Customer Reviews

The Man Within (Feline Breeds, Book 2)

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Roni has been in love with Taber since she was a little girl. She has struggled to survive living with a father who is never home, and only cared about himself. Roni is older now and can not seem to stay out of trouble. Taber is always there to her rescue. With every encounter their lust for each other, grows stronger, deeper.

Taber is a genetically altered Feline Breeds, with many of the attributes of a large jungle cat. His protective nature towards Roni is only strengthened, when he finally marks her as his mate. Taber and Roni become estranged and do not see each other for fifteen months. They will come together when Roni's mark is revealed on national TV. Taber now, must claim his mate and bond her to him forever.

"The Man Within: Feline Breeds 2" is Lora Leigh's second book in this prrr..fectly mastered Feline series. As you can see by the title it is the second of a series that, with each flip of a page, will amerce you body and soul. This book is highly erotic. Days later, I can still feel the heat emanating off me whenever I recall the provocative dialogue between Taber and Roni. Taber is so alpha, the air around him crackles with his larger than life ego. With his animalistic urges so close to the surface, he radiates heat and sex. Roni must learn to tame the beast within Taber. When Roni finally quiets Taber's demons, she herself, finds peace. Lora Leigh's talent, and consistent ability to write one great story after another, has put her at the top of her field in erotic romance. You will never be disappointed when you picked up one of Lora Leigh's books, and they, along with The Man Within: Feline Breeds 2, are sure to be your favorites.

This is another in Lora Leigh's Breed series. Genetically created men and women, genes altered so they carry traits of big cats, wolves and other animals. The series has endless possibilities, and look for Leigh to carry it to NYC mainstream print soon. This is a super-charge erotica tale, yet Leigh has a craft that transcends erotica.

Roni is a poignant character. Found hiding in a Wood by Taber when she was eleven, he has kept watch over her, tried to protect her. Now, she is a grown woman and he is still getting her out of scrapes. Roni is used to, at best, an indifferent father, abusive when he wants money from her. Worse, he's always getting into trouble and it comes down on Roni. She has grown up basically alone, no one there for her. Roni has wanted Taber, been in love with him since she was sixteen, but Taber ignores this and tries to be a big brother.

Taber keeps his distance because he is Feline Breed. In Wolf Breed the genes are recessive, but not in the cats. Many of the feline traits are evident, so he feels he has no right to love Roni. As Roni pushes for more from Taber, he marks her. Something about the Felines, that physical mark their mate, similar to a passion mark, but the mark never vanishes. Due to Roni thinking Taber didn't' want her and Taber getting a message Roni wanted nothing to do with him, they keep their distance for over a year.

However, when the news of the Breeds exploded on the television, her father becomes aware Roni carries Taber's mark. Instead of keeping his mouth shut daddy dearest sees it as a way to make big bucks. The covert operatives that ran the Breed Program are hunting them down and killing them. They also want more information on the mates, the women whom they are claiming. Roni would bring a big chunk of change for her father. When she refuses to cooperate, he reveals her bond with Taber, forcing Taber to come claim her to save her from those hunting him. He knows she is a target now, that he must come and claim his mate.

Only Roni is unprepared for what that means, and really doesn't want to be his mate now that he turned his back on her for so long.

It's erotica, not the more mainstream of the brilliant Elizabeth's Wolf. So know that going in. Leigh is a talent to be reckoned with. Where she really excels is her characters. She makes you know these people, makes you care. I eagerly await her jump to NYC publishers and see what she does with a bigger showcase.

Just when I thought I'd read it all or that I'd read as far as Lora Leigh could go, she goes and does it again for me. We like it hot (if we're reading erotica) and she provides just the right amount of spice to kick that hot into overdrive. Watch out and prepare to dial 911 when you read this one.

Veronica Andrews has had feelings for Taber ever since he found her in the woods, escaping into herself to avoid her less than ideal life with her deadbeat dad. Since then she has idealzed Taber and eventually grown to love him. He gets her out of many scrapes as she grows up, never letting on to her that he feels the same. Until one fateful day when their feelings cannot be contained any longer. Roni confronts Taber about his being one of the now famous Breeds that are all over the news. When their feelings get out of control, Taber backs off, promising to come for her later only to never return. Three years later Roni is yanked into the public limelight when her father tips off the media about her past relationship with Taber. Accosted by the media crawling through her hometown, she has no choice but to run - straight to Taber. He rescues her, taking her back to the Breed compound where they can be safe, or so they think. Despite the massive public support for them, there are small groups clanging for their demise and the ever persistent Genetics Council is still determined to reclaim their experiments. As the animal lust rages through both Taber and Roni, they along with th rest of the feline Breeds must continue to find a way to survive in a world that both loves and hates them.

Lora Leigh has produced another set of lead characters that practically flame right off the pages. Roni is understandably mad at Taber for what she considers abandonment years ago, while Taber's true animal nature comes screaming to the foreground, insisting that Roni is his mate and therefore his to claim as he will. It doesn't take long for Roni to come around again to her deep feelings for Taber and they begin to work together to keep eachother as well as the other Breeds alive. There's no hope for it now. Must read all the other Breed books pronto! I couldn't get enough of Taber and Roni knew just how to tame her wild man. I just hope that the rest of Leigh's Breed characters are as hot and yummy to read about as her first two heros. If you haven't read the first bok, Tempting the Beast, do read it first to clear up the mystery of the genetics council and who the Breeds are. Don't worry, it's worth it!

After reading Feline Breeds 1, I couldn't wait for Feline Breeds 2, The Man Within. Taber has protected Roni since she was 11 years old and has watched over her into adulthood. Roni has always loved Taber, but doesn't know that he is one of the Feline Breeds who has animal DNA and escaped from the experimentation labs. He stays away from Roni sexually because he doesn't want to involve her in his dangerous life, since the Council (who forcibly altered men and women with animal DNA) is hunting the Breeds. They finally are going to get involved sexually, but are torn apart by treachery and deceit, but not before Taber has "marked" Roni as his mate. When Taber sees Roni being attacked by reporters because of her "mark", he decides that it's well past time he claim her as his mate. And claim her he does! This book has lots of "leave nothing to the imagination" sex, but more than that, it has a story that grabs you and doesn't let go. Taber expects Roni to accept that they are mated and she will just accept it - not so. Roni gets in Taber's face every chance she gets. The great thing about that is, Taber is a prime hunter who doesn't take crap from anyone - but he loves it when Roni stands up for herself. Anyone who has read the Wolf Breeds from Lora Leigh will absolutely love the Feline Breeds. Buy the book - sit back and prepare to be entertained and aroused. I can't wait for the next Feline Breeds book to come out.

I''m one of those who likes a little stronger plot-to-sex ratio than found in this book. With a title like The Man Within, I was expecting the story to delve a little more into the psyche of this mixed-breed. But the story revolved mostly around the mating of Roni and Taber - which was interesting! Don't get me wrong. Lora Leigh writes with a sophisticated touch, and the sex scenes are hot, hot, hot. But in the end I wanted the characters to have a little more emotionally at stake. After all, there is only so many times I can read about her 'wanting him more than she ever had before' before it all starts to run together. I would have been more pleased with a story that explored in greater detail the complexity of being a mixed breed person.

This is the first Lora Leigh I have ever read. I did enjoy it and will look for others of hers. But I won't dip into her catalog when looking for more than a HOT book, because I don't think she's developed the characters or the world of these beings very much beyond the basic premise of the laboratory experiment. We never visit the point of view of any of the antagonists to get the flavor of the larger universe of this story. I still think Kresley Cole is my favorite author in this genre. Even Sherrilyn Kenyon has a little more plot complexity and emotional depth with her Dark-Hunter novels than found with these characters, and she has a feline-human character in Dark Side of the Moon. Another author who put together a charming cat-man (pair) is Dara Joy, with her Familiar Species, in Mine to Take and Rejar.

But the steamy scenes in The Man Within are very well written! Definitely on a par with the best that's out there, and interesting in an of themselves.

FELINE BREEDS 2: THE MAN WITHIN by Lora Leigh is a very sexual, very steamy romance about a genetically engineered man who is part panther and the woman who leaves behind everything to love him. I rather enjoyed this short erotic novel. It is a fast read with an interesting plot and characters who catch your interest. Taber is all alpha male, and his cat features are fascinating, especially his purr. Roni has loved him since she was a child, but his betrayal destroyed her, and so she wants nothing to do with him. However, they are destined to be mates, and she goes into heat, ensuring she can't resist him.

My only negative is that the book would have benefited from an editor. Aside from the random grammatical error, a few choice words are repeated every other page nonstop (including "f*ck," "p*ssy," and "womb"), but that isn't so bad. What I found distracting is that in the prologue, Roni is 22 years old. Three years (and 14 chapters) later, she's still 22 years old. That's a pretty good trick. I wish I could accomplish that.

Anyway, to better understand THE MAN WITHIN, I'd suggest reading the first book in the series, called FELINE BREEDS 1: TAMING THE BEAST. In my opinion, the first book is crude and raunchy, but it explains the plotline and how Taber, etc. came to be genetically engineered. I found the love scenes in the second book, THE MAN WITHIN, to be a lot more yummy and the relationship a lot more emotional. The next book is called FELINE BREEDS 3: KISS OF HEAT, which I'm actually looking forward to reading.

Recently I reviewed Lora Leigh's Tempting the Beast, Feline Breeds 1. It's an erotic romance centered around the unusual relationship between Callan, a man who is the product of genetic experimentation (a mix of human and feline DNA), and Merinus, a human journalist who wants to protect him. Book 2 is its own, separate story, but it does pick up shortly after the first book left off. In it, Taber, one of Callan's Pride, discovers that Roni, a young woman from his past, is his own destined mate--and she's in a great deal of danger from the people who created him.

