the first time in three hours. I love your books and your characters. You have inspired me to write my own stories. I can't wait for the next books. I'm going to re-read the series over yet again?
Thanks, Sarah! Whew, glad I hadn't missed that. I also would love to read about a Riley/Mercy baby but I'd really, really, really like a Hawke/Sienna baby! Seriously, that scene when Hawke is holding Naya and thinking he'll never have his own child . . . I want Hawke to have that amazing moment like Luc did.
I've Been reading all of the posts and I have a few thoughts to add Ahem:
1. I don't think the Ghost is Aden or Kaleb. I think it's Zie Zen. He is a well known business man and is in on the rebellion. Per: Hostage to Pleasure. We also haven't heard anything about him since. It could also explain why he's surprised that Xavier hasn't recognized him.
2. About the mating bond. I think that there are several different people at any given time that a person could mate with however as the mating bonds are a psychic bond as well as a Changeling one it limits the pool to those with similar 'souls' as it were. This would mean that depending on what has transpired in there life they may or may not be able to have the Mating bond with the person their with. -Sry got a little long winded I hope this makes sense.
3. I soo can't wait for Kit's story. (I know that Nalini has stated that we will have to wait. Sigh) He is my second favorite character in this series. The first being Drew.
4. I'm wondering about Anthony & Nikita. I'm thinking there may be more to there alliance with each other as well as with the changelings.
5. I want to read more about Max & Sophi!
6. Dose anybody know who will be starring in the next Chapter???
one of my favorite quotes...page 101
"why are we here?" she asked in a voice touched with ice. "why are we walking under the stars, late at night?"......
"We're packmates. It's a beautiful night. Simple as that."
"Bullshit."..."You're giving me just enough to make sure I can't forget you and not enough to go against your all-important principles.Well F..k you."
Of course I loved Kiss of Snow! Tried not reading it until AFTER finals, but I'm weak. Oh so very weak... Oh well, a B+, instead of an A+ is totally worth it. I absolutely love Hawke and Sienna! Quick question though: There was a character, Cooper, that was mentioned a few times with his new mate. Has he come out before? The name seems vaguely familiar, but it's not clicking and it's driving me crazy.
OMG i just loved KOS and Hawkes and Siennas story was just perfect and she is the perfect mate for him......About the mating dance i seem to remember in Mercy and rileys story thar it was left to the woman to accept it and since Rissa was so young when she died i am sure she didnt have the concept of mating.....however am not clear what happens to the male once the woman rejects it...but in hawkes case since they were both so young when it happened i am sure when he reached his prime it must have changed him somehow especially since he is the Alpha......also since he dint die with Rissa as most mates do it also shows that they had not mated which actually has been pointed out in the book several times
I usually love reading all of Ms. Singh books, but the KOS did not do it for me.
The subplots of Walker/Laura was a distraction. Maybe it would have been better if they were put at the back of the book as a short story or posted on the website. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy their story, but I felt like it was out of place somehow.
I felt like the story between Sienna/Hawk could have been expanded more. It would have been awesome to have seen Sienna more in action. It would have spice thing up more if Kit was actually enamored with Sienna. I felt like Hawk mating with Sienna was forced out of him. This was not the typical mating ritual. It was kinda of hard seeing that Sienna will always be second.
Overall, the KOS was a good read but it would be awhile before I read it again.
On the side note, I sure love reading snippets on the arrows. Also, I am rooting for Kaleb as the ghost. He has such a powerful character.
@Neha - I'm also wondering what the rules are if a mating is rejected by the woman, since she has the final say. I remember in Branded by Fire, Mercy was considering what would happen if her cat just couldn't accept Riley. She wasn't pleased about it, and she pondered that the woman in such a situation could continue to live and function alone but would be constantly drawn back to the male, sort of coming and going out of his life year after year. Total frustration for both people.
I also agree that Hawke not dying when Rissa died was really over-looked by readers. When one mate dies, the other dies or fades away slowly and dies. Hawke didn't. They were too young and Hawke's wolf was too young as well to make that binding choice.
@Anon - About Sienna being "second choice", I disagree. Rissa would have been the maternal submissive mate for Hawke in another, different future. A future where SD wasn't torn apart with all that betrayal and death, a future where Hawke's parents hadn't died, where their alpha Garrick hadn't died. Garrick might still be alpha and Hawke just one of his lieutenants, not the same man at all. The Laurens might never have defected to SD. But all that did happen and Sienna was the mate that Hawke needed for the man that he became.
Lulu: This part of your post... !!!
@Anon - About Sienna being "second choice", I disagree. Rissa would have been the maternal submissive mate for Hawke in another, different future. A future where SD wasn't torn apart with all that betrayal and death, a future where Hawke's parents hadn't died, where their alpha Garrick hadn't died. Garrick might still be alpha and Hawke just one of his lieutenants, not the same man at all. The Laurens might never have defected to SD. But all that did happen and Sienna was the mate that Hawke needed for the man that he became.
Just WOW!!!
Perfectly said.. abso!!
DOUBLE WOW!!
I liked KoS, didn't love it. Or at least, not as much as I'd thought I would.
Perhaps, I just built it up too much in head. I don't know... I've re-read it three times but there still doesn't seem to be the...intensity(?) of the other books regarding the mating. Or maybe it's just that it's not discussed that much execpt that Hawke and Sienna had both believed his mate to have died.
