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 … 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…
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I loved the characters and the world building. The description of emotions and sensations were very good.
I can’t believe it took me this long to read this fantastic series! I love the world Singh creates, implementing the perfect balance between fantasy and romance. The story was fascinating and unpredictable. I would go into this book blind and get ready to be hooked to this beautiful world and all it has to offer. The best part is, this is a series comprised of more than 15+ books. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series and see where the story goes.
In Slave to Sensation we follow Sascha, the first Psy to work with Changelings in a business deal. The only problem that Sascha is having difficulty working with the head of the DarkRiver pack, Lucas. A man who makes her feel… which is bad for a Psy. Very bad. Life-threatening kind of bad. But she just can’t help but be drawn to him and he to her.
When Lucas needs help finding a Psy murderer our heroine must decide where her loyalties lie. However, the more time she spends with him blurs her strict facade to the point that she’s afraid she’ll crack under the pressure.
This book took a while for me to get in to. I’ve read Singh’s Rock Kiss series and loved it. Seeing as I’m already a huge PNR fan… STS seemed perfect. I don’t know if it was just so much information of the Psy-Changeling world in the beginning. Or if the fact that this is a slow burn due to her Psy nature. I found myself skimming often… and skimming is not my thing.
However, once I hit 60% I was locked in. I could not put it down. If I gave a rating for just the first half it would be a 3/5. But the last half was a 5/5 so it evened out to a pretty good read in the end. I would definitely recommend this to those who love slow burn PNR.
2nd read: 2021
1st read: many years ago
A new year means new goals and one of my goals for this year is to reread more books/series that I enjoyed in the past. And the ‘Psy/Changeling’ series of Nalini Singh is one of the series that I want to reread this year. I remember that I enjoyed this story very much in the past and I’m happy to say that I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. I didn’t write a review the first time that I read it so I wrote one now.
In ‘Slave to sensation’ we are introduced to a fascinating, paranormal world. In this world there are three ‘races’, you have the psy, they are the coldest of the three races, they may look human but they don’t have or feel emotions and they have a few special powers too. From childhood they are conditioned to use their mind, not their hearts. The other two races are the humans and the changelings. The changelings are shapeshifters, part human, part animal and they are very emotional beings. Changelings are very sensual and need touch in their daily lives. So the psy and the changelings are complete opposites of each other, one crave touch and the other detest it. But they do have one thing in common, both are ruthless when needed! The psy to protect their psy world against imperfection and emotions and the changelings to protect their packmates or when they retaliate!
The writer Nalini Singh created a very interesting world here and as a reader you got introduced to it in a fluent and understandable way. From the beginning I was pulled into the story. The main characters, Sascha Duncan and Lucas Hunter were both great characters. Sascha may be one of the cold Psy, she was also something more and then you had Lucas, who’s a leopard changeling and alpha of the DarkRiver pack. I really loved how Lucas and his animal were fascinated with Sascha and the fact that she didn’t always acted like a ‘real’ Psy. So Lucas tested and teased her in little ways. It was wonderful to see how Sascha came more and more out of her shell when she was with Lucas. Of course, the story is more than about this couple. You learned more about the Psy and the changeling structure, their motivations and there was also a serial killer to find. The second characters were also very interesting. You had Sascha’s mother (who was also part of the feared Psy Counsil) and Lucas’ sentinels and packmates. The DarkRiver pack wasn’t the only pack in this story or in this region, you also got introduced to another changeling pack, the SnowDancer, they are wolf changelings and just as dangerous as the DarkRiver pack.
In the story you got both POV’s and the romance between Sascha and Lucas was a bit slow burn but that was needed because Sascha was a psy, so feelings and touch were strange to her. There were sex scenes but not many.
I really enjoyed this book and I can’t wait to read more about this psy/changeling world.
Silence is not always bliss
What a fantastic new world! I absolutely love the different unique levels to the society and how each group has their own social norms. The author put so much detail into the world she created and in the characters that she built, I almost half expected to turn my head and see them walking all around me. I enjoyed the depth to the characters and the emotions that she was able to impart with her words. More then once I felt myself tearing up at the experiences they lived through. The author kept the story exciting and interesting with every new experience she brought her characters to on the way to their HEA. I can not wait to pick up the next book in this series and see who will find danger, and their HEA, next.
