Burning Wild (Leopard People, #2) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Mar 18, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it it was amazing

Shelves: antihero, favorites, stalkerific-hero, owned-copy, fated-to-be-mated, paranormal-romance, shapeshifter, abused, part-of-a-series, favorite-or-autobuy-author

Okay, Jake's parents did everything they could to make him into a serial killer. Thank God he was too strong for that. Jake was an intense guy who had a facade of not caring about anything and being out for himself. But truly that wasn't who he was. He was a dangerous and ruthless man, but he had the capacity for devotion and love. Thankfully he met Emma and she brought that out in him.

This was a really intense book. I truly enjoyed it and had trouble putting it down. I was reading it every chan Okay, Jake's parents did everything they could to make him into a serial killer. Thank God he was too strong for that. Jake was an intense guy who had a facade of not caring about anything and being out for himself. But truly that wasn't who he was. He was a dangerous and ruthless man, but he had the capacity for devotion and love. Thankfully he met Emma and she brought that out in him.

This was a really intense book. I truly enjoyed it and had trouble putting it down. I was reading it every chance I could. Like all of the Feehan books I've read, this one packs a wallop. The love scenes were fiery. I was holding my breath out of fear that they would be more than I could handle, but they were not. Some sensitive readers might have a few moments of breath holding, but as a reader who does not like erotica in her romances, I was fine.

Jake and Emma really are a great match. At first glance, it might seem that Emma is too gentle for a hard-edged man like Jake, but she really complements him. And she has inner steel behind the sweet, homemaking facade. Jake is one of my favorite kinds of heroes, ones on the edge that find their salvation in being loved and in loving. He was very dominant but he didn't go over the top with it, like some characters can do. I think it's because despite his dominance and his rough-edges, he knew how to protect and care for those that were in his care and who mattered to him. I loved how he tended to collect stray people who had been hurt and damaged by life. Aww! How could I not love him?

The violence is inherent in this storyline about a man/leopard who was raised by evil, cruel parents, and lives in a world where betrayal is always lurking. But it was tasteful and not over the top. The climax is electrifying and keeps you on the edge of the seat. You feel like you are right there in the midst of the action.

As usual, Feehan introduces you to secondary characters that you want to read more about, such as Drake, Conner, Joshua, Evan, and Susan. I hope that we get to see them find their happy ending.

As a lover of shapeshifter books, I am glad I have another really good one to add to my keeper list. Unusual and intriguing, and thoroughly enjoyable, I found this book irresistible and worth the time and energy I spent reading it. ...more

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Dec 16, 2008 MelissaB rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal-romance, favorite-paranormal-romance, 2009-reads, shapeshifters, christine-feehan-leopard-people

Jake Bannaconni is a leopard shapeshifter who lives to acquire enough money and power to take down his evil parents and their friends. He was badly abused as a child but survived by dreaming of the day he destroys their lives. At the age of 33, he has acquired a lot of money and power but feels like he is still missing something. He is going to be a father soon after being tricked by his enemy's daughter. She is in a car accident that claims her life but the medics are able to save his son. The Jake Bannaconni is a leopard shapeshifter who lives to acquire enough money and power to take down his evil parents and their friends. He was badly abused as a child but survived by dreaming of the day he destroys their lives. At the age of 33, he has acquired a lot of money and power but feels like he is still missing something. He is going to be a father soon after being tricked by his enemy's daughter. She is in a car accident that claims her life but the medics are able to save his son. The two-car accident also claims the life of another man - Emma Reynold's husband. When Jake sees Emma, he feels a connection to someone for the first time in his life. Emma is all alone in this world after losing her husband. She is newly pregnant but the doctor wants her on bed rest to save the child after she is injured in the car accident. Jake is obsessed with Emma from the first time he sees her and does everything he can to get her in his life. He offers her a place to stay so she can rest and teach him how to care for his son. She has no where to go so she accepts his offer as long as he allows her to work once she is better.

Once they are on his Texas ranch, Jake does everything he can to insinuate himself into Emma's heart. She is the most honest person he has ever met, which is amazing to him because he always expects betrayal and deceit. He is very careful not to let her see his attraction to her so that she can feel safe but all along he plans to seduce her eventually because he wants her to love him. Over the course of two years, Emma has a baby girl, becomes a mother to Jake's son and takes over as the housekeeper of the house. She makes a home for Jake and tries to open up his heart. Jake does not believe in love and has cut himself off from all emotion after his horrible childhood. Emma tries to show him how to love his son and her daughter, who he claims as his own.

After two years of grieving her husband and being a mother, Emma begins to wake up sexually toward Jake. She has fallen in love with him because he treated her well and protected her for two years. He sees himself as a very hard man because he is ruthless in business and with his enemies but she sees him as man who always looks out for those who need help. He gives jobs to people who have handicaps or are down on their luck and always tries to help and protect them. Jake has always been very attracted to Emma but did not try to seduce her while she was still grieving. Once he finds out she is attracted to him as well, all bets are off and the intense sexual tension explodes into passion.

This is one very exciting and hot book. Jake is a VERY dominant man who always wants to have his own way. Emma is the perfect match for him because she will stand up to him on the important stuff but she is also willing to let the small things go. She is a very sweet and loving person who is willing to fight against Jake's inner demons because she believes he is a better person inside. Jake is very dominant in bed as well, he is rough and aggressive but Emma teaches him to slow down and be gentle sometimes. Jake was frustrating at times because he tried to back away every time he started feeling too much for Emma. He was so afraid to open up his heart and be vulnerable that he tried to put emotional distance between them whenever she got too close to him. Jake was over bearing at times but he was also kind and protective. Emma knew going into the relationship how Jake was (controlling, over protective, domineering), so she walked into the relationship with her eyes open knowing she would have to teach Jake that it was okay to love. She knew that he loved his son and daughter, even if he couldn't admit it to himself. She was very strong emotionally and was able to go toe to toe with Jake whenever he tried to take over too much of her life. There was also a bit of a surprise twist toward the end that helps put Emma on more equal footing with Jake, which I like because I felt it helped balance out the power in the relationship.

If you enjoy a dominant hero and a very engaging story, check out this book. The writing was very good, the story sucks you in from page one and takes you on a great ride. There were relatively few "Feehanisms" (though she does manage to sneak in molten lava and black velvet voice) and I did not feel like the love scenes were the same thing over and over (which has been a complaint with this author). The hero is rough at points (especially during the sex scenes) but he had a hard life and tries very hard to change into a better person for Emma. She teaches him to love her and the children, while he gives her the family and home she always wanted. ...more

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May 29, 2009 Cindy rated it it was amazing

Another intense page-turner for Christine Feehan. I loved the tortured hero attempting to overcome a life long history of abuse and struggling to not succumb to the warmth and love of the heroine... Jake was a hard, manipulative control-freak, mostly because he didn't know any other way to be, and Emma went ahead and did what she felt was right. Was she intimidated? Yes. Did she cave? No. Did our hero fall for her and the children? Completely.

Warning, there is a lot of violence in this book inc ...more

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Nov 12, 2009 Kelly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Let me start off saying I HATE the cover. I remember someone in my Paranormal group mentioning that they started this book didn't have much hope for it but after a few pages they were in like with a leopard!
It was on the shelf at the library so I thought what the heck.

I could not put it down. I fell for Jake and fell hard. I loved that he was a control freak and bossy. I loved how Emma stayed true to him the whole time. I loved that they both loved each others children. I loved how they would st ...more

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