Gwen’s review of Mercury’s War (Breeds, Book 16) by Lora Leigh
Futuristic paranormal erotic romance released by Berkley Sensation 7 Oct 08

This is another excellent Breeds book.  It reads fine on its own, but you’ll get more from the story if you’re familiar with the Breeds world.  However, while excellent I have a few reservations about the development of the heroine’s story arc.  This is a complaint I rarely have with a Leigh book, so it surprised me to have it here. 

I love Mercury as a hero.  He is a standoff-ish, very controlled character when the story starts.  Due to trauma from the labs and chemicals they had him on, he’s suppressed his inner animal so ruthlessly that, while he looks more like a lion than his counterparts, he acts the least like one.  It’s no spoiler to say that by the end of the book, he’s come to recognize his beast and has come to a balance and peace with that side of his nature.

Mercury’s journey isn’t possible without meeting Ria.   She’s equally controlled and shut-down at the beginning of the book.  Her control results from wearing dowdy clothing and ruthlessly dressed hair. She only lets her true feminine nature come out when she’s alone, if then.  The circumstances of her life makes her want to blend in to the background, where it’s safe from rejection and attention.  She’s an expert code-breaker and this “gray” exterior allows her to be particularly effective when sent on assignments by the Leo, her boss.

Mercury makes it his mission to pull Ria out of her shell – let her be the woman outside that he knows she is on the inside.  The mating heat the two are going thru make it imperative that she accept her, and his, true natures.  This in turn causes Mercury to come to accept his true nature.  This reluctant blossoming is a sweet part of the story that we don’t always get in an intense Breeds book.  Breeds are hyper-sexual – this one is no exception – and full of action and adventure – we have that too – but seldom sweet.  It was a nice change and made for a really good story.

What bothered me, and it’s a small quibble now that I think about it, was that the heroine’s true nature isn’t really hinted at earlier in the story.  That made me doubt not trust it entirely when it was revealed.  It felt a little deus ex machina, but, again, didn’t detract too much from the story for me.

I found this Amazon.com review to be interesting.  If what it says is true, it explains a few things that I’ve seen in evidence in the last few Breeds books – namely, the lack of buttsecks.  Now, this could be simply because Leigh saves those particular tidbits (eww) for her non-Breeds books, or there could be some veracity to the reviewer’s opinion that Berkley wants a more “mainstream” erotic bent (heh) to the Breeds series.  Regardless, there is far less of the extreme sex in War than we’ve seen in the past.  Not that there isn’t some seriously hot action going on — Mercury is one seriously hawt hero.

Leigh has given us another hot Breeds story with trademark excellent action and good character development. I’m looking forward to Book 18, Coyote’s Mate, coming Feb 2009.

Grade: B+

Read reviews and other information on this series by following the Breeds series tag.

Summary:

Someone has been slipping the Sanctuary’s secure information to a pharmaceutical company. Now it’s up to Ria Rodriguez to pose as a clerk and uncover the leak. Yet she has no idea of the danger she’s about to encounter-or the passion she’s about to ignite in one of the greatest Breeds ever created.

Read an excerpt.

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

Gwen’s review of The Magical Christmas Cat by Lora Leigh, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, and Linda Winstead Jones
Contemporary paranormal romance anthology release by Berkley Sensation 7 Oct 08

This collection of stories are all centered on the holiday period and all have a few things in common – love, passion, and cats. They’re all quite nice stories, a couple are downright great. Read on to see how they fared…

Stroke of Enticement by Nalini Singh (87 pages)

This is a very good Psy-Changeling story that centers around the heroine, a school teacher named Annie Kildaire, and the hero, a DarkRiver soldier named Zach Quinn. It’s very much their love story and has none of the typical Psy-Changling “suspense” elements that we normally see from Singh. Just a pure love story and I loved it. The cat in this story is the hero.

Because we’re centered on the relationship, we get a couple of very well developed characters in the H/H. Especially the heroine and while the hero is still very yummy, perhaps more time could have been spent on him, but it wouldn’t have been a short-story if that had happened. And, can I say, OH MY about this hero. I wanted to lick him all over.

