Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Series, Book 1)
Slave to Sensation was one of the first paranormal romances I ever read—could I have asked for a better introduction to the genre? This book has a permanent spot in my keeper shelf and remains my favourite in the Psy-Changeling Series.
Slave to Sensation was the first book I ever bought based purely on online buzz after author Nalini Singh ran a viral marketing campaign through Dear Author. I’ve never regretted my decision, and this series, currently up to its sixth book, is still an auto-buy for me.
Slave to Sensation begins with a chilling prologue that introduces Silence—a process of conditioning Psy children into suppressing all emotion in order to stamp out the growing violence and insanity in the Psy population. Gifted with advanced mental capabilities, the Psy consider themselves perfect in their Silence.
Sascha Duncan has always suspected she’s flawed. Lately, she’s been leaking emotion, and only her ability to mimic Silence protects her from being forced into rehabilitation. When Sascha meets Lucas Hunter, alpha of the DarkRiver changeling pack, to negotiate a historic business deal, his emotional changeling nature batters at her mental shields.
Although changelings are usually repulsed by the emotionless Psy, Lucas finds himself inexplicably attracted to Sascha. His inner panther senses something different about her. But Lucas isn’t there for just business. There’s a serial killer among the Psy. By doing business with the Duncans, Lucas hopes to gain information that will expose the killer before the changelings’ desire for justice and vengeance lead to all-out war.
Mind vs emotion
The tension between Sascha and Lucas kept me turning the pages furiously to the end. Singh throws them into conflict again and again, sometimes with each other, and sometimes with their own nature. Lucas’s need for touch and Sascha’s need for a psychic anchor lead to a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. It’s the kind of heartbreak I can only endure because I know the characters will get their HEA eventually.
Skin privileges
I looooved the way Lucas and Sascha teased each other. Sascha’s tentative attempts to learn how to stand up to a changeling alpha, and Lucas’s attempts to help Sascha overcome her fear of emotion make for some damn good romance. The contrast between Sascha’s mental strength and physical frailty gives Singh plenty of opportunities to play with Lucas’s alpha instincts in a way that doesn’t diminish Sascha’s individual strengths.
World building
Slave to Sensation introduced me to a world that, at the time, was different to anything I’d read in romance before. The characters and their political structures are well rendered in this novel, although we don’t see much of humans. Enough of the Psy world is shown for us to get a reasonable understanding of their world, but Singh hints at intricacies in the PsyNet—a kind of Internet on the psychic plane, which links all the Psy minds together—well beyond that which is revealed in this book.
Nitpicks
I’m tempted to gloss over the weaknesses of the book because I love it so much. Some of Singh’s prose could do with more refinement, particularly when it comes to metaphors and sensory descriptions. The serial killer becomes obvious fairly early in the story. These don’t detract from the beauty of the romance, but may bother those who are well-read in suspense fiction.
Also, I think the lurid cover does the book a disservice. I almost didn’t buy it.
Yay or nay?
If you haven’t read Slave to Sensation then you’re missing out on what I think will be a classic series in paranormal romance. It’s a big call—that’s how much I love this book. Even if they’re not your usual fare, don’t let the science fiction flavour and shapeshifter characters dissuade you, because this book is first and foremost a thrilling romance.
Title: Slave to Sensation (excerpt)
Series: Psy-Changeling Series (Book 1)
Author: Nalini Singh
ISBN: 9780425212868
Release date: September 2006
Publisher: Berkley Sensation (Penguin)
Format: Mass market paperback
Where you can buy this book
AUSTRALIA: Booktopia | Dymocks | Ever After | Fishpond | Galaxy | Intrigue | Nile | Rendezvous | Romance Direct | Romantic Reflections | Siren | More
EBOOKS: Books On Board | eBooks.com | Fictionwise | Kindle
WORLDWIDE: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Book Depository | Borders
Books in the Psy-Changeling series
Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh
Branded by Fire by Nalini Singh
Caressed by Ice by Nalini Singh
Beat of Temptation by Nalini Singh
Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh
Yes, yes and oh man yes! :grin:
azteclady, I’ve re-read this book several times, expecting my love for it to wear off eventually. But no, I still love it!
I just posted my review of the latest, Branded by Fire, and with each one I love more the careful detail Ms Singh gives to her world building.
The best part of re-reading is finding the sly clues she seeded in the previous titles–I’m thinking Nikita’s behaviour when Sasha was a child in StS, and she took her to the rehabilitation center, and of the package in BbF.
Yes! I mentioned the Nikita thing on CindyS’s blog, but if I hadn’t reread StS after BbF, I’d never have picked it up. It was very subtly done. I remember after my first read of StS I was convinced Nikita was all ruthless and cold, and I couldn’t work out why she seemed to be mellowing in the later books.
Now you have tempted me to see if I can dig up a copy of this to re-read.. I always forget how much I love Singh, until I either read a review of a beloved book, or have the new one in my hand and instantly devour the book within hours of receiving it.
One of the things that impressed me most when I read StS was the intimacy in the simplest touches, such as a handshake. Sometimes in human culture, when you have a business meeting, you might dislike the client, but you still have to shake their hand at the end of the meeting. Lucas held firm to his “skin privileges”, where a certain amount of contact is not automatically assumed and touch has more value.
Leave a comment
About | Participants | Facebook | Google+ | Twitter
We support the Indigenous Literacy Foundation
Romance fiction primer
Genre-friendly events for Aussie readers
This is a public calendar. Click here to view the full calendar of events. (If you use Google calendar, at the bottom of the page there is an option to add it to your list of calendars.)
Got an event coming up? Click here for guidelines and contact details.
Recent posts
Recent reviews
(The Blood of Eden, Book 1) A compelling read, given Julie Kagawa’s brilliant writing and ability to create characters we can sympathise with, but it offers nothing new in terms of the vampire mythos.
(The Christies, Book 1) A second chance romance filled with adventure and set in a South African diamond mine. Not your conventional romance.
Despite some poignant moments, too many inconsistent elements may prevent you from fully enjoying the story. Best enjoyed as part of the series in which it belongs.
Starts off beautifully, but sizzling chemistry can’t save a couple that feels like they won’t last six months, let alone a lifetime.
This book takes risks and touches on issues not often found in the romance genre, but the lack of chemistry between an unsympathetic heroine and a hero who doesn’t seem ready for a long-term commitment make this one a DNF for me.
Humour, tragedy, realism and, of course, a happy beginning—this memoir has it all. I don’t know why I didn’t read this sooner.
A dramatic story with moments that will break your heart. Unfortunately, the hero’s emotional catharsis is rushed and the the resolution doesn’t match the story’s earlier promise.
Tohr’s book hearkens back to the earlier books in the BDB series. It’s not without its faults, but in true J. R. Ward fashion, when she pulls out the angst, it’s very, very good.
A beautifully written story—the sheikh romance for readers who hate sheikh romances. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read in the Mills & Boon Sexy line.
Skim through the beginning, because when this book gets good, it’s, oh, so very good. Alexei and Maisy may reflect the traditional alpha male and ingénue pairing in category romance, but they don’t always behave as expected. And that’s a good thing.
Bloggers
Cheat sheets
Random keepers
Browse
Archives
Snazzy book people
Special thanks to BOOKSELLER+PUBLISHER for keeping us abreast of what's going on in the Australian book industry, and particularly to Tim Coronel, who patiently explains to us the intricacies of book publishing in plain Tweet-lish.
Website| Twitter | Tim Coronel
Twitter
Favourites
Most Discussed
Most viewed