I think I would have preferred them dwelling on it a bit more, or at least Hawke (as I imagine him to be a pretty bright guy) cottoning onto the fact that they were in the mating dance. It just seemed rather odd that he didn't notice/acknowledge his need to mark Sienna or his possessiveness.
I was also anticipating more jealousy in regards to Kit. 'Cause I bet neither Lucas nor even Jude would have let any male touch their (futute)mates during the mating dance or at any other time.
Ming - was expecting WAY more from him - just saying.
I love anything with Anthony and Nikita, so there bits were cool. *picturing pure psys's brains leaking out their ears*
On the plus side, LOVED Lara and Walker! Walker totally blows the wind up my dress :P just loved everything to do with them, though I'm going to be greedy and say that I would have loved a full length novel or novella of them.
I also think a mating/pairing between Vasic and Aden as a subplot would be BRILLIANT! :) I can totally envision it, if fact, until Nalini says or indicates otherwise that's way I'm seeing them in the books!
Lastly, the ghost is either Kalib or Vasic in my mumble opinion.
p.s. I was thinking about the psy/changling world the other day - as I tend to do - and I would really like to see a psy leave the PsyNet who is not a cardinal, not particular strong, nor particularly valuable to the council...and I'd like it to be a male psy...
Kat, said..
I thoroughly enjoyed Kiss of Snow, the mating issue I thought was explained by Hawke near the end of the book. I just felt the end was too quick, I would have liked to know how Hawke and Sienna got out of the lake and how they felt when they realised what had happened. I hope in the next book we have more of Sienna and Hawke to see how the fit into the pack in their new relationship.
Okay, so re-reading for the fourth time - I'm a pretty fast reader and I'll sacrifice sleep for a decent book - I'm taking back my previous post.
I LOVE it.
My excuse is I was under stress that I hadn't realised I was under and so wasn't really appreciating the book as I might otherwise :P
So, I apologise profusely, Nalini!
But, stress-removed, I like the interaction between Hawke and Sienna, although I still maintain that for a cluey guy, I find it a little hard to believe that he couldn't see that it was headed towards mating....
And of course it ended too soon, I think Nalini could have written 6000 pages and it still wouldn't have been enough :)
I liked the way the mating was explained. It makes sense that there be more than one potenital HEA, people change, events make people change, so it makes sense. I was quite happy with explaination and I have to say I can't wait to see how it plays out for Adria and Riaz!
The only negative thing I could say about KOS was that it was too short! I guess I thought that a hardback should have more "meat". I would have liked to see more of the Psy and their interaction with each other. I want more and can't wait to see where Nalini takes us next! Nalini - please write & publish faster! :)
hi,
a wild gues on the identity of the ghost:
Nikita Duncan.
Reasons - she has some E Talent in her heritage
- She protected Sascha in a way, in the net by pushing her to shield hardly, outside by sending the book
- She is a tough woman
cony
First of all about the Ghost, we know he is a he, we know he is either the strongest anchor, or he is otherwise the Psy closest to the Net. That means the ghost is a cardinal with strong telepathy and possesses some form of the F or Tk designation. The fact that the ghost can place a bomb in a councilor's residence means he can teleport. So he is a cardinal who possesses strong Tp and is a teleport capable tk. Unless the ghost is someone we haven't met yet, like say the son of the information merchant, he is kaleb.
Also was I the only one who read Sienna's memoriesof Ming as a sign he is either a peodiphile under silence, or that he was intending to use her as his personal brood mare?
I didn't get that vibe about Ming. He is obviously uber-evil. What passages in the book are you referring to, where Ming was thinking about using Sienna to have children with? I didn't pick that up.
I think Ming's abuse of Sienna was the mental torture, the brutal physical training and the fact that he used her to execute people.
Honestly, I did expect more Ming in this book. I thought at one point that Sienna was going to end up abducted by the Psy and forced back into the PsyNet where Ming would torture her for info on SD(sort of similar to Katya) and to try to turn her into his own personal weapon since he's now lost the Arrow squad.
I do think Sienna and Judd deserve to take Ming out so I was a little surprised when that didn't happen. I had thought that the reason Ming survived Katja's gun shot back in Blazy of Memory was to leave him alive for Sienna & Judd and 'cause he's a cool villain. Maybe that will happen in a future book. I hope I hope!
Loved the book. Lara and Walker's story was really nice and Hawke and Sienna wonderful.
I wonder if Kaleb is searching for Alice? In an earlier story there was the inference that Kaleb has been searching for a Psy said to be dead, but he didn't believe that, or he was searching for information about it! I think Alice Eldridge might be the person he's searching for.
I don't think he's the Ghost at all! The Ghost is someone else!
The ending is really great but I wonder if it's the end for one of the counsellors, we don't really get told, he/she just disappears.
More to come...continue on Nalini!
Hey anon....alice is human. Its interesting how interested we all are in kaleb though isn't it?.especiallt since we don't know exactly what he looks like lol
Muchaela:
If you have more time, reread Bonds of Justice!! Sophia described how drop dead GORGEOUS Kaleb was.. From a J-PSY's POV!!! I don't have the book with me right now, otherwise I'd quote a couple of sentences for you.