The conflict in this story came from family – particularly the heroine’s. Annie had been injured horrifically when she was a kid and still suffers some side effects from it – both physical and emotional. This causes some interesting scenes between Annie, her family, and the DarkRiver soldier she brings to dinner. It’s very “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” and is very fun to read.

This was just a terrific Psy-Changeling story and worth the price of the book all on its own.

Grade: A

Summary:

My [Singh's] contribution to this anthology features Zach, a DarkRiver soldier you’ll love, and Annie, a human woman who finds herself tangling with this irresistible cat.

Read an excerpt.

Christmas Bree by Erin McCarthy (76 pages)

This was an enjoyable story, if a bit forgettable. I felt a little like I was reading a really racy Cosmo story. Lighter, more chick-lit-type stories aren’t my thing, though. So keep that in mind as you read this review.

The heroine, Bree, has dreams about the hero, Ian, and doesn’t realize it until she meets him on her doorstep. Bree’s cat, Akasha, keeps showing up in the hero’s car, under their feet, in the hallway, and always with a bit of mistletoe in her mouth. There’s so much build-up as a result of the year of dreams the hero and heroine have of each other they fall to boinking on the floor almost as soon as they meet each other. Twice.

The heroine is a pretty stereotypical almost-goth chick who calls herself a “witch” and the hero is a pretty stereotypical poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks who makes good as a big-city lawyer. Not a lot stood out for me in the story, but, remember, these kinds of stories aren’t my thing. I liked it and promptly forgot it.

Grade: C

Summary (mine – not the book’s):

Self-professed witch, Bree Murphy, is unconventional and likes it that way. She taught her little sister to read tarot and she reads palms and futures for a living – all in the rambling old Victorian house she inherited from her grandmother. Ian Carrington is a big city lawyer to the millionaires. He brokers deals for the high society when they don’t want to get their hands dirty. One of his clients wants Bree’s house and wants it bad. Problem is, Ian wants Bree too. How is he going to balance his client’s wants with his own? Will they end up happy or will hearts be broken?

No excerpt available when the review was written.

Sweet Dreams by Linda Winstead Jones (76 pages)

This was the darkest of the four stories. The cat in this case is actually the villain – a demon trapped in the statuette of a cat. The heroine, Ruby, is a local baker who doesn’t realize that her soul will bring about the release of the demon, who will then lay waste to mankind. Her neighbor, Zane, a local professor who also happens to be a member of a group of warriors dedicated to the extermination of this demon (of course), discovers that Ruby is the next/last victim and goes about trying to keep it all from happening.

I didn’t like the hero much until about mid-way thru the story. The action elements were good and the villains were interesting. It was a fun paranormal story, but the romance felt a bit forced. Interesting, but, in the end, forgettable.

Grade: C+

Summary (mine – not the book’s):

Ruby Kincaid, the town’s best baker, doesn’t realize she’s about to be the culmination of a spell that has been brewing for centuries. But her hunky neighbor, Zane Benedict, does. A parapsychology professor at the local univerisity, Zane knows about Ruby’s destiny and is determined to do everything in his power to stop the spell and keep an unspeakable evil from being unleashed on the earth – including killing Ruby if he has to… But he doesn’t want to…

No excerpt available.

Christmas Heat by Lora Leigh (117 pages)

This was a lovely Breeds story and I think it’s obvious who the cat is in this entry. Noble, our hero, is a Jaguar Breed and has been in love with Haley, one of the librarians at the Sanctuary Library, for a while. He doesn’t realize it, but Haley is in love with him, as well. The story follows the predictable “heat” path – irresistible lust and some seriously hot, and I mean HAWT, sensuality with really steamy, raw sex, eventually ending in a life commitment and love. The path there is littered with dead bodies, an explosion or two, family holidays, and some major bad guys.

There’s good action and tension throughout the whole story. There was one scene that I didn’t like where one of the villains catch the H/H mid-boink. I could have done without that mental image and it’s the only thing that keeps the grade from an A. Nevertheless, there’s good character development even if the villain(s) felt like a bit of an afterthought. I loved when the heroine’s family shows up and bowls the hero over – he had never experienced anything like her, her family, or their celebration of the season. It was charming.

