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Slave to Sensation (Psy-Changeling, #1)

Nalini Singh

Start date: January 1, 2012

Finish date: January 31, 2012

Discussion: Challenges: What's the Rush

Why we're reading this: Part of our group series re-read in prep for the 2012 release of "Tangle of Need". See "Re-read the Psy-C…more
[close] Part of our group series re-read in prep for the 2012 release of "Tangle of Need". See "Re-read the Psy-Changeling Books 2012" for more details.

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Challenges: What's the Rush

* 2025 Series Read: K.N. Banet's "Jacky Leon"
By Steph , Serious series addict · 103 posts · 33 views

last updated Sep 26, 2025 08:29PM

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* YEAR-LONG CHALLENGES
By Steph , Serious series addict · 1 post · 389 views

last updated Aug 17, 2010 11:14PM

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What Members Thought

Sep 29, 2010 Katyana rated it it was amazing

Shelves: abuse, shapeshifters, favorites, uf, romance, fantasy, pnr

Wow! I mean, seriously, wow. I sat down this afternoon and read this whole thing in one big gulp. It was fabulous. My only regret is that it took me so damn long to pick this one up off my TBR shelf. What's not to like? I can't think of a single damn thing. What a fabulous introduction to this world.

***4.5*** ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 29, 2009 Literary Ames rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: weres-shifters, favourites, dtb, 1st-in-series, m-tbr, read-in-2010, sci-fi, paranormal-romance, futuristic

I'm a fan of the author's UF Guild Hunter books and wanted to see what her futuristic PNR series was like so I read this. It was brilliant. I loved it, I loved it, I loved it! The only thing I could criticise was the ending. I thought there would be a big fight scene with casualties on both sides but this wasn't enough to stop me from giving it 5 stars, the detailed world and variety of characters were too good to give it anything less! Please don't be put off by the US covers, it's not as chees ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 28, 2010 Nairabell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal-romance, 5-star, read-in-2011

Sascha Duncan is a Psy, a race that instituted a program called Silence decades ago to eliminate all emotion. All Psy are supposed to be cold and unfeeling, but Sascha is broken...she can and does feel but must hide her emotions as discovery would lead to her mind being erased. Her latest job is to work with panther changeling Lucas Hunter on a building project. Lucas has his own reasons for wanting to work with Sascha - one of the Psy has been murdering changeling women and Lucas thinks Sascha ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 06, 2010 Lisarenee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal

So this book deals with the Psy and Changelings. Psys are Psychics with the ability to communicate with each other via their minds. If a Psy is split from the PsyNet they will die. Each Psy also possesses abilities which vary from person to person. Some can manipulate people's will while others can read minds. They are lead by the Council and years ago a program was set in place in an attempt to curb the amount of insanity that was created within the populace. This program was called the Silence ...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Valerie rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2011

If I wasn't familiar with Nalini Singh via her Guild Hunter novels, I almost certainly would've passed this over because of its cover. "Shirtless dude? Purple? Smoke? Slave to Sensation? Dear God, what is this?"

In the end, a) I'm glad I didn't let that stop me; b) I really, really, really wish that this was the universal cover:

Slave to Sensation (Psy-Changeling, #1) by Nalini Singh

because I wonder how many people went "LOL WHAT IS THIS" and passed off on a great story.

Set in the late 21st century, the main character, Sascha, is a Psy. The Psy w If I wasn't familiar with Nalini Singh via her Guild Hunter novels, I almost certainly would've passed this over because of its cover. "Shirtless dude? Purple? Smoke? Slave to Sensation? Dear God, what is this?"

In the end, a) I'm glad I didn't let that stop me; b) I really, really, really wish that this was the universal cover:

because I wonder how many people went "LOL WHAT IS THIS" and passed off on a great story.

Set in the late 21st century, the main character, Sascha, is a Psy. The Psy were perfected using a method called Silence, a program instigated in 1979 to remove any type of emotion - sound and logical, they were supposed to be the perfect race. The problem: Sascha feels, and if anybody finds out, it could mean her demise.

She is assigned to work with Lucas, a leopard changeling and the alpha male of his "pack" - the DarkRivers. The changelings are the polar opposite of the Psy - for them, even the most casual of physical contact is a way of life. Immediately, he notices something different about Sascha, and becomes attracted to her despite a deep-seated hatred between both races - the changelings consider Psy cold and monstrous, and the Psy consider changelings amusing and unrefined. And when a series of changeling murders with a Psy taint is brought to the surface, Sascha eventually has no choice but to get further involved with the workings of the pack.

I'm not really sure what to categorize this as. The romance definitely plays a large part (and I actually found the scenes between Sascha and Lucas amazing - Singh writes emotion incredibly well, and she did a good job of Sascha slowly getting accustomed to touch), but it's set against a sci-fi backdrop with political intrigue and murder. I've seen this classified as "paranormal romance", but this is more sci-fi than supernatural. Either way, it's really fast-paced and a captivating read.

My only problem is that, despite the strength of the writing, plot, and characters, a better editor should have looked this over. On page 44, there is a sentence that reads, "Stubbornness had always been her Achilles' heal." There are various other little errors at well, but... heal? Come ON.

Overall: recommended. ...more

1 like · Like · see review