Hostage to Pleasure by Nalini Singh

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...

Reviewed by mitabird on

4 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 April, 2009: Finished reading
  • 4 April, 2009: Reviewed