Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

Book Stats:
Reading level: Adult
Genere: Paranormal romance
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Release date: September 5, 2006

Series: Psy-Changeling #1

Source: Library

Reviewed by: Tynga

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository 

Dive into a world torn apart by a powerful race with phenomenal powers of the mind—and none of the heart…

In a world that denies emotions, where the ruling Psy punish any sign of desire, Sascha Duncan must conceal the feelings that brand her as flawed. To reveal them would be to sentence herself to the horror of “rehabilitation”— the complete psychic erasure of everything she ever was….

Both human and animal, Lucas Hunter is a Changeling hungry for the very sensations the Psy disdain. After centuries of uneasy co-existence, these two races are now on the verge of war over the brutal murders of several Changeling women. Lucas is determined to find the Psy killer who butchered his packmate, and Sascha is his ticket into their closely guarded society. But he soon discovers that this ice-cold Psy is very capable of passion—and that the animal in him is fascinated by her. Caught between their conflicting worlds, Lucas and Sascha must remain bound to their identities—or sacrifice everything for a taste of darkest temptation…

A while back, ok a long time ago… Jenn dared us to read Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh and I finally took her dare! I love Nalini’s Guild Hunter series (which is an urban fantasy and not paranormal romance) so at long last I decided to give the Psy-Changeling series a try and I’m really glad I did.

The story takes place in the 2080s and three races inhabit the earth. Humans, Changelings and Psys. Changelings are all kind of shifters, the likes we know, and are overlooked by the Psy, who see them as animals. The Psy are a race that eliminated all emotions through a severe protocol called Silence, which started a hundred years ago. The Psy are telepathically linked via the PsyNet and it’s vital to them. They have all kinds of mind powers and they strive to lead the world and their sense of superiority is suffocating. Despite the strong sci-fi element this race brings, the novel really reads like a romance.

Slave to Sensation’s storyline revolves around Sascha a Cardinal Psy (the strongest there is) and Lucas an alpha panther. Sascha has issues though, even though she has an amazing potential, her abilities never developed and despite her mother being a woman of power, Sascha is a cast-out, feeling deeply flawed. See, she can feel but nobody can know or they would destroy her mind. Nobody less than perfect is allowed to live in the Psy world. Her struggle to hide from everyone was really touching and I felt really compassionate toward her. Her sensory exploration was highly compelling and I truly liked her. Her growth would’ve been impossible without smoking hot Lucas and I love him that much more for his influence.

The Panther as a secret agenda. A Psy serial killer is on the loose and he is determined to stop him, whatever it takes. He plan to use Sascha to get information, but he didn’t plan to fall for the unfeeling (or so he thought) psy. His attraction to her was a great aspect of this novel, because even though he felt a spark as soon as he met her. He didn’t fall into her bed with limitless passion as so many paranormal romance couples do. There was a compelling ascension in their relationship and I savoured it. There was this scene when Lucas bring her to Tamsyn’s house for the first time and Sascha meets the woman’s son. It was so endearing, I felt all mushy inside lol.

The like the storyline beginning to end and there wasn’t a boring moment to speak of. Nalini Singh did a great job to keep the readers engage with the romance, the suspense of the murder investigation and the introduction of such original lore. The murdered wasn’t a surprise for me, but I liked how they managed to catch him and I found the romance conclusion to be quite satisfying.

All in all, I loved the beginning to this series and I’m about to start reading the second book, Visions of Heat, right away. Fans of Gena Showalter’s Alien Huntress series will love Slave to Sensation, I’m sure of it!

 Read an excerpt

Posted by Tynga at 07:31

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Tynga is a 32 years old mom of two, from Montreal, working as a lab technician in an hospital specialized in heart disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading all things Paranormal and photography.

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