My spec on Kaleb's HEA is.. well, not exactly a spec.. just my wish.. I'd really like to see Kaleb with A PSY.. I don't believe that Kaleb was TOTALLY under Silence.. Maybe the ONE he's been searching for might not be completely under Silence either. It'll be pretty interesting to see a PSY Pair.. Not very likely though.
My Heart to Kaleb <3.. *BIG GRINS*
got the vibe from Ming's comments about Sienna being perfect, it sounded like Santano. Also Sienna's body shyness suggested something worse than a simple warrenty inspection. Combined this mean to my eyes this means some form of sexual/reproductive vibe from Ming.
I love Kiss of Snow. It was everything I'd hoped it would be, and is now one of my favorite books to read. I will probably read it many times, and never get bored. Now I'm kinda waiting to see what the psy council will do now that they know the Lauren family is alive. I'm interested to see if the council-Ming in particular- goes after them. And I would also love to see if Sienna & Hawke have a baby- now that they're mated I'm having fun imagining how protective he'd be.
KOS was great but I have to admit I was a little disappointed with how Sienna and Hawke played out. I was really hoping to see more pulling and tugging between them that would eventually have led to an explosive union (which in a sense did happen!)and that it would have happened by about 200 pages into the story and not 350 pages into the story.
As for the mating thing...Rissa died BEFORE she and Hawke could actually have mated. They weren't even in the dance. And that would have made it impossible for him to mate with anyone else. Lucas wouldn't have been able to mate with anyone else if Sasha had died in Slave to Sensation because they were already in the dance. But Rissa died before any of that so that just opened the way for Sienna. That's just my opinion anyway.
As for the Ghost...I feel the answer will be a total shock to us!
I'd like to see Sienna get pregnant soon! That would just send Hawke into a tizzy and that would be so funny to see how they deal with each other and a baby on the way!
Riaz and Adria would be a nice follow up or Jem and Kenji. I guess we'll have to wait until June 2012 (sigh!). My count down begins... 10 down 355 days to go!
I loved Kiss of Snow.
as far as the Ghost is concerned . . .
I think it is Anthony Kyriakus - Faith's father. . . .
I don't know whether it's been clarified already, but neither Ming nor Kaleb can be the Ghost, because Judd knows the name of the Ghost but doesn't have any image in his mind of him. Since for Kaleb and Ming he'd know both their names and would have had access to their images, neither can be the Ghost. Need to look somewhere else.
A clue, which just doesn't say enough, appears when all the Lieutenants are discussing with Hawke and Sienna the possibility of an ambush for the evacuees. They end up saying that Henry doesn't have the military background for the huge offensive operation they're facing, and Hawke asks Judd to find out more in the PsyNet implying that maybe he can ask the Ghost, and Judd answers that this is not the kind of thing with which he can seek help from the Ghost. Why would that be?
Oh I wish it wasavailable in the UK too!
Question for Nalini - was Aden the Medic teleported in with Vasic to save Dorian and Ashaya when Dorian was shot in Hostage to Pleasure? I'm reading it again, and the medic was described as being 0live skinned; (Mercy thought that he reminded her of Judd). In Kiss of Snow, Aden was also described as being Olive skinned, are they one and the same person? Just wondering....
There are quite a few candidates for being the Ghost (even though I would love it to be Kaleb).
Apart from Kaleb and Vasic, I thought of Zie (Keenan's father) too, as someone else has already mentioned above. Another possibility which occurred to me is Sienna and Toby's unknown father. The whole Lauren family is pretty special as far as psy-abilities go, so it wouldn't surprise me if their Dad is quite usual and also rebellious. Judd would know his name too, and perhaps not what he looked like.
It did occur to me that the only male psy we know who are the right age to be Sienna's father are Anthony, Zie and Ming! (Not sure about Henry). That could be a cheesy Star Wars-esque "I am your father" moment waiting to happen there!
At some point (in the previous book with Drew and Indigo I think) Nikita asked Anthony if F-psy occur in every generation of his family. He said yes, and Nikita confirms it was the same for her. In other words, there are E-psy in every generation of Duncans. So it seems likely Nikita is a secret E to some degree. If she doesn't support silence anymore, there is nothing to stop her using this power now.
So I loved KoS and I can't believe we have to wait a whole year for the next one (or at least til Sept/Oct when we get the first chapter). It will be interesting to read Riaz and Adria's story since I thought he had experienced the mating dance with someone he met in Europe. I'm sure I'll enjoy the end result though.
@Stephanie Absolutely! I thought that too when I read that part. How else did Judd know for sure that Kaleb didn't send Aden and Vasic to kill him unless he already knew Kaleb??? (which they haven't met that I remember because no one (besides the Ghost) was supposed to know the Laurens were alive) Also, the Ghost said Xavier hadn't made the connection, implying to me that the Ghost is someone Xavier and Judd should recognize. I think it makes the most sense for the Ghost to be Kaleb out of the cast of characters we know so far. But that being said, it could totally end up being someone we haven't met yet.
@Collette Cooper appeared in PoP in one of the lieutenants' meetings (I think it was the first one where everyone was introduced not the one Drew attended) They mentioned then that he'd just met his mate and she was a sweet submissive shocked that he was pursuing her (or something to that effect)
@Lulu Just wait it will happen!! Ming will meet his end at the hands of Judd and Sienna. I think it didn't happen now because Sienna needed to realize her abilities are not inherently evil and she's more than the weapon Ming made her to be. Now (secure in the love of her wolf and her pack) she'll be that much stronger when the time comes to take him out!
