Savage Nature (Leopard People #4)

I originally hadn’t planned to do a review for this book, but Saria made me. Savage Nature is book 5 in Christine Feehan’s Leopard People series. There’s an element of suspense in each book, but the stories are really about the shifters, their lairs and finding their mates. The mates “know” each other once they come in contact, and the world is set up so that the leopards recognize their mates from past lives. The female shifter can either accept or reject any leopard and of course will always end up accepting the mate she’s supposed to be with.

Drake Donovan, our hero, is your typical alpha. Not that I ever get tired of reading about strong alpha heroes – he’s a leader, and while on a mission to find a killer he stumbles upon an unknown lair made up of multiple families of shifters, one that includes Saria. He knows instantly she’s the one for him and sets out to prove it to her.

Saria is the reason this book gets 4 stars. I found her to be a very refreshing character to read about. She’s lived her whole life in the swamps of Louisiana, taking care of her home and family business as a young girl, since no one else was around to do it for her. She has 5 older brothers who were never around much when she was growing up and didn’t give her the attention she desperately needed and craved. She raised herself and became a strong and very independent woman. Saria really was a joy to read. She was straight forward, honest, said exactly what she thought and was feeling and always made the right decision (no matter how tough) for whatever circumstance she found herself in.

The one downside to this book and series in general, with one book out per year, I had a hard time remembering past characters and their stories. Bad memory? Probably. But the books can certainly be read as stand-alones and by moving the past storyline from the rain forests into the swamps and introducing new families and characters, there is major potential for future books. There are a couple leopards in Savage Nature that I can’t wait to read more about. Why is it that the side characters, more times than not, end up being more intriguing than the main characters?

Regardless – read this book for Saria. She’s a great heroine, and someone you’ll quickly find yourself cheering for.