Book Hungry: Kiss the Snow

Kiss the Snow by Nalini Singh was this months Book Hungry book club choice.  

I enjoyed this book selection very much.  

From Amazon:  Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would've been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules-and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other's secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight...

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna's darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home-and the alpha who is its heartbeat. 

Don't get me wrong there were times I was thinking to myself, "Sienna, come on girl, just jump his bones already."  But overall I thought the book was a great continuation.  As part of the book club I did find myself looking at this read wondering what someone who had not read the rest of the books would think and realized it could be confusing if you came to this series late.

But the main thing for me about this series is that while I may have built this installment up in my own head, and therefore faced a little disappointment, overall the series is rock solid and this installment was no less fulfilling.  Her character development is so concentrated and the continuity is seamless.

I'm a big fan and really enjoyed the other stories.  What I was concerned about with this book was the obvious age difference between Hawke and Sienna, our two main characters.  While its true they never give us his age in the book, you get a feel that he is in his mid-thirties, you do know Sienna is only 19.  What I think made me buy the idea of these two as a couple was Sienna's background. 

From the very beginning of the book Sienna and Hawke are striking sparks off each other.  Hawke demands unquestionable loyalty from his pack and while Sienna is only 19 she has lived her life as a Cardinal X.  The horrors and things that happened to her were so tragic and unspeakable, you just know that in order for her to survive it she had to be mentally and emotionally strong which gives more credence to her maturity as these things are unveiled in the story.  To me, this was a fine line that Singh walked and she did it very well. 

In the end I found the age difference almost necessary.  Sienna would have eaten a younger man for breakfast and while her age should have played against her, life experience helped this reader buy these two as a couple.   

And as we move through their story and Sienna embraces the duties the pack assigns her, you see her growth, but growth in a new way.  As a trusted member of the family with all the playing, touching, and goofing off that comes with it.  Not something the Laurens were overly familiar with.  Her mental capabilities are already those far surpassed, but her identity inside the pack and more specifically as Hawkes significant other are, to me, the true focus here.

A truly satisfying read.

Okay, so tell me if you have read it or any of the other stories in this series.