Slave to Sensation is a great first book in the long-standing Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh

My rating: 4 of 5 stars (4.25 rounded down to a 4)

Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling paranormal fantasy series by Nalini Singh. The eBook version is 356 pages and has a dual POV which alternates between our two main characters Sascha and Lucas. I listened to the Tantor Audio produced audiobook, which clocks in around nine and a half hours and is narrated by Angela Dawe.

The worldbuilding in this book is pretty great. We’re on an alternate Earth with three types of races. Psys are psychic mages with a range of different powers such as telepathy, telekinesis, psychometry, and foresight. The most powerful Psys are called Cardinals; they can be identified by their eyes looking like white stars on black (like the night sky) when they are using a large amount of their power. A century before the present day a new protocol called Silence was decreed, in which Psys are conditioned to eliminate their emotions. This book gave me big Equilibrium vibes; yes, that movie with Christian Bale, go check it out!

Changelings can shift between human and animal, with some of them being dominant and others being more submissive. They are mate for life, and tend to form packs led by an alpha that are not necessarily exclusive to one single type of animal. The main two packs of shifters involved in the first book in the series are panthers and wolves. There are also humans in this world, caught in the middle of the power struggle between the other two races. We don’t delve too much into the humans in the first book.

There are several steamy scenes in this book, but as a whole it is much more of a paranormal mystery than a paranormal romance. Our heroine, Sascha, is a Psy who has emotions; a fact she needs to hide since Psys with defaults are usually eliminated. She becomes a partner in a business venture with Lucas, a panther Changeling, and they gradually fall for each other. Then, they team up further to sniff out a serial killer who has been targeting Changeling women. The clues point to said serial killer being a Psy, but they’re supposed to be non-violent since they don’t have emotions.

I’m so glad I finally picked up this series! I’d been recommended it a few times, since I’m a huge fan of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It was pretty easy to figure out who the killer was, but I still had a good time reading this, and I’ll definitely continue on in the series. There’s also some great casual diversity in this book.

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