• Heart of Obsidian

  • Psy-Changeling, Book 12
  • By: Nalini Singh
  • Narrated by: Angela Dawe
  • Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (1,823 ratings)

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Heart of Obsidian

By: Nalini Singh
Narrated by: Angela Dawe
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Publisher's summary

In 2006, Nalini Singh introduced the beguiling and sensual Psy-Changeling world in Slave to Sensation, which spawned a series that has had readers and critics cheering. Throughout the incredible 11-book run there has been one question that has tantalized Nalini's legion of fans. Now, in the eagerly awaited 12th book in the series, Nalini Singh finally reveals the answer to the biggest Psy-Changeling mystery - an answer so surprising we wouldn't dare spoil it. Even if we knew.

©2013 Nalini Singh (P)2013 Tantor

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What listeners say about Heart of Obsidian

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Another great Psy Book

I've listened to all of the Psy-Books and I've loved them all. I've been waiting for this story from the beginning and I loved hearing the story. I don't want to give away any spoliers but if your like me and have followed the previous stories then your going to be very pleased with this book. I think if you are unfamiliar with this series that you need to start from book 1 because this book is not a stand alone book. Allot of questions are answered in this book but it also leaves more room for many more great books for this series. This is a creditworthy purchase as are all the books in this series. In my opinion this is one of the best paranormal series out there.

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11 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite of all the Psy-Changeling books

Would you listen to Heart of Obsidian again? Why?

I have listened to this book too many times to admit.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Poor murderous Kaleb, how my heart broke for you. I thought his history with Sahara was wonderful. His actions spoke so much regarding: Sahara, Judd & the priest, the net, the world, etc.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Whenever Kaleb confessed to Sahara (about anything & everything.)

Any additional comments?

Do not start the series with this book. You should not read these books out of order. There is a huge story arc spanning many books and you will spoil it for yourself if you don't begin with the first book.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wild a d wonderful. i love the world and people

Conflict of honors - one of my favorite models behind a story line. this is powerful, fun and sexy. Strong characters made it a joy to read.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best of this series!!!

I super recommend reading the whole series! I read everything that comes from this author and you can’t go wrong!

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Dang this was one of the best!!

This was one of the best books Nalini has written. I couldn’t seem to put it down and had to finish the whole thing therefore I had to rearrange things so that I could finish this book. For me that’s saying something!! Truly a great book from start to finish, allot of questions answered and allot I’d lose ends tied. Read the book people...

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An Amazing Edition to the Series!

I loved this book far more than I had expected. How Nalini Singh was able to take a character so unlikeable and untrustworthy and turn him into an amazing hero is a testament to her talent. What I really liked is how she didn’t use the typical angst or games to bring these two together. I knew early on they belonged together and was excited to see it all evolve.

The heroine was rescued by the hero after years of torture and he painstakingly brought her back to life and sanity. As he did the story of their past was revealed and how it had irrevocably shaped him. While his image of their future and the future of the world at times seems harsh, you quickly learn that his every decision in life was/is determined by his love for her. Her character was equally compelling. Her Psy conditioning was fractured which allowed her to feel things from an early age. This ability allowed her to reach out and touch the lives of those who desperately needed love and care. That gift brought them together in the past and will keep them together in the future. At the beginning I was worried she would be a weak character, but in the end she was the strongest character.

The rest of the story was fantastic as well. All the characters from the past came together to save lives and save their collective futures. You always knew the changelings had a future due to their love and loyalty, but it was hard to imagine how the Psy future could be a positive one. I think with the changes revealed in this book the Psy future has the potential to be better than it ever had a chance of before. I can’t wait to see where Nalini takes this series. Initially I thought I would stop at this book, but there’s no chance of that happening now.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Dark turns to light gray as the new leader emerges

I was surprised and captivated by the characters and the story. I now adore the leader that emerged - which is a complete turn-around from the way I viewed him in earlier books, and I was completely surprised by the ghost's identity. I will listen to Heart of Obsidian again.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A lot I didn't know about Caleb Krycheck!

This whole series is great, but the character of Caleb has always intrigued me. There was just something MORE about him than many of the other characters. This is the story of Caleb's past, present and future and one woman who defines it all.

Awesome addition!

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    5 out of 5 stars

Great addition to the series! :D

5 stars

I loved this story and I didn't expect that..really I didn't! This book has Kaleb Krychek as the hero and considering he's a member of the Psy council (that is now pretty much defunct) and has seemed like a bad guy with plans to take over the whole Psy-net I wasn't sure what to expect in this book but Singh did a great job.

