By: Nalini Singh
Published By: Gollancz, Hachette, Orion Books
Released: Available Now
Details : Paperback from publisher for honest review.
RATING: 4.5 LOVED THIS BOOK!
Nalini Singh dives 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 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.
BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:
I have been getting my Nalini Singh fix lately. I’ve been totally enjoying the Guild Hunter series with all those fabulously sexy archangels and vampires.
I had a few paperbacks in the Psy-Changeling series so I thought I better dive in.
The one thing Nalini is so good at is her beautiful descriptive. I get so immersed in her words.
Slave To Sensation is a wonderful start to the Psy-Changeling series. I had no idea what Psy-Changeling meant. I hadn’t read any blurbs or even reviews.
Now I get it.
Psys have psychic powers. They are above humans and changelings.
Changelings are pretty much shifters.
Psys have been trained/programmed from birth to feel no emotion. It is called the Silence.
Lucas Hunter became Alpha of the DarkRiver leopard pack at the age of twenty-three. The DarkRiver have a construction business which the Psy Council need to use. Sascha is sent in to sort out the business terms.
Hence starts the meet and greet for Sascha and Lucas.
He raised a brow. “I’m listening.” And so was the panther inside him. Both man and beast found Sascha Duncan captivating in a way that neither could understand. Part of him wanted to stroke her...and part of him wanted to bite.
Sascha Duncan is a twenty-six yr old Psy who is starting to feel things she shouldn’t. It is dangerous to her well being to 'feel'. She's noticed Lucas in a way she shouldn't.
She looked up at the sound of her mother’s voice. And found herself within touching distance of the most dangerous male she’d ever seen. There was no other word to describe him. Well over six feet tall, he was built like the fighting machine he was in the wild, pure lean muscle and tensile strength.
His black hair brushed his shoulders but there was nothing soft about it. Instead, it hinted at unrestrained passion and the dark hunger of the leopard below the skin. She had no doubt she was in the presence of a predator.
Then he turned his head and she saw the right side of his face. Four jagged lines, reminiscent of the claw marks of some great beast, scored the muted gold of his skin. His eyes were hypnotic green but it was those slashing markings that grabbed her attention.
The sub characters are all very intriguing.
Dorian is a character I want to know more about. Looking forward to his HEA in the future.
Dorian came to stand beside him. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he could’ve passed for a surfer hanging out, waiting for the right wave. Except for the feral edge in those eyes.
Nalini reminds us in the first two books about Kit’s alpha possibilities. I feel like she is trying to tell me something way before it’s happened.
Kit was waiting for them in the meeting. “Hi, Lucas.” At a fraction under six feet, the boy was tall but hadn’t yet filled out. Not that is mattered at his age. With his rich auburn hair and dark blue eyes, he was never short of female company. But Lucas knew the juvenile was more than good looks – he had the scent of a future alpha.
Tamsyn is a great character. I really liked her input in this book and the ever so playful Julian and Roman. ;)
“The kiss?” Tamsyn raised a brow.
Sascha thought she hid her surprise well. “Yes.”
“It’s like when he kissed me the first time we met. He’s alpha and each time he touches us, he reinforces the bonds of Pack. With the women, he’s generally more affectionate.” She rolled her eyes. “They’re chauvinistic pigs but we love them. Anyway, as I was saying, that kiss wasn’t sexual in any way. It was about...togetherness.”
Throw in an alliance with the SnowDancers wolf pack and we have ourselves set up for some HEAs in the future.
Hawke was muscular and he was lethal. A predator to the core. His eyes were the same icy blue whether he was in wolf or human form, his hair a thick silver-gold that had nothing to do with age. It echoed his pelt. Of all the changelings Lucas knew, it was Hawke who resembled his beast the most in humanity.
Nalini has wonderful world building. Now in saying that, I must admit I have read two books in the Psy-Changeling series and I can get a little bamboozled with all the things going on in the PsyNet and the NetMind and second book brings in Web Of Stars.
I liken my bamboozling to watching the Matrix movies a few times before I latched on properly. I mean I get what is going on, but sometimes my mind gets a bit away with the pixies.
Nalini's writing is very intelligent when she goes all Sci-fi in that area. Well, to me it's kinda Sci-fi...ish. :)
The villain I thought was pretty obvious, but that is okay. What I didn’t like in this first installment was how quickly said villain-shit got tidied up. I was looking forward to some detailed good guys vs bad guy take down. Instead we get a pretty glossed over rundown of what happened to said bad guy. The ending is a bit rushed considering all the detail that goes into the majority of the read.
I totally dug this first book in the series and swiftly went onto Visions of Heat and wasn't disappointed.
