Romance Book Review: Lora Leigh's Wake a Sleeping Tiger

Wake a Sleeping Tiger

Series Connection Breeds

Author: Lora Leigh

ISBN: 978-0425265475

Genre: Paranormal Romance, Erotic Romance

Publisher: Berkley

Purchase link: Amazon

This is the 31st book in the Breed series. For the past several books the Breed series have been concentrating on saving Jonas Wyatt’s baby daughter from the serum that the evil Boardmore gave her. During the series we learn of three young breeds that escape from the labs and are hidden away by the community of Window Rock. 

Judd is a young breed who we learn helps the two young girls escape from the labs they were in. Jonas is anxious to get his hands on the three breeds as is the dreaded Council. And let us not forget the very disturbing Gideon. Gideon has been teaching for the three you breeds for years (or so we think).

Now that we’re read the stories of Honor and Fawn, the two girls everyone has been searching for, as well as found out that Gideon isn’t as crazy as we once thought, it is time to meet Judd. Judd, like the two girls has been hiding in plane sight and his mate has always been close too.

Cullen Maverick is a recessed Bengal breed. As the commander of the Navajo Covert Law Enforcement Agency, many believed he was human, but once Gideon’s identity was revealed so was Judd’s and Cullen came out as the breed he is.

When Cullen first moved to Window Rock he fell in love with a human and married her. Cullen’s wife soon died of cancer, but everyone always assumed that he was heartbroken after losing his mate. Everyone including his wife’s cousin Chelsea Martinez. 

All these years Chelsea has lived knowing that she would never have the man she loved. Cullen had met his mate and he would never be hers, but she could have the career she has always wanted. Unfortunately Cullen was blocking that dream, so it was time for Chelsea to leave. 

It isn’t until Chelsea walks out on him, the Cullen finally realizes he’s waited too long to claim Chelsea and if he doesn’t act quick he could lose her for good. But not everyone wants Chelsea and Cullen to get together. Someone would rather see the two suffer, and Cullen needs to find out who to save Chelsea’s life. 

I love this series and watching Cullen and Chelsea fall in love through all the action and mating heat is well worth this read. However, I was a little distracted through the book by the inconsistency in the story and previous other stories. I even went back to reread previous books because parts of this story really bothered me. If you can get past that this is really a good book, with a surprise ending leaving us ready to check out the next story, which I hoping will be Cassie Sinclair’s story. 

Description:

When readers of dark romance and unbridled desire want to be satisfied, they turn to #1 New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh and her “powerful and highly erotic” (Fresh Fiction) Breed novels. Now a Breed hides in the world of man—until a woman arouses the amused and wildly carnal animal within...

Once, he was Judd—Bengal Breed and brother to the notorious fugitive Gideon.

After Gideon disappeared, Judd was experimented on until his tortured body knew nothing but agony.

Now he is Cullen Maverick, serving as the commander of the Navajo Covert Law Enforcement Agency in the small community of Window Rock, Arizona. Despite his genetics, Cullen is able to pass as human because his Bengal traits are recessed. He lacks the ability to smell the emotions, bonds and fears that other Breeds take for granted. And he remains tormented that he wasn’t able to mate the woman he loved—at the cost of her life.

He’s no longer a Breed, merely a man. . . or so he thinks. But his tiger is about to be awakened by the one woman destined to be his—Chelsea Martinez. And their world will never be the same...

Another great in Leigh's Breed Series

Coyote's Mate
Author: Lora Leigh
Series: Coyote's 2
Series Connection: Breeds, Wolves
ISBN: 978-0-425-22633-9
Genre: Paranormal Romance

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Description:
He always knew he would betray her...

Anya Korbin was only sixteen when she first came to Del-Rey Delgado—the genetically altered rebel known as the Coyote Ghost. For six years they plotted to free a group of Coyote women kept in Anya's father's lab. As Anya matured into a woman, she and Del-Rey grew close...but on the day of the ambush, he broke his promise and shot her father.

Filled with rage over the betrayal, Anya discovers an even stronger emotion is consuming her mind and body—the animalistic desire known as mating heat. Though Del-Rey feels it with the same intensity, Anya questions whether she can forgive him or trust him again. As they stealthily maneuver to bring the freed Breeds to safety, one question reigns supreme: Can Anya and Del-Rey survive their own heat?

My View:
The minute the new edition to Lora Leigh's series was on the shelves I made my way to grab a copy and I wasn't disappointed. This addition to the Coyote series will keep readers entertained and filled with emotion. Reading Anya plight will bring tears to the eyes of even the hardest romance reader.

I love the way Lora connects her series. In Mercury's War and Christmas Heat, Lora started a new story line featuring American based companies trying to create drugs to use against the Breeds. In Coyote's Mate she continues offering more pieces to the puzzle, but not completing the story. I'm glad that Lora finally got around to telling Del Rey and Anya's story. In Aiden's Charity the author kept us waiting with more information about the couple that we only meet briefly after finding out that Anya is going through the same mating heat that all the other women in the Breed series. The couple works well together and I liked getting to revisit the wolf compound and catching up Wolfe and Hope again.

On the other hand, while I understand the need to finally find a woman who stands against all the mating heat and stuff, I was a little disappointed the author tried it with this couple. I would love to see a story where Lora portrays a woman who just meets her mate for the first time and bam she's in mating heat and then wants nothing to do with him or the mating heat because she doesn't know him and is scared to death of what's happening to her. Let that character petition to be separated from her mate. While I understood why Anya was angry and mistrusting I also saw the couple's growing love even before the mating. That alone should have seen them back together after a few days not months later. Maybe a good person to have mating troubles like this would be Jonas' character. That could be really entertaining.

While a little disappointing, that didn't detract me from giving this book five stars though. I found the book was well written, the story line appealing and readers of the series will enjoy keeping up with characters and the story. For those who haven't read the series, this is a good one to start on. Lora Leigh takes on a whole new meaning to the weres and mating.