Dawn's Awakening by Lora Leigh

I am woefully behind in my purchases of books from some of my Auto Buy Authors, Ms. Leigh being one who sits firmly in my top five must haves. So the other night thanks to the Internet and the book gods/goddess' at fictionwise I was able to purchase and download her two most recent Breed series books in under five minutes.

So a great big WOO HOO to instant book gratification.

With that out of my system on to my thoughts and feelings on DAWN'S AWAKENING!!

New York Times bestselling author Lora Leigh takes us on an erotic thrill ride with her series about genetically altered Breeds with feline DNA—and the humans who arouse their lust…

The runt of the lab she was created in, Dawn Daniels endured years of torture by her pride brother and the council soldiers. Finally freed from her torment, she’s now a Breed Enforcer, in control of her own life. Until she’s assigned to protect the one man destined to be her mate—and realizes it’s far too easy to lose total control…

One of the Breed’s most important supporters, Seth Lawrence has spent years trying to forget Dawn, knowing that her lost innocence has made it impossible for her to get close to anyone. But suddenly neither of them can find the strength to fight the overwhelming passion between them. At least until the most brutal tormenter from Dawn’s past reappears—and threatens to destroy their newfound love, along with their lives…

Dawn's Awakening is one of the titles that fans of Ms. Leigh have been waiting for since her epublishing days. Dawn is one of those secondary characters who helps to move a series along and intrigues the reader forcing you to want to know more about them. So powerful are the feelings that I developed for this character over the years that anticipation of reading her and Seth's story was almost overwhelming and had me a little fearful that the build up would never match the actual story.

Ms. Leigh, however, once again show her fans old and new why so many of us come back again and again for her novels. I know that when I open a Lora Leigh novel that I will become emotional invested, that her hero and heroine will be strong and independent yet vulnerable and weak when it comes to love.

Dawn Daniels is that heroine that finds that place in you heart, she rests in that corner that never lets you forget her and when you see her appear again you can't help but smile. Her character is deep and in a word damaged. While arguably all breeds have suffer the injustices of the genetics counsel, Dawn it would seem, like many of her Breed sisters, suffered on a far greater scale. Yet even though I know Sherra (Kiss of Heat Breed Book 3) suffered at the hands of soldiers just as Dawn did, Dawn always seemed so more lost to the pain as she molded herself into something stronger, letting her move past the label of victim to survivor.

So how does one convey the pain and horrors of this proud creation without minimizing her strength? I'm not sure I could do it, but Lora Leigh seems to know how. In Dawn she has a woman of incredible strength, who has beat the odds and is able by the end of this novel to "AWAKEN" as the title implies and allows her find her wings and fly.

As I read this novel it was like coming home, Seth and Dawn are characters that are well known and not surprisingly meant for one another. But aside from knowing the HEA is in the cards for them it was their journey and growth that makes DAWN' S AWAKENING the BEST BREED NOVEL IMO thus far.

Dawn faces the threat of losing her mate with all the tenacity we'd expect from her, she never backs down and forges full steam ahead to fight for Seth and her chance at love. Even though she knows that she may not be able to overcome the nightmares of her past, one that many would probably not have survived. Brutalized and traumatised in ways that I can't even fathom yet amazingly she fights for love, for Seth and ultimately for herself.

Seth is just the kind of man she needs, he has faults don't get me wrong, he makes some choices about his and Dawn's attraction that may infuriate some readers, but his ALPHA male heart was in the right place. He doesn't back down when his back is against the wall and he is willing to take that leap of faith and manages to help heal not only Dawn's damaged heart as well as his own.

Together that make a bond stronger than steel. Along the way as Dawn and Seth move beyond the past and it scars to build their futures we learn that the strength of the human heart is immense. If your ready to cry and rage, sigh and scream, if your looking for that one of kind love that is emotional and sensual then this is the novel for you.

DAWN'S AWAKENING is in a word AWESOME. It's romantic, passionate and erotic in one powerfully written package.

9.5 out of 10