Hostage to Pleasure

I've heard so many amazing things about Nalini Singh's books that I worried they might not live up to all that hype. I shouldn't have worried. Hostage to Pleasure is an absolutely fantastic book. It has a ton of action, plot, twists and turns---far more than most romance novels. There are plenty of fascinating characters, and while I would have enjoyed them even more if I were familiar with the preceding books in the series, this one stands alone surprisingly well. If anything, the designation of this book as a romance rather than an adventure or a paranormal or near-future SF is mostly an arbitrary marketing thing, since it functions just as well on all of those levels. The world-building is stunning---of particular fascination to me are the Psy in this book. They undertook something they call Silence (a forced suppression of emotion) in order to curtail the danger from emerging aggressive and unstable psychic abilities. Unfortunately this has backfired---those best able to be emotionless are the dangerous sociopaths. Over time these people have gone on to rise in the ranks and take over. As a result, Psy society is becoming dangerously unstable in new and different ways. Ms. Singh has found a beautifully plot-based manner in which to keep her two would-be lovers apart. Dorian's presence threatens Ashaya's carefully-cultivated Silence, which for her is more than just a protection against her government's scrutiny. It's also a protection against an even greater threat that stalks her and her son in particular. Meanwhile, Ashaya threatens Dorian's sanity---his hatred and loathing for the sociopath-dominated Psy society is so great that the very idea of desiring one of them is nearly enough to send him off the all-too-close deep end. Giving in to their feelings for each other is very literally dangerous for both them and those they care about. Action, danger, intrigue, a fascinating world to play around in---this book has it all. (Adult material warning: there's a mild amount of explicit sex as well.)

'Hostage to Pleasure' continues where 'Mine to Possess' left off. As the perfect Psy with perfect Silence(Conditioning that rid the Psy of all emotion)designated M-Psy(medical), Ashaya Aleine, has the rare gift of seeing into the human body at the DNA level. This makes her a prime asset to the Psy Council and the implementation of Protocol I. We learned about Protocol I in series book three 'Caressed by Ice' and it's goal essentially is to make all Psy into a hive mind, destroying all individual uniqueness and personality. And like a bee hive, there must be a leader and the fight over this ultimate power is a deadly one. A fight in which Ashaya is unwillingly a part of. In order to ensure Ashaya's cooperation, the Council is holding her son, Keenan, hostage but Ashaya has put into motion a plan that will save her son and hopefully herself. In exchange for helping DarkRiver save two human children from her underground lab, DarkRiver will kidnap her son from the Psy Council. From the moment of his birth, Dorian Christensen's life was marked for tragedy. As a changeling leopard, the animal side of Dorian's soul is integral to the human side. Sadly, Dorian was born a latent leopard. In other words, he is unable to shift and take his leopard form. This inability is not only severely damaging to his soul but also causes him excruciating physical pain as well. Dorian's leopard is completely unaware of the fact that man cannot shift into beast. When the leopard demands release it doesn't hesitate to claw and push beneath Dorian's human exterior. The pain of scraping claws underneath the skin of his fingers is brutal and fills him with intense agony. Interestingly enough, the latency makes Dorian closer to his leopard than anyone else is to their own. Because his beast is constantly scraping and clawing beneath his skin, Dorian's reactions are generally more leopard than human. This also makes him on the extreme side of alpha. Ironically, Dorian is also the public Representative for DarkRiver. His surfer-boy good looks, outrageous charm, and innocent appearance make him the perfect leopard for the job. Dorian's latency has not held him back however. In fact, he is one of the most dangerous leopards in DarkRiver. He moves as silently and stealthily as any other leopard but his claws are in the shape of a sniper rifle. The latency became a driving force in Dorian at an early age, pushing him to be the best at everything and anything and eventually he attained the role of a sentinel, the highest pack rank below alpha in DarkRiver. Another tragedy has also befallen Dorian. His baby sister was tortured and murdered by sociopath Psy. Dorian has sworn vengeance against the Psy race and will stop at nothing to destroy the Council - the Psy governing body, and the Psy way of life, Silence. Riding on the emotional waves of rage, hate, and guilt, Dorian has become colder than ever by slipping into his sniper mentality more and more. At one time pack helped in

Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! Wonderful edition to the series.I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns of Dorian and Ashaya's story. The fact that this book deals with Ashaya's journey-her ability to balance the maternal bond she has with her son, Keenan, the mating bond with Dorian and the twin bond she shares with her sister,Amara, really rockets this story to another level. We see all the old favorites, including Sascha and Lucas. More Psy council intrigue, loads of danger and excitement. A must read! 5 stars

I have waited for Dorian's story and I think this is one of the best in the series. This is a very sensual series and this book is no different. Dorian is a sniper and the only one of the Dark River Pack who can't shift to cat. He has been like this from birth and has never let it stop him from becoming one of the sentinals of the Pack. Ashaya Aliene is an M-Psy, one of the smartest. She helped the pack recover two young children in the last novel. At that time she told them she might need help at some future time and now that time has come. She needs them to kidnap her son who is being used as a hostage to her good behavior. This is a deeply sensual read, with a wonderful fully fleshed out world. The demarkation between good and evil has been clearly marked, but now we find shades of gray. Maybe there are some good Psy. Just as there are some evil shapeshifters. We also learn there are other players in the game. I found the story engrossing and captivating. The relationships between all the characters are growing and all will learn that they come from the same root stock. Good book do not miss it.

Hostage To Pleasure starts right where Mine To Possess left off. The DarkRiver clan has paid off it's debt to Ashaya Aleine and have kidnapped her son and hidden him away in their Pack. With her son safe, Ashaya also manages to escape the Council's sphere but her contact had to abandon her in lynx territory. Surrounded by the vicious animals, DarkRiver sniper Dorian Christensen comes to her rescue, drawn to the smell of her blood and the unmistakable scent of her exotic femininity. The scent that has been haunting him for the last two months. The last time Dorian had seen Ashaya had been through the scope of his sniper rifle and seeing her again brings back all the hate and rage he has towards her kind, as well as a fierce need to claim her as his own. Dorian needs to come to terms with his conflicting emotions because she needs his protection now more than ever. She has information that could bring down the Psy Council and she's not going to hesitate to use it. Ashaya hopes by bringing her story public, it will make her and her son untouchable in the eyes of the Council. Unfortunately she has another enemy that is a much bigger threat to her safety, someone who has been slipping in and out of her mind since childhood and knows her every secret. Ashaya's twin senses her emerging feelings for the DarkRiver sentinel and refuses to share her. Ashaya has been dealing with the burden of her twin sister's sociopathic tendencies since the age of seventeen and it's this responsibility that keeps her from falling for Dorian's seductive lure and the promise of a full life with him. Dorian however is not going to deny his feelings for her and neither is his cat. He uses every sensual weapon he has and slowly wears down her battered defenses. She has been living a lie for so long and wants nothing more than to accept him, but can the two of them survive both her twin sister and the Council that is hunting them? Dorian Christensen has a lot of bottled up anger inside him, due to his inability to go full leopard and the brutal murder of his sister. He can't stop blaming himself. If he could go full leopard, maybe he could have been a little bit faster in saving his precious baby sister. His rage at first holds him back from seeing Ashaya as his mate, the female who his latent cat has recognized as it's own. His moods shift dangerously from lust to anger and back again as he tries to come to terms with himself and the fact that Ashaya is protecting a Psy very much like the killer who destroyed his sister. Dorian is deliciously dominant with Ashaya who doesn't let him boss her around. She quickly learns that she needs to stand up to his cat if he is to respect her and listen to her. Ashaya is heartbreaking to read about in that she's a woman stuck between her need as a mother to protect her son and as an older sister trying to protect her younger sister. She doesn't flinch from what needs to be done and tries to execute everything as precisely as possible. T