"Erotica at its best"
This is another in Lora Leigh's Breed series. Genetically
created men and women, genes altered so they carry traits
of big cats, wolves and other animals. The series has
endless possibilities, and look for Leigh to carry it to
NYC mainstream print soon. This is a super-charge erotica
tale, yet Leigh has a craft that transcends erotica. Roni is a poignant character. Found hiding in a wood by
Taber when she was eleven, he has kept watch over her,
tried to protect her. Now, she is a grown woman and he is
still getting her out of scrapes. Roni is used to, at
best, an indifferent father, abusive when he wants money
from her. Worse, he's always getting into trouble and it
comes down on Roni. She has grown up basically alone, no
one there for her. Roni has wanted Taber, been in love
with him since she was sixteen, but Taber ignores this and
tries to be a big brother. Taber keeps his distance because he is Feline Breed. In
Wolf Breed the genes are recessive, but not in the cats.
Many of the feline traits are evident, so he feels he has
no right to love Roni. As Roni pushes for more from Taber,
he marks her. Something about the Felines, that physical
mark their mate, similar to a passion mark, but the mark
never vanishes. Due to Roni thinking Taber didn't want her
and Taber getting a message Roni wanted nothing to do with
him, they keep their distance for over a year. However, when the news of the Breeds exploded on the
television, her father becomes aware Roni carries Taber's
mark. Instead of keeping his mouth shut daddy dearest sees
it as a way to make big bucks. The covert operatives that
ran the Breed Program are hunting them down and killing
them. They also want more information on the mates, the
women whom they are claiming. Roni would bring a big chunk
of change for her father. When she refuses to cooperate,
he reveals her bond with Taber, forcing Taber to come
claim her to save her from those hunting him. He knows she
is a target now, that he must come and claim his mate. Only Roni is unprepared for what that means, and really
doesn't want to be his mate now that he turned his back on
her for so long. It's erotica, not the more mainstream of the brilliant
ELIZABETH'S WOLF, so know that going in. Leigh is a talent
to be reckoned with. Where she really excels is her
characters. She makes you know these people, makes you
care. I eagerly await her jump to NYC publishers and see
what she does with a bigger showcase. Posted August 20, 2005
Reviewed by Deborah Macgillivray
Posted January 13, 2007
|
|
He had protected her as a child, filled all her teenaged fantasies, and as a woman, he stole her heart. Only to break it. Now, fifteen months later, the news has released. The man she loves is one of the genetically altered Feline Breeds who have shocked the world with their presence. He's also her mate. The mark on her neck attests to that. The fire that rages in her heart and in her body further proves it. But he hadn't wanted her then; does he really want her now? Deceit and treachery, born in the past, now haunt the present as Taber and Roni fight to make sense of a sudden bonding. The mating of heart, body and soul as the man and the beast within merge; both battling the forces raging against the union and dominance over the woman he claimed.
|
