Alright, I didn’t love the beginning of this story. I mean kidnapping a woman with not the best intentions in mind? Yeah… not such a huge fan. Particularly the anger coming off of the lead male. It was pretty uncomfortable and problematic. But, Melina was quickly able to balance that out. Which is honestly a style I’m getting used to with Leigh’s writing.
Once I got over the nope factor of the beginning of this story, I started to really enjoy this. The passion just leaped off the pages. But, so did Melina’s strength of self and character. I mean, I totally get why she falls for the guy, but I mostly just fell for her…
The lead romance is obviously the main draw of this story. But the dog in this managed to steal the show. Which, in my opinion is what frequently happens. I’m completely obsessed with dogs… he is just too ridiculously sweet and a great comedic relief when things are getting a bit intense in the relationship department.
This was both an easy read and a bit uncomfortable in places. I think mostly because I found not only the premise that begins the relationship a bit wow. But also Melina’s family and treatment of her… that was just damn heartbreaking.
Wow. This was pretty intense. And hard to read. Particularly when the mating bond is ignored. From both sides. At different times. I mean, my goodness, it is difficult enough to read this in places. Let alone when you think that everything is going to completely crash around their ears.
I’ve only briefly had one connection with the coyotes throughout this series. And I loved being immersed in their world again. It was horrible and difficult. And it most definitely broke my heart. But it was also incredibly well written. So good that even though the relationship is fractured and the coyotes are the most heart wrenching of the Breeds, you still feel happy, intrigued and completely roped I the storyline.
The amount of strength that it takes for the two characters in this to get over their crap was pretty phenomenal. It was hard to read (as I’ve mentioned) in places, but you always felt that backbone of steel that made it all okay.
After reading this, I’ve had to take a short step back from the Breeds. As much as I’m loving this series. There was something about Coyote’s Mate that really got to me. Something that made me need to read a far simpler, happier book. But it won’t take long before I dive right back into these books…
It was a lot of fun to have a Breed who was a lot more animalistic than the others. I mean, the idea is amazing. But the fact that Mercury is just that little bit closer… absolutely fantastic. And the feisty woman he chooses as his own? Well worth it.
I absolutely adored both Ria and Mercury from the very beginning of this story. They’re a great match and I love how they’re both accepting of the fact that they may never experience the mating heat. It’s a story that highlights the importance of choice in all of this. And the fact is, they CHOOSE each other. Something that I sometimes find uncomfortable in the other Breeds books that I’ve read.
The reappearance of Mercury’s “mate” is a pretty horrible and intense moment. And, it feels a lot like she’s going to be a greater problem further into the series. There is just something about her that makes me hope she’s going to be a jilted lover. But I expect she’s going to be something FAR more horrible and difficult later in this series. Im hoping I’m wrong though.
I love the intensity of this storyline and how fast paced it is. I also love that there are questions of paranoia and drugging throughout that is just another hint at the battles to come for the Breeds. A very aptly titled book in that it is most definitely a war. One that I just couldn’t put down!
I knew this was going to be a bit of a less… romantic romance from the get go. I mean, Dawn and Sebastian are introduced many, many books ago. And, on top of that, Dawn’s past is seriously tragic. But, it was actually less painful than I had expected. Which was good.
I love that it’s the threat of losing someone you love that makes Dawn decide to finally reach out and battle her demons. She’s definitely already on the way beforehand. And you can see that she’s trying. But it’s the horror of losing what she loves that really kicks her into gear. The fight that you glimpse of this amazing female lead in other stories jumps out immediately. And it’s impossible not to love her.
The whole reality if the Breeds is steadily getting more and more intense. Although I mostly just REALLY wanted to see Dawn get her happily ever after, I also loved being pulled further into the intrigue of the world if the Breeds. Every book makes your heart leap and hope for something better. Kind of like when you see the injustices that are just generally happening around the world.
This is intense and kind of tragic. But also beautiful and hopeful. Kind of like the Dawn rising on a whole new day. Yup, I went there… had to be done. I’ll let myself out now…
Go beyond your wildest fantasies. Go beyond your most forbidden dreams. Go further than any woman has ever dared to go…
Four bestselling authors of paranormal romance and erotic thrills take readers into a seductive midnight world of demons, mages, vampires, and knights, of queens with devilish secrets, and of devils with secret desires. Going this far is so dangerous, so exciting, so captivating, you may never want to come back down to earth.
I really, really enjoyed this collection. It was full of romance, fun and lust. A little more intensely erotic than some of my romances. But also not overbearingly so. The perfect balance for the type of stories that I enjoy.
I did buy this because at the moment I’m devouring the Breeds series by Lora Leigh. However, it did get bumped up my wishlist because I know and thoroughly enjoy the other three authors. I also like that the story by Emma Holly is also part of a series that I’m already half reading. Then the other two novellas were beautifully pleasant standalones.
This collection was darkly sensual and seriously wonderful. I loved jumping into these four worlds and being swept away. A collection that I will definitely read again.
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.
This was a fun and intriguing little novella. One that pulled me all that much further into the Breeds series. Plus, it was also a great way to end the Beyond the Dark anthology. I like that the Breed in this was aware from the very beginning of the story what was going on with him. And how to try not to let this affect his mate’s life.
Although I love how accepting Mathias is of what is going on, and is trying to ease Grace into her new reality, it is the family factor that I truly loved. I mean, being someone who has close ties to her own family, I understand how important it is to put family first and have a partner who is accepted by them. The scene in which Mathias finally realises that he has that acceptance… I started crying then and there. It was so beautiful.
Relationships are always a negotiation and a way to rejig and compromise on what you already do in your life. Both Grace and Mathias are forced to face up to this in a very short time. And, somehow that works brilliantly. It’s a reminder that change isn’t always bad, but sometimes seriously worth pursuing.
Title: Aiden’s Charity Author: Lora Leigh Series: Breeds #10 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Erotica, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense Dates read: 16th May 2021 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Ellora’s Cave Year: 2003 5th sentence, 74th page: As he started to stalk from the porch steps, the door to the cabin was flung open.
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 sacrifice she made? Only time and nature can tell.
I had a bit of concern at the outset of this story… I mean, the ending of Jacob’s Faith, Aiden is told that Charity is his mate and he just… doesn’t seem to be taking it well. I was expecting a whole heap of darkness and horribleness to this story that I wasn’t sure I wanted. I mean, none of the Breeds stories are full of happiness and roses… but I thought this one would be even more difficult to stomach.
Luckily, it wasn’t quite as horrifying as I had expected. Although the beginning and their re-meeting went kind of how I expected… the relationship quickly developed. In a way that didn’t feel contrived and forced, but rather, people just… accepting. I liked how Charity was a bit different from the other women too. She fought Aiden just as much, but in her own unique way.
It was super fun having a story in which the lead female is a scientist. I love how Charity is constantly analysing things and trying to figure out the science behind what’s happening to her. She might be hiding behind her logic, but it was a great contradiction to many of the women so far in this series. Sometimes I find romance writers tend to write similar characters in each of their stories, I love that this isn’t the case with Lora Leigh.
Aiden’s Charity is great. Not just for the two leads and the storyline. But it also brings some of the Coyote Breeds further into this story. That, and it gave an extra layer to the world – the majority of the story revolved around the science of the Breeds and their ability to, well, breed. Rather than the politics and the war that is brewing. It was a great change of pace, one that helped keep drawing me further and further into this world.
Title: Jacob’s Faith Author: Lora Leigh Series: Breeds #9 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Erotica, Paranormal romance, Romantic suspense Dates read: 1th May 2021 Pace: Medium Format: Novel Publisher: Ellora’s Cave Year: 2003 5th sentence, 74th page: Evidently, the Breeds they’re holding are pretty damned important too, because anyone who could have had information has been killed before I could get to them.
They are a new breed, a new race. Engineered rather than born, trained rather than raised, and their unique genetics have created more than one surprise…
Jacob left Faith six years before, unaware that the mark he left on her also left her in an agony of sexual heat that never dimmed. Now Jacob and Faith are together again, but surprises lurk around every corner and dangers as dark and deadly as their very creation surround them in more ways than one.
One thing that always strikes me about men in romances (and sometimes in real life), they make assumptions and those can be the downfall. Don’t get me wrong, women are just as bad. But I always find the men, such as Jacob to be a bit more frustrating. Maybe because I have to deal with men in my own love life, so I can relate to that frustration all that much better.
In the case of this story, it’s Jacob making some pretty major assumptions about Faith’s feelings that careen them from issue to issue. Instead of just talking things through and finding out what is actually going on, he just keeps… assuming. Which just makes it all that much better when Faith decides to hand his arse to him. Repeatedly.
I know that Jacob’s Faith and Aiden’s Charity were written a little out of order within the Breeds series and by a different publisher (it drives me a little batty when I look at my shelves having these two books). And, honestly, you can kind of pick up on that a little throughout. However, it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of reading yet another of Lora Leigh’s books. I plan on adding them all to my wishlist now… there is just something about them that I can’t get enough of. Even if some of the sexual play is seriously not to my taste.
Jacob’s Faith follows on beautifully from Wolfe’s Hope. It bought the wolf pack into the breed world brilliantly and set up a whole slew of new issues facing the Breeds. The more I read of this fantastic series, the more I can’t get enough. And also feel my heart kind of break… I mean, the battles that they are constantly fighting are truly devastating and terrible. Seriously difficult to read at times. But, then the love and such comes through and everything is right with the world again…
“Moonlust” by Sherri L King Series: Moonlust #1 During Brianna’s trip to the Ural Mountains of Russia, a life-threatening accident places her at the mercy of a strange, reclusive man. A man whose secrets and unquenchable hunger will change her life forever…
“Pack Law” by Lorie O’Clare Series: Lunewulf, #1 Pack law states every female shall have three mates. It’s a necessary action in order to keep the lunewulf breed alive. Sophie Rousseau has just learned who her three mates will be. And one of them is the sexy Nik Alexander who has invaded her dreams since high school. Though Sophie’s nervous about fulfilling pack law, she can’t wait to mate with Nik. Nik has lusted after Sophie, wanted her for his mate and mother of his children. He gets his way, but by pack law, Sophie cannot be his alone. Nik will share her with two other werewolves. But only on his terms.
“Running Mate” by Jaci Burton Series: Devlin Dynast, #1 Senator Jason Devlin is a man with a secret. A big one that could ruin his political career and his family. He guards his secret closely, allowing no outsiders to penetrate his intimate circle. Kelsey Harper is a reporter itching for an interview with the elusive senator. When a case of mistaken identity lands her in his bed, she gets much more than an interview.
“Wolfe’s Hope” by Lora Leigh Series: Wolf Breeds , #2 Hope believed Wolfe was dead, but he was only waiting for the right time to claim her. He is a man whose DNA was altered, infused with the genetic code of the wolf. His unique genetic makeup has created a male unlike any other and will make itself known in the most surprising ways. Now Hope must convince her mate she hasn’t betrayed him, and they must defeat the plans of a scientist gone mad.
This was a fun and incredibly lustful collection. There was a lot of intense sexuality throughout this that most definitely put this into my erotic bookshelves. Most certainly not the kind of book that I would comfortably read in front of family members. But definitely one that was good when I wanted to kill a little time by myself…
There is something fun and intriguing about this collection. I only bought it because I love the Breeds series. But I now have another three authors that I’m intrigued by and keen to add to my shelves. Not all to the same degree, I found some of these novellas more to my taste than others. But overall, these were wonderful tastes of some great stories to come…
If you like your paranormal romance a little bit extra erotic and toe curling… then this is a good collection for you. There are stories with multiple partners, bondage, all sorts of different storylines and erotica. That, and they’re all werewolves. Great fun.
Hope believed Wolfe was dead, but he was only waiting for the right time to claim her. He is a man whose DNA was altered, infused with the genetic code of the wolf. His unique genetic makeup has created a male unlike any other and will make itself known in the most surprising ways. Now Hope must convince her mate she hasn’t betrayed him, and they must defeat the plans of a scientist gone mad.
This set up the next little patch of Breeds stories really well. The wolf breeds and how they escaped the horrifying and evil labs in which they were created. The fact that it also features an evil scientists daughter… well, that worked quite happily for me. Overall, it was a pretty simple novella that didn’t necessarily have a lot going on adventure wise, but most certainly set up a new Breeds “family”.
I love how some of the Breeds novels have in their name both of the lead characters names. It helps you pick up who you’re routing for from the very beginning. And it just generally creates a fun naming system that I wasn’t quite expecting. But it was most certainly something that I very much enjoyed.
Wolfe is honestly kind of a dick in this story. He’s a bit painful to read for most of it to be honest. But when he has that sense of realisation about just how deeply he messed up… he’s still a dick. But at least he understood just how. And you know, at the end of the story, there was a bit of redemption in the evil bitch getting killed…
Earth and Skye 