@AdAl good question!! I've been wondering that too! In the cast of characters at the front of KoS, Aden is listed only as a Tp, but if he wasn't the medic, then who is. And whoever is the medic has not only a connection to Vasic (who I believe was the teleporter in HtP) but also to Zie Zen.
Also, I loved the scenes with Toby and Marlee (particularly when Marlee told Toby Hawke wouldn't bite Sienna very hard for running away) and then the Rats' reaction to Judd 'Freaking Scary' Lauren during the battle in San Fran had me laughing out loud.
@AdAl Aden is the medic. Nalini has posted a link for a full cast of characters and even though it's not 'official' it does say that Aden is a field medic who monitors the health of the Squad and their reaction to Jax.
http://wickedscribesnalinisingh.wordpress.com/the-psychangeling-series/psychangeling-character-guide-2/
@Anita Ledford Thanks so much for posting that link! That character page is so informative. I've been waiting a long time for something like that to make sense of all the numerous characters we read about in Nalini's books.
Something I noticed was a similarity between Hawke and Nate. In both cases, the female knew the bond or mating was there and accepted it, but the guy was fighting against it and had to accept it. :)
@Holly--I am waiting for more Nikita and Anthony too :)
@Lulu--I agree with what you said about the mating bond. I also expected more of Ming, and I thought she might be abducted or force back into the PsyNet as well.
@Anon--I've been thinking that Kaleb is looking for Alice too! I'm glad I'm not the only one.
@AlwaysV--I want a PsyPsy pairing too.
After I read the books again I somehow got the feeling the woman Caleb is searching for isn`t psy. But I don`t believe it`s Alice. Just a thought - what if it`s one of the changeling woman Santano Enrique used for his "experiments" and caleb helped her to escape? Then she`d have reason to disappear for good...
Just finished first read of KoS and I really like it. I was never that over the top for Hawke though liked Sienna's character especially as a martial psy with awesome power. I have to say that the book seems to be like the beginning of a much longer story in terms of their relationship and I hope that like Sasha and Lucas we will get to keep seeing that grow. I totally agree with the comment about Nate and Hawke being similarly boneheaded and around the same issue of age, but Judd also had problems in that arena. Hawke however did have Rissa as an excuse to be particularly stubborn. I am intrigued about Riaz and the deets on that.
On the overall story line about the coming war I really enjoyed that and it seems to me from the ending that there is a lot more 'onscreen' action involving Sienna and Judd to come as they both have the control and choice that they were denied before as to how and when they use their abilities. Nikita is freaking awesome and I love that Sasha gets that as a mother you will do just about anything to keep your kid safe. Loved her moments. I am not sure it's a favourite for the couple (Hawke and Sienna) but it is for the ongoing story in just about my all time favourite paranormal series. So going to re-read again and really focus on H+S.
What's the age difference between Hawke and Sienna - I'm guessing 16 years? - Wow! That's a long time! It explains why he sometimes treated her like a kid!
Am waiting for the bookstore to open so I can finally get my copy. Lucky it didn't take 2 months before the book got here. i wouldn't have survived that long. Can't wait to read it. I'm thinking I wouldn't be sleeping tonight and I'll be reading during my break.
I love kiss of snow. I had the copy from iBooks, which was actually available earlier than kindle last may 31 and I am still hooked. Aside from reviewing the other changeling series, I cannot move on from kos yet.
My take on the book: Hawke did not realize that he's in a mating dance with Sienna because of her age and Rissa. Remember his reactions- like claws slicing out of his skin, broken cell phone, cannot sleep, celibacy, all the growling and biting- Riley, drew, luc, and the rest have nothing on what hawk went through in his dance with Sienna.
I love how tender and gentle hawke deals with sienna. Considering how ferocious his need for sienna, both the wolf and the human side of him waited for the "right time" to claim her.
One of my favorite part that was not mentioned yet was the time they played poker and Hawke was- I bet anticipating a sexy bra underneath the sexy black shirt, and Sienna was instead wearing a " fricking tank top underneath" Hawke's growling words. Ha-ha-ha.
The ghost- I think it's Kaleb. He is the only one powerful enough who can control the net mind. This sounds wild but I think he is looking for Kylie- Dorian's "dead" sister. I don't believe she's dead because there was no burial plot, otherwise there would be a mention of Dorian's visiting her. There was a mention of both his parents roaming and not returning to the den. Curious. As I said wild idea. Can't wait for more,.
Ceegee: I think you are right. They were in the mating dance. Remember what he says when they are at their cabin and discover the furry handcuffs attached to the bed? Hawke says to Sienna how Lucas is laughing right now at the dance you've led me on. His subconscious mind got it even if he hadn't fully realized it yet.
lots of great ideas. one more thrown into the pot .. I think the one Kaleb is searching for could be an arrow Walker taught. Because Walker did this thing that teleporters can't get a lock so that could be something he taught all arrows.
Aden and Vasic's bond doesn't feel like a mating bond to me, more like knowing each other well due to working together for such a looong time.
