5 star review for Claiming His Fate, the first book in the Feral Breed MC series. This book owns me with its strong writing, wit, and steamy scenes. Get your copy today!
[Some Spoilers; Mature Audiences]
Claiming His Fate by Ellis Leigh
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’ve followed Ellis Leigh’s writing for a while, so I knew she could tell a hell of a story. When she published the first book in this series, I immediately bought it. Since then, I’ve re-read Claiming His Fate multiple times.
The Feral Breed MC are the enforcers of the shifter world. They make sure the secret is kept and put down any instances where the truth will be revealed. Rebel Lynch is the den President for the Feral Breed Detroit, and he’s lived for nearly two hundred years without his fated mate, but he desperately believes he’ll find her. When he and his men are sent to investigate a case in Milwaukee of a young woman being mauled, he never expects to find what he’s looking for inside the strip club they visit or the warring feelings about what being a mated shifter in the Feral Breed means.
Charlotte is trying to make ends meet the best way she knows how. Her college degree led to such low paying jobs, she was barely surviving, so she turned to waitressing at Amnesia. She doesn’t dance or service customers beyond getting their drinks, and she makes more money than her previous job in a weeks time. Everything she makes, and everything she does is for her little brother, Julian, who was blinded when he and their parents were in a car accident four years before. Charlotte has taken the role of parent in stride and tries to provide for Julian any way that she can.
As she’s leaving her shift, she gets forced into working a private party downstairs. Anything goes in these parties, and she’s terrified. Charlotte knows nothing about shifters or mates or what goes on in the basement of Amnesia, but she’s about to be introduced to a world she never imagined could exist.
“So that’s what you mean by mine, huh? It’s some kind of animal equivalent of love at first sight? I wrapped myself around the wolf at my side, hoping to offer him the warmth of my body as he healed. “Good luck with that; I’m not really a fairy tale kind of girl.”
This is the first book in the Feral Breed series and lays the groundwork needed for the author to build the world she’s going to lead us through. We find out about the Feral Breed and who they are, what they do, the kinds of shifters, and their hierarchy. It’s Pack 101, and it’s very interesting to understand the dynamics involved.
Rebel is a solid alpha male. He’s strong, disciplined and a good leader. His pack mates respect him, and he’s so considerate to Charlotte. He reins in his instincts to take and claim for two reasons: to keep their cover in the strip club and to not scare Charlotte. We see just how seriously he takes finding his mate and wanting to be the one to explain everything to her, to keep her safe, to devour her completely once they’re alone. He’s full of mixed emotions, and the writing portrays that beautifully.
Then there’s Charlotte. I love how strong and independent she is. Even when she’s terrified, she’s got a level head on her shoulders, and she’s constantly keeping an eye out in her environment. The revelation of wolf shifters knocks her off her feet for a second, but then she’s back up and trying to figure out how to survive the night when things go way south.
What I love the most about this book is the immediate mating pull. The wolf inside Rebel recognizes his mate and desperately wants her. It’s not one-sided, though. Charlotte also feels this attraction to Rebel that’s unlike anything she’s ever felt before. From the moment she lays eyes on Rebel, she knows there’s something different about him, but she doesn’t act of it or try and approach him beyond offering him a drink.
In the basement, though, she comes up for bidding to be a companion for the night and Rebel can’t let that stand. After his sergeant-at-arms wins her for the night, Rebel and Charlotte find themselves alone in a private room and that’s when the sparks really fly.
“Then why did you buy me?”
I glanced at Gates who stared back at me, silent. I could have lied, could have told her whatever I thought she needed to hear to calm her down.
But instead, I shrugged and told her the truth.
“Because you’re meant to be mine.”
It’s everything you expect from erotic romance. Hot and touch dirty with lots of steamy dialogue from an alpha male who likes to talk. You’ll read it, then read it again, and maybe one more time.
“There’s my girl,” he whispered, leading me through the void as I continued to chase the bliss of an orgasm. “There’s my kitten. Give me a little more; I want to taste you for days. I want to smell you on my skin.”
This books gives us a peek into the shifter world that Ellis Leigh has created and introduces us to characters that will becomes leads in the following books. You’ll get sucked into this world and invested in the characters as they find their mates, become a family, figure out what it means to be a mated shifter of the Feral Breed, and watch as they fight to protect their kind at all cost.
The other books in the series are:
Book 2: Claiming His Need (Gates & Kaija)
Book 3: Claiming His Witch (Pup (Phoenix) & Zuri)
Book 3.5: Claiming Their Forever (A series of short stories featuring, Rebel and Charlotte, Phoenix and Zuri, Gates and Kaija)
Book 4: Claiming His Beauty (Beast & Calla) <– My favorite of the series
Book 5: Claiming His Fire (Shadow & Scarlett)
Book 6: Claiming His Desire (Jameson & Aoife)
There are other novellas written into anthologies and you can learn more about them here on Ellis’ site.
On top of all that, she has her Feral Breed Followings series kicking off in December 2015 with Claiming His Chance. These books focus on side characters in the original Feral Breed Series. Another book, Savage Surrender, Book One in the Dire Wolves Series, is about the Cleaners in the Feral Breed Series, and The Gathering Series depicts other side characters finding their mates during the annual Gathering at Merrieweather Fields.
I’m not kidding when I say this world is huge and thought out. Ellis Leigh is creating so much romantic, dirty goodness for everyone that fits so well with the fighting and mystery that stretches through the books. If you’re on the fence about shifters, give it a shot! This series is not to be missed!