Nalini Singh - Slave to Sensation
First of all, this is the first book I've read which I got from recs here. Everything I've reviewed or read before has been picked up randomly in bookshelves. I can't remember who recommended 'Slave to Sensation', I'm afraid, but I would like to thank them very much.
So, on with the review! I have to say when 'Slave to Sensation' arrived from Amazon I have to admit I did briefly panic. The title, the half naked man on the cover and the very purple blurb on the back briefly had me convinced that I'd bought a bad Laurell K Hamilton rip off, at best, and soft p0rn at worst. I wasn't much soothed by my flatmate, who wandered in, picked it up, coughed, apologized and put it down again as if she'd found me reading Penthouse.
However, for anyone who might have the same response, don't! I won't lie - 'Slave to Sensation' is at least 50% romance, and there is a good dollop of dubious hormonal activity between the two leads, but that doesn't stop it from being a good story, with some really strong characters, and a really interesting world/plot which is really what kept me engaged.
As a note, Nalini Singh also fills her world with a really diverse mix of people - a lot of the characters are very clearly marked as PoC. Sascha, who is the lead character, for example, looks Anglo-Indian (her father is Anglo-Indian, I believe), but also has Japanese heritage. I can't remember if Lucas (the hero) is white or not, but I know several members of his pack are marked as dark skinned, and the heroine's mother is of mixed European-Japanese heritage. Race is also brought up a couple of times as an issue characters face, although it's not hugely relevent to the plot.
The backdrop is a world in which there are three main races. There are humans (who don't really feature in the story), Changelings (who aren't fairy types, as I assumed they would be, but shapeshifters of various forms) and Psy (who are psychics). The Psy are essentially the ruling caste. One hundred years ago, the prelude tells me, they decided to try and eliminate problems with serial killers amongst their people by instituting 'Silence' - a programme which prevents any Psy from feeling emotion.
Sascha Duncan, the Psy heroine of the story, is a Psy who feels emotion and has spent her life trying to hide this. She meets Lucas, a seriously alpha male were-panther and there is chemistry and romance, whilst the two of them try and track a Psy serial killer and save a werewolf.
I really enjoyed this. It wasn't deep reading, but it did cheer me up hugely, and I have to say I found both leads really strong, very sexy, but still real and three dimensional enough to keep me engaged. The world is an interesting one, and whilst the plot was kinda a backdrop to the romance, it was actually nicely thought out and had me hooked. I wish Nalini Singh had done a little more with the villain - he was fantastic, but rather underused.
I've already ordered the next in the series from amazon, and suspect that Nalini Singh is going straight to the top of my 'comfort reading' pile for some time.
So, on with the review! I have to say when 'Slave to Sensation' arrived from Amazon I have to admit I did briefly panic. The title, the half naked man on the cover and the very purple blurb on the back briefly had me convinced that I'd bought a bad Laurell K Hamilton rip off, at best, and soft p0rn at worst. I wasn't much soothed by my flatmate, who wandered in, picked it up, coughed, apologized and put it down again as if she'd found me reading Penthouse.
However, for anyone who might have the same response, don't! I won't lie - 'Slave to Sensation' is at least 50% romance, and there is a good dollop of dubious hormonal activity between the two leads, but that doesn't stop it from being a good story, with some really strong characters, and a really interesting world/plot which is really what kept me engaged.
As a note, Nalini Singh also fills her world with a really diverse mix of people - a lot of the characters are very clearly marked as PoC. Sascha, who is the lead character, for example, looks Anglo-Indian (her father is Anglo-Indian, I believe), but also has Japanese heritage. I can't remember if Lucas (the hero) is white or not, but I know several members of his pack are marked as dark skinned, and the heroine's mother is of mixed European-Japanese heritage. Race is also brought up a couple of times as an issue characters face, although it's not hugely relevent to the plot.
The backdrop is a world in which there are three main races. There are humans (who don't really feature in the story), Changelings (who aren't fairy types, as I assumed they would be, but shapeshifters of various forms) and Psy (who are psychics). The Psy are essentially the ruling caste. One hundred years ago, the prelude tells me, they decided to try and eliminate problems with serial killers amongst their people by instituting 'Silence' - a programme which prevents any Psy from feeling emotion.
Sascha Duncan, the Psy heroine of the story, is a Psy who feels emotion and has spent her life trying to hide this. She meets Lucas, a seriously alpha male were-panther and there is chemistry and romance, whilst the two of them try and track a Psy serial killer and save a werewolf.
I really enjoyed this. It wasn't deep reading, but it did cheer me up hugely, and I have to say I found both leads really strong, very sexy, but still real and three dimensional enough to keep me engaged. The world is an interesting one, and whilst the plot was kinda a backdrop to the romance, it was actually nicely thought out and had me hooked. I wish Nalini Singh had done a little more with the villain - he was fantastic, but rather underused.
I've already ordered the next in the series from amazon, and suspect that Nalini Singh is going straight to the top of my 'comfort reading' pile for some time.