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Date published: September 5th, 2006
Publisher: Berkley Sensation/Penguin
Synopsis: Dive into a world torn apart by a powerful race with phenomenal powers of the mind—and none of the heart…
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 co-existence, 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 this 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…
Excerpt
This is a two part excerpt and I think both parts give you a really great look at what the story is about.
Excerpt From CHAPTER ONE
Review
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about hot and wickedly tempting rock stars (and one gorgeous ex-rugby player). If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.
Giveaway
This is a two part excerpt and I think both parts give you a really great look at what the story is about.
PROLOGUE
Silence
In an effort to reduce the overwhelming incidence of insanity and serial killing in the Psy population, the Psy Council decided, in the year 1969, to instigate a rigorous program called Silence. The aim of Silence was to condition young Psy from birth. The aim of the conditioning was to teach them not to feel rage.
However, the Council soon discovered that it was impossible to isolate that one emotion. In 1979, after a ten year debate over the millions of minds in the PsyNet, it was decided to change the aim of Silence. Its new mission was to condition young Psy to feel nothing. Not rage, not jealousy, not envy, not happiness and certainly not love.
Silence was a resounding success.
By the year 2079, when the fifth or sixth generation of Psy are being conditioned, everyone has forgotten that they had ever been any other way. The Psy are known to be icily controlled, inhumanly practical and impossible to push to violence.
They are the leaders of government and business, eclipsing both humans and changelings, races which allow their animal natures to rule them. With mental capabilities running from telepathy to foresight, telekinesis to psychometry, the Psy consider themselves a step up the evolutionary ladder.
In keeping with their nature, they base all their decisions on logic and efficiency. According to the PsyNet, their mistake rate is close to nil.
The Psy are perfect in their Silence.
Excerpt From CHAPTER ONE
“Mr. Hunter.”
Sascha looked up at the sound of her mother’s voice. And found herself within touching distance of the most dangerous male she’d ever seen. There was no other word to describe him. Well over six feet tall, he was built like the fighting machine he was in the wild, pure lean muscle and tensile strength.
His black hair brushed his shoulders but there was nothing soft about it. Instead, it hinted at unrestrained passion and the dark hunger of the leopard below the skin. She had no doubt she was in the presence of a predator.
Then he turned his head and she saw the right side of his face. Four jagged lines, reminiscent of the claw marks of some great beast, scored the muted gold of his skin. His eyes were a hypnotic green but it was those slashing markings that grabbed her attention. She’d never been this close to one of the changeling Hunters before.
“Ms. Duncan.” His voice was low and a little rough, as if caught on the edge of a growl.
“This is my daughter, Sascha. She’ll be the liaison for this project.”
“A pleasure, Sascha.” He tipped his head toward her, eyes lingering for a second longer than necessary.
“Likewise.” Could he hear the jagged beat of her pulse? Was it true that changeling senses were far superior to those of any other race?
“Please.” He gestured for them to take seats at the glass-topped table and remained standing until they’d done so. Then he chose a chair exactly opposite Sascha.
She forced herself to return his gaze, not fooled by the chivalry into dropping her guard. Hunters were trained to sniff out vulnerable prey. “We’ve looked at your offer,” she began.
“What do you think?” His eyes were remarkably clear, as calm as the deepest ocean. But there was nothing cold or practical about him, nothing that belied her first impression of him as something wild barely leashed.
“You must know that Psy-changeling business alliances rarely work. Competing priorities.” Nikita’s voice sounded utterly toneless in comparison to Lucas’s.
His responsive smile was so wicked, Sascha couldn’t look away. “In this case, I think we have the same ones. You need help to plan and execute housing that’ll appeal to changelings. I want an inside track on new Psy projects.”
Sascha knew that that couldn’t be all of it. They needed him but he didn’t need them, not when DarkRiver’s business interests were extensive enough to rival their own. The world was changing under the noses of the Psy, the human and changeling races no longer content to be second best. It was a measure of their arrogance that most of her people continued to ignore the slow shift in power.
Sitting so close to the contained fury that was Lucas Hunter, she wondered at the blindness of her brethren. “If we deal with you, we’ll expect the same level of reliability that we’d get if we went with a Psy construction and design firm.”
