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caitlinemccann's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Torture
Moderate: Classism, Confinement, Grief, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Forced institutionalization
vivivi's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's an interesting world, and a heck of a lot of angsty people! There's a dramatic flair to how the story is told, and the narration style is very unique.
I like the transition that Sasha went through and how she tried to hide her "flaw." Knowing what I know now about the supporting characters makes re-reading the beginning of the series very interesting.
The whole situation with a dominant guy manhandling her that way isn't that interesting, really. Kind of annoying lol. Which I think was the point, but ah well.
I like the transition that Sasha went through and how she tried to hide her "flaw." Knowing what I know now about the supporting characters makes re-reading the beginning of the series very interesting.
The whole situation with a dominant guy manhandling her that way isn't that interesting, really. Kind of annoying lol. Which I think was the point, but ah well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Torture and Murder
rakizaka's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Murder, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
Minor: Rape
laysflower's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
ENGLISH:
WoW THIS book was AMAZING, probably one of the best I’ve read.
FRENCH:
WoW CE livre est INCROYABLE, sûrement l’un des meilleurs que j’ai lu
WoW THIS book was AMAZING, probably one of the best I’ve read.
FRENCH:
WoW CE livre est INCROYABLE, sûrement l’un des meilleurs que j’ai lu
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
friends2lovers's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.5
This is the first book in Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series which revolves around the Psy—people with various psychic abilities like telepathy and telekinesis—and their adversaries, the changelings—human-animal shapeshifters. In Slave to Sensation Sascha, a Psy, forms an unlikely alliance with Lucas, a panther changeling, when she agrees to help track down a Psy serial killer who has been targeting female Changelings for the past 7 years.
Through a program called Silence, the Psy are conditioned from birth to eradicate all their feelings. Silence didn’t really work on Sascha and over the years she’s built up mental shields to hide her ‘flawed’ psyche. In the beginning, Sascha is emotionally guarded, wary of affection, and believes herself broken. This is typically where a hero’s arc starts in a M/F romance novel; it’s the heroine who breaks down his walls and encourages him to feel and love. It was refreshing to have this trope reversed; Lucas is more in touch with his feelings and he affectionately provokes Sascha out of her shell.
So later, when Sascha embraces her empath abilities and matures emotionally while Lucas struggles with his emotional control, it was a little disappointing. Their dynamic went from atypical to falling in line with gender norms, albeit with a supernatural twist. As an E-Psy and ‘healer of the mind’, she’s shouldering a lot of emotional labor in her relationship with Lucas as well as with the pack. I hope later books introduce male healers and E-Psy, because I don’t like the idea of these inherent abilities being passed down to females only. The powers that E-Psy possess are really cool, especially the potential to heal the trauma of others! It seems like a bummer, though, to constantly manage the emotions of other people (mainly male shapeshifters with tempers).
Overall, I really enjoyed the romance, I just liked the earlier bits best. The shared dreams were particularly effective at forging a believable connection between them, before either character was ready for that in real life. It’s like a heightened version of the trope where dreaming about another person either makes them realize their attraction to the person or allows them to act on feelings they aren’t supposed to have. Because neither character realizes that they’re dreamingtogether, their subsequent struggle to continue acting normally around each other is especially entertaining. I also liked that the mating bond was not immediately evident and it took time and effort to develop and accept.
I liked the earlier bits of plot and worldbuilding more than the latter, too. The culture of the Psy and the inner workings of the PsyNet were intriguing. Singh’s writing struck a good balance between being concise and descriptive. I never felt like I was drowning in exposition nor was I left wanting more explanations. Unfortunately, because Sascha’s abilities are all mental, the climax of the plot was internal, too. Sascha going into the PsyNet to trap and identify the serial killer was the one part of the book that I found difficult to grasp conceptually. Then the physical confrontation and action occurs off the page with different characters. It was just a bit underwhelming to have an external, high-stakes conflict resolved through internal strategic mental maneuvering.
3.5 stars. The first half is completely engrossing and fast-paced. The second half took me longer to get through as the things I liked about the romance and plot shifted in a different direction. Still, I’m pretty eager to continue the series and am curious about how the overarching plot will progress.
