Hostage to Pleasure (Psy/Changeling, #5)

by Nalini Singh

A rebel Psy scientist finds herself at the mercy of a changeling who has sworn vengeance against her kind in this thrilling romance in Nalini Singh’s New York Times bestselling series.

Separated from her son and forced to create a neural implant that will mean the effective enslavement of her psychically gifted race, Ashaya Aleine is the perfect Psy—cool, calm, emotionless...at least on the surface. Inside, she’s fighting a desperate battle to save her son and escape the vicious cold of the PsyNet. Yet when escape comes, it leads not to safety, but to the lethal danger of a sniper’s embrace.

DarkRiver sniper Dorian Christensen lost his sister to a Psy killer. Though he lacks the changeling ability to shift into animal form, his leopard lives within. And that leopard’s rage at the brutal loss is a clawing darkness that hungers for vengeance. Falling for a Psy has never been on Dorian’s agenda. But charged with protecting Ashaya and her son, he discovers that passion has a way of changing the rules...

• ISBN10: 0425223256
• ISBN13: 9780425223253
• Publish Date: 2 September 2008 (first published 1 September 2008)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425223253

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

Hostage to Pleasure is the fifth full-length novel to Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling series. I was excited and nervous to read Dorian’s book, especially after reading the previous book. Although, I knew Nalini Singh wasn’t going to disappoint since her stories and characters are addicting.

Storyline/My Thoughts: I’m going to try to make this review short and sweet since I read this book a while ago and never got a chance to review it until now.

Dorian has become a favorite character of mine since he was introduced. He’s gone through so much that I couldn’t wait for him to get a HEA. He deserves it. However, I was worried after realizing who he would end up with since he still can’t trust a Psy. It took him a while to trust the ones who are now in his pack. He has a reason not to trust Psy since one killed his sister. Now, Dorian will protect the Psy in his pack with his life. One thing to know is that Dorian can’t shift, but that doesn’t stop him from being protective of his pack members. It also helps that he has all these skills to help with his pack, which I loved about him.

What about the female protagonist who wins over Dorian? (It takes a while, though, to win him over. I wouldn’t label these fated mates but enemies to lovers.) Ashaya Aleine is an M-Psy who was introduced in the previous book. She helped save children from the Psy since she didn’t like what her kind was doing to them. She has her own child to worry about, and she has the changelings to save her son. Now, the Psy has it out for Ashaya. The biggest threat is her twin sister, Amara. I really didn’t like Amara, and I sometimes didn’t like Ashaya. Amara was very possessive to her twin sister, and Ashaya was kind of protective of her sister. It drove me crazy.

Don’t get me wrong; I loved how Nalini had a female protagonist with a twin sister in the book. I hardly read books that involved twins in them. I wish more books had twins and even triplets, etc. However, this time, one twin was intimidating, especially after finding out why Ashaya has to protect her son from her twin sister.

My favorite parts in this book involved Ashaya’s son, Keenan. The sweet moments between him and his mother made the book for me. I also love how the other changelings took him in and protected him.

I loved the world-building and characters in this world that Nalini created, and I can’t wait to continue reading this series, so I can finally catch up on it. Overall, this book receives four stars. It may not have five stars, but I still enjoyed it.

Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of a series and I highly recommend reading in order.

Steaminess: Some Steam.

HEA: Yes.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I’ve recommended every book I’ve read from Nalini Singh. Since I found her Guild Hunter series, she’s become a favorite author, and now I’m enjoying the Psy/Changeling series. I highly recommend this series to Paranormal Romance readers.

[Berls]

Hostage to Pleasure was another great addition to the series - not necessarily my favorite, but definitely in the running. I buddy read this one with Anne and as always we had lots of misguided guesses and ended with a bunch of new questions that I'm eager to see answered as the series progresses.

I think there were 3 things that really made this book stand out as a favorite for me.

1 - undoubtedly, Ashaya Aleine is the number 1 reason I liked this book. She's a Psy-mother, something we haven't gotten this close to yet. It perhaps pulled me a little bit more because I have a toddler right now and so her protective feelings and tenderness towards her child (4 years old, if I remember correctly) was very familiar to me. There were some unexpected developments in that area which I think speak to the sensitivity that Nalini Singh brings to issues (so naturally, I sometimes wonder if it's unintentional). I think it's partly that she's a mother and partly her nature, but Ashaya is fiercely determined. I really enjoyed her character.

2 - In some part because of Ashaya's determined nature, a lot of things happen in Hostage to Pleasure to further the plot. I feel like we're learning more and more about the various powers on the Psy Council and about the Psy Net. And Humans are coming into the story as a potential power player after all, in unexpected ways (at least for me). And this created quite a bit of solid action/tension. As more of an Urban Fantasy than Paranormal Romance reader, I enjoy this so much more than the romance. Hostage to Pleasure started out the most exciting I've seen yet - really launching off from the semi-cliff the last book left us on - and there were a lot more tense moments to match that pace throughout.

