Review: Slave To Sensation

Review: Slave To Sensation by Nalini Singh

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…

Book One in the Psy/Changeling Series

Over one hundred years ago, the Psy race conditioned its members to become Silent. Due to the high rate of insanity and sociopathic tendencies, it was discovered that with Silence - with the eradication of all emotion - the Psy could be safe within their own minds. Although with the implementation of Silence, many Psy were lost or forgotten. But now, six generations under the Protocol Silence, the Psy are the most powerful race on Earth.

Sascha Duncan, a Cardinal Psy, is on the verge of mental collapse. Although her night-sky eyes proclaim her to be one of the most powerful in the Psy race, her powers are embarrassingly unspecified. Although she has a number Psy abilities that range throughout the Gradient, the Psy measuring scale of mental strength, she shows no superior power in any specific area.

Daughter of Nikita Duncan, a member of the Psy Council and therefore above the law, Sascha's faults are doubly humiliating. But it's not the humiliation that is causing her mind to crack at the most basic levels. Something is wrong with her and for this very wrongness, Sascha could be slated for rehabilitation with the hope of death or life as a vegetable.

In the midst of a mental crisis, Sascha is faced with Lucas Hunter, leopard alpha of DarkRiver - one of the most powerful predatory packs in the western half of the United States. For the first time in history, Psy are embarking on a business relationship with the Changelings and its Sascha's job to oversee the completion of the very lucrative project. Unfortunately, the job requires Sascha to work very closely with Lucas Hunter and unknowingly to her, this pleases Lucas until no end.

Lucas Hunter is on a mission. He needs to infiltrate the PsyNet - the psychic plane of interconnected Psy minds. There he hopes to discover the identity of a Psy serial murderer that butchered one of his females and recently kidnapped a female wolf from their allies, the SnowDancer Pack. Because the killer struck DarkRiver first, Lucas has the lead but with the added pressure of the killers pattern of holding his victims for seven days before dealing the death blow, Lucas knows he only has so much time before the wolves go for blood, with or without DarkRiver. With this Psy/Changeling project, Lucas hopes to interrogate one of the Psy to find the information that he needs. When he's astoundingly assigned his own personal Cardinal Psy, Lucas has struck gold with Sascha Duncan. But there is also something uniquely different with this Psy that has his panther prowling very close to the surface. Sascha Duncan is not a normal Psy and Lucas has every intention of discovering her secrets.

Changelings view the Psy with disdain. They abhor their silence for it runs in complete contradiction to their own highly emotional and sensual lifestyles. For those Psy that are fully embedded in Silence, they give off a repulsive metallic stink that generally prevents changelings from even wanting to be near them. But with Sascha, Lucas doesn't pick up this stink but instead draws into his lungs pure luscious woman. Although he knows that Sascha is a Cardinal and may very well have the potential to liquefy his brains with a single thought, he can't help but antagonize his Psy to get any kind of rise out of her. Amazingly he catches many glimpses of the Sascha beneath her pristine and icy Psy shell making his intrigue even more rampant.

Sascha's already crumbling shields crack even more with the emotional onslaught brought upon her by the changelings. While Lucas's constant touch or verbal provocation is on purpose, the other changelings can't help their impact on Sascha. They're just being themselves as changelings who need and desire touch and love and community. It's natural for them to bring Sascha into their lives and it also helps that Lucas's scent is all over her.

In an effort to rid her lustful thoughts for Lucas, Sascha purposefully dreams of making love with the infuriatingly sensual leopard alpha. In her dreams she can be who she is on the inside but unknowingly to Sascha, she's invited Lucas's conscience into her dreams as well and he experiences the Sascha that he longs for. These dreams also have Lucas bestowing skin privilages to Sascha which allows her touch him anywhere she desires. As their passions run hot and the mating dance is instigated, Sascha soon has a hungry panther looking to claim her for life.

With the unpresidented event of a Psy/Changeling business venture, it's not long before Sascha strikes the notice of Psy Council member, Enrique Santano. A cool and cunning Psy, Enrique requests that Sascha give him any information she can retrieve from the changelings. Since the Psy have distanced themselves from what they've considered lowly animals, Enrique wishes to update the records. Yet there is something that whispers of betrayal if Sascha were to unveil all that she's learned while being with changelings. Some how the leopards have gained her complete loyalty and its not just because of her fascination with Lucas, some where deep inside Sascha has craved touch and emotion on such a critical level that she can't stand even to be amongst her own race. When she finally discovers from Lucas that he's hunting a Psy killer, she first denies the thought. Silence was to have wiped all violence from the race and if the Council has been hiding killers then it goes against everything that the Psy have held true for over a hundred years. What's worse, is that if there is a Psy killer, then not only does Councilor Enrique know of it, but her own mother has knowledge as well. To be the flesh and blood of woman who is hiding killers brings upon the ultimate humiliation.

With mere hours remaining until the inevitable death of the abducted female wolf, Sascha decides that if the cracks in her shields will lead her to death then she may as well go down in flames. She'll do what is necessary to trap the Psy killer and learn his identity for the changelings so they may seek their vengeance. When Lucas learns that the end result of her sacrifice will be death, he rails hard against her decision. Although his loyalty is to Pack, he's learned that Sascha is his destined mate and that puts her above everyone and everything. He'd rather the victim die than his Sascha. But what Lucas is learning real quickly is that even an alpha with his power can't convince Sascha away from the path she's set.

The first book in a complex paranormal series can be tricky and at times are a hit but most likely a miss with readers. There is always that terror of information overload where the novel sags from intense world building. With 'Slave to Sensation', the novel flows beautifully with an even balance of world building and romance.

In my opinion, Nalini Singh is one of the masters of sexual tension and while I wouldn't describe her books as erotic, you're guaranteed an intense build up to sweet release.

Nalini's heroes have all the requisite traits of power and physical appeal but what makes her changeling heroes so unique is their animal intensity. Of course they're dominant in the extreme but they're also driven incredibly hard to protect and cherish. I particularly love how they ground themselves with touch and generally that need compels Singh's males to grasp the napes of their mates in a dominant but gentle hold. Of course this maneuver rises the hackles of any independent woman when faced with such blatant possessiveness and thus instant tension. Not only are these males proprietary but they're also extremely sensual, moving with feline grace and impressive dexterity. While their human half gives the illusion of civility, these males are not human and their beasts are never far from the surface.

And bonus, Nalini pens some amazing and admirable heroines. All are strong either mentally or physically with huge hearts and the willingness to sacrifice all if necessary. While they may not be as domineering as their heroes, these woman can easily tangle with their male counterparts. They certainly don't make their taming easy to the chagrin of their heroes.

'Slave to Sensation' starts the Psy/Changeling series off with a bang that leaves you thirsting for more. While each one of her stories are unique, I can't claim a favorite above the rest. In each novel I'm in the absolute moment with her characters and I fall in love so readily and easily that it's a testament to the nature of her hero/heroine pairings that I can't name one that I'd hold above the rest. Also, each installment gives a little more and slowly secrets are unveiled and intentions are realized. You fall in love with all three races and in some way or another you identify with their motivations whether they be evil or good.

My last thought is to anyone who hasn't read this series, I ask: What are you waiting for??!

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