Lucas looked across at the icy perfection of Sascha Duncan and wished he knew what it was about her that was bugging the hell out of him. His beast was snarling and pacing the cage of his mind, ready to pounce out and sniff at her sedate dark-grey pantsuit. “Of course,” he said, fascinated by the tiny flickers of white light that came and went in the darkness of her eyes.
He’d seldom been this close to a cardinal Psy. They were rare enough that they didn’t mingle with the masses, being given high posts in the Psy Council as soon as they reached any kind of mature age. Sascha was young but there was nothing untried about her. She looked as ruthless as the rest of her race, as unfeeling and as cold.
She could be abetting a killer.
Any one of them could be. It was why DarkRiver had been stalking high-level Psy for months, looking for a way to penetrate their defenses. The Duncan project was an unbelievable chance. Not only was Nikita powerful in her own right, she was a member of the innermost circle–the Psy Council. Once Lucas was in, it would be his job to find out the identity of the sadistic Psy who’d stolen the life of one of DarkRiver’s women…and execute him.
No mercy. No forgiveness.
Review
As someone who has read romance for over twenty years and paranormal occasionally and sporadically, it's almost impossible to not know Nalini Singh. I've read and loved her Guild Hunter Series as well her latest contemporary Rock Kiss Series. Her Psy-Changeling Series is undoubtedly her most popular series and the 14th book in the series will be coming out on June 2nd. Until this past week, I hadn't read a single book in that series. I wasn't very interested in people with mental powers and shape shifters, and certainly not together. I was also daunted by the size of the series, right up to the point where I started reading and everything faded away and I started learning about Psy Net and the changelings.
It was very easy to like Lucas Hunter and Sascha Duncan. These two might be different races and have different personalities, but they had a lot in common. Lucas was very stoic, focused, driven, and determined. Learning about him wasn't always easy because his tragic past was slowly revealed and it hurt to read about all he'd been through. He was a true alpha male and very, very determined to get to the bottom of what was being hidden from him and the other shifter tribe. I loved how loose he was around those he trusted and loved. It didn't come easy for him with others, but with Sascha and those who had seen what he'd been through growing up, he was a softy at times.
Sascha was more of an enigma than Lucas. She had the capability to be extremely strong and high ranking among her people, but she hadn't manifested to the degree she was capable of. Sascha also knew she wasn't going to be able to stay for long, because as a people who'd manage to get rid of all feelings, her shields were beginning to crack, and not even her mother would help her. I loved how brilliant Sascha was. I also loved her determination to do right by everyone, even if it might mean her death. She was honorable, intelligent, beautiful, and so resourceful.
Sascha and Lucas had some amazing chemistry. Their attraction to one another might not have been obvious to each other when they first met, but it was certainly there. I love how it slowly developed and soon was like an all out burning conflagration. Not all of it was physical, as the melding of their minds was often enough to make me hot and bothered. I loved seeing Sascha open up and learn new things about her powers. I especially loved how Lucas protected her, even when those around her would've preferred to slit her throat. Seeing them work together to solve what was going on was at times nerve wracking, but it was impossible to put down.
Nalini Singh has done an amazing job at setting up this new world, with new races, and still tell this fantastic story. At no point did I feel overwhelmed by all the information that was being introduced. It was all seamlessly integrated. I eagerly devoured this book. I'm extremely happy knowing there are thirteen more books and umpteen more short stories in this series. I have so many questions and I can't wait to see more of the changelings I met fall in love. There seem to be so many stories in this world, and I can't wait to see how Nalini takes me on a different journey each time. It was so easy to see what I was missing out on once I finished reading this book. It just goes to show any prejudices I might have against a book or series can almost always be proven null and void once I start reading it. If you've been holding off reading this series for whatever reason, I strongly urge you pick it up and find out what you've been missing out on!
*Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*
About the Author
NEW YORK TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about hot and wickedly tempting rock stars (and one gorgeous ex-rugby player). If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.
Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Also, don't forget to swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page for the Rock Kiss series, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the books.
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