3 - We really saw a lot more of previous couples, even getting to have some of their POVs for a section of the book. I always enjoy revisiting couples we knew previously - in this case, we got a decent amount of Sascha and Lucas along with some others.

I do have a couple minor criticisms. First of all - Dorian. I was eager for his book. We met him back in book 1 and we've seen glimpses throughout the other books as he heals emotionally from what happened to his sister. We also know he is unable to shift - he's latent (never been able to shift). I had such high hopes for his book - I was eagerly anticipating it. I think that Ashaya and her problems eclipse him though. I'm not saying that I want less of her, but I was underwhelmed by the way his long-term issues were handled. I guess some of it is that her issues, exacerbate his and solving her problems ends up becoming the priority. We do get his darkness and there is some truly great moments with his connection to her son. And I did enjoy their romance though - complete with their trust issues and his struggle to overcome his hatred for the Psy. So it's minor, I just wanted MORE.

His shifting - along with another issue I won't name because it's a slight spoiler - felt like the big issues of the book (because I don't get too hung up on the relationship issues, they aren't my worry). And - my 2nd criticism - they were wrapped up entirely too easily, in my opinion. I worried and contemplated them the whole book and... well I don't want to spoil, but while I like the end result well enough, I'm not satisfied with how we got there.

Third, and this is really minor, but I think there's a mistake in a time reference. In the last book I could have sworn we found out we had moved forward 2 years, but Sascha in this book, says she and Lucas have been mated for a year and a half. Seriously minor and maybe I'm even wrong (correct me if I am, seriously). REGARDLESS, I wish we had a clearer sense of time passing throughout the series; that would alleviate clinging to those tiny moments that tell you where we are in time and possibly misunderstanding/confusing.

The way this book wrapped up, I still have tons of questions that I can't wait to have answered in the next few books. I plan to continue listening because I adore Angela Dawe and I particularly enjoyed her voice for Ashaya's 4 year old son in this book. She's a fantastic narrator and I've yet to be disappointed by her performance.

[thebookdisciple]

Continuing to add layers to the story. Human Alliance, Anthony as a council member, and a dark mind on the web of stars!

[Rowena]

Book 5 of the Psy-Changeling series is the story of Dorian Christensen and Ashaya Aleine.

Dorian Christensen is the changeling cat that can’t shift and Ashaya Aleine is the M-Psy who was leading the studies on bringing Protocol I into play for the Psy Council. Protocol I would create a hive mind that the Council will rule over and take away the individuality of each Psy. They would be a one mind kind of people and it’s not anything that would bring any good to the Psy race.

Dorian hates the Psy race as a whole, with the exception of Faith NightStar and Sascha Duncan. Both Faith and Sascha are mated to Dorian’s friend and alpha and have proven worthy to be a part of the pack but Ashaya Aleine hasn’t. He’s a sniper who helped his friend Clay rescue some human children that were taken for experimentation by the Psy Council. It was Ashaya who helped them escape the testing being conducted and when she defects and escapes the Psy Council as well, Dorian doesn’t trust her.

But Dorian has Ashaya’s son and though she refuses to see him, Dorian can’t help but wonder why. As DarkRiver tries to get answers for why Ashaya defected from the Psy and why she seems hellbent on putting a target on her back, Dorian is intrigued by her at the same time that he’s pissed off about being attracted to a Psy woman. He hasn’t forgotten that the Psy are responsible for killing his younger sister and the more he finds out about Ashaya, the more she seems no better than the Psy he hates. And still, he wants her.

I really enjoyed this book. A lot more than Mine to Possess. I enjoyed both Dorian and Ashaya’s characters as well as their background.

I loved Dorian in the previous books so I knew that I was going to love him in this book and I wasn’t disappointed. Dorian was a great hero and I really love the love that he came to have for both Ashaya and her son. I loved seeing him struggle with his feelings for Ashaya and then when he finally wised up and admitted to himself how he really felt, I loved how he wouldn’t let Ashaya dismiss what was going on between them.

I really loved when he said:

“No.” He shook his head, shoving wet strands of hair off his face. “We made choices, you and I. But the time for choices is over.”

*swoon*

I seriously loved me some Dorian.

Then there was Ashaya.

I wasn’t expecting to like her nearly as much as I did. I thought she was pretty fantastic and is probably my favorite Psy woman in the Dark River pack. Her reasons for everything she did, her loyalty to her family and the lengths she went to protect them was pretty damn admirable. I liked seeing her fall in love with Dorian. Watching her go from not knowing what to do with Dorian, trying to keep her distance from Keenan to keep him safe, seeing her try to take on the Psy Council to protect her loved ones was all just freaking great. It was interesting and I found that I couldn’t read this book fast enough.
Nalini Singh seems to be my author of the year because I’m reading a lot of fantastic things from her this year. I’m still kicking myself because it’s taken me far too long to fall in with this series. This series is fantastic and this book was another great addition to an already fabulous series. I’m so thirsty for more!

