23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great continuation of the series, September 6, 2007
I do understand how this book could have crossed some lines in personal taste. And I happen to believe there should be warning blurbs on the backs of books. Regardless, I really liked this book and if you're reading Lora Leigh and don't know you MIGHT just get a little more than you bargained for then you've lived in a vacuum. In fact as much as I liked the other Breed books, I liked this one the best. If you are a Lora Leigh fan then I would be really surprised if you didn't like this book. I think her writing is getting better and better. But I like her style and I can see how some would not. Totally understandable.
Maybe some people are not going to like Scheme because it's hard for them to identify with a woman who has been abused and has searched for love and acceptance the only way she knew how. It's not like she had anything to fall back on but herself and what she could figure out alone. She didn't have a support structure such as family, friends, co-workers, or therapy. She went to extremes because she was pushed to extremes.
As for those who make statements like she was not "worthy" of Tanner because she had, what was it 5 lovers?, while Tanner and his brother (yes together) had sex with anything that didn't move away fast enough, you make me laugh really really hard. You might want to stick to those historical romances where the man all but has syphilis from hitting every brothel and cat house London has to offer while the female is a lily white 18 year-old virgin child. Clearly she would be "worthy" of such a prize.
But I digress...... Scheme is exactly the type of person (fictional or otherwise) who should be admired and usually isn't. She's real and she's flawed - meaning she's a human being. She has a low opinion of her worth due to extreme emotional and physical abuse. She exhibited damaging and self-destructive behaviors in a bid to give herself comfort and love. Ever heard the line "looking for love in all the wrong places"? So basically she's every woman I went to college with.
But that was only a small portion of her character and has gained far more attention than warranted. I admired her strength and I LOVED that she was not a whiner. She didn't ask anyone to feel sorry for her or expect someone else to "fix" all of her problems even when she should have asked for help. She is exactly the type of woman I admire in a book and one I rarely get to read about.
I adore Lora Leigh books and I hope she continues to write for real women who enjoy a romance not written by Disney.
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect read for me **SPOILERS**, August 31, 2007
Hi guys,
I am writing this review after picking up 'Megans Mark' and 'Harmony's Way' then re-reading 'Tanners Scheme'.
First let me get out what I slightly disliked- Scheme's name, and that's about it.
I think that the PLOT of the hero falling in love with the daughter of his nemisis makes great tension. In prior Breed books, the heroine had a standard 'I hate you' reaction to the domineering Breed male. The opening scene at the party where they square off, was exciting to read. It was like 2 fighters circling each other and planning their moves.
What made me rate this 5 stars, was that Tanner decided that though he lacked mating signs, he LOVED Scheme and he wanted her.( Of course he was a little late, after he threw her to his twin, but hey! he came around.)
In the other 2 breed books I read, we see protagonists who are compelled to each other because of the mating hormone. They may dislike each other and the relationship but they have no choice. In this situation the mating hormone is there (I'm assuming so right ?) but Tanner doesn't recognize it. He decides to eventually defy his DNA, and say 'I'm taking my woman, mating signs or not!' That's manly right there!
Oh- I had absolutely no problem with Tanner's or Scheme's past sexual experince and the different scenes in the book- example where Cabal was watching them have sex. People, this is Lora Leigh. She has been pretty *tame* so far in her mainstream books- check out Ellora's cave website to see what she is really capable of.
Inevitably in books, the heroine does something rather silly that has me sighing aloud; I was gratified in this novel, that when Scheme did her part (she ran away from the safety of the caves against Tanners wishes - STRAIGHT into the enemy) she did have the presence of mind to berate herself. So she wasn't all 'wrong and strong' about it, she realised she made a mistake and felt kinda like an idiot.
All in all a very hot book with a hot lead. I definitely recommend it!
