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Styx’s Storm by Lora Leigh – A Series I Can’t Say No To

K.C. — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 05:20:50 +0000

Styx’s Storm by Lora Leigh

#22 in Breed Series

Genre: Paranormal Romance

368 pages

Amazon

When Storme Montague’s father and brother are killed by the Breeds, her father’s research is also destroyed — except for a crucial data chip that both the Council and the Breeds would kill to possess. Betrayed to the Council, she is rescued by Styx, a Wolf Breed who is different from most other Breeds she has ever known. Storme has something he wants too — but it’s not a data chip.

The last few Breed books have pleasantly surprised me, I feel like Leigh is taking her characters into a different direction than mating hormone + sexual angst + unwilling female = plot. I was ok with this formula for the first few books but it can be a bit repetitive by book 20. I was a little hesitant to start Styx’s story a. because I had no earthly idea who this character was and b. I think Lion’s Heat is a hard act to follow; alas this is a series I just can’t say no to. Is Styx’s Storm just another formulaic breed book, or does it bring a little somethin’ new to the table….?

Yes…and no. I liked the main hero, Styx. He was a littler different than Leigh’s other breeds, he was more charming with a Scottish accent (why hello, do you have a kilt to go along with those wide receiver shoulders and sexy brogue) vs the Alpha ‘tude. Also, the bickering was toned down a notch compared to previous books. I have to say this is not my fav formula to create tension between the main characters – I think the council and mating hormone is enough.

The main heroine, Storme is not a breed lover, actually she hates them for killing her father and brother. Now, in the wrong hands this could have been disaster where you, the reader don’t’ emphasize with her plight and can’t connect with her – not so, I actually thought this angle was well done (Bravo!).

What didn’t tickle our fancy

You never find out what information Storme held as a secret for her father. Hand to god I thought I skipped a part, alas the author didn’t go into detail….so it’s gotta be a BFD maybe in the next Wolf breed book.

I think Styx’s Storm brings a little somethin’ new to the Breed table, with characters that don’t’ seem like cc copies from previous books.

P.S. When are we going to get Cassie’s Story?

PPS. Raise your hand if you would like to read about the Winged Breeds *KC & K-Khan raise both hands*

Lion’s Heat Review – Bengal’s Heart Review

Other Reviews

Smexybooks 4/5

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The Book We’ve All Been Waiting For: Lion’s Heat by Lora Leigh

K.C. — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:10:43 +0000

Genre Paranormal Romance

Series: Breeds #7 or (#21 counting Ellora’s Cave)

Publisher Berkely

368 pages

Purchase Amazon Here

Rachel had never seen cold or hard in Jonas. She had never seen the manipulator. He was calculating, no doubt; he had to be to survive. He had to be, to maneuver the people he loved into the lives he kbew would benefit them.

He was a lover, a leader. He was a man who used the training he was given – to kill, to destroy, to sabotage- to build and to nuture instead.

He just had a rather unique way of doing it in as ass backward sort of way.

——————————————————————————–

Jonas:

Nothing mattered but this.

Holding her.

Loving her.

Being Loved.

Jonas Wyatt, the bogeyman of the Breeds, was loved.

Gives a wolf whistle and pumps fist in the air: She’s baaaaaaaaaaaaack! Oh Em Gee everyone, Ms. Leigh hit it out of the park with this long awaited story, Lion’s Heat. This is what we’ve been missing, passion about the characters she is writing about, perilous intrigue, and a love story that isn’t fraught with screaming matches. Jonas’s story did not disappoint and is probably one of my favorites in her Breed series. The two protagonists were not constantly fighting to the point of banality, Jonas’s character actually fit into what we have learned about him through her other books and their fight against the genetics counsel was a welcome side story. Instead of the usual breed formula of girl meets breed, girl sleeps with breed, mating hormone ensues, girl throws fit, and lots of fighting. The End. Not the case in Lion’s Heat (thank the romance gods).

Bad boy Jonas Wyatt’s personal assistant, Rachel, recently had a child-an innocent new life that has been put in grave danger because of Jonas’s perilous games and calculations played in breed politics-world in which he lives. Now, Rachel is making only one demand of Jonas: that he finally take responsibility and deliver on the protection that only he can give.

Jonas has always been a man shrouded in mystery and manipulation. He is constantly playing with the lives of others in a very Machiavellian way. We don’t always know if his motives are altruistic, but he does end up pairing troubled breeds with their better halves and in ways that help the livelihood of his people. So, of course when I heard his story was finally coming out I had to do my happy smut cheer. Fist’s hand on hip and raises other in the air ‘ I see London I see France I can’t wait to meet Jonas without his underpants’. Ends cheer with a flirty flip of her skirt to show off her tiger striped underoos (dimple free o’course).

With so many of Lora Leigh’s Breed books their mates are often weak-willed, winny and fight what I view is a pretty good thing. (Please, like any red blooded gal wouldn’t love a barbed woo-hoo). Rachel, on the other hand was a dynamic character that had more depth and dimension that I haven’t seen from the author since Elizabeth’s Wolf and Tempting the Beast. Rachel is sophisticated, calm, with an ice-like exterior that shows she is an excellent match for Jonas’s trickster ways. I also liked the fact that she had a baby. For some this might have proved too out of the ordinary but for me it showed that Rachel lived her life without being controlled by the possibility of being Jonas’s mate. It made their relationship seem more believable and supported Jonas’s wish that his mate be free to choose a life with him not due to a hormonal decision but one made out of love. Unlike the other previous breed males Jonas waited to kiss Rachel – willing to risk the pain of the mating hormone, than risk loosing her to anger. When she finally does kiss Jonas, it just felt right.

