A Penguin eSpecial from Berkley Sensation - A Novella of the Breeds

Tortured brooding breed male on the hunt for Counsel conspirators moves in next door to plucky female with Breed sympathies. Some cute moments in the beginning when she rails at him for cutting his lawn wrong, and he is attractively vulnerable while longing for her baked goods, soon descend into routine sex and violence.

In order to fit this Breeds story into a novella length, Leigh surgically removed most of the story and all of the character development. I am not a stickler. The Breeds books are meant to be steamy and entertaining, not literature, and that's why I like them. However, it seems like Leigh set up a plot, then decided developing it/resolving conflicts took up too much space, so she settled for just leaving in a lot of hot sex.

I recommend skipping this one - even for compulsive Breed buyers - wait for the next (complete) book in her publishing schedule.

I enjoyed The Breed Next Door, but it needs to be longer. I felt as though I didn't really know either character, so I wasn't invested in them. It was an enjoyable read, but definitely needs to be longer.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi

Lion Breed, Tarek Jordan suffered great torments while in one of the Breed labs. He wasn’t the good little soldier they wanted and he was beaten often, when he stepped out of line. His trainers drilled it into his head that he’s not human, he’s nothing more than an animal, a tool for them to use as they see fit. He will never find love because, who would love an animal? Not even God could love him as he was created not born. He is still tormented by nightmares of his time in the lab, and the things he was told are never far from his mind. He’s free now, trying to live his life like a normal human, but he knows it for the lie it is.

He’s now trying to hunt down one of the very trainers that hurt him. But when he finds an intruder trying to break into his beautiful neighbor’s house, his protective instincts take over and he soon discovers Lyra is actually his mate, the one person made for him! His kiss will set free a passion unlike anything either of them has ever experienced.

This was a pretty quick read that can easily be finished in one sitting. But for it being such a short installment, it was pretty good. The story did not suffer from the shortened story and I left it feeling that the tale was complete and it was a solid four stars.

I did enjoy Tarek. He had been beaten down by his trainers for so long, made to believe he was unlovable. It was great to see all those notions being proven wrong in this story. The quote at the end of this story was absolutely perfect!

“He wasn’t completely human. But neither was he an animal. He was a Breed who had found his mate, and his life.”
My only real complaint in this story was that the ending with the intruders coming in to attack Lyra while Tarek was in the shower seemed a little too similar to what happened in Callan’s story! We were also introduced to Lyra’s family around the same time, which also reminded me of Merinus’s brothers.

I was really happy that this story wasn’t long enough to show a jerk streak in Tarek, like I’ve seen in so many of the other males in this series! It’s one of the better tales I’ve read so far in the franchise. And I’m excited to read the next book!

Id rate this book a solid 4.5 stars. It was short but the plot was fast paced, and the execution was great.

The pros:
* I loved that they were neighbors and their relationship progressed over time
* Tarek was such a loveable hero - I'd really enjoyed the aspect of him learning everything on his own and how he appreciated the smallest things. Mowing, homemade bread, etc
* The sex was beyond steamy!!!!!!!!!! Off the charts hotness
* For a short book (a little under 100 pages) it was intense
* It was a page turner - never really a dull moment

The cons:
* A 24 year old virgin??? Ugh
* It did have that insta-love vibe to it
* An epilogue could have done wonders

Overall, this was a great addition to the series and I look forward to reading more.

The first one that I read of the Breed series- great story, didn't feel short-changed like with some novellas. Lyra & Tarek have great chemistry and smoking hot scenes. When your exasperating neighbor turns out to be as sexy as Tarek, anyone would be willing to sacrifice their landscaping...I couldn't wait to read more in the series and others by this author!

Even though it is a Novella - I absolutely love this book. Tarek is so sweet, that is until you mess with his mate, his neighbor. Not even the threat of her brothers will keep him from her. He may be learning his way, but the way to this Breed' heart is the "Girl Next Door"!!

I was looking for Kindle stories by Lora Leigh that I might not have when I came across this one. I thought it sounded familar... because I already read it!

FYI - This story was in Hot Spell (Anthology).