Nalini Singh is truly the queen of modern Paranormal Romance. With her seemingly effortless touch she nails it every time, including with her fabulous new book Kiss of Snow that sweeps us into a remarkable world of shifters and psychics that is both fantastical and wonderfully real.

We have been waiting for Hawke and Sienna’s story for a long time with enough teasers dropped into prior books to make us wonder just how they could possibly resolve their problems and earn their HEA. They have been strong peripheral characters, with Sienna often as volatile and surly as you’d expect a teenager to be ... but now she’s all grown up....

Just because we like the complex Sienna doesn’t mean that Nalini Singh sugar-coats her danger to others. In fact as her x-designation skills develop it seems impossible that she, or those around her, will survive the cataclysm that her full abilities could provoke.

At the same time there is no surprise that Hawke is a dominant Alpha, with his determination, protectiveness and ruthlessness laid out clearly for all to see. What is terrific is how Nalini Singh deals with the fact that he has already known and lost his mate in childhood and so any relationship he and Sienna form must be based on their own decision, not a result of a pre-desined mate-bond. Full credit for the move away from the 'fated to be mates' motif! But what I really loved? It was the way that as his trust of Sienna grew so did his ability to reveal the playful side of his wolf ... as well as his passion!

"Scared?" Hawke’s smile held no humor. "You should be baby." Then he kissed her and it was no tender exploration, no playful tease. This was the kiss of a man who knew precisely what he wanted.

(Oh, goodness, fan me now, I’m melting!)

The strange thing was that there was little new in this book, and yet this was one of the reasons why this book worked so well. The introductions over, the context set, the dangers understood ….. and so Kiss of Snow was able to throw us immediately into the deep end of emotions, conflicts and dilemmas. And remarkably this was a story that didn’t need any new elements to make it absolutely sing. The emotional depth, the plot developments and twists, the resolutions of issues were all wonderfully done. Kiss of Snow was able to draw on my affection for the characters so well that I was completely engaged from the start, pacing alongside wach of the characters as they faced every challenge Nalini threw at them. And if you want a scene with great emotional depth then being there with Sasha and Lucas when their baby is coming is everything you could dream of and more. We’ve been with these two people from the very first, waited through Sasha’s pregnancy, shared in their evolving relationship and to suspect that yes indeed I think this baby is coming (and the subsequent scenes), was completely moving. (and yes, made me cry!)

From the prologue to the end I was completely part of this story, reading through to the wee hours, then stealing time at work until I finally closed the back cover and hugged the comlpleted book.

There is just the tiniest little niggle that tarnished the book a little for me. I can’t help but wish that the escalation in danger and potential for all-out war would get a move along. There are more skirmishes in this book, an attack or three, but very little real progress. I think it’s time that the brinkmanship ended and the real war began. While the entire story drew me in and kept me turning pages rabidly, it was this vague discontent with the back story that took half a star off from what was otherwise a five star book.

I’m not fretting that I have to wait for the next book. I’ve realized that it’s been over a year since I read the entire series and with Kiss of Snow fresh in my heart and my mind, I’m going to completely indulge myself with re-reading the entire series!