This was a very good Christmas love story… Breeds style.

Grade: B+

Summary (mine – not the book’s):

Noble Chavin, Jaguar Breed, and Sanctuary librarian Haley McQuire find love and heat under the Christmas tree.

Read an excerpt.

This was a charming and very readable collection of four Christmas stories all themed around cats. I highly recommend it to any fans of the four authors, or someone looking for some quick paranormal hits to while away an afternoon.

Overall Grade: B

Book Summary:

Put a little meow in their stockings this year with these all-new tales of Christmas and felines-from beloved bestselling authors!

New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh and top-selling authors Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy, and Linda Winstead Jones have a special gift for readers this year: never-before published holiday stories featuring passionate romance, paranormal adventure, and a distinctly alluring feline touch. With four new stories-including one featuring Lora Leigh’s genetically altered Feline Breeds-this is a collection packed with more surprises than Christmas morning, and more chills than the snowiest winter night…

Gwen’s review of Shifter by Angela Knight, Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day, and Virginia Kantra
Paranormal romance anthology released by Berkley Sensation on 4 Mar 08

This anthology focuses on, you guessed it, shapeshifters and their loves.  And can I say that this is a tremendous collection of authors?  LOVED the book.  Well.  Mostly…

Mad Dog Love by Angela Knight
Sci-Fi romance

Summary: Interstellar empress Zarifa Lorezo desperately needs protection against the royal assassins who are out for her blood. She decides to buy a bodyguard — a powerful werewolf slave named Rance “Mad Dog” Conlan. She soon realizes that despite his slave collar, Rance is a very dangerous man — and not just because he can turn into a seven-foot wolf. Read an excerpt.

I liked this little story by Angela Knight.  According to her site, it is in a different world than her Mageverse and other stories.  I didn’t quite believe the sexual tension between the H/H at first, but that probably had more to do with the brevity of the story than anything else.  Of all the things edited out, I would think emotional buildup between two strangers is the most likely.  I enjoyed the details given this new world, but felt that less is more – not all of the names of materials and the like are needed.  Good, but not great story.

Grade: B-

A Jaguar’s Kiss by Lora Leigh
Futuristic paranormal romance, Book 15 in The Breeds series (by chronology, not release)

Summary: Jaguar breed Saban Broussard has a job to do. His assignment? To protect the first teacher chosen to teach breed children. And protecting Natalie Ricci is exactly what he’ll do. With just one kiss and his touch, the mating phenomena begins that will tie her to him forever. Unless her ex-husband manages to get them both killed.  Read an excerpt.

Have I told you lately how much I love Lora Leigh?  Well, I love Lora Leigh.  If I ever met her, I’d be star-struck.  I love her writing.  I love her characters.  I LOVE her erotic scenes.  Hey!  I just realized that this story didn’t have her trademark buttsecks!  Holy cow!  This was a good Breeds story – more novella than short story, actually.  A very likable heroine and hero, a very believable if stupid villain.  This story stands alone just fine, if you haven’t been following the Breeds series.  I was very happy to see these two work it out.  You will LOVE the scenes of when she first arrives at her new posting with Saban in tow, helping her shop.  I laughed several times and could really feel the sexual tension between them.  Good story that alone is worth buying this book.

Grade: A

Shifter’s Lady by Alyssa Day
Contemporary paranormal romance, Book 4 in the Warriors of Poseidon series

Summary: Alpha were panther Ethan is finally starting to make an edgy peace with the first Atlantean to encroach upon his territory. But will he need to make room in an even rockier terrain — his heart — when the Atlantean’s beautiful sister Marie arrives and disrupts every facet of Ethan’s well-ordered existence? Read an excerpt [you may have to sign up to the members-only section of the site to read the excerpt - it's painless and free].

This was a very fun entry in the WoP series.  I liked Ethan and somewhat liked Marie.  I don’t think we get to see enough of Marie, though.  I don’t recommend attempting this story unless you’re following the WoP series or unless you have handy the resource materials available on the author’s site.  Nice action and I was glad to not see the vampires in this story – it almost strictly dealt with shapeshifter politics, specifically the jaguars.

