Monday, June 2, 2008

Review - Slave to Sensation



Title: Slave to Sensation
Author: Nalini Singh
Publishing Date: September 2006
Genre: Paranormal
Rating: B
Sensuality: Hot

Slave to Sensation is the first book in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling Series. It features Lucas Hunter, the alpha leader of the DarkRiver leopard pack. In his world there are three types of people, the changelings – people who can shift shape to animal forms, the Psy - people who have special mind powers, who have been trained to suppress all feelings or emotions and then last but not least, regular humans.

Lucas has recently lost a member of his pack to a serial killer. He suspects that the killer is Psy because of a scent at the scene of the crime and how the murders are being covered up. He arranges a deal with the Duncan Psy family to build a multi million dollar housing complex. He is paired up with Sascha Duncan as a consultant to the deal. His goal is to get close enough to her in order to do some investigating of his own.

Sascha Duncan has been chosen to consult with Lucas for the project. Sascha has been hiding the fact that she has been able to feel emotions for a long time now. She knows that if she were found out by the Psy Council she would be rehabilitated. This means she would become, basically, a vegetable. She would rather kill herself than let that happen. When these two pair up with they can’t seem to fight their attraction to each other and Sascha is afraid of the consequences.

Slave to Sensation has well thought out, very in depth world building. It is a unique twist to the shape shifter romance with the addition of the Psy population. I liked that Sascha was very cerebral and Lucas very physical. It made for a unique pairing. Both characters were very likable and I was sympathetic to both the changelings and the Psy groups. I enjoyed Sascha’s interaction with the other members of Lucas’s pack. I enjoyed her surprise when someone would show her affection through touch. This was something that was lacking in her life growing up. One drawback for the romance though, was that Sascha kept denying Lucas’s love for her. She doesn’t exactly accept it until the very end of the story. I felt like it added unnecessary angst to an already problematic relationship.

There was a very large cast of characters, but I was not overwhelmed and somehow I was able to keep it all straight – all due to Singh’s talent as a storyteller. It did seem to me there was more of a focus on the Psy culture than the changeling culture and I wonder if that will change in future books in this series. All in all, this was a good start to a series and I am looking forward to more adventures in Singh’s world.

Here is what others had to say:

Rosario's Reading Journal
Dear Author
Reading All Night Long
The Book Smugglers

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

This series just gets better and better. My favorite so far was Caressed by Ice.

Kris said...

I love this series!! This is one of my favs of the series.

Ana said...

I didnt like the first one as much as I liked the second one. I am looking forward to reading books 3 and 4 but where is the time, I ask?

KT Grant said...

I loved the smoldering sensuality of Lucas and when these two get down and dirty... thump :D

Yup, it is all about the sex for me.

nath said...

I loved this book :D i hope you're going to continue and love it too :D I have to say though, StS is my favorite :) so I wonder if you'll like the others better...

Holly said...

I really enjoyed this book, but it's my least favorite out of the series so far. I just wasn't blown away by it like so many other were.

Caressed by Ice on the other hand... ;)

Jill D. said...

Hi Ladies, I am glad to hear that this series gets better and better. I have the second book in my TBR pile so I will have to move it up. I really enjoy the world Singh created. I can't wait to see where she goes with it.

Ana, I know what you mean. I would like to start the Sookie books, but my goodness they seem so overwhelming because there are so many of them. At least with this series there are only four and then you will be caught up!

Katie, LOL! At least your honest!

Ruth said...

I have seen so many good reviews of this series, I'll definitely have to make sure they get onto my next buying list. :)

If you like paranormal romance, check out P.F. Kozak's Take Me There when you get a chance. Her treatment of the metaphysical/spiritual relationship is really unique and it's one the best books I've read so far this year.

Amy said...

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one just starting on this series. I read SLAVE.. week before last and loved it. And wow -- yeah, the sex scenes...*fanning self*

I've got books 2 and 3 waiting for me on the TBR.

Jill D. said...

Hi Ruth and Amy, Welcome to my blog! Thanks for visiting! I am excited about this series and I will be starting Visions of Heat soon!

Ruth, I will be sure to check out Take Me There. Thanks for the recommendation.

Jace said...

I still haven't managed to read these books yet - I've had the first three books in the TBR for months now. *sigh* Someday, I keep telling myself...

Amy said...

Thank you, Jill! I'm new to the blogosphere, so I'm still testing the waters.

Jill D. said...

Hi Amy and welcome! I just started my blog in January of this year, so I am relatively new too. Good luck and I hope you have a lot of fun! I will check out your site!

Jill D. said...

Hi Jace, I know what you mean, I had Slave to Sensation in my TBR for a while. I just didn't want to start a new series until I caught up with the ones I already have started. I will be curious to see what you think when you do start it :)