Mehta, I just didn’t enjoy this story at all.
Lucas and Sascha have to be one of my favorite couples in paranormal romance. He’s a swoon-worthy black panther/leopard and she’s the straightlaced Psy who craves sensation–which he’s more than eager to give to her.
And Nalini Singh’s world building is off-the-charts inventive. If you haven’t read the Psy/Changeling series, you’re missing out on one of the best series around.
A must-read for any PNR lover.
I love every last book from this authur that i have read. No one dose Paranormal romance like Nalini Sighn!
Wow! I have been a huge fan of Nalini Singh’s Guildhunter Series and I honestly didn’t think that this series would be able to stand up to. But I am soooo wrong. The cubs OMG totally adorable xx
Spoilers below…
‘Slave to Sensation’ is book 1 in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling Series. Sascha Duncan is a E-Psy, but didn’t know this until she meets her Alpha who helped her to finally except her powers and abilities. Sascha has always thought she was broken, a defect needing to be rehabilitated, been afraid to let anyone especially her mother know who she is. Psy aren’t suppose to show emotions but it’s had when your power is an Empath, feelings is all you have.
Lucas Hunter is DarkRiver’s Alpha and a Panther Changeling. Pack means everything to him, until he meets a Psy that has emotions. Lucas was meant to find the Psy that had taken one of the woman from his pack, but he hadn’t expected to find Sascha.
Changelings are out for blood and need to find the Psy taking women. Lucas is determined to find the latest woman taken from the Snow Dancers pack but he won’t risk his mates life to do so. Sascha knows she won’t be able to leave the PsyNet and survive and doesn’t want to risk her mates life in the process of trying to do so.
One of my favourite quotes would have to be this:
“Of course. I’m the most beautiful creature you’ve ever seen.”
An absolute FANTASTIC read. Can’t wait to read book 2 ‘Visions of Heat’
I put off reading this series because it sounded strange, but after the Guild Hunter series, I had to try it. I couldn’t believe I waited. I loved it! I especially loved Lucas, who is definitely book boyfriend material. Unique world, familiar paranormal love, great read!
Slave to Sensation is my first book by Nalini Singh and I really enjoyed it. I know I have had this baby on my kindle for a few years now and I sit here and wonder why I waited so long to start this series. I loved the whole world set up. The Psy being all mind with great psychic powers, and no feelings , the Changelings being shifters that feel greatly, and of course the boring humans. I do wish there would have been a bit more paranormal world development as I would have liked to known things like….. how long do the para live, how do they know when they found their mates? How do go about mating? All these things were touched on in a glossed over kind of way.
Lucas was sexy as hell and full of life and passion, which made Sascha seem like a lump by comparison. I did end up warming up to Sascha as the book went on but at first she was so flat it was hard to connect to her. I loved Lucas and Sascha together. Although I did wish Lucas would have figured out she was his mate a little bit sooner. I also really liked the others in Lucas’ pack and I liked Hawke and I really hope he gets a book. I sure he will since this series is so long. Slave to Sensation was a great start to the series. It got me hooked on the world and the secondary characters. I can’t wait to start book two!
I adore this world.
Slave to Sensation has some serious intimate scenes (don’t suggest listening to this one while driving….it’s just that good). A supposed emotional void Psy and a touchy feely Changeling make for a unique and awesome pairing. The characters have some depth and the storyline was interesting to keep my wayward attention. The narrator did a good job with providing unique voices for each character.
Fantastic! Don’t start this unless you don’t have to work the next day!
Another favourite author and series! Parts of this book made me cry. I thought it was written with great sensitivity, by someone who loved wild animals and could sense the sensitive nature in them. The story was great and my heart broke for Sascha who felt she was broken because she was not as cold or unfeeling as the other Psy. I just loved it and cannot wait to read the rest of the series and her other books.