Ménage à Trois In Review
January 13, 2008
Ah the Ménage à Trois. What a great reason to start off with Samantha Kane. Don’t you think? Read more
Lora Leigh: Elizabeth’s Wolf
March 27, 2007
I know, I know,
Since I have been reviewing series why am I not reviewing the whole Lora Leigh Wolf Breeds series and the whole Lora Leigh Feline Breeds series and the new Coyote Breeds series… etc etc etc, argumentum ad nauseam. Well, nausea would be the key word there.
See, it’s not that I have not bothered to buy and read all these books… I just want to feel good about praising at least one of them out of the bunch. Yes, we are so bananas. Instead when I look at the series available to me in eBook format on Ellora’s Cave I find myself disappointed by repetition and formula. Over and over again I find my ability to be drawn into this world shattered by two dimensional characterization and hokey sex vibes and well, things that I should not be worried about in a romance book. Like why do the felines act just like the wolves and coyotes so often? I mean, I even felt this when I started reading the first books, I had not even read about a single wolf at that point in the series. I liked them well enough despite the god like, always in the know and on top, Power Ranger that is Callan Lyons.
But… after the forth book in the series… I started to wonder if I was reading something generated from an automated checklist.
If you have not read any of the Breeds series then in a nut shell some secret shadow government agency has been playing with DNA and mixing and matching human and animal traits and then raising what they think will be the perrrrrfect soldiers. MEOW! By the time we get to Elizabeth’s Wolf we have already met the Feline Breeds and found out about their assorted clan of Lions and Tigers, but no Bears, nope that will probably be the gay romance series. Oh and notice I did not say one word about their barbed penises, of course that is knot the problem the wolves have. Knot get it? um, I will not quit the day job.
Elizabeth’s Wolf introduces us to Dash Sinclair bad ass soldier extraordinary. A Wolf Breed that escaped the Ilsa, She Wolf of The SS labs and hid himself in the US military fighting foreign wars and kicking much butt. When we meet him he has suffered a tragic accident that took the lives of his men and as he lays in a coma someone starts reading him letters from a little girl by the name of Cassie Colder. Cassie tells him all about her and her mommy Elizabeth. Something magic happens and Dash knows, he just knows, they are in trouble and so he gets his act together and runs off to find them.
Out of all the Breed books this one rocks. The typical Breed formula (mating sex, love sex, anal sex, baby sex) gets canned and for the first half we have a straight on story of the Dash dude, who does not go on and on about laboratory sex-perimentation and well he actually had a life and he has people who like him and stuff, and his fight to help save little Cassie (Damien! OH Damien!) and mommy Elizabeth and keep them safe from the bad guys. The bad guys are not so overly defined like in the other books and are far less mad scientist scary government like omnipotent and/or ridiculous in that order.
Note to Lora: Less sex labs, more militant mafia types… OK?
The fact the kid Cassie is around in the first half keeps us firmly planted in the fast paced action adventure story with only minor sweaty lovers clinches and I’m gonna fuck you threats. That is till about half way through when Lora decides this would be a good time to bring Callan and clan back into the picture. So here are these well drawn characters with depth suddenly running into a wandering gang of comic book cut outs. Oh my, what a messy messy meeting that was. The book was screaming “I wanted to be an only child!”
Despite these faults, I still love this book and hell, I think Lora Leigh does too. This one is not officially part of the Wolf Breeds series. It stands by itself in the listings and also in the writing. Lora actually seemed to have a story to tell, she had interesting characters to introduce us to and this was definitely not just another book written as a place mark for some minor character she introduced as a member of the gang back in book one and now feels obligated to write their story even if all the good plots are already taken. The world she has developed over the series comes to life here and the characters bring depth to it unlike… well, you know. It’s just too bad that the rest of the series just seems to fail to continue the fun this book brought with it. Even though hope, I heard, she springs eternal.
So grab Elizabeth’s Wolf and if you like it start with the Feline Breeds series and see how far you can stand it.
I am not saying you will not enjoy them. I love popcorn and cotton candy and watching Tom Cruise get blown up over and over again just like everyone else. I am simply saying in the end, I was happy I had read this one out of all of them.
Good job Lora, I hope to see you this interested again sometime. Grade B