EDIT 04/13/2021: Yesterday, the Heaving Bosoms podcast posted their recap episode for this and I highly recommend checking it out. I wholeheartedly agree with Erin about the changelings' aversion to M/M platonic PDA within the pack, despite having no qualms about M/F PDA. I kid you not, I wrote a paragraph about this in my original review but decided to cut it for length.
Through a program called Silence, the Psy are conditioned from birth to eradicate all their feelings. Silence didn’t really work on Sascha and over the years she’s built up mental shields to hide her ‘flawed’ psyche. In the beginning, Sascha is emotionally guarded, wary of affection, and believes herself broken. This is typically where a hero’s arc starts in a M/F romance novel; it’s the heroine who breaks down his walls and encourages him to feel and love. It was refreshing to have this trope reversed; Lucas is more in touch with his feelings and he affectionately provokes Sascha out of her shell.
So later, when Sascha embraces her empath abilities and matures emotionally while Lucas struggles with his emotional control, it was a little disappointing. Their dynamic went from atypical to falling in line with gender norms, albeit with a supernatural twist. As an E-Psy and ‘healer of the mind’, she’s shouldering a lot of emotional labor in her relationship with Lucas as well as with the pack. I hope later books introduce male healers and E-Psy, because I don’t like the idea of these inherent abilities being passed down to females only. The powers that E-Psy possess are really cool, especially the potential to heal the trauma of others! It seems like a bummer, though, to constantly manage the emotions of other people (mainly male shapeshifters with tempers).
Overall, I really enjoyed the romance, I just liked the earlier bits best. The shared dreams were particularly effective at forging a believable connection between them, before either character was ready for that in real life. It’s like a heightened version of the trope where dreaming about another person either makes them realize their attraction to the person or allows them to act on feelings they aren’t supposed to have. Because neither character realizes that they’re dreamingtogether, their subsequent struggle to continue acting normally around each other is especially entertaining. I also liked that the mating bond was not immediately evident and it took time and effort to develop and accept.
I liked the earlier bits of plot and worldbuilding more than the latter, too. The culture of the Psy and the inner workings of the PsyNet were intriguing. Singh’s writing struck a good balance between being concise and descriptive. I never felt like I was drowning in exposition nor was I left wanting more explanations. Unfortunately, because Sascha’s abilities are all mental, the climax of the plot was internal, too. Sascha going into the PsyNet to trap and identify the serial killer was the one part of the book that I found difficult to grasp conceptually. Then the physical confrontation and action occurs off the page with different characters. It was just a bit underwhelming to have an external, high-stakes conflict resolved through internal strategic mental maneuvering.
3.5 stars. The first half is completely engrossing and fast-paced. The second half took me longer to get through as the things I liked about the romance and plot shifted in a different direction. Still, I’m pretty eager to continue the series and am curious about how the overarching plot will progress.
EDIT 04/13/2021: Yesterday, the Heaving Bosoms podcast posted their recap episode for this and I highly recommend checking it out. I wholeheartedly agree with Erin about the changelings' aversion to M/M platonic PDA within the pack, despite having no qualms about M/F PDA. I kid you not, I wrote a paragraph about this in my original review but decided to cut it for length.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence and Murder
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I spent the last week on vacation in Hawaii (a trip that has been postponed for over a year, for all the obvious reasons) and it was amazinggggggg. I had a few books on deck to bring/read, but knew that I was going to want some deep romance reads because that is the perfect beach/poolside genre for me. I did a little research and re-stumbled upon the Black Dagger Brotherhood series that I binged the shit out of a few years ago (or maybe longer, since it was pre-blog). Anyways, the feels for a new bingeable paranormal romance series that I could get totally lost in (and speed through) hit hard. And, having had it on my backburner radar for a while now, this was the series I landed on.
Sascha Duncan is Psy – the economic ruling species with varying psychic powers, that has trained themselves to not feel emotion or react to stimuli over generations. Lucas Hunter is Pack alpha of DarkRiver leopards, changelings (part human, part animal) who survive on emotion and connection. When the two are thrown together to work on a precarious, and first of its kind, business deal. But Lucas also has ulterior motives of gaining insight/access to secret Psy information in an attempt to track down the murderer responsible for the deaths of a number of his packmates. And Sascha is attempting to hide her increasingly deteriorating ability to ignore her emotions (her “flaw”). Cue the development of a sensual romance between these two conflicting species/worlds.
