Veena’s review of Stygians Honor (Breeds, Book 27) by Lora Leigh
Paranormal Romance published by Berkley 07 Aug 12

Lora Leigh has in this book what could be a very interesting plot line. Phillip Brandenmore injected little baby Amber with a virus which is slowly killing her. Jonas Wyatt, master manipulator and leader of all breed enforcers, has one chance in a million at saving this child of his heart and soul. Starting with a lot of the breeding mating elements that we’ve read about in previous books, I almost DNF the book, but I am glad I persevered because the back half it rewards the reader’s patience with some very interesting elements of the Navajo rituals. Alas, they came too late to change the verdict on this one, but I think that it sets up a great plot line for the next book, if she can bring back the refreshing and interesting elements that made this author such a favorite.

A group of four teenagers escape from the genetic council and might have the clues to the cure that Jonas needs. They are helped by the Navajo underground railroad that helped the breeds escape from the genetics council, and there is no sign of them after they reach the Navajo grounds. All of the breed alphas and Jonas and his family have come to Window Rock, Arizona headquarters of the Navajo nation to seek their help in saving Amber. Dogging their heels and perhaps even ahead of them at times is Gideon, a feral breed who is also seeking Fawn (one of the teenagers) who saved his life against his will. It is a race against time to see if Jonas will find the teenagers now grown to adulthood and will they be able to help him save Baby Amber.

Liza Johnson is assistant to the Navajo chief and she definitely knows something, but, boy, does she have a lot of misconceptions against breeds. She is a heroine who has a very definite attitude and a huge chip on her shoulder, and I did not care for her at all through most of the book, except at the end when you see her vulnerability and learn her story. Stygian, on the other hand, is an anomaly in the breeds. He has the big, bad breed boy attitude to some extent, but he really does try to meet Liza half way and show her more than the physical lust associated between breeds and their mates.

The sex scenes, in my opinion, did nothing to further the story. The pages and pages talking about mating heat and the knot, et cetera become very boring, and, just so we don’t feel cheated, the author throws in anal as an after thought. There are typos and grammatical errors that are a real irritant, especially when I was struggling to get through to the end. which was by far the most interesting part of the book.

We believe we’ve identified the other three teenagers and it’s been made clear that it will take all four to save Amber. I believe the ingredients for a great next book are there and my curiosity has been whetted, so I’d like to see what happens next. If you want to persevere with the Breeds series, then as much of a struggle this book is, it is a must read because it lays out the future direction.

Grade: D

Summary:

Window Rock, Arizona, is the last known location of Honor Roberts, who vanished when she was just thirteen. It was her only sanctuary from the Breed research that would surely have ended in her death—one such insidious experiment should, indeed, have killed her. That she lived is both a miracle—and a great mystery.

Stygian’s mission is to find Honor Roberts, no matter the cost. Now, with the help of Liza Johnson, assistant to the chief of the Navajo Nation, he is closer than ever to his goal. But will the discovery of Honor Roberts mean the destruction of the mating heat that has developed between Stygian and Liza?

Read an excerpt.

Other books in the series (in rough reading order):