Little Teasers

We find out what breed designation Jonas is
The mating hormone/heat affects Rachel & Jonas’s differently
The First Leo is a sh*t head but we glimpse more of his true character and relationship with Jonas

If you are a died hard Lora Leigh fan I expect you to have already read this and leave me your comments of oos and ahs. For those of you who haven’t read Leigh’s Breed series, I would recommend reading Tempting the Beast , Elizabeth’s Wolf , Tanner’s Scheme , Dawn’s Awakening , and Coyote’s Mate . I’m glad to see that although this story shared some similarities to Elizabeth’s Wolf it still had enough differences to be interesting and is a major improvement from the last few installments of her series. Lion’s Heat is where we finally see Jonas in love, be loved in return, and become a father – this book was like a breath of fresh air and not one to be missed.

Rating

I’m giving this a 4 because this is one of Leigh’s better breed books, if I’m comparing towards other PNR books more of a 3

P.S. My nickname for Lora Leigh is the ‘The Barb’ Queen

Other Reviews

Kindle Vixen 3.5/5

Twimom- That’s What I’m Talking About 3.5/5

Purchase Amazon Here | Read Bengal’s Heart Review Here

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Bengal’s Heart Lora Leigh – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

K.C. — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 05:03:27 +0000

Genre Paranormal Romance

Breed Series #6

Amazon Purchase Link

First let’s start with The Bad. The minute I finished this book I was on the phone with my partner in crime bemoaning my disappointments. Here was Cabal’s story, the nasty playboy Bengal tiger who spent most of the series steeped in compromising positions with his ménage-a-breed sexathons. And what do we get with his book, barely a mention of this side of him or why he was into such carnal pleasures of the flesh. We get a brief page all wrapped-up nice and tight and no closure or what-have-you’s of how he has suddenly changed his ways for his mate.

My bitch list is as follows “The Ugly”

1. Firstly, I am tired of having her side characters have a more enriching plotline than her actual main characters. She peaks your interest with such side characters and when their book comes out, wham, major disappointment. I don’t know what is happening but each book is the same cookie-cutter version of the last. You could literally predict the actual dialogue between the two characters and soap opera’esque fights between them.

2. Secondly, all of her male characters and female characters are interchangeable. Cabal’s character was so reminiscent of her previous male characters that I thought I had bought the wrong book.

3. Thirdly, let there be peace damn-it! As I stated before, there is nothing more I hate than what I term the Danielle Steele or Gone with the Wind Effect. Useless fighting until the last possible second when they realize they love each other is my utter pet peeve! I found myself skipping through all of the sex scenes (sacrilege for an erotica fan!) to speed up the parts to where an actual plot unfolds.

4. Lastly, I am tired of her having maybe three-four pages of actual plot development happen as an epilogue at the end of the book. She has a great concept going, but where is she going to go with it? We know that the breeds were tortured harshly and lived in inhuman conditions but seriously, after x amount of books we are still stuck on the nuances of mating heat? And when is a breed and a breed going to get a little action, seems to me, if human mates keeps fighting the effects of the mating heat then let’s move on to some women/male characters that are actually happy to have found a mate.

Now, I might have been a bit harsh and in need of some medicinal chocolate, but I just have read some of her earlier material that was truly innovative and captivating and I know she can do better than this! Her book Broken Wings is one of my favorites and is so rich in character and plot development that there is no comparison.

What I would like to see is more plot development, an actual difference between her female and male characters as well as sticking to their original identities created as side characters. I need more winged breeds; she mentioned them briefly in the beginning of this series and they have since disappeared. I’m also hoping for more stories with breeds that mate with other breeds. Her characters have undergone such atrocities and to be stuck with unwilling human harpies is just plain mean. I’m no bra-burning feminist (let’s not count college shall we) but the only female lead that actually had any gumption and wasn’t whining through half the book was Elizabeth from Elizabeth’s Wolf (My Fav)! That being said, I’m still on board to read her other books and I hopping for some more character diversity and to read about Jonas and Cassie stories!!!!

What I did like:

Despite my above ranting I did like some aspects of this book, as I am a loyal Lora Leigh fan and despite some bumps with this book I’m still game.

1. Rrrraw this Bangal has strips, me likey

2. Pay attention in the later part of the book, big 411 on Jonas’s mate is mentioned

My Scene Pick

It happend so fast and yet Cassa swore she watched each detail of movement as though in slow motion. She saw the only Bangal still standing, his enraged, demonic eyes spitting amber fire. Blodd dripped along his body. His face, his shoulders, the stripes that extended from his buttocks around his thighs – blood flowed over the heavy muscle and lean lines of his golden body. He lifted a broken steel stake and hurled it past the slowly opening cage door, swashing through the control room windows with deadly force.

He was the one the others had fought to save. She had watched as they had sacrificed themselves to save this one.

“I own you,” he growled again. It was the animal, not the man, she faced. This Breed was nothing like the civilized Breeds she had been following for so many months for the newspaper she worked for.

Major FYI Just Saw on Amazon Jonas’s Book is Due Out April 6, 2010 *screaming like a crazy Jonas Brother fan*

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