Well, despite the horrific title (I mean seriously, I’m here for exactly what this story provided, but this title makes me cringe when I think about it for so many reasons), this story hit the damn spot. If you go in expecting the exact “trashy” paranormal romance vibe that the title indicates, you will be completely satisfied with what you get. Does it hit the reader over the head with the animal sexuality of the “beast” side of the changelings? Yes. Are the “exotic” descriptors a bit much? You better believe it. Are the descriptions of the lightening and heat and sizzling affects of touch/eye contact on the arousal of the characters overdone? Of course. Did I speed through this book in like, a few hours, and immediately check the next one out from the library? Absolutely.
I also do feel like it’s worth noting some interesting aspects that were included as well. I honestly was impressed with the depth of development of the Psy and changeling cultures. I mean yes, a lot of it was predictable, but it was also there was some real nuance to it. In addition, there were a few really original and creative psychological aspects and connections that (as a fantasy/sci-fi lover) I was legitimately fascinated by. There were a few holes, but nothing major, especially when considering other sci-fi tropes/stories, and I thought a couple things were quite unique in a more general sense. So that was unexpected and pretty cool. In particular, the way that dreams were used to give some steamy scenes quickly, but in a believable way, considering a realistic pace for the two characters to get to that point IRL under the setting/circumstances, was nicely done. Sort of related, and I know this is a personal preference (or not), but the heavy protective “mated male” trope is strong in this novel and, I can’t help it (I know it’s not exactly healthy), but I love it. I was hoping for it and I got it in full force.
I know a murderer was mentioned in the plot blurb, but let me just say, the entire plot of that part of the story was way more involved and had way more page time than I had been anticipating. It was much more intense than expected as a result (CW: kidnapping, confinement, torture, psychological/emotional and physical abuse, violence and death), but also gave a lot more depth to the book overall. Just, be careful going into it if you know that’s a triggering topic for you, because it’s not glossed over. Similarly, be careful as there is significant parental loss (of the violent sort) and childhood trauma as well.
So yea, this book is, mostly, exactly what it advertises itself as. And it was completely what I wanted on vacation. In fact, as I enter my cold-weather, early-dark, end of year “meh” period, I do believe the binge of this series that I have on my horizon is going to be on par with the BDB binge of a few years past. And I am not at all sorry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, and Death of parent
nisha_nee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is my very first paranormal romance (that I know of) and I could say that I had a jolly good time reading it. This has taken me longer before getting into the story, which I think is understandable since this is the first book, in a new world and unfamiliar genre. So, as a noob in the subgenre, I am no master of what overused tropes are in this, and I think this contributed to my enjoyment since I'm not that jaded (yet) with the first stories I'm sampling. If you are a beginner like me, this book and series can be your gateway for the PNR genre since I'm getting much interested in trying out other works after reading this. Once I got and know the simple rules and basics in this new world, it was very simplistic, to be honest, in that it is not that complicated like I see other high fantasy books out there but still very enjoyable. I loved the characters so much, I am attached to them now and am looking forward to reading the next books and couples. However, I'm a little bit hesitant in ending this first book because I really loved this couple and I feel sad parting ways with them. I just hope that we're still given updates, cameos, or appearances in the next book.
As for the actual story itself, I did not bother trying to guess what plot twist there is or what the explanation to the mystery behind Sascha, because I was just in it for the ride baby! haha. I just wanted my time reading this to be enjoyable as possible, so no need to get so analytic. The villain and some plot twists were somehow predictable but that did not hinder my enjoyment either.
As for the actual story itself, I did not bother trying to guess what plot twist there is or what the explanation to the mystery behind Sascha, because I was just in it for the ride baby! haha. I just wanted my time reading this to be enjoyable as possible, so no need to get so analytic. The villain and some plot twists were somehow predictable but that did not hinder my enjoyment either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Murder
sophiabarth's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Suicide
rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
'Slave to Sensation' by Nalini Singh is an engaging paranormal romance with a mystery at its center.
