Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Changeling, #5) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Feb 03, 2010 Beanbag Love rated it really liked it

Nalini Singh drives me a little nuts. Every one of the Psy-Changeling books I've read has made me so frustrated in the first half and then made me love it in the second. I swear, it's at 50% in each book that things pick up.

In Hostage to Pleasure we get the story of two characters we've met in earlier books. Dorian, the latent leopard changeling, has been around since he wanted to rip out Sascha's throat in the first book. Ashaya was introduced in the last book -- Mine to Possess -- although I t Nalini Singh drives me a little nuts. Every one of the Psy-Changeling books I've read has made me so frustrated in the first half and then made me love it in the second. I swear, it's at 50% in each book that things pick up.

In Hostage to Pleasure we get the story of two characters we've met in earlier books. Dorian, the latent leopard changeling, has been around since he wanted to rip out Sascha's throat in the first book. Ashaya was introduced in the last book -- Mine to Possess -- although I think she might have been referenced in Caressed by Ice.

Dorian's a fave. The guy who can't shift, who's all pent up because of his 'disability', his sister's murder and the continuing stress of a war with the Psy. Ashaya is an M-Psy who's been working on the Protocol 1 chip that will create a hive mind among the Psy. Naturally, she's been rogue for a while and finds herself needing to escape. Dorian ends up being her bodyguard which is kind of nice for both of them since they've been obsessing over each other since he threatened to kill her in Mine to Possess.

Ashaya's got all kinds of other problems that I won't go into, but, without giving any specifics, these probs were what annoyed me. For fully half of the book we got her POV saying things like: "it wasn't {blank}, it was something far worse". This was said about three different things multiple times. At one point I said "oh give me a break!" out loud and put the book down for the night I was so annoyed. That's not creating suspense, it's creating frustration.

Interestingly enough, as soon as some of that actual information started to be shared with the reader the book became very enjoyable.

So, having seen that K is working on "Slave to Sensation" and feeling frustrated, I think it's not just me. Keep going, get past that 50% mark and suddenly you've got a heck of a story. Since this was book five, I doubt the template's going to change much. By the last book -- the fourth in the series -- I knew to look forward to that halfway point, knowing I would really get into it by then.

There you have it. The second half is five stars. The first half is three stars (at most). A solid four star read by the end.

**for those who have read it -- possible spoiler follows**

I wanted more from the epilogue. There were reactions beyond that little group that I wanted to read about. I wish I hadn't had to write that sequence in my head, because I think it would have been relevant to the story as a whole. ...more

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