Shannon C.’s review of In Heat by Leigh Wyndfield
Science Fiction Romance eBook released by Samhain 4 Apr 08

Science fiction romances are some of my favorites in the paranormal romance subgenre of doom. Sometimes they work really well. Sometimes they really miss their mark.

Leigh Wyndfield’s In Heat is a nice but flawed edition to the genre. We start out with Jax, our hero, who has a problem. See, it’s time for his once-yearly mating heat, and he needs a woman. So he buys a slave for an outrageous sum, intending to use her to slake his sexual hungers and leave her in the morning. This premise leaves my inner feminist, who is a mouthy bitch, stomping around and muttering to herself.

Thing is, Waverly, the slave he rescued, is no ordinary slave. She’s a pilot who’s been double-crossed by her former boss. She wakes up not particularly happy to be where she is, but hey, Jax is hot, and it’s her own mating heat time, so what are two people to do?

Soon Jax and Waverly are off on a mission to clear Jax of crimes he didn’t commit and to find happiness with each other.

The strongest point of this story is the heroine. I love Waverly. She’s spunky without being feisty, she’s capable of taking care of herself, and she’s not afraid to be feminine. She’s a smart ass, too, and we can never have too many of those.

Jax… well… I couldn’t quite get rid of the impression that Waverly was way smarter than he was. He is your bland macho type found in pretty much every other romance book, and so he didn’t really stick out for me.

The plot is a bit of a mess. It goes along well for the first three fourths of the book, and then the climax feels oddly unresolved. I’m not sure if there’s more to Jax and Waverly’s story, but I still had questions when I finished the ebook.

Overall, this one didn’t particularly work for me, although I am going to give the author points for a heroine that I liked.
Grade: C+

A mating ritual as old as time could be the death of them both…
Jax’s yearly mating cycle couldn’t come at a more inconvenient time. He’s on the verge of ending seven years of exile and claiming his birthright, but for 24 hours he’ll be vulnerable to his enemies, alone and in agony—unless he can find a willing partner. He thinks he’s found the perfect solution in the beautiful slave Waverly. He’ll buy her at any price, and after it’s over, he’ll give her the one thing all slaves crave.

Freedom.
But Waverly isn’t really a slave. She’s a transport pilot double crossed by Junkeaters and sold to a notorious gunrunner. Escape is the only thing on her mind—and she better disappear fast, before her own heat reaches a crescendo. Before she can slip away, the overpowering need to mate crashes over them, the intensity taking them both by surprise. But the Inter-World Council is out to hang Jax for a crime he didn’t commit, Junkeaters are hot on their trail, and ruthless arms traders are gunning for them. Their passion may burn hot enough to last a lifetime, but first they must survive.

This book has been previously published and has been revised and expanded from its original release.

Read an excerpt here.

Alicia Thomas’s review of Secret Obsession by Leigh Wyndfield
Contemporary romance released 4 Feb 08 by Samhain

I picked up Secret Obsession because I enjoyed another book of hers I read (True Seeing which has been re-released in a revised version as Hot Visions). I enjoy Leigh Wyndfield’s writing so I read her when I can.

This story is a clan/feud story. It is set on a fishing community island in the northeast where the people have governed themselves for generations and have their own way of doing things. They’ve been getting along for a couple of generations but about 70 years ago there was a feud that hasn’t been forgotten. Someone is trying to start trouble, again, and Wade and Clem are working together to stop it.

Clemant Taylor is a good strong character. She wasn’t actually raised on the island. Her grandmother had left before her mother was born and Clem grew up on the mainland, spending her summers and holidays on Blue Island. She knows the way the outside world works but Blue has always felt like home. She is a complex character who felt real to me, not contradictory. She had strengths and weaknesses that I could buy into.

Wade Tawes is an islander. He’s not knowledgeable in the ways of the world but he’s smart and he’s got rock-solid, do-right character. He is ready to do whatever he has to do to stop the feud and to keep Clem with him. If he can’t do both, though, he’s going to keep Clem. They’ve hidden their relationship for sixteen years and he’s had enough. I loved the way Wade was presented as having had a simple life without making him less than smart and capable. I adored the way he loved Clem.

This story is basically a mystery and pretty well done. It’s not a grip-your-seat, type or one where you are stopping to speculate who-done-it, but it is enjoyable and never seemed to drag. Also, it is erotic, so it has content appropriate for the genre, but the story doesn’t rely on it. It’s a good light mystery romance where the love scenes happen to be more explicit.

Grade: B

From the back cover:

     Running from his bed might save her sanity, but he won’t let her go without a fight.

     Three years ago, Clemant Taylor left Blue Island to escape her secret obsession with Wade Tawes, the son of her clan’s greatest enemy. But when the head of her family becomes ill, she is forced to return to Blue-at the risk of succumbing once more to Wade’s irresistible sexual lure.

     Promising herself she won’t be enticed again into having mind-blowing sex with him, she vows to focus only on stopping the escalating violence between their clans and the collapse of the island’s way of life.

     Wade Tawes, now the head of a family that has long sworn to seek retribution against the Taylors, is stuck between loyalty to his clan and his love for Clemant. He doesn’t know how he’ll do it, but he plans to force his family to accept his choice, after he finds out who’s really behind the vandalism that is ripping the island apart. And after he convinces Clemant that she really does love him.

     But the feud heats up, blood is spilled, and pressure for revenge mounts on both sides. Wade and Clemant must find a way to heal the rift between their clans-or their world will implode, leaving them both empty and alone.

     Read an excerpt.

Secrets 12 by Dominique Sinclair, Jess Michaels, Leigh Wyndfield and Saskia Walker

I generally like anthologies because they are like buffets. You pay one price and get multiple choices. Generally there is one dish you really like and are guaranteed to enjoy. There may be another that could go either way, and usually one or two are completely new to you, giving you the chance to test to it to your palate. Red Sage has lost me with the last few Secrets volumes because there have been fewer known (or perhaps known-to-me) authors in recent years except for Angela Knight. Still, I’ve enjoyed these anthologies and was happy to review Secrets: Volume 12. I discovered a new-to-me author I really want to read more of and two others I would definitely try again.

Full review here