Because lots of unexpected and interesting events in this book it might be hard not to let stuff slip during this review (although I'll try not to let anything too important come through). I wont hide the entire review but if you read this be warned that you may be confronted with a few spoilers. :D

Sahara is a member of the NightStar family (she's a cousin to Faith, the heroine from Visions of Heat). She has the gift of backsight (seeing past events) but also has an little-known and rare gift that allows her to get in the mind of any Psy. Sahara was kidnapped and held captive for 7 years (since she was 16 years old) by people that tried to force her to use her gift for them. She made a labyrinth of her mind as a matter of self defense and it thankfully kept her safe until she was rescued.

Kaleb is a hard man that's been through hell. He is a very strong Psy that's a cardinal in both telepathy and telekinesis (being that strong in 2 different areas is unheard of and makes Kaleb pretty much the strongest Psy out there). Kaleb was the (unwilling) pupil of the former Psy Councillor Santano, who was a psychotic killer that was killed by the Changelings in Slave to Sensation. Santano had a certain amount of control over Kaleb as he was growing up and Kaleb wasn't completely free until Santano was killed.

Kaleb and Sahara met as children and Sahara was the first person Kaleb could ever remember showing him any kindness. Because of this, Kaleb finds ways to come back to visit Sahara for years and they develop a bond, an emotional bond, making plans to be together when they're grown and able to live their lives. During this time, Kaleb is being put through a lot of bad crap by Santano and poor Kaleb doesn't have much choice about it. Kaleb tries to hide his relationship with Sahara from Santano but he finds out. There's a traumatic event (Santano) that ends up tearing Kaleb and Sahara apart. Sahara is kept captive somewhere that Kaleb can't find her, not even once Santano is dead. Kaleb keeps searching and eventually (at the end of the previous book) he finds her and rescues her from her jailers. As I noted above, Sahara made a labyrinth of her mind to protect herself from her captors so when she's rescued her mind is still in a state that leaves her without most of her memories. Kaleb nurses her back to health and tries to gain her trust. Their previous relationship isn't clear at this point so it's hard to figure out what Kaleb wants from her but it's very apparent that he is extremely protective of her and doesn't want any harm to come to her. Sahara feels a connection to Kaleb and feels safe with him but she doesn't remember him (or much of anything). Once she's safe, Sahara's "mind labrynth" unwinds itself and she comes back to herself with some time. But even with her mind getting back to normal, Sahara worries that her feelings towards Kaleb are indications that her mind is permanently damaged (since she seems to trust him without reason).

Kaleb and Sahara spend time together as she recovers and she finds that she's very attracted to Kaleb and want to touch him. Her silence was never the best as a child (hence the bond that formed between them) and her captivity broke what was left of it. Kaleb has been obsessed with getting Sahara back but has closed off the rest of him for years and has a hard time returning her feelings but he doesn't push her away, wanting her bonded to him so she'll never try to leave him. Sahara doesn't really understand what he wants from her though, she just knows that he's claiming her as his and he wants her to stay with him for good. Fortunately, Kaleb also doesn't want to hurt her in any way, so when she asks to be allowed to go see her family and stay with them, Kaleb allows it (although he's unthrilled to be letting her go). This actually helps things though because it helps Sahara feel more comfortable with him and her feelings toward him since he's not her captor any more. Things start growing more intense between them and they start in to a true relationship. I have to say that I really liked the way their story came about. It was a little confusing at first because you don't know their complete background or what exactly Kaleb wants from Sahara but it works out well. While Kaleb and Sahara are getting to know each other again there's a lot going on in the action plot. The series storyline that's been growing has finally hit a culmination point and the Psy war spikes. The "Pure-Psy" group is out killing Psy, Changeling and Humans as they've basically become mindless fanatics that believe that they need to kill off everyone they can so the strong will rise to rule the Earth (which they automatically assume will be the Psy..minus the weak Psy of course). Kaleb, the Arrows and a few others try to stop the Pure-Psy movement and mitigate the damage from the multiple attacks all around the Earth. There's a lot of drama and trauma but the war is stopped and a few of the good Psy (Kaleb, Nikita, Anthony and the Arrows) band together to lead the Psy in to an uncertain future. The book concludes with the Psy facing major changes as they try to figure out how to live new lives and Kaleb and Sahara starting their well deserved HEA.

This was a great book. I loved Kaleb and Sahara and thought they were great together. Kaleb is still a hard man after all he's been through in the past but I loved how Sahara got through to him and made him a better man because he wanted to be that for her (she's his conscience). This was a great addition to the series and I think this book is now my favorite of the series. I can't wait to see how things go in the next book...so many things to look forward to! I'd recommend this book. 2 thumbs up! :D

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well worth the full price....GREAT!!

Would you listen to Heart of Obsidian again? Why?

Yes...and I have. It ties so much together....and is such a heartbreaking beautiful story.

Which scene was your favorite?

Where she finally knows who and what she is and what Kaleb is to her.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When you realize he never gave up looking for her.

Any additional comments?

Great story...but you need to listen/read the whole series to understand how important this book is.

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