"Leopards, Wolves and Psy, oh my!"
In 1969, the Psy Council had to come up with something to
stop the violence and serial killers among their kind. What
they came up with was "Silence." With this new program, the
Psy Council would eliminate all rage among their kind. When
this didn't work, in 1979, they decided to eliminate all
emotion. Silence has been in effect among the Psy ever
since. Sascha Duncan has always known she was different from the
other Psy. Even though she's a Cardinal, and has the eyes
to prove it, she doesn't seem to have any special Psy
abilities. And worse than that, Sascha feels, unlike her
mother, Nikita, the head of the family and a member of the
Psy Council. So Sascha has become very good at making
shields and hiding behind them. She is terrified the other
Psy will find out and she will end up going to
rehabilitation. Of course, no one is really rehabilitated,
they just have most of their minds taken away and end up as
vegetables. This is the very first project she will be in
charge of and it's the first of its kind. The Psy and the
Changelings will be working together to make a housing
development for the Changelings. Now ready to negotiate the
deal, Sascha and her mother meet with Lucas Hunter, the
head of the DarkRiver Leopard pack. They conclude the
negotiations and Lucas arranges for Sascha to have an
office in his building so she will be easily available. Now Lucas, on the other hand, isn't coming into this deal
only to make homes. He has a secret agenda. It turns out
there's a serial killer on the loose, one who targets
Changeling females. They know the killer is a Psy because
of the scent found with the bodies and no one is doing
anything to stop him. When one of his pack members was
found dead by the killer's hand, Lucas became involved and
is determined to find and stop the serial killer before he
can kill again. And he plans on using Sascha to help him.
That is, of course, until he meets her. Once he does, he
finds himself intrigued by her and his beast is
exceptionally attracted to her. Now he plans on cracking
the Psy shell surrounding Sascha. What is Sascha's Psy ability? She is a Cardinal; it must be
something. How is she different from the other Psy? And
what is Lucas doing to her with all the emotions she's
beginning to feel? Who is the serial killer? Will Lucas and
the DarkRiver pack be able to stop him before the
SnowDancers, the local wolf pack, get their hands on
Sascha? Will Sascha end up in rehabilitation, or dead? SLAVE TO SENSATION is a fantastic story. Nalini Singh has
written a wonderful story of humans, Changelings and Psy
and how they interact. The Psy are arrogant and feel humans
and Changelings are beneath them. And as Sascha begins to
interact with the DarkRiver pack, she learns about them and
how their emotions don't make them weak. She also learns
about herself. The plot is compelling and very character
driven. The characters are very realistically portrayed and
remain true to themselves. The danger is there and very
real. And I have to admit, I cried when I finished this
story. Something which doesn't happen very often and the
highest accolade a book can receive. I just hope the author
comes out with more books set in this very fascinating
world!
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted November 7, 2006
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**2006 PEARL NOMINEE - BEST OVERALL PARANORMAL ROMANCE** 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... Genre: Paranormal Romance, Shapeshifters, Psychics Psy/Changeling reading order per author's website:
- Slave to Sensation (September 2006)
- Visions of Heat (March 2007)
Free short story: The Cannibal Princess
- Caressed By Ice (September 2007)
- “Beat of Temptation” in An Enchanted Season (October 2007)*
- Mine to Possess (February 2008)
- Hostage to Pleasure (September 2008)
- “Stroke of Enticement” in The Magical Christmas Cat (October 2008) *
Free short story: A Gift for Kit
- Branded by Fire (July 2009)
- Blaze of Memory (November 2009)
*This novella was written to stand alone so you can pick it up at any stage in the series.
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