Review: Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

May Contain Spoilers

Review:

I saw Slave to Sensation on Netgalley, and the new cover immediately caught my eye. Though curious about the Psy-Changeling series, I have been avoiding it because it’s over 10 volumes long, and the thought of catching up on that many books was a bit off-putting. After finishing this, though, my opinion about that has done a 360, and I’m looking forward to learning more about Nalini Singh’s paranormal world. This was a great read, hard to put down, and now I understand why her books are so popular.

Sascha Duncan is a Psy, and her people have stamped out emotions. To have them is to be flawed, and flawed individuals are sent to rehabilitation, leaving them virtual vegetables. Sascha’s mother is a powerful Psy and part of the ruling Council. Sascha is a cardinal Psy. Cardinals are usually extremely powerful, but Sascha’s potential was never realized. Instead of following in her mother’s footsteps with ambitions to also join the Council, she works diligently for the family business, ever fearful that her terrible secret will be revealed. Sascha is flawed, and she has spent her entire life hiding her imperfections from the entire Psy community.

When her mother decides to go into business with a pack of changelings, Sascha’s world is tilted on end. The changelings are considered lesser creatures by the ruling Psy, ruled by their emotions instead of calm intelligence. Sascha and Lucas, the leopard pack’s alpha, are instantly drawn to each other. As Sascha’s mental wards begin to crumble, one by one, she worries that she’ll be detained and rehabilitated. Lucas and his pack are a constant enticement to her, however, and she is overwhelmed by new experiences and an aching need to belong somewhere.

The tension between Lucas and Sascha zinged off the pages. Neither trusts the other, and Lucas has good cause to be suspicious of his new business partner. Changeling women are being tortured and murdered by a serial killer, and they believe that the murderer is a Psy. After a young wolf is kidnapped, the clock is ticking. The tenuous alliance between the wolves and the leopards is put to the test. The wolves want to start a war to get their packmate back, but Lucas convinces them to wait a week and allow the leopards to try to find her before her kidnapper kills her. He hopes that he can learn about the Council members from Sascha, because he knows that the Council is covering up the murders and protecting the killer. Sascha doesn’t believe that her mother would ever agree to be part of that, but as her emotional state turns ever more precarious, and her mind keeps coming into contact with the the anguished kidnapped wolf, she is determined to save her, even if it costs her her life.

I enjoyed learning about the Psy-Changeling world, and found it interesting enough to actually be excited that there are a number of other books in the series already available. Since the Psy were basically the villains here, in addition to being cold and emotionless, I found them difficult to relate to. I loved the Changelings, and am looking forward to the other pack members, (both the leopards and the wolves, and whatever else Singh throws in there) finding their HEA. The romance was hot, and while Lucas is an alpha, he’s one of those tough but tender kind of heroes that I love to read about. He wants to take care of his pack and his mate, and he would die to do just that. Sascha is not willing to let him call the shots, though, and their battle of wills was entertaining.

I’m so glad I decided to read this. While I have many volumes to catch up on, I’m happy to know that there is a good size backlist to hit up whenever I have an open spot in the reading schedule. Slave to Sensation was a fast read, with likable characters and a suspenseful plot. I’m curious to see if the rest of the books are as creative and fun.

Grade: B

Review copy provided by publisher

From Amazon:

THE FIRST PSY/CHANGELING NOVEL from the New York Times bestselling author of Shards of Hope, Shield of Winter, and Heart of Obsidian…The book that Christine Feehan called “a must-read for all of my fans.”

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 coexistence, 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…