Burning Wild & Leopard's Fury by Christine Feehan
Okay, so as you can tell, I have been going through books like crazy, so here I am reviewing the last two books I have on hand in Christine Feehan's Leopard series....FYI
Burning Wild (Leopard series, Book 3, ABRIDGED) by Christine Feehan/ narrated by Jeffrey Cummings
Amazon Book Blurb: Bred by capricious parents for his innate leopard-shifting abilities, billionaire Jake Bannaconni has spent his life in an emotional vacuum – especially after a tragic twist of fate left him to raise his infant son alone. But when his path crosses that of an enigmatic young woman, Jake’s life takes a detour he never fathomed. There is something irresistible about Emma Reynolds – something Jake can’t live without. Hiring her as his son’s nanny will keep her close. And warm. And under watch. She’s the first human to stir something in Jake, something he’s never felt before. But Emma may not be at all what she seems. And what’s raging between them is pure animal instinct – out of control, burning wild and as hot as the lick of a flame.
Again, most of Feehan’s series you don’t necessarily have to read them in order. I have no clue, at this time, what the first book is, but I didn’t feel lost in any way shape or form as I read through other books in the series. The other thing I want to note on this one is that the narrator is not all that great, funny actually in a lot of instances when he tries to do the voices of some of the characters. In some instances, it messes up the story a little and in other instances, it just made me laugh. Overall, I would recommend actually reading this one as opposed to listening to it.
****SPOILERS**** With that said, THIS TOO WAS HOT! You grew up with the hero, Jake, in this one as opposed to his back story being woven through out, that was cool. To me, Emma had a little more of a back bone then Rachael appeared too, which was refreshing. The other thing I liked, was this story line had kids. Most of the time, kids are not involved at all, or they come at the end as part of the happily ever after. Kids are easily cannon fodder in the life of the supernatural, but human or otherwise, they are a natural part of life, so I like seeing them in this genres story line. The setting in this one did not give me the same wow factor as the last as it primarily took place on a ranch in Texas. Not much depth in that.
I have 1 more of this series sitting on my desk, but after 2, I can see they will all kind of be the same and I will need to take a break. It doesn’t mean the story is any less interesting just that they can get boring. We shall see.
Leopard’s Fury (Leopard series, Book 10, UNABRIDGED) by Christine Feehan/ narrated by Jim Frangione
Author’s Book Blurb: A ruthless criminal unleashes his most feral desires in the new Leopard novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wild Cat.
Passion melts the will of an ice-cold criminal when he meets the one woman who can tame the beast inside him.
With her own bakery in San Antonio, Evangeline Tregre made a new life far from the brutal lair of shifters she was born into. Though she is all too aware of her leopard-shifter blood, she never felt the sensation of a wild animal stirring inside her. Not until Alonzo Massi walked into her bakery. The powerful shifter is as irresistible as he is terrifying, but his icy demeanor tells her to keep her distance.
Alonzo knows better than to let himself get involved with someone like Evangeline. She doesn't deserve the type of danger that follows him, or the threat of his Amur leopard. But even with his lean muscle and iron will, Alonzo isn't strong enough to stay away from the one woman who can make him feel at peace. And when their secret lives draw a mortal threat, Alonzo unleashes the feral passion he keeps pent up inside himself.
I have to laugh and share this as my opening review. I have a 6 and 10-year-old, so I am no stranger to Disney movies. The first line in this version of the book was, “Damn it Evangeline,” I immediately thought of the Princess and the Frog and laughed for a good 2 minutes. Sorry, moving on…
****SPOILERS****I will admit though I enjoy the more dominate sexual encounters then the fluffy ones, the use of c**k and f**k to me are over used in this series and kind of ruin the flow for me. I am not saying they don’t have their use, but not as the default. Totally a personal preference. Also, I’ve never thought Russian all that a beautiful language, but I LOVED Alonzo’s terms of endearment to Evangeline and his use is Russianglish…now I KNOW that is not a word, but when we speak English and Spanish in my house, we call it Spanglish, so this is a spin-off of that. Don’t judge me…
As for the story…it was a welcomed changed. There was an actual story here, not just the romance. I liked that they both came from a sorted past. I liked their individual communication with their leopards internally as though they were 2 different people occupying the same space with two minds and feelings and wants. The way they had to work with each other to make sure both parties were not only safe but happy as an entity was different from the shifter books I have read. I like that they were both strong/bull headed, not just the male and I liked that even when Evangeline found her mate, she remiand strong willed to the end. Being in a mafia/cartel (whatever) lifestyle, is a lot like a governing body and they had those “politics” in the book, woven throughout the story from beginning to end. Though it was love at first sight for both of them, they got to know each other and what made them tick. They tried to fight that attraction because they didn’t think it was best for their life. Those elements made the story relatable.
I would absolutely recommend this one, even after you have read some of the others and they are all seeming the same, this will be refreshing. It has blood, violence, personal development, romance, courting and of course, it would not be a Christine Feehan book without hot sex…really hot sex.
Happy reading.