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22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 Klovers! Courtesy of CK2S Kwips & Kritiques, August 6, 2007
**Tanner's Scheme is my Recommended Read for July 2007**
For years, he has watched her. Waited for his opportunity. When it finally comes, Tanner wastes no time confronting his enemy Scheme, daughter of General Tallent, a man who has committed numerous atrocities against the Breeds race. And Scheme was a party to at least some of them. Her signature is on kill orders; there is no question of her guilt. The time has come for her to pay for her crimes, and Tanner is determined she will do so at his hands.
Yet when he is faced with this duplicitous, beautiful woman, nothing adds up. His eyes and ears tell him one thing, but her scent tells a different story. And scents never lie - not to a Bengal Breed, whose olfactory senses are more highly developed than any other Breed. When General Tallent's pet assassin attempts a hit on Scheme, Tanner knows there is more to the story than meets the eye. And he is determined to uncover every last one of Scheme's secrets, no matter what he has to do to get them.
But his plans start to backfire when he realizes Scheme is much more than she seems, and every instinct in him screams to protect her from all threats. But the only way to protect her from her father is by granting her asylum in the Breed community and the only way to save her from Breed Law is if he can mate her!
I read my first Lora Leigh novel in April of 2006 and was an immediate fan of this author's works. Within a few months, I had devoured every book of hers I was able to get my greedy little book-loving hands on. Although she has many different series, all of which I love, the Breeds saga quickly emerged as one of my top favorites from Leigh. And the Breed whose story I have been hungering for the most was Tanner Reynolds.
From the first moment he appeared in the Breeds series, I was captivated by him. His wit, his charm - both served to endear him to me immediately. And later, when we began to hear rumors about him and his twin, Cabal, in other stories, I fell for him more and more. As high as my expectations were for Tanner's Scheme, Lora Leigh surpassed them all! Having set him up as the playboy of the Breed race, she then proceeds to peel away the superficial layers to show us the real Tanner beneath the playboy - the dark, serious Tanner who ably lives up to his legacy as a Bengal Tiger Breed. Yes, Tanner is still playful, but we learn that playfulness hides a predator worthy of his genetics. We see that in spite of his numerous sexual exploits, for the past ten years he has been inexplicably drawn to the one woman he shouldn't want. That desire has twisted him up inside, eaten away at his heart and his soul, knowing that Scheme daughter to one of the Breeds' greatest enemies, and as well as foe in her own right.
Scheme is the perfect foil-er, MATE to Tanner. Her sacrifices on behalf of the Breed community, a race that knows nothing of her work to save their kind and despises her unanimously, are all at once noble and heart-rending. Regardless of the hatred from the Breeds, despite the tortures her own father performs on her, she continues her work without thought for her own welfare.
General Tallent is the kind of villain that will turn your stomach and make it a little harder to sleep at night. The numerous atrocities he has committed against both the Breeds and his own daughter are bad enough, but his belief that he fights on the side of righteousness is what will really stop your heart. He is a criminal who believes what he is doing is right, a supremacist that is content to completely wipe out the Breed race if he cannot control them.
Tanner's Scheme had tears running down my cheeks more than once. Learning what Scheme suffered at the hands of her father twisted my guts, and seeing Tanner's reaction when he discovered the same was simultaneously heart-breaking and heart-warming. Watching this couple overcome their pain, their mistrust, and find a way to bridge the secrets that threaten to keep them apart forever was enough to break my heart. But it is the depth of this story's angst that ultimately makes the happy ending that much sweeter.
And there is a happy ending, of course. Lora Leigh delivers a very satisfying ending for Tanner and Scheme's story, served up with plenty of sexual heat along the way! Tanner's Scheme is a veritable roller coaster of emotion, and is definitely a contender for the position as her best Breeds story yet!
Series Order (NY books only):
Megan's Mark (The Breeds, Book 1) (Berkley Sensation)
Harmony's Way (The Breeds, Book 2)
Tanner's Scheme (The Breeds, Book 3)
Dawn's Awakening (The Breeds, Book 4)
Connected Books:
Hot Spell (The Guardians, Book 1) (The Breed Next Door) (The Countess's Pleasure) (The Blood Kiss)(Falling For Anthony)
Beyond the Dark
Shifter (Berkley Sensation)
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