Title: The Man Within
Author: Lora Leigh
Series: Breeds #2
Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!)
My Bookshelves: Erotica, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense
Dates read: 15th – 16th January 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Lora Leigh
Year: 2004
5th sentence, 74th page: I wonder how much better the rest of you tastes.

He had protected Roni when she was a child, filled all her teenage fantasies, and when she became a woman, he stole her heart. Only to break it. Now, fifteen months later, the news is out. Taber, 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. But he didn’t want 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 their sudden bonding. The mating of heart, body, and soul as the man and the beast within him merge; both battling the forces raging against the union and dominance over the woman he claimed.

I most definitely love the Breeds series, but it is quite a bit more graphic about sex and sexuality than most of the romances that I read. Which is why I tend to read this series just a little bit slower… it can get pretty intense. Which is probably why I shouldn’t have actually read this at the pub when waiting for people… it was a little awkward reading about the many joys of sex when there was a really, really old guy staring at me…

Dayan completely freaked me out in Tempting the Beast. He was so insidious, and that was a feeling you got before all of his betrayals came to light. So to find a book which features some more of the horrible things he did before he was killed… it gave me some incredibly uncomfortable goose bumps. Although it was quite nice when Taber and Roni were able to finally find their way past the horrors of the past and a way towards a new future together. Not just from Dayan’s meddling, but also Roni’s horrifying father…

Even though this story is very, very much about sex and passion, I love that it is also about creating a relationship beyond that instant attraction. Too many media relationships seem to rely on sexual attraction and heat to drive a relationship. Taber and Roni’s relationship was really only something that both considered “real” when they moved beyond that sexual aspect and truly communicated. Taber was much too possessive for my tastes, but when he FINALLY started communicating… I could actually find the attraction.

This is only the second novel in this series, and already the greater storyline is getting seriously intense. There is just something about it that is impossible to put down and makes me want to pick up the next story. After all, there are conspiracies afoot, an evil power hunting the Breeds… and the part that makes me want to get further through the series? Sherra and Kane’s relationship is about to finally, finally, finally explode onto the pages.

Image source: Goodreads

Title: Tempting the Beast
Author: Lora Leigh
Series: Breeds #1
Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect)
My Bookshelves: Erotica, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense
Dates read: 9th July 2019
Pace: Fast
Format: Novel
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Year: 2003
5th sentence, 74th page: Breathing hard, her fingers stilled on her flesh.

Callan Lyons is a genetic experiment. One of six fighting for freedom and the survival of their Pride. Merinus Tyler is the reporter who will tempt him, draw him, until the fury of the “mating frenzy” locks them into a battle of sexual heat there is no escape from.

Deception, blood, and the evil Genetics Council are hot on their trail. Callan will use his strength to try and save them both… and do all in his power to keep his woman in the process.

I’ve been meaning to get to this story for a few months now. It just seems to be one that I pick up, look at, and then put right back down again. Until now. When I read the whole book, cover to cover in one day. It was just the right level of intrigue and danger with passion and lust. Although, the passion and eroticism of the book definitely mean that this is a book to read at home… I can’t imagine how awkward it would be to have someone reading this over my shoulder on the bus…

Most of the shapeshifter / paranormal romance type stories that I read feature peoples’ who are just genetically different and a little more… evolved than the average human. The “Breeds” in this series instead are a government, genetic experiment. Talk about creepy conspiracy theories. It’s this that makes me seriously want to sink my teeth into more of the series. I love anything that has a more animalistic spin on humanity and passions, but the idea that there is a shadow government that is the horror of the series, there is just something uncomfortably intriguing about this story.

I love stories about love. But the idea of one in which you don’t actually have a choice or control over your passions and the person you end up tied to… well. That kind of scares me. And I love that it scares Merinus too. Although she felt tied to Callan before she even meets him, her inability to escape him and physical withdrawals terrify her. Into running. Again and again. This willingness to fight against something showed a level of characterisation that I found far more believable and relatable. After all, I wouldn’t want to just succumb to a man because there was a lustful attraction there…

I really enjoy reading about dominating and domineering men. But there is a line. Sometimes they go a little too far with their control issues. Callan flirted with this line, crossed it, but then luckily withdrew just enough that I didn’t find him overbearingly horrible. Even his issues of control and power were explained in a way that I found more pleasing and less want-to-throw-my-book-annoying. Which, again is why I read the whole book in one day…

Image source: Goodreads