LAST GUARD (PSY-CHANGELING TRINITY #5)

New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh returns to a world devastated by change in her award-winning Psy-Changeling Trinity series, where two people defined by their aloneness hold the fate of the Psy in their hands…

Termed merciless by some, and a robotic sociopath by others, Payal Rao is the perfect Psy: cardinal telekinetic, CEO of a major conglomerate, beautiful—and emotionless.

For Canto Mercant, family and loyalty are everything. A cardinal telepath deemed "imperfect" by his race due to a spinal injury, Canto cares for the opinions of very few—and ruthlessly protects those he claims as his own. Head of intel of the influential Mercant family, he prefers to remain a shadow in the Net, unknown and unseen. But Canto is also an Anchor, part of a secretive designation whose task it is to stabilize the PsyNet. Now that critical psychic network is dying, threatening to collapse and kill the entire Psy race with it.

To save those he loves, Canto needs the help of a woman bound to him by a dark past neither has been able to forget. A woman who is the most powerful Anchor of them all: Payal Rao. Neither is ready for the violent inferno about to ignite in the PsyNet…or the passionate madness that threatens to destroy them both.

Release Date: July 20, 2021

Berkley Romance

Psy-Changeling Trinity #5, Psy-Changeling #20

Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

Last Guard is the newest book in the popular Psy-Changeling Trinity series from Nalini Singh. In Last Guard we learn about another Psy designation, Anchors, which has never been mentioned as an important designation in past books. 

The pairing of Canto Mercant and Payal Rao is a Psy-Psy paring, which is sometimes a challenging pairing for me. I honestly felt like Last Guard moved slowly for about the first half of the book. I really loved that Canto and Payal had saved each other as children, but hated they had been kept apart for much of their lives. Where Canto was welcomed back into the Mercant family and always protected, Payal was constantly challenged and threatened by her older brother and her father. 

I have to say I saw so much growth of each character once they were reunited in Last Guard. I really felt they needed one another to realize their true need in both the PsyNet, and in the world itself. They seemed to complete one another in a way no one else in their lives ever had. Canto raised with love had the appearance of being soft at times, even though he truly had a will of steal. Payal was so much more than I expected when the book started. I found myself wanting to learn more and more about her, and was on pins and needles anytime she was near her father or brother. I did end up falling in love with Canto and Payal as a couple, but it took a while to get there.

The Architect continues to keep me guessing. I feel like once I find out who she really is, I'm going to be like of course she is, but at this time she is still a mystery to me, and I can't wait to see all she tries in the next Psy-Changeling Trinity book. Nalini Singh left me wanting more, and I'm already counting down until the next Psy-Changeling book is released next year.

Rating: 4 Stars (B-)