Slave to Sensation

Sascha Duncan is a Psy; a member of the ruling race who have banished all emotion from their kind. One problem; Sascha is feeling. Her mother had always told her she was broken and she’s getting closer to falling apart. When a business deal brings her closer to the alpha of the local leopard changeling pack, everything she understands about her world is about to change.

The central idea of Slave to Sensation is a fantastic one, mashing together science fiction and urban fantasy elements. Why can’t a future world have weres too? The Psy have a hive mind, connected together by a network in their heads with mental barriers. I loved the sequences inside the net and wanted more exploration into this alternative consciousness.

The title is a bit of a clue to the bulk of the story though. Sascha is starting to feel and experience sensation. The Psy don’t touch and the changelings are all about body contact. However in the background is a serial killer story that had so much potential. It picked up near the end but it really was eclipsed by the sexy stuff. Yup, I now prefer serial killers to sex scenes!

Now, I’ve got a quite high tolerance to pointless sex after the Anita Blake series but it’s still not my most favourite thing when it doesn’t sit right in the plot or moves things along. First up are the sex dreams which seem to be a way to cheat at getting your characters together without getting them together. There wasn’t any real sexual tension because of this; it was just like they were together from the start. If there’s one thing I want in my sexy urban fantasy relationships, it’s tension.

The series was recommended to me and I think it’s quite established now so I’ll give it another go. I really want it to expand on the Psy side rather than the changelings as they weren’t my favourite weres.

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Also reviewed @ On a Book Bender | Gone with the Words | Book Chick City | Reading the Paranormal