Discovery is the tale of a young woman, Nicole Stewart, who enjoys sketching as a hobby. She gets an experience she didn't count on when she goes to the zoo to sketch the black leopard in the new exhibit. Her attraction to the Serbian keeper that came with the cat is fierce. The weird physical symptoms she begins to experience are even stronger and it turns out that the sexy zoo keeper, Vitali Kerensky, understands all too well what she's going through. Along with his brother, Ilia, Vitali is about lead Nicole into the shadows of their world which includes some very carnal delights.

Vengeance is the much darker tale of Mikhail Turgenev and Nadia Kerensky, the villain and sister of the heroes from the first novella respectively. This is an emotional story about great sacrifice and misplaced anger. Nadia has been hiding a painful secret for the last few years. Hiding her pain is hard. Already she had to force away the man she loves but she must continue her silence to protect her small son. When Mikhail returns to Lorzneca, she fears she won't survive the confrontation with the lover who thinks she spurned him.

Cat on a Hot NY