The Psy are a race of cerebral beings who for the past one hundred years have enforced Silence, a protocol implemented to breed all emotion out of the populace. I closed the book and thought, “Wow! This may be the best paranormal I’ve ever read.” Revisiting the origins of Singh’s Psy/Changeling series in audio format recalls all the reasons to admire the clever, deceptively simple world-building that imagines the way things might be in 2079. I read Slave to Sensation when it was first published in 2006. I also like that while this book is the first in a series, it also works as a stand-alone book and doesn't leave the listener at a cliff hanger. I have listened to romances where I cringed at the language and had to fast forward past the scene, but this book never made me do that. This is a romance, so expect explicit sex scenes. Each society is distinct and hints of a long, rich history.

I love how the relationship between these two builds and how the author builds the psy and changeling societies. The changelings use touch to affirm their relationships and for comfort and play. The changelings can't imagine how a society as insular as the psy can function the changelings' biggest strength is that they are not alone. Lucas is a member of the changeling society and he was raised with deep, protective emotions for his family and clan. Unfortunately for Sasha, she has emotions. Sasha's mother is a powerful member of the psy council and Sasha is expected to be a perfect psy. Such apathy leads each individual psy to be physically separate, even avoiding touch. Their people have trained themselves to block out all emotions to avoid the emotions that could lead to violence. Sasha is a psy who has been taught that emotion leads to madness in people who have psychic abilities. I am so glad I indulged and I just 3 hours into listening, I knew I'd purchase book 2. I read this book years ago and while I remembered it fondly, I was a little reluctant to get the audio version.

Slave to sensation by nalini singh