This is the first installment in the Psy-Changeling series, which takes place on an Earth where there are three different groups of people. These are the Psy, who have psychic powers and have ensconced themselves in the Silence to suppress all of their emotions, there are changelings who can shift into different animals, and then there are humans. 'Slave to Sensation' centers on Sascha Duncan, a Psy who believes she is falling apart because she is unable to completely shut out her emotions like other Psy. When she is assigned to help with a building project, she meets Lucas Hunter, an alpha changeling. Her emotions begin to crack further as she starts to feel drawn to Lucas and as she is drawn into a mystery. There is a Psy serial killer abducting changeling women and Sascha's link to the PsyNet may be the one way that they can solve this mystery and stop any future changelings from being hunted.
I absolutely love the world in this book. Singh does an exceptional job of introducing a politically complex world but in an easy to understand way. One thing that helps is that it is set on Earth and familiar places, which means that the reader can focus on the relationships and politics of the world. Getting to learn about this through her character's interactions does a great job of making the reader interested both in the world and the characters themselves.
I am finding that the romances I enjoy best are those that have a really strong plot outside of the romance element and that is definitely true for 'Slave to Sensation.' The reader gets to uncover a lot about the characters as Singh expands their relationships through the main mystery of the story. Though the beginning was a bit slow, when the mystery element and investigation started to heat up, I found it really hard to put this book down. The one hiccup with the mystery is that there aren't that many people who are possible suspects, which makes it a little easy to figure out though that didn't stop Singh's set-up from being engaging.
The one downside for this story for me is that Lucas is very alpha and that isn't something that I love in books. He's very possessive and though him being a changeling explains this away in some respects, it was the part of the book that I enjoyed the least.
I do love this world though and will definitely be reading more in this series. I can't wait to see what happens next because I have heard that Singh does an exceptional job of incorporating what is happening in the world in each book.
This is the first installment in the Psy-Changeling series, which takes place on an Earth where there are three different groups of people. These are the Psy, who have psychic powers and have ensconced themselves in the Silence to suppress all of their emotions, there are changelings who can shift into different animals, and then there are humans. 'Slave to Sensation' centers on Sascha Duncan, a Psy who believes she is falling apart because she is unable to completely shut out her emotions like other Psy. When she is assigned to help with a building project, she meets Lucas Hunter, an alpha changeling. Her emotions begin to crack further as she starts to feel drawn to Lucas and as she is drawn into a mystery. There is a Psy serial killer abducting changeling women and Sascha's link to the PsyNet may be the one way that they can solve this mystery and stop any future changelings from being hunted.
I absolutely love the world in this book. Singh does an exceptional job of introducing a politically complex world but in an easy to understand way. One thing that helps is that it is set on Earth and familiar places, which means that the reader can focus on the relationships and politics of the world. Getting to learn about this through her character's interactions does a great job of making the reader interested both in the world and the characters themselves.
I am finding that the romances I enjoy best are those that have a really strong plot outside of the romance element and that is definitely true for 'Slave to Sensation.' The reader gets to uncover a lot about the characters as Singh expands their relationships through the main mystery of the story. Though the beginning was a bit slow, when the mystery element and investigation started to heat up, I found it really hard to put this book down. The one hiccup with the mystery is that there aren't that many people who are possible suspects, which makes it a little easy to figure out though that didn't stop Singh's set-up from being engaging.
The one downside for this story for me is that Lucas is very alpha and that isn't something that I love in books. He's very possessive and though him being a changeling explains this away in some respects, it was the part of the book that I enjoyed the least.
I do love this world though and will definitely be reading more in this series. I can't wait to see what happens next because I have heard that Singh does an exceptional job of incorporating what is happening in the world in each book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Violence, Torture, and Sexual content
carissa230's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Sascha Duncan is a psy, she is supposed to be free from feelings. Sascha feels like she is losing her mind, because she is different. Lucas Hunter is a changeling, his people are very passionate. When they team up to make a business deal the connection is fast and fierce.
Sascha believed what she has been told, not having feelings makes a better person. They are free from crime, because they do not feel. When she starts working with Lucas she learns that there is a serial killer among the psy. Since they have a hive mind the people in charge know, but are keeping it secret.
The book was ok. It didn't have much to stand out to me for the long run.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
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