Review: Hostage to Pleasure

Hostage to Pleasure (Psy-Changeling, book 5) by Nalini Singh

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Edition Reviewed: eBook
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle
Goodreads: Mine to Possess

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...

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Review:

Dorian's character has always left me feeling fond of him, but there's that underlying annoyance. Basically the ultimate bad boy that is going to get paired up with a Psy, a race he can't stand—who has 100% justification to feel that way. The instant his character was introduced it was clear and I think the reason why I've never liked him is because his just a standard PNR man candy bad boy.

Overall Hostage to Pleasure was comfort food for the series. The love story didn't interest me because it was clear what all the struggle and conflict was going to be about. Sure that's true for most PNR's, but the last book proved that this series should be offering readers more.

That said Ashaya turned out to be an amazing character. It was great seeing a Psy mother openly caring for her child—well as openly as she could. Her personality and her Journal entries were absolutely fun. Plus, the big "secret" of the monster that she's running from but most protect was amazingly done. The reason for why she broke silence is chilling and also interesting as it correlates with the Darkmind on the Net.

The best part of this read was how the Human Alliance is progressing and all the other factions. Maybe it's a bad sign that I enjoyed all the other characters interrupting the main body of the story, but it bodes well for where this series is going in the future.

In the end, this book dropped the ball from where the last one left off. (Yes, I know Mine to Possess is going to be hard to beat.) Ashaya turned out to be a startlingly amazing character and I enjoyed every minute of her. It's clear Singh has some big plans for this series and I can't wait to see what the Ghost and the Human Alliance is going to do.

Sexual Content: Sexual humor, some standard HOT paranormal romance scenes.

 
3/5- Adored it, just a few minor details held it back.

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Previous book(s) in series:
Reviewed on BW:	Amazon:	Goodreads:
An Enchanted Season (.5) Burning Up (.6) Slave to Sensation (1) The Cannibal Princess(1.5) Visions of Heat (2) Caressed by Ice (3) Stroke of Enticement (3.5) Mine to Possess (4)  A Conversation (4.5) Hostage to Pleasure (5) A Gift for Kit (5.5) Movie Night (5.6)  Branded by Fire (6) The Party (6.5)  Blaze of Memory (7)  Christmas in the Kitchen (7.5) Bonds of Justice (8) Play of Passion (9) Wolf School (9.1) Kiss of Snow (10) Wild Invitation (.5, 3.5, 9.5, 10.5) Tangle of Need (11) Poker Night (11.1) Stalking Hawke (11.2) Heart of Obsidian (12)  Shield of Winter (13)  Shards of Hope (14)  Allegiance of Honor (15)	An Enchanted Season (.5) Burning Up (.6) Slave to Sensation (1) The Cannibal Princess(1.5) Visions of Heat (2) Caressed by Ice (3) Stroke of Enticement (3.5) Mine to Possess (4) A Conversation (4.5) Hostage to Pleasure (5) A Gift for Kit (5.5) Movie Night (5.6) Branded by Fire (6) The Party (6.5) Blaze of Memory (7) Christmas in the Kitchen (7.5) Bonds of Justice (8) Play of Passion (9) Wolf School (9.1) Kiss of Snow (10) Wild Invitation (.5, 3.5, 9.5, 10.5) Tangle of Need (11) Poker Night (11.1) Stalking Hawke (11.2) Heart of Obsidian (12) Shield of Winter (13)  Shards of Hope (14) Allegiance of Honor (15)	An Enchanted Season (.5) Burning Up (.6) Slave to Sensation (1) The Cannibal Princess(1.5) Visions of Heat (2) Caressed by Ice (3) Stroke of Enticement (3.5) Mine to Possess (4) A Conversation (4.5) Hostage to Pleasure (5) A Gift for Kit (5.5) Movie Night (5.6) Branded by Fire (6) The Party (6.5) Blaze of Memory (7) Christmas in the Kitchen (7.5) Bonds of Justice (8)  Play of Passion (9) Wolf School (9.1) Kiss of Snow (10) Wild Invitation (.5, 3.5, 9.5, 10.5) Tangle of Need (11) Poker Night (11.1) Stalking Hawke (11.2) Heart of Obsidian (12) Shield of Winter (13) Shards of Hope (14) Allegiance of Honor (15)