Tempting the Beast
Breeds, Book # 1
By Lora Leigh
ISBN# 9781843607243
Author’s Website:  http://www.loraleigh.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

*Beware of possible SPOILERS*

Well…the cover of this book looked smutty and reading the synopsis on the book didn’t change my mind any.  I was told by others that read it that it really wasn’t—they lied or forgot or something!!  This book was competing at the Smut Olympics.  Now don’t get me wrong, I think smut definitely has its place and I don’t mind reading some from time to time.  But I like my smut to have at least 40-50% storyline…this book had like 10% storyline and 90% sex.

Merinus Taylor is an aspiring journalist that comes from a family of seven brothers (apparently their parents had plenty of sex as well) and her father who are all reporters.  Merinus’s father received a package right before a woman he knows died.  It details experimentation on humans involving genetic engineering.  She explains that she was a surrogate mother for one of these beings, Callan Lyons, a genetic hybrid of a human and lion, who escaped the evil Genetic Council that created him.  He was made to be a killer, but he just wants to be free to live his life in peace.  This lady wants the Taylors to go to him and help guarantee his safety by making public what was done to him so that the government and public can put an end to the labs that are creating creatures like Callan every day.

Merinus is obsessed with Callan and thinks this could be the story that makes her career, but her family thinks it could be too dangerous and would rather keep her at home on a ‘safe’ story.  But luckily her oldest brother, and usually the most protective, Kane, agrees to having her take it on as long as he accompanies her.

Kane and Merinus travel several hours to where Callan lives and study him.  She doesn’t think Callan sees her or knows who she is, but she’s wrong and they continue to play little games with each other pretending they don’t know who or what the other is for several weeks.

Then, Merinus gets an anonymous tip on how to reach the road to Callan’s house that she has been unable to locate.  She follows the directions the caller gave her, but ends up lost in woods.  When she goes looking for help she finds trouble instead in the form of two mercenary soldiers.  Callan and his friend (a fellow experiment), Sherra, get there just in time to save her from being raped and most likely tortured.

Callan now knows that Merinus is in danger and must do what he can to protect her from his enemies.

But neither of them expected the unexplained and insatiable attraction they have for each other.  An attraction that forces them together to stop the physical pain they are both experiencing while apart.  It is a mating frenzy (kind of like a dog in heat) that none of his pride knows much about, but it will change both Merinus’s and Callan’s lives forever.

Where oh where to begin?  First of all I really don’t understand why Merinus’s supposedly over-protective brother would leave her alone and encourage her to make contact with this dangerous beast while he’s away when he’s supposed to be there to keep her safe.  You would have thought if he had to leave, he would have dragged her back with him.

When reading this synopsis of the book and looking at the cover I thought the breeds would be a kind of genetically engineered shape-shifter, but they actually have a human looking form, but just have some of the feline traits that come out in them.

This book was way too sexual for my liking and I found the writing to be a bit crass at times.  I can’t stand the word ‘cunt’ and it was probably the most used word in the whole book.  It drove me insane.  There are others ways that Leigh could have gotten her point across.  And, I absolutely hated this whole “submit to me” “no you submit to me” argument that Merinus and Callan kept having.  He was very ‘you Jane, me Tarzan’ throughout a lot of the book and insisted on being the dominant party of the relationship.  Which OK, I get it…it’s the alpha lion genes coming out, but it didn’t stop it from being annoying.   I found Merinus to be really stupid.  She knows Callan is fighting himself to keep control and from letting his beast nature take over so she teases him and pushes him on purpose to try to make it come out forcing him to nearly rape her at times, which drove me crazy.  Also, I found her character to be weak and obnoxious.  She is one that is always the damsel in distress.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good  male lead swooping in and saving the day, but I don’t want that male lead to ALWAYS have to swoop in especially in this case when most of the times he comes to her aid is because of something stupid she has done.

Overall, I didn’t like this book that much, but it was a quick read.  I think if it wasn’t one sex scene to another (with little to nothing in between) and that whole domination thing it may have been a different story.  I need more than just sex for me to like a book and I felt I was reading the same things over again and again…oh wait I was they just had slight variations from scene to scene. The ‘creamy frothy cunt juices’ were just too much for me, but if you’re looking for something to read on a lonely day to yourself and want to get your blood pumping (among other things)…this may be one for you.

I’ll probably read the next book in the series eventually and hope it’s better than this, but if they don’t improve I’ll forgo the series for something better.  I mean as many people that love this series it has to get better….right?