As I mentioned in my review of the first book, despite the military and genetics aspects of the plot, this isn't science fiction--it's a paranormal romance. The "science" is hand-wavy plot device stuff. That said, it's no more flimsy than you'd see on your average entertaining Saturday night horror flick, so unless you're a real stickler for believable science in your plots, I don't think it's a problem.

In most trilogies book two is the slowest and has the most problems; in this case, I like it better than books one and three. Taber and Roni have great chemistry, and there's a tenderness to their relationship that I enjoyed. The sex scenes are even better in this one--same warning though, they're far from tame in content and language, so they aren't for prudes. While the sex does get a bit rough, one of the things I love about Leigh's stories is that the men & women hold their own with each other very well--in and out of bed.

The writing contains a few perspective shifts that confused me as to whose thoughts were being explored at the moment, but other than that it's good. While the story itself stands alone, I highly recommend reading the series in order as sub-plots and character threads continue throughout.

If you're looking for a high plot-so-sex ratio, or restrained, tame sex scenes, this book and series are not for you. If, however, you like things wild and crazy and don't care if the premise takes a back seat to the sex, this is a searing hot book in a fun series.

I'm sold.



Friends had been urging me to read Lora Leigh's books for some time; this one sat on the TBR shelf for several weeks while I worked up courage to try. I'd looked several times at Ms. Leigh's books here on Amazon.

The reviews were always good, but I've learned to be leery of some of these; I think maybe some reviewers here are more interested in raking in perks than giving an honest review (let's just say that there's one whom I now refer to as 'Kiss-of-death-Klausner', because if she reviews it, I know NOT to buy it!)

I read this, expecting it to be formulaic and sprinkled with li'l pink rosettes (ugh). Wrong a bit on the first count--totally wrong on the second (what a blessed relief!) *G*.

While there are aspects to the plot that are a bit formulaic (and I won't go much into plot here since so many already have), the author still manages to maintain a good deal of reader interest in what's happening--and what will happen. This book, for instance, ends with a hint that its heroine and hero will still be integral to upcoming plots. I liked this very much, since, like most of us who are suckers for a good character, I hate to say goodbye to one when I find one.

And why not have more of a good thing? It works for LKH, and I'm glad Ms. Leigh is smart enough to see it working for her. This book does work well as a stand alone--I've yet to read any of the others in the series yet, a situation I intend to remedy right away--while still piqueing reader interest for more.

The lead characters here were all given the attention they deserved (for which this reader is truly thankful), and the action was enough to keep the book moving along. The love scenes were absolutely SIZZLING! Among the best I've ever read, if not the best. Some writers make the mistake of not infusing tenderness into the lusty parts of a love story; LL has absolutely no problems in that area. These scenes are able to hit on all levels; no one-dimensionality here!

In perhaps the only negative here, I was a bit irked at the overly simplistic handling and wrap up of the heroine's 'father'; the author does hint that there is more to come on that though, so I'm willing to cut her some slack in hopes we'll see that it feeds into the overall series plot.

In this genre this is probably the best book I've yet read. And yes, it is a keeper. Now I'm off to buy the rest of this series and try to find some more keepers! *G*

So, good entertaining plot, hot characters, hot sex, great love story--just a really great and entertaining read--A+++!

I had never read anything by this author before, but I will endevor to find and read anything she writes in the future.

This is book 2 in the Feline Breeds series. The Genetics Council used genetic experimentation to create humans with animal DNA, called Breeds. The Breeds were tortured, experimented upon and kept in captivity, but eventually escaped. The Council and other groups are trying to capture and/or kill them.

Roni is human. Taber, a Breed, is part tiger (or other large cat). He has known and helped Roni for years as she grew up in a troubled home environment. When she was 19, they were on the verge of a romantic relationship, when they each received a note from the other saying that they didn't want to be with each other. His note to her said that she was too young and not the kind of woman he needed. Her note to him said she found him too rough, crude and frightening and she wanted someone who treated her softly. They each were hurt and went their separate ways.

CAUTION SPOILERS:
Circumstances bring them together three years later but she continues to be angry because of his letter. This conflict continues for more than half of the book. We then learn that Dayan forged both letters and delivered them to both Roni and Taber, for the purpose of breaking them up. I did not enjoy this conflict at all. A simple phone call (saying I got your letter, goodbye) would have exposed the forgery and avoided the conflict. The conflict was based on inaccurate assumptions, which is one of my pet peeves. Later, when they do get together, they have sex at least twice before they discover that the letters were false. I suppose this was to have anger-based sex scenes, but it didn't work for me.

For her own safety, Roni is staying with Taber and other Breeds. A subplot involves her father trying to kidnap her to turn her over to enemies of the Breeds.

Sexual language: strong/erotic. Number of sex scenes: seven, some several pages long. Setting: Sandy Hook, Kentucky and Virginia. Copyright: 2003. Genre: erotic paranormal romance.

For a listing of my reviews of other Lora Leigh books, see my 4 star review of "Tempting the Beast" posted on 6/30/08.