Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley (July 6, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0425235440
ISBN-13: 978-0425235447
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Book #8 in Psy/Changeling series
Main Characters: Max Shannon and Sophia Russo
For sale at: Book Depository Store

Summary:
Max Shannon is a good cop, one of the best in New York Enforcement. Born with a natural shield that protects him against Psy mental invasions, he knows he has little chance of advancement within the Psy-dominated power structure. The last case he expects to be assigned is that of a murderer targeting a Psy Councilor’s closest advisors. And the last woman he expects to compel him in the most sensual of ways is a Psy on the verge of a catastrophic mental fracture…

Sophia Russo is a Justice-Psy, cursed with the ability to retrieve memories from men and women so twisted even veteran cops keep their distance. Appointed as Max’s liaison with the Psy, she finds herself fascinated by this human, her frozen heart threatening to thaw with forbidden emotion. But, her mind filled with other people’s nightmares, other people’s evil, she’s standing on the border between sanity and a silken darkness that urges her to take justice into her own hands, to become judge, jury…and executioner…

Leontine's review: Will I ever get enough of the Psy/Changeling series? This is something I wonder with each book I read and savor. Every book explores the depth of romance, each story takes the overall story arc a bit further and all characters become utterly cherished. BONDS OF JUSTICE took me back to this world I love to step into, and this time I met Max Shannon and Sophia Russo.

Nalini Singh at once ensnared me with a meeting between J-Psy Sophia and a sociopath serial killer named Bonner who has committed atrocious crimes. This situation not only bared how significant this case was to Max but also showed how straining the work was for a J-Psy and specifically what it did to Sophia. From those first pages I don’t think this story let go of that faced-paced storytelling. The mystery surrounding Nikita, Bonner who plays his diabolical games, Max and Sophia getting very close and various DarkRiver characters coming to aid the leading couple in their case, it all blended together in a whirlwind of emotions and suspense.

With each story I’m amazed at how three dimensional the characters become. The reasoning behind their actions is an everlasting and bold dance between logic and feelings. It’s a dance I never grow tired of witnessing and Nalini Singh’s characters do make me feel a part of their story, every single time. Max Shannon is very human but has a fierce side to him that signals he’s a man, and a cop, to be reckoned with. He bears all the markers for a leading male who grabs the attention; he has heart for his job, he is stubborn, compassionate, emotionally wounded and has a flirting streak too. Max is a male who gets under my skin very fast, with very little effort, and I gave in to him instantaneously.

Sophia Russo has witnessed hundreds of terrible crimes as a J-Psy yet she hasn’t ever experienced the beauty in life. The Psy’s journey to feel again is a step-by-step progress that is heart breaking yet also speaks of courage and it always affects me. Sophia is at the core the kind of female Psy character I’ve got acquainted with a few times before; A Psy who is on the brink of the abyss, Silence is failing and she faces a permanent rehabilitation. It was her character and Psy designation that gave a new flavor to the familiar story thread.

Though Max and Sophia might establish a different romantic vibe in this story with their human-psy match, they fully come to life for me via the voice of Nalini Singh. Effortlessly a perpetual sensuality is imbedded in the romance that adds a sizzling hunger to an already combustive pull of a man to a woman and vice versa. The romance affected me, perhaps not as intense as other Psy/Changeling couples, due to the somewhat easy solution for Sophia’s problem, but nonetheless a gripping romance all together!

Another thing that I enjoy so much are the additional characters; Sasha, Lucas, Dorian, Clay, Faith, they all add their unique voices creating a warm blanket of familiarity. Which each novel my attachment to the extensive cast of characters gets deepened. It’s no longer a singular driven need to read about the main couple or the mystery in this series. I crave to catch-up with recurring characters, to see their mating bond intensified and their interconnected relationships strengthened.

There is an everlasting quality to the storytelling that makes Bonds Of Justice a one-sitting-read. Not in the least it is the mystery that compels to turn the pages. Between the case of Psy councilor Nikita and Bonners case there were hints dropped that there’s something else going on. Nothing tickles my curiosity more than a mystery, I want to find out who-where and when, so a whodunit plot keeps my eyes riveted to the pages. The tension of the actual cases and the overall story arc is excellently intertwined with the sensual romance creating a rich satisfying story.

BONDS OF JUSTICE gave all that is important to me as a reader along with two memorable characters I got to fall in love with. Nalini Singh is one of those rare authors who is a constant supplier in stories of great caliber. 

Quote:
“Max.”
“Yes?”
“Will you remember me?”
His heart broke into a thousand pieces. “Always.”

Quote Max:
“We fit, you and I,” he whispered looking into that haunting gaze. “Two broken pieces making a whole.” It wasn’t the most romantic of statements, but it was torn from his soul.