I also wondered if Henry was dead but seems he managed to survive. Yep, interesting if Ming launches an assault to kill the Laurens', he thought that Sienna is going nuclear and solving that nasty DR-SD problem for him anyway. I want to see more Tanique Gray! and Grey too. *g* sneaky funny little brothers
til next we meet
mane
I love this book! It was everything I hoped for. The story between Hawke & Sienna was, in my mind, appropriate. Given the differences in age & status in the pack. Now that they are mated, and the psy council knows that the Lauren family is alive I wonder what they're going to do. And god forbid Sienna gets pregnant. She won't be able to go anywhere without ten bodyguards. But it would be fun to see Sienna pregnant- I can just imagine the fights she & Hawke would have.
Sienna pregnant with a baby who is a wolf and an X and a girl. LOL
hey everyone!
I re-read PoP regarding Adria and Martin and I only found that they are lovers, not mates. in both scenes (Riaz with Indy at the restaurant and dinner at Indy's parents') is no mention that Adria and Martin are mates.
Just because he can't deal with a more dominant partner doesn't mean Martin is not a good man.
... be next June already!!!
Kaleb cannot be looking for Dorian's sister because he found her body. It was still warm when he found her.
I agree, Sienna and Jud should take out Ming. Too bad that shot in the head and getting crushed inside a car didn't finish the job.
How can anyone be disappointed about H&S mating. It was obvious from the first book.
I want to know more about Naya.
While I like the book too, and have read it twice...I think those who didn't like it were disappointed in Hawke not coming across as more Alpha...In the previous books Nalini described him as one lucious Bad Ass.. in Kiss of Snow while he was tough it just didn't come across as being tough enough...
KoS is great! Worth all the waiting. I love Sienna's persistence...and Hawke is one stubborn man.
I agree with the mating dance theory...it's obvious that the wolf knows it's in the dance but not the man.
Hope there's more of H&S in the coming books. Their relationship is so new and their mating bond appeared so abruptly amidst all the chaos that I hope there's more of their interaction in a less tension charged setting :)And also what Sienna's powers will do to the SD web now that she acts as a power generator.
At last I found the funds to buy the Kindle version og KOS. Absolutely loved it. Read it from Monday noonish to this morning every opportunity I had to sit by the computer. Which was limited due to many other pressing activities.
What a story. Breathtaking and scary, but completely gorgeous. Keep up the good work, Nalini. And keep them coming. I would love to introduce them to my friends who do not read English. Pls find a Danish publisher soon, or I'll have to bootleg a translation for my book voracious friend.
Thank you for the series, I have ell the other books and reread them every time a new one comes out.
Holy crap that was awesome. I loved the Lara/Walker subplot and the thing with Alice (OMG!!!). But mostly I loved Hawke and Sienna and all the glorious carnage of it all.
Wild speculation though, I don't think Kaleb's the Ghost. (On a side note, when he showed up in Max's car in BOJ I nearly spat tea in suprise. Christ the man is scary.) But he's clearly working for someone. QED.
And Judd, may I have him? He says such the sweetest things to Brenna. *snort*
Ok! So I read the book like four or five times now and I think maybe the mood I was in when I first read it impaired my judgment. There are so many nuances between Hawke and Sienna that I didn't see before and I am more in love with them than ever before and I have always been in their corner.
I have a sneaky suspicion that Ming is Toby and Sienna's father. Hawke and Judd know who the Ghost is and Judd told him because it would be easier for Hawke to understand how he dealt with the Ghost. So I'm thinking it just might be Nightstar, Faith's father. And while we're here speculating our lives away, Ms Singh is probably having a good snicker because she knows who the Ghost is! This is frustrating but definitely worth the wait! I hope we see more of Hawke and Sienna in the next book.
To anyone who has not read KISS OF SNOW yet, I suggest you drop EVERYTHING and go out and get it immediately!! It was Unequivocally the best book out of the entire Psy series for me!! Jam-packed full of non-stop "edge of your seat" action and thrilling suspense, Nalini Singh has completely outdone herself with this new addition and i promise you this book will captivate and demand your full attention!
The scintillating passion between Hawke & Sienna will undoubtedly have you turning each page eagerly and begging for more once finished!!! This book was definitely worth the wait
@daleybread:"I have a sneaky suspicion that Ming is Toby and Sienna's father". - I thought this, too. Would be interesting, because he`s not very good in sharing power...
Completely left of field but a novella with Andre/Amberleigh would be interesting - i.e. the psy and the chick he ran over whose medical bills he pays...
And I was expecting more of the forgotten to be mentioned. It seemed a bit weird to reveal this subculture of psy/humans and then just apparently abandon that thread....
Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! If I start listing what I loved about it, it would be as long as the book itself! My first phy changeling book was Mine To Possess. Then I got all the series. Read each and everyone and still can't get enough! I look forward to the next one. Fantabulous Nalini!
this was my favorite esp the part where sienna was at the bar and hawke walked in and said down now and ben askwd hawked how come you put sienna in jail
Anthony Kyriakus is Sienna and Toby's father. The Nightstar Clan are the only family with the strong red head trait. Both Faith and Sienna are red heads. No one else in the whole book is. Check it out in Vaughn and Faith's book. The jury is still out on who's the ghost though!
okay, to whoever said that Kaleb is the Ghost... I thought that too for a while, but the Ghost was talking about how all of the councilors needed to be killed, and I don't know, he just doesn't give off that vibe to me. I just can't see Kaleb being the Net's huge rebel who will change everything. He would certainly have the power to do it, so it kinda makes sense, but idk...