Grade: B

Sea Crossing by Virginia Kantra
Historical paranormal romance, Book 1 in the Children of the Sea series

Summary:  None available from the author’s or publisher’s site.  So I’ll make up my own.  Appears to be set in the late 1800′s to early 1900′s.  A nearly destitute young woman, reeling from being taken advantage of by a former employer and shunned by her family, sets off to the Canadian west and new opportunities.  Her steamship sinks off the coast of Scotland and she’s rescued by a Selkie.  Should she fall for this seal-man?  What about her stained reputation?  Oh my!  No excerpt available.

I just have two words for this story:  fish breath.  And thank goodness it was short.  Sorry.  It was very difficult for me to take seriously a romance with a man who can shift into a seal.  I mean – flippers, eats fish.  I just have a hard time thinking of a seal as sexy.  Wolf – sexy in a dangerous, feral sort of way.  Big cats – same thing.  Seal?  Just ain’t happnin’ for me.  The writing isn’t bad – even if I didn’t like the heroine (she’s a reluctant tramp) and didn’t believe the romance.  I doubt I’ll be reading this series.  Even the available excerpt of the next book in the series, Sea Witch, wasn’t enough to make me want it – though a female selkie I can deal with more.

Grade: D

This was a good anthology with just the one exception in the Kantra story (I really didn’t like it).  If you’re following the Breeds or Warriors of Poseidon series, I highly recommend getting this book.

Overall Grade: B

From the back cover (a summary which says absolutely nothing – pretty typical Marketing Speak):

          In this seductive anthology, four masters of paranormal romance explore the boundaries of erotic shape-shifting fantasy – and shatter them.

Something happens when the beast within is teased and tempted.  Something dangerous.  Something inescapable.  Something so irresistible no woman would want to run from it.

Whether transforming beneath the cool blue moon, prowling the night streets with feline grace and blood-red talons, or panting with pleasure, the shifters come alive to fulfill your wildest fantasies…

Gwen’s review of Dawn’s Awakening (The Breeds, Book 4) by Lora Leigh
Futuristic paranormal romance released 5 Feb 08 by Berkley

Leigh’s Breed series is a peek into a world where human/predator eugenisis is a reality and this bioengineering of “weapons” is an old, dirty secret that the world is still reeling from.  Dawn’s Awakening is book 4 in that series (books are published out of order and most can be read that way).  It’s a raw, compelling world with heroes and heroines you cheer for, and superb villains. 

Dawn’s Awakening is one of the best Breed books I’ve ever read.  I think it may be the only one with a Breed female and human male H/H and damn if that wasn’t THE MOST fun to read of all the combinations so far.  The hero, Seth (love that name, by the way), is still “bigger and better” than an average human male because of the mating hormones, but still, he’s human and it’s just luscious to read how he reacts to his mate.  The heroine, Dawn, a Cougar Breed who suffered horribly in the labs, is a flawed, heartbreaking woman who eventually redeems her soul.

Dawn’s Awakening has one of the most “complete” Breed story arcs I’ve read.  You read about Dawn and Seth throughout their long acquaintance with each other and are given quite a lot of detail – not too much, though, just enough.  The secondary story arcs are small, but contribute to the main plot.  the secondary characters are complete people who help the story and move the plot.  There’s a little “future book salting” but it’s appropriate to the storyline.

Don’t miss this book.  If you’re a fan of paranormal, futuristics, or just damn fine writing, don’t miss this book.  If you’re a fan of Leigh or the Breed’s books, don’t miss it.  If you’ve never read a Breed book before, this would be an excellent one to start with, so don’t miss it.  There’s enough backstory you should have no trouble picking up what’s going on in this complex world.  Damn.  Just don’t miss this book.