[EBookObsessed]

This one disappointed me a bit. I was looking forward to Dorian's story and it just wasn't my favorite. Dorian becomes a bit of a jerk around Ashaya while he is usually the fun playful guy.

Disappointed in this one.

[Hixxup]

Dorian, I've felt bad for since meeting him in the first book.With the loss of his sister and the fact of being latent. I always felt, that he needed a good story, that he needed to find his happily ever after everything he had been through. After having saved some children from a psy lab, Dorian had met Ashaya the mother of Keenan, the psy child Dorian and other members of his pack, had rescued. Throughout this book after Ashaya had escaped from the lab in search for her son to make sure he lived, she comes across Dorian. Interesting enough is that since these two met in the last book, they have been having wild erotic dreams of each other. But afraid to let herself go because of her sociopath twin sister Amara, becoming a menace and hurting people. So she struggles with Dorian, knowing that they belong together, and that her son is save and sound and clearly linked & attached to Dorian. Meanwhile, the psy council is on the hunt for Ashaya, because she is the key to some of their major plans. While reading this book, not only was there romance, and clearly some action (not talking about the sex *winks*) there is more plotting going on. It's definitely keeping me intrigue'd so that the romance parts don't start to get stale. I also love these books, and it's going to sound silly, but I love these books, because I love how the layouts of these people's houses are, caves, treehouses, glass houses covered entirely by vines and forest foliage. It's crazy I know but I love hearing the style of all the different domains in these books, it makes the world more vibrant in my eyes. So it's makes everything else even more vibrant because the packs are hidden well within the forest, so you have to imagine the creativity put into the housing arrangement of these changling. Anywho, I love this series and i'm gonna continue to read them until the come to their conclusion.

[wyvernfriend]

Ashaya Aleine has escaped from the Psy, she's trying to keep her sanity, keep her child safe, keep the Psy from imposing a device that will make most of the Psy into slaves. Dorian Christensen is a DarkRiver sniper and lost his sister to a Psy psychopathic killer, he hates psy and cannot see a future for himself anywhere near a psy, but plans have ways of changing when (authors) and romance get in the way.

It's pretty predictable, I wish there was more about the background and why people sleepwalked into this control and vulcanlike supression. It's pretty close to bending my suspension of disbelief beyond my usually flexible tolerance, it just doesn't feel real enough for me.

The story is entertaining enough and I'm curious to know what's going to happen, but I don't really care about the romances, it's pretty clear where they're going during the story.

[Linda]

Ashaya and Dorian's story was even better than the previous stories. They were SO different, and honed to hate each other, but still ended up loving each other against all odds. Beautifully written, and the other characters stayed true to character.

I can't wait to read Hawke's story! And I look forward to learning more about the psy / changeling / human difficulties.

[Melanie]

The more I read this series the more I like it. I always like Dorian so it was great to see him with a happy ending. It was also good to see Ashaya get a happy ending after what she did for the kids in the last book.

[mitabird]

This doesn't have any true spoilers, but I do allude to a few things.

Hostage to Pleasure was pretty good, though I had a couple of issues with it. Dorian is a DarkRiver Sentinel who does not have the ability to shift into his leopard form. He hates all Psy because a sociopath Psy murdered his sister and he feels a lot of guilt and rage. Ashaya is a Council scientist in charge of developing an implant that will make the PsyNet a hive mind. Ashaya is slowly breaking down from Silence and needs help to free her son. He's been kidnapped by the Council to make sure she cooperates.

Dorian and Ashaya met at the end of Mine to Possess and haven't been able to stop thinking of each other in the three months that have past. I really liked Dorian and Ashaya; they were perfect together and I thought their romance was sweet, in spite of the many issues they had to work around. Ashaya was the first female that I felt empathy for in the series so far. I liked the other women (except for Tally; I couldn't stand her), but she seemed more real to me. I think it's because of she was never really conditioned in the first place. Dorian was a great male without being overbearing. As much as he doesn't seem to want it, he loves fiercely and will do anything to protect what belongs to him. I did like the fact that the author introduced a new threat to the Changelings, keeping the storyline fresh and intriguing.

One of my issues was the surprising lack of passion between them. I just couldn't see or feel it. As I mentioned, it was sweet, but I was expecting more. Singh tends to get a little repetitious, which is probably my biggest pet peeve. I did find it a little distracting, but she eased off of it as the story progressed. My last issue was the ending. Without giving anything away, I didn't think it was necessary. I understood the need and desire for this to happen, but it seemed a little convenient and a little false. I would have been OK if it never happened or if it happened a few years later. Overall, it was an entertaining read and a good addition to this series.