As usual, Feehan fills her books with a memorable cast. I liked his character immediately – and then Rachael invades his lonely existence! She is a survivor, loyal, and intelligent enough to recognize Rio’s true worth. Rio is close with his unit and yet still very much alone (for reasons I can’t mention…). I assumed book two would showcase one of Brandt’s friends that live around their community, however, Wild Rain is Rio’s story and he is, shall we say, not welcome where the elders reside… He puts his life on the line rescuing victims from cruel bandits like Tomas. I wish we could have gotten more of a back story on Brandt, but this isn’t a full-length novel and we did briefly meet some of his various jungle friends – intrigued… I could not wait to start the second book, which happened immediately because I bought both together in Fever! Brandt has always lived amongst a small shifter community in the rainforest and when he finally lures Maggie, his mate, into visiting the place of her birth – fireworks! Think rainforest conservation, kidnapping victim rescue, big game hunting, gun toting bandits, testosterone leopard growling, shapeshifting, and intense mate emotions – and that is only a smidge of the bounty in this series.

This novella sets the stage for what will become Feehan’s highly coveted Leopard series. This was the author’s first foray into the shifter genre, so she was just feeling it out… yeah right – Christine Feehan Ph.D. As Rachel's past looms as oppressively as the heat of the forest and Rio unleashes the secret animal instincts that course through his blood, Rachel fears that her isolated haven has become an inescapable hell.The Awakening is a novella featuring Brandt and Maggie. Possessed of secrets of his own, he is something to be feared. A native of the forest imbued with a fierce prowess, he is something to be desired.

But in this world teeming with unusual creatures walks the most exotic of them all. Now, thousands of miles from home, under the lush canopy of the rainforest, she's found sanctuary. With a new identity, a staged death, and a chance to flee the treachery that stalks her, Rachel has escaped from a faceless assassin. #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan explores the dark past of a woman on the run-and her dark desire for the only man she dares to trust-in this wild novel in the Leopard series. But when he unleashes his secret animal instincts, Rachel fears that her isolated haven could become an inescapable hell. To escape an assassin, Rachel finds sanctuary in the rainforest, where the most exotic of all creatures walks: Rio.

Wild Rain by Christine Feehan