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!
Reviewed by Jennifer
