Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh Narrator: Angela Dawe
Series: Psy-Changeling #1
Published by Tantor Audio on April 26, 2011
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Length: 9 hours 36 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Goodreads
Dive into a world torn apart by a powerful race with phenomenal powers of the mind— and none of the heart…
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 co-existence, 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…
My top thoughts:
This is one of those books that you planned on reading for such a long time and never got around to it. And then you FINALLY do, thanks to something like Anne’s 2021 Read-along, and you kick yourself for waiting so long.
Gah, that was good! And original. And considering how much Urban Fantasy I’ve read, that’s saying something.
The world:
The world is both familiar and unique at the same time, making it easy to settle into but intriguing. If you’ve read some urban fantasy, the Changelings feel very familiar. In a lot of ways, there what you expect from shifters, with their own unique qualities. And then the Psy are where it gets original. They are a race of telepaths that have supposedly bred/trained out all emotion in order to eliminate violence that comes from extreme emotion. They are constantly connected in this hive mind.
The characters:
I found the Psy fascinating, especially in the main character, Sascha. From the get-go we know she’s “broken” because she experiences emotions she shouldn’t. This puts her in danger from the other Psy and makes her doubt herself. I enjoyed her growth as a character and think we’ll see a lot more growth through the series.
The romantic connection between her and the Changling Lucas Hunter was electric – the telepathic / psychic element really added another dimension. I was a little surprised with it being an Urban Fantasy the depth of their relationship in book 1 and I’m interested to see how it develops over the series. Feels like maybe this will perhaps be similar relationship as some of my favorite UF couples …
Narrator thoughts:
I listened to the audio and hadn’t even checked to see who narrated it before I started. I immediately recognized the voice of Angela Dawe. It’s been a while since I listened to her, but she’s still in my favorites list. So I know I’ll enjoy listening to this series. The only challenge will be waiting until January to start the next book to keep on schedule with the read-along!
I agree! I really enjoyed this book. Sticking to a schedule and not jumping ahead is going to be hard! Great review!!
The world is an interesting concept and I do love Nalini’s romances. Glad to hear you enjoyed the first book and I hope you like the next one! I really enjoyed the audio too.
I see it as more paranormal romance because there is a new couple in each book with overall story about the Psy and Changelings, I think. I thought I would love the Psy and I might hate them, at least the council. Thanks so much for joining in and reading with us!
Oh I didn’t realize it wasn’t going to continue with Sascha and Lucas! Yeah that would be more PNR. I won’t lie, I’m a little bummed to learn that, I’m not done with them. But I’m still looking forward to the next book.
I came to the series later and I had the same excited reaction about her exciting world. Lucas and Sascha will be in other books, but there are new couples for each book. You’ll have a whole bunch to love on. I’m listening to these this go around and loving Angela Dawe’s voice. Hard to hold back and not binge. 🙂
For some reason, I didn’t realize it wasn’t a series focused on them. I’m a little bummed, but excited to keep reading in this world.