My journey into Nalini Singh's incredible world that is Psy-Changeling

 

 

In the paranormal romance adventure that is the Psy-Changeling series, we're taken into the future to a time where the Psy, a race that physically resembles humans but have a variety of psychic powers and receive life giving biofeedback from a interconnected Net, are the dominate race. But there's trouble brewing. Silence, the protocol they use to remove all their emotions in order to keep their kind from going insane, is starting to fail and the deadly results of it are starting to spill out into the human and Changeling, shape shifters, worlds.

In the first book in this series, Slave To Sensation, we meet Sascha Duncan. She's the daughter of a Council member and has a dangerous secret. She feels emotions and a Psy who feels emotions is considered broken. Rehabilitation is their only solution and that results in the patient become nothing more than a walking vegetable. Sascha's only hope is Lucas, the alpha of the DarkRiver feline Changeling pack. This is when the Changelings start becoming more involved in what's happening with the Psy and refuse to allow them to simply brush their dark secrets under the rug.

There's a lot to love about this series and the Changelings are my favorite. There are different species of shifters but the two main ones are the felines in the DarkRiver pack and the wolves in the SnowDancer pack. Both are ruled by stern but caring alphas who only want what's best for their people. The Changelings have alpha males and females, healers with hearts of gold and pups who can make even emotionless Psy become playful. They're a race who needs touch, not just in a sensual way but as a part of their actual survival. The Changelings love and protect in a way that's so fierce, you can almost feel their emotions and it's a real pleasure just to be able to read about it. They're unlike any shifters I've read in other books and are the backbone of this world.

There are Changeling-Changeling matings and even human-Psy matings but it was the Psy-Changeling books I enjoyed the most. The Psy have no logical reason to touch one another so they become sensitive to physical contact. Touch must be gradually brought into the relationship. This is true even with human-Psy relationships but with the Changelings, the right to skin privileges are not freely given. Trust must be earned and it feels like there's an extra layer to their relationships when compared to other ones that gives you a intimate look into these characters.

The majority of the series is told from the Changelings' POV but you do get to see through the eyes of the Psy and at times it was downright terrifying. They feel nothing so killing someone for political gain is not unusual and if someone happens to crack and become a serial killer, it's for the greater good to just cover up the crimes. It's not fair to call all Psy villains because they're not. The real focus of my disdain was on the Council and how they react to situations involving the primitive Changelings and flawed Psy who need to be terminated. As much as I disliked them, I couldn't help but become engrossed in the Council's happenings and watching it dramatically change as it becomes more obvious of Silence's negative effect on the Net. The big issue I had with the Council, and only real complaint at all with this series, is the Council's full proof plans. They never worked out the way they were planned and the failures become all too predictable. Almost seemed pointless to even include those scenes in the books.

You can read reviews and accolades about this series but it's not until you've experienced Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling world for yourself do you truly understand how amazing it is. The details put into developing these wonderful characters and the world they inhabit makes this series stand out in a genre that all too often recycles the same story lines and characters over and over again. I definitely recommend this series and say start with book one because you won't want to miss anything.
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