Lion’s Heat
Author: Lora Leigh
Release Date: April 6, 2010 Publisher:Berkley
Breed Series Book # 21 ** For more information on the Breed book reading order, please see Ms. Leigh’s website here.
ISBN: #0425233804
Genre: Paranormal Romance/Shifter
From the book’s back cover:
Bad boy Jonas Wyatt’s personal assistant, Rachel, has had a child — an innocent new life that has been put in grave danger because of Jonas’s perilous games and calculations played in the shadow-world in which he lives: the dark and sensual world of the Breeds. 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 known for a long time that it is destiny that Rachel become his mate. He can sense it. He can also sense her reluctance. And for that, he refuses to claim her. He wants her on love alone and not because of the urge of the mating heat. But it is Jonas’s destiny to claim her. And he will have his way…
What I’m talking about:
I’ve been waiting for this book for a long time now. I started reading this series with the first book published by Berkley – Megan’s Mark. I don’t know about the books prior to that one, but since that point, Jonas has been a manipulating leader of the Breeds. It was great to see him buckle and just plain “lose it” in this book.
Jonas has always controlled his own life and the lives of countless Breeds around him. He continues to try and stay in control even though he is forced to hire his own mate as a personal assistant. She is just the woman to work for Jonas – she can stand up to him and put him in his place. But she is not aware that she is Jonas’s destined mate. I enjoyed reading how Jonas had to continually fight the urge to take his mate. It warmed my heart that Jonas put Rachel and her child above his own health and needs so that Rachel would be comfortable and find love in her own way. This is VERY different than the prior Breeds’ books.
As always with Ms. Leigh’s books, the sex is hot and passionate. The sex scenes go on for pages and can be graphic at times. But either I am getting used to them or these sex scenes were a bit tame compared to ones in the earlier books.
The overall Breeds story arc took some interesting twists. I think my favorite parts in this book were those that carried on the mythology of the Breeds and their battle for peace and safety. In addition, Ms. Leigh tossed in some new curveballs and unanswered questions. These unresolved issues will bring me back to the next story – regardless of who the main couple will be.
On the negative side: I did notice that there were several repetitive phases and terms used throughout the book. I don’t know if it’s lazy writing or bad editing, but it was a bit annoying to me. I found that I started skimming longer sections that just kind of repeated an earlier section of the book.
Overall, Lion’s Heat is a must read for Breeds fans. If you are new to the series I highly recommend NOT starting with this book. You will lose a lot of important background story. If you can find the earliest books, then start at the beginning. If not, you can start at Megan’s Mark like I did. (See note at beginning of post regarding reading order.)
My Rating:
God I’ve been waiting for Jonas’s book forevah! I really thought Leigh brought her A-game with this one, none of the ‘I’ll sleep with you but I won’t accept being your mate’ business. This one reminded me of Elizabeth’s Wolf, which I loved therefore I loved this one.
Thanks KC… I haven’t read the first few and I really want to – especially after reading Coyote’s Mate – Don’t know much about the wolves. I MUST find a way to get these older books. And I completely agree about the way Jonas and Rachel come together. It was so much better than a lot of the current books-even with the repetitive parts!
Agreed, I enjoyed the actually mating much better in this one than in previous ones. But I admit, I miss the dirty crazy mating sex. LOL
ACK! I so need to get my hands on this book!