Guest Reviewer Brandi Ziglar-Jones Reviews Nalini Singh's Slave To Sensation

Brandi Ziglar Jones

Review: Slave to Sensation

Author: Nalini Singh

Slave to Sensation is Nalini Singh’s first novel in the Psy-Changeling series. The series has eight books currently available for purchase with the ninth coming out sometime this year.

I’ll admit at first I was very reluctant to give this book a try. I started on Singh’s Guild Hunter Series last year and I was less than impressed. I had already written her off, when one of my close friends told me that Slave to Sensation was totally different and I just had to give this book a try. I couldn’t imagine one of her earlier works being any better than her newer works but one day out of sheer boredom I decided to give this book a try.

I couldn’t put it down! I was hooked and finished the book in one day, all the while wondering to myself how did she manage to make this book so interesting and fresh when the Guild series is so blah?!?

Lucas’ and Sascha’s story is like no other. Singh has successfully refreshed a genre that can get boring and tedious after a while. The Psy is a race who adheres to a strict code of Silence. Silence was instituted to stamp out emotions such as rage in an effort to help their people prosper. Silence was so effective that it managed to erase all other emotion, rendering the Psy an emotionless race whose only concern is money and technology. All Psy are linked by the NetWeb a sort of internet for the mind, without this link they could die, but this link can also be dangerous as it can expose Psy that are having mental break downs. In the Psy-Changeling world a Psy that begins to show emotion is considered broken, and let’s just say it is not a happy ending for Psy that are defective. Sascha is a cardinal Psy who has yet to see the extent of her full power. Each Psy has a designation and Sascha, at 28 still does not know which Psy category she falls in to. Lucas’ is the Alpha of the Dark River clan, a pack of leopards that have integrated themselves in to the human/Psy world. He and Sascha meet because of a business deal that the Psy are trying to complete with the leopards. Lucas is interested in more than just a business deal, he has reason to believe that a Psy is responsible for a number of Changeling deaths and he intends to find out what he can about the murders. However things change for Lucas upon meeting Sascha and Sascha begins to feel things that no Psy is ever suppose to feel….

Pros of this book

Nalini is an author that is very aware of her surroundings. It is 2010 and many people are of mixed heritage and culture. I love the fact that she always has a very diverse cast of characters in her books.

The characters are believable. I believed that Sascha was an emotionless droid who was beginning to crack. In a rare turn of events, I would say that almost every character added to the book.

The story flowed well. I believe that Singh did an excellent job with integrating me in to the Psy-Changeling world while still managing to keep the attention on Sascha and Lucas’ love story.

The love scenes were HOT! At the end of the day it is a romance book and if the sex scenes aren’t steamy the book would be a flop. This is no problem for Singh! Lucas is hot, Sascha is hot and together they are even hotter! I was captivated by a cold emotionless Psy’s descent in to pure abandon. It was choreographed to perfection!

Not the same old romance story. Sascha was not just from a different clan or race, she was literally worlds apart from Lucas. Seeing how their romance developed was interesting and new. It was definitely not your typical rigmarole love story and it was absolutely captivating, my favorite aspect of the book.

The ending was satisfying. Without giving a way to much, one of the huge barriers between Sascha and Lucas was that no Psy could live without the NetWeb, but no Psy could live in the NetWeb while feeling emotion. Problem, how do we get Sascha out of the NetWeb so that we can be together? I thought that Singh resolved this well and while I won’t say “I was completely shocked” I will say that it wrapped up nicely.

Cons of this book

Singh’s writing. Don’t get me wrong, the story flowed and the book was interesting but Singh has a penchant to go off on a tangent about how great the characters are. I would rather be shown than told. She did a good enough job showing me the characters were great, so it was just confusing why she felt she had to shove it down my throat!

Plot. Some romance writers have a talent for integrating an actual plot in to their love stories. Singh is not one of those writers. The plot was secondary to the story and truthfully it was very weak. I didn’t mind though because this love story was different. I honestly didn’t need the thinly veiled plot because I was totally engrossed in Sascha and Lucas’ love story.

Staminia? While I loved this book and find it engrossing as well as endearing, this series currently has nine books and I have no idea how she is going to keep this series as fresh, hot and different as the first book.

Bottom Line. No matter how you feel about Singh or this genre this book is an absolute must read!

I give it 5 stars!

Product Details

Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Berkley (September 5, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425212866
ISBN-13: 978-0425212868
Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches