Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

I was a rather late comer to the wonder that is Ms Singh’s Psy/Changeling universe. By the time I jumped on the wagon, I had three most excellent books to read and a fourth just around the corner. Ah, the joys of discovering a great author with a long backlist!

Now, I’m in the throes of waiting (with no patience whatsoever) for the fifth installment, and have decided that if I am suffering, there’s no reason for those few people out there who haven’t read this series not to suffer with me. See how generous I am, spreading the addiction?

Without further ado, here’s the back cover blurb:

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 coexistence, 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 his 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…

Granted, this blurb is not horrible, but, frankly, neither does it properly reflect the coolness that is this book.

The world building in this series is simply topnotch. After a barebones page and a half prologue, Ms Singh doesn’t overwhelm the readers with long sessions of info dumping or back story, relying instead on the characters’ actions and thoughts to unveil the cultural and political background of this alternative future.

Yes, this is a romance of the paranormal variety, but it is also a complex and well told story with an overarching conflict that involves humanity as a whole rather than only these two people. (more…)