Anyone have any idea who the next Psy/Changeling book is about? KOS just came out, and I already can't wait for the next one!! I've read it twice in two weeks :P
KoS is an incredible read - I even gave up my habit of only buying paperbacks (easier to carry around ;-) Couldn't wait to see how Sienna and Hawke would come together. Finished the book in one day, now I have to be patient again to await the next psy/changeling and guild hunter books. Duuh, why does time fly when you don't need it and slows nearly to a stop when you want it to pass faster?
I have been waiting for my copy of Kiss of Snow since it was first advertised. Couldn't wait for the book so bought the kindle edition!
So glad I did! Finished it in two days and that's only because I wanted it to last.
Loved the book, want a new one asap!!!
Although the mating bond happen really quickly btw lara and walker, it just seem so perfect. To me, their interplay almost steal the spotlight from Hawke and Sienna.
ps. is Brenna ever gonna get pregnant? I would so luv it if she was and i wanna see how judd would react and behave...
What do people think about Alice Eldridge (I may have aptly that wrong) being the person kaleb is looking for?? Her works rumoured and whispered about on the psynet but until the ghost no one knew her whereabouts it was a thought I had :D
Gee, you girls are bloodthirsty! Poor Ming *g*.
Who is Annie and where is the scene about the train wreck?
I don't think Anonymous is right that
"neither Ming nor Kaleb can be the Ghost, because Judd knows the name of the Ghost but doesn't have any image in his mind of him. Since for Kaleb and Ming he'd know both their names and would have had access to their images, neither can be the Ghost".
Judd knows who the Ghost is but doesn't want to have a visual memory associated with the Ghost because that sort of memory is more vulnerable if he (Judd) is ever interrogated by another Psy, but I don't see why Judd shouldn't have a mental image of either Ming or Kaleb as Councillors - in fact, I'd have thought it would wave a red flag to any interrogator if a former Arrow didn't have any visual memory of them.
I'm thinking Kaleb (from his skills and what we know about his searching the Net for an unknown person - I'll skip the detailed reasoning) is the Ghost, but of course it wouldn't be a surprise to find Nalini is stringing me along. That's one of the joys of this series!
Just wanted to add, it seems to me that KoS has divided opinion and it has only really started to click on re-reading with some people because this is the book where Nalini has shown her true colours. This is not simply paranormal romance - there's so much more to the plotting, the world-building, the relationships of the characters. Ok, it's been building quietly in the background of the previous books but I think this is the one where it all breaks free. I loved it first time round and I know I'll get more each time I re-read it - and I can't wait for the next books!
@Anon: Annie is Zach`s mate in Stroke of Enticement (The Magical Christmas Cat). The train scene is also there.
@Kathleen I went to a KOS signing the other day and Nalini told us the next book would be about Riaz and Adria. Eeeee! Can't wait.
Hi, I was the person who posited that Ming was interested in using Sienna as his broodmare. Some people have been claiming that Anthony is Sienna's and Toby's father, the red hair relationship. Although it is possible, indeed perhaps likely that the Laurens are related to NightStar by blood, the red hair, the throwaway line about the Tk-cell designation having a relationship the F designation, the fact that Marine was a pure cardinal telepath, 'with a voice clear as a bell', which sounds a lot like Toby. The fact of the matter is that Anthony cares too much about his children for him to never meet them, and Sienna stated that she never met her father. Finally it was stated the PsyClans do not lightly release their genomes, the Laurens were not important enough to have merited such
does anybody know how old Toby is? I was wondering how much older he is than Marlee.
off the top of my head he is ten or eleven, as he was conceived or born when Sienna was eight, Sienna being just turned 19 in KoS. Marlee is 8. So say two and a half years
in KoS it was mentioned that Ming seemed to have been pulling the strings on the attacks against SnowDancer. Does that mean that Vasquez (the guy Henry put in charge of offense) was really Ming, since no one was supposed to have ever seen his face?
Unknown, it could be that Vasquez is one of Ming's puppets or masks, or it could be that Ming simply offered advise to Henry, something along the lines of "Your plans to use violence to directly force Purity down the throats of the Psy are not going to work, the amount of violence required would cause too much fragmentation, however the threat of violence may prove enough, get rid of the changelings and Nikita and the Psy might fold, oh and here are the best plans for getting rid of strong changelings packs. I will help you adjust them to suit"
i finally recived my pre ordered (uk) copy of KOS on friday 12th August fortunately had planned ahead and booked time off work, I sat and read it all through in one sitting and then immediately started to re read it again. i have since lost count of the number of times i have read the book , there is so much detail and sub plots that each time i read it something new leapt out at me or prompted another line of thought. these books are beautifully written and draw you in, i have never been tempted with any of these books to quickly read the end first. The series particualy KOS is compelling and i want to know everything about every person mentioned. Apart from H&S S&L I particularly like Judd , Drew, The kids, Max and Sophie. I initially thought Caleb was the ghost but now am not sure. the Alice Eldridge twist was brilliant and I hope there is a book about her also one peron i would love to read more about is Matthius. Hope there is a lot more in future about H&S and their developing relationship, i hope it continues to be fiery, i would hate for her to be all submissive now they are mated. I am counting the days till teh next book.........
Ahhh im so jealous, i want to read it to but i live in Germany and over here the Max&J-Psy Book is about to come out...So too much waiting time for me...Well i guess i have to order the english books (hope ill get everything -.-)
But i have to say yall make Kos sound veeeeery interesting ;-)
Janina
I have a question. In Chapter 31, Hawke tells Sienna that "he'll attempt not to ’port in and break his legs for having the gall to be in your room.” who is he talking about that was in Sienna's room?
Thanks!
Hi Sera I think that it is Judd who is talking about Hawke being in Sienna's room
OH!!! You're right! I read that part so fast, I though Hawke said it. My bad! Thanks for the clarification Tinuke! =)
Oh my freakin Gosh. I just read every single comment that has been posted here.
So here are my thoughts;
(Btw, i havent read KoS yet, Im from Germany Max&J-Psy Book is about to come outin a week!;))
First of all; I have to say that Im the youngest one whos postin here ( I guess) cause I turned 15 a month agao. :):D
2. I totally loved Hawke & Sienna `s "story" from the beginning. I just love them & I have to say that they are my fave couple out of all!:) Maybe its because Siena is so young & I can relate myself to her! Idk.
3.After I read all those comments I just totally cant wait for KoS. I already thought bout orderin it in English but I havent read the last 2 books before KoS :o :D
xx -a
Ok I have read all the books and love them and it breaks my heart to say that I didn't enjoy KOS as much as the others. I just couldn't get into it for one very important reason - Sienna was still only 19. I'm sorry but I couldn't read her sex scenes with Hawke and I really like him but just couldn't get over the fact that she was 19. It felt wrong to me, like he should have waited 2 more years. That's why I haven't read Tammy's story either.
Thank goodness for Walker and Lara's scenes. they were totally adorable.
Anyway despite it all. I'm glad that Hawke is happy, I just can't read his sex scenes until Sienna is at least 21.
Oh and Kaleb is totally the ghost if not him the only other candidate is Vasic. nevertheless i've been picking up some Anthony clues as well. that it could be him. can't wait to find out
It is stated in more than one place that Rissa "would have been" Hawke's mate. She died at the age of 5 - waaaay too young for the mating bond. There is also a comment by Ms. Singh in an interview I happened to read that there is more than one potential mate for any given person or matings would be a great deal more rare than they are.
And the people waiting for the paperback, are of course, a little late ^^
First: Great Book. I love how Sienna never turns into one of those itsy bitsy crying helpless females that need rescue from their hero in shining armor. That girl just got guts. And Hawke is.. just Hawke.
Second: I suddenly find myself loving Walker ^^ That tidbit of him teaching young arrows was just great. And he´s so sweet and clumsy.
Third: Aden and Vasic *le sigh* I can´t help it. The picture of those two together just feels so natural. And I love how Aden seems to be balancing Vasic´s coldness a little.
I wonder what Walker taught him and if that telepathic bond they have, doesn´t have to do something with Aden putting it into practice, or even teaching it to Vasic, as a kid. It said something along those lines in their first scene
Ghost: Not Aden. Vasic or Kaleb. But my bet would be on Kaleb.
In Bonds of Justice he´s described as being extremely cold, just like the ghost. Same goes for Vasic, though it has never been stated that strongly. But the vibe is there.
Those two are like the two most powerful teleporters in the Net and they both have access to very classified information.
But in the end it´s Kaleb who has direct access to the council. As for the Ghost stating, he´s having no soul: Protégé and audience of Santano Enrique....
So, I´m with the Kaleb faction ^^
Kat
On Sienna's father: Ming? Do you think that fits with KoS ch. 33?
Anthony? Would make her Faith's (half-)sister. I like that, although VoH doesn't even hint at other siblings besides Marine and Tanique.
On the identity of the Ghost: Who do you think is likely to be able to access the Obsidian archive besides Kaleb?
-E
I wanted to comment ie. Rissa. In each of the other books, the mating bond had already started (as in adult, sexual, mate bond) with the characters, they were too dense to see it. With Rissa & Hawke, the mating seemed more of a potential. Yes, Hawke saw she WOULD be his mate, but never stated 100% that they were mated. She WOULD be. Would and are are two different words. If she had lived, they would've mated and he would have been a completely different man. Much softer (at least, soft for him) and Sienna wouldn't have been the right woman for him.
Since Rissa DID die at such a young age, it shook Hawke deep inside. As stated in the book, he spent all those years believing his mate had died, without realizing that they had never truly mated. Yes, in some ways, the way that Hawke & Sienna finally made the bond concrete was a bit of a cop out, but it was right for them in the end.
I loved KoS. I loved the deep sensuality of it. Branded by Fire is still my favorite due to the overwhelming amount of passion in it, but Kos and CbI are tied for second. :)
i´ve got a question. what is Hawkes full name?
I read the book 3 times to find a clue, but there is nothing besides the last pages, where he hints that he has another name.
Has anybody figured it out????
would appreciate sharing it with me =)
Hawke Snow ... ?
end of book when Sienna and Hawke are talking about using his name as they are mated she says Sienns Lauren SNOW, adding his surname on at teh end of her name.
just got KOS in trinidad read it twice i agree that rissa as hawke's mate would not have created the alpha that was needed to save SD from destruction. loved it....can't wait 2 see what Ms Singh does with adria and riaz an dwould love 2 see martin get his butt kicked
I really liked kiss of snow. I loved how the pack worked together to give hawk and sienna a place so they could be by alone together and I loved the scenes with walker and lara. Wow talk about an alpha male walker sure fits the type which really suites him and is understandable considering what he went through. Great addition to the series. I can't wait for the next book.
I really loved Kiss of Snow and can`t wait for Adria and Riaz story!!
... but maybe someone could teach me before their book comes out this summer.
I don`t know how to pronounce the name "Adria". *blush* Please help!
It`s just that I keep reading it and it sounds dead wrong in my mother tongue...
Aside from that I`m really intrigued by Alice A. And in my imagination I already paired her with Matthias. He seems to be such a calm and steadying presence, someone you could rely on when waking in a strange new place in an unknown future...
Well, wishful thinking on my part anyway:)
Oh, and the ghost- it so has to be Caleb!
Thanks for your comments everyone
It seems to me I am the only one who didn't like Sienna and Hawke together - for me, to be honest Sienna was always a little unmature for Hawke, and I never felt any real chemistry between them.
I'd really enjoy to read about Hawke and Rissa, just to see how they develop their relationship - how they realize they are more together as good old friends, etc.
I know the most love novels are written about the Beginning, but I'd really enjoy in the Psy/Changelings series a whole novella about a mated couple, how they develop their relationship, what happens to them when they are mated, etc.
As a 'normal' love story there was Lara's and Walker's story, I really like them together.
I am really intrigued about Alice A and am lokking really forward for Roiaz' and Adria's story, but the pairing in Kiss of Snow was not my taste.
Morgiana
sorry, wanted to write whole novel, instead of novella:)
Morgiana
I have one question:
Do Sienna and Hawk really get mated or just stay lovers because Hawk can't mate? And with "mate" I mean the "mating bond"
About sienna being immature. first of all, she never really got to play while in the psynet, plus she had to repress so much of herself to.survive ming. The fact that when she breaks silence, she already feel such instinctive trust towards hawke that she "plays" with him, giving him such grief as she spread her wings is pretty amazing. Especially given the fact that hawke hated all psy when they first met.
Also, living under ming, and doing what he told her to do, would age anyone beyond their years. I can get the whole 19 vs. 35 thing for most people, but in this onw case, they have been dancing around eachother and learning eachother for so long, i'm willing to make an exception.
On a side note, i was talking to a friend abot kos, and they brought up an interesting theory. Since sienna was born after rissa died, would it be possible that rissa's soul was reborn in sienna. I don't think so, but i thought i'd bring it up since it was such an interesting idea.
Lynn
Immature seems to be an ill- written phrase,she was willing to leave to save a lot of people despite the hardships she would suffer, maturity shown by making the difficult decision, (which ironically Hawke xouldn't do).
Moreover, a changling society is built on bonds of friendship and love, games and play are intrinsic to this society and therefore it seems difficult to blame someone for playing when it's a part of societies expectations.
Arguments create heat in any relationship the proverb 'it's a fine line between love and hate' seems very applicable here.
I seem to think this relationship has been building since Slave to Sensation, there are multiple hints at the angst between the two and the fact that both although seperated by age, were born without the time to grow up and thus are equal in age due to experience.
Just wanting to add my 2cents, after reading this entire thread.
I do think Kaleb is the ghost, simply because they share so many talents and skills. I don't see how we could have two of them. I do not think it is Vasic because he is clearly working for Anthony, and the Ghost has done several things that took Anthony by surprise. Since the Ghost is clearly a Teleporter, that only leaves Kaleb.
Also with Kaleb, I think the person he is looking for is... His Mother! We know he was taken away from her at a young age. We know he doesn't own the house he lives in, he's merely a 'caretaker', yet noone appears to question his living there. He used to know her face as well as his own... It's someone he appears to have known when he was quite young.... I think its his mother (or possibly a twin sister) I do not think it is a romantic connection.
First, love the series, the quite-brilliant world building, the characters. Read and reread and reread and listen to the audio and pre-order new ones, find the short stories and excerpts and... So, am a fan.
But.
Lots of what we like is determined, I would imagine, by the twists and turns in our own psyches and lives. I don't like unevenness of power (different kinds of power are fine), unevenness of wanting, or of attraction and then commitment between two leads, don't like even temporary rejection or whiffs of betrayal. Even when all comes out well in the end. So, am less fond of Dev and Katya, Clay and Tally, Drew and Indigo, though by the end - yay! Even at the end, though, I was left unsatisfied by Hawke and Sienna; never felt like his hunger for her and consequent vulnerability to her equals hers to him. And didn't quite find it believable. Which is probably just me.
I figure we can be devoted fans and still have our favorites, preferences, dislikes as well as likes. Am scared to begin Tangle of Need. Will it be one of the ones that hits my sore points or one of the ones I love? Any hour now I'll pick it up....
My favourite book and couple!
I really enjoyed reading this book!!! I cried, I laugh... I want a Hake in my life!!! I love that man!!! He is awesome!!
The relationshipt between Hawke and Sienna, was amazing... the talks, the moments they shared, the fights.... I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK! It´s my favourite!!
I think the bound between them is very special, because maybe, it wasn´t obvious (he had Rissa before)... I mean their relationship, was more than a mating process... It was more, because they both reconect with themselves, and fight for something that maybe was not supose to happen... It was not easy but they do it, and at the end, the power of their mating was just beautifull... I mean it puts Hawke on his knees!! I really loved this book!
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