Title: Leopard’s Blood
Series: Leopard People Book #10
Stand Alone Title: yes
Author: Christine Feehan
Genre: Romance, Paranormal
Blurb: Though born into a leopard’s lair in the bayou, Joshua Tregre’s fighting skills were honed in the rainforests of Borneo. Sleek and deadly, he’s the perfect man to take over a crime syndicate back home in Louisiana’s lush swamplands. His razor sharp instincts give him an edge in the violent underworld he knows so well, but even the watchful leopard inside him isn’t prepared for the danger that comes from the girl next door…
She is a woman who can create beauty out of thin air—and out of the ruins of her own life. The games that dangerous men play have taken their toll on her, but she is bent, not broken. And it’s her fierce spirit that’s like a lure to Joshua, a temptation he can’t resist—even if it means bringing his true nature into the light…
Favorite quotes: “We are not f@$k buddies,” he hissed, between clenched teeth. “You are permanent. Mine. My woman. My mate. I’m not your damn boyfriend. I’m no boy and not yet your friend. We’re working on that. I’m your man. Your mate. I belong to you the same way you belong to me. I have your body and you have mine. I want your heart and your mind. I want to be your best friend. And I want to be all that for you.”
“You aren’t understanding me, baby. I need you to kiss me. I always feel as if I’m on the verge of losing you. I did lose you for three f@#$ing days. I counted the damn minutes. You kiss me so I know you’re with me, suffering the way I am. Thinking about me the way I’m thinking about you. I haven’t slept in three nights, and that’s the truth. I needed your body curled up in my bed, my body wrapped around yours. Don’t know when I’ll get sleep, but it has to be soon. You get me? It has to be soon.”
Thoughts: This has always been a favorite series of mine, and one that I generally still pick up by Christine Feehan. It’s a good solid book by Feehan, no doubt. Starting out, Sonia is already experiencing her heat so the sexual aspect of this story is immediate, wild, and erotic. I was expecting a bit more build up into the story first, but it added an interesting twist anyway. The action part kicks in eventually and we learn a lot about both of our characters and their pasts. For me, the characters are largely drawn together by sex and sex only – their relationship hinges on that. I didn’t really feel that they developed much romantically, or perhaps just not enough for me. They did bond and confide in each other some further into the book, but it still felt largely like sex and not much else. I really wanted more, and it just never quite got there for me. Joshua was also a rather demanding alpha character, and the relationship between him and Sonia was rough and rowdy. As with most shifter storylines there is a lot of ‘marking each other’ and a few physical type altercations, but that also seemed rather over the top and I can see it being a possible turn off for some readers. Not all readers, but some, particularly those that do not like the overly alpha males.
Overall, for me this one didn’t have the same feel as previous books in this series. I’m not sure what it was exactly, but it felt different to me. It wasn’t a bad thing at all, just different. Personally, I also kind of miss the earlier books in the series before we started focusing on mob connections, etc.
Leopard’s Blood was a great read though, and one of the better ones from Feehan’s more recent releases. Enough so to tempt me to maybe go back and pick up a few I’ve missed along the way in her Dark series!
Rating: B