Grade: A

From the back cover:

The runt of the lab she was created in, Dawn Daniels endured years of torture by her pride brother and the council soldiers. Finally freed from her torment, she’s now a Breed Enforcer, in control of her own life. Until she’s assigned to protect the one man destined to be her mate-and realizes it’s far too easy to lose total control…One of the Breed’s most important supporters, Seth Lawrence has spent years trying to forget Dawn, knowing that her lost innocence has made it impossible for her to get close to anyone. But suddenly neither of them can find the strength to fight the overwhelming passion between them. At least until the most brutal tormenter from Dawn’s past reappears-and threatens to destroy their newfound love, along with their lives…

Read an excerpt.

Bev(QB)’s review of Beyond the Dark (Anthology) by Angela Knight, Emma Holly, Lora Leigh, and Diane Whiteside
Paranormal romance published by Berkley Sensations 4 Dec 07

First of all, if you aren’t familiar with these authors, you should be aware that this book should have been labeled as paranormal EROTIC romance. I suppose it could be argued that it’s implicit on the back cover with “Four bestselling authors of paranormal romance and erotic thrills…” But I’m surprised it wasn’t explicitly stated somewhere. 

From the inside cover:

“What can you feel in the dark?”
“How far are you willing to go beyond it?”

Dragon Dance by Angela Knight

“Angela Knight does it– in the psychic realm of a woman attuned to the touch of strangers– and the powerful temptations of a seductive and mysterious protector.”

Someone call Marvel! There’s been a mini-trend lately to adapt romances into comic books. Well, Angela Knight’s novella has comic book-like superheroes adapted into novella form. I don’t think I’d like it as much in full length novel format, but in this shorter form it’s fun, sexy and quirky. Explaining it would spoil all your reading fun.

Queen of All She Surveys by Emma Holly

“Emma Holly does it– in the fantastic demon world where a powerful queen rules– until she commits the sin of falling in love with the handsome son of her worst enemy.”

If you aren’t already familiar with Emma Holly’s demon series, there is one erotic scene in QoASS that will leave you scratching your head and saying “WTF was that extra bit all about?!” [Hint: what he THINKS it might be is correct and it only appears in mated royals.] But for those that do read the series, I think this might be the best and most memorable one. The full length books tend to drag a bit from an overload of details, but this erotic novella was tight and well-written. Except for when Mem declares “I itch… back there”. EEWWW! I half expected Tou to offer him the demon version of Preparation H or douse him with a de-worming potion. A need, a burning need, an aching emptiness, surely there was another term Holly could have used besides I ITCH! GAK!

In a Wolf’s Embrace by Lora Leigh

“Lora Leigh does it– in the domain of a strange Breed, part man, part wolf, on the hunt for the woman he craves– and needs– to fulfill a hunger clawing at him from within.”

Curious what Lora Leigh’s Breeds series is all about? IaWE is an excellent way to find out. Since Matthias, a knotty [hee] Wolf Breed, wants grace to understand exactly what she’s getting into before they are overwhelmed by Mating Heat, and since he first has to make her understand the Breeds history so she’ll let go of her horror at witnessing him execute someone she considered a harmless old man, readers get a condensed summary of the Breed series. This is a sizzling erotic romance with a smile-worthy HEA.

Caught by the Tides by Dianne Whiteside

“Diane Whiteside does it– in an alternative universe of regency magic where two lovers are threatened by a vicious mage and swept up in a turbulent war off the Cornish cliffs.”

Dianne Whiteside’s CbtT should have worked. Paranormal plus Regency plus erotic romance usually makes me a happy reader. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as crisply written as the other three novellas. But in all fairness, I’m not that big a fan of stories whose plots rely almost exclusively on magic. Combine that with underdeveloped characters and erotic scenes with a surprising lack of heat (from the author of The Switch?!), and I never quite connected with this one.

Overall Grade: B+

Read more from Bev at Cubie’s Confections.

Gwen’s review of Tanner’s Scheme (The Breeds book 3) by Lora Leigh
Paranormal erotic romance released by Berkley 7 Aug 07

This is the story of Tanner Reynold’s and Scheme Tallant’s love affair.  It’s called Book 3, but frankly, the numbering methodology for this series is beyond confusing.  In the breed chronology, this book falls after Harmony’s Way and before Wolfe’s Hope.  You can see the full chronology here.  Personally, I think the placement is all Ms Leigh’s whimsy and there’s no master plan behind it.    The book’s official release date is today, but the local Wal-Mart already had this on their shelves last Saturday. 

Tanner is the public face of the Breeds and is the poster child for the “We’re Harmless” message the Breeds want to convey to the human public.  Scheme is the daughter of the mastermind behind the Breeds Labs and all the atrocities committed therein.  There’s nothing a Breed would like to do more to her than skin her alive and leave her on an ant hill.  Problem is, they would have to go thru Tanner to get her.  Tanner has fantasized about Scheme and spied on her for years and years – she’s done the same to Tanner, for that matter. Now they’re together and things get hot, fast.

Tanner kidnaps Scheme just steps ahead of her father’s assassins.  Dear Ol’ Dad has discovered Scheme has been working against him, for the Breeds, for a decade.  Scheme knows her dad has a similar spy in the Breeds’ midst and suspects Tanner to be that traitor.  The hero and heroine spend roughly half of the book trying to overcome these trust issues, only to realize that neither one of them are what they appear to be.  At all.

This is a very nice love story.  Of course it has Leigh’s trademark Breed very hot, very erotic sex, but it also has plenty of plot to drive you from one hot bed bout to the next.  The climax (chuckle) is very exciting (tee hee).  Great fight scenes and excellent suspense.  You really care about Tanner and Scheme by the end of the book, as well as for several of the secondary characters (Cabal’s story should be hot hot hot!).  I continue to be impressed by Ms Leigh’s incredible, and incredibly productive, imagination.

Another excellent entry in Leigh’s alternate Breeds reality.

Grade: A

Here’s the book blurb:

A sexy paranormal series set in a world where genetically altered Breeds and the humans who created them sometimes come together in the fiercest of passions.

After the Feline Breeds’ main base is attacked, Tanner desires revenge. So he kidnaps Scheme Tallant-the daughter of a one-time high-ranking member of the Genetics Council. But when Tanner discovers that Scheme herself is a target of her father’s ruthless mission, his vengeance takes a back seat to saving the life of the woman he hopes to claim as his mate.

Read an excerpt.

Next on Ms Leigh’s horizon:

Nauti trilogy Book 2, 6 Nov 07	Tempting SEALs Book 5, 4 Mar 08
Mar 2008, Dawn’s Awakening (Berkley Sensation, Cougar Breed)	Sep 2008 Mercury’s War (Berkley Sensation, Lion Breed)

Gwen’s review of Aiden’s Charity (Breeds Book 12) by Lora Leigh
Futuristic Paranormal Erotic romance releas by Ellora’s Cave 1 Jul 07

This is another entry into Leigh’s Breed series.  It is set in what is presumably a contemporary Mexico, South America, and Colorado.  The heroine is Charity Dunmore, a human scientist who worked undercover, helping to free Breeds from captivity for several years before she herself is turned into an experimentation subject.  The hero is Aiden, a wolf Breed, former experimentation subject himself, and security specialist for the Compound where many of the wolf Breeds live.

This was a far more sexual Breed story than others I have read.  This fact should have folks quaking in their panties, so to speak.  I mean.  This is Lora Leigh, after all.  But damn if it wasn’t a good book!

If you’re a Breeds fan, you should read this story.  It fills in some of the gaps in the mechanics and biology of wolf Breed physiology.  Oh, and it also has a nice love story, though it was tough to find with all the boinking going on.

This book is available via download from the Ellora’s Cave site or print from EC’s eBay store.

Now I’m going to go take a long, COLD shower.

Grade: B
Here’s the book blurb:

The forces of survival and destruction swirl in the darkest corners of men’s minds. The nature of the beast cannot be harnessed, and survival is the purest of all instincts. Survival of the species itself goes soul deep.

But can the human heart accept and adapt as easily? Can Charity bestow the love and the acceptance that has always been a part of her, to the man whose very survival depended on the hardening of his heart, of his soul? And can Aiden maintain that cruelty now, in the face of the sacrifices she made? Only time and nature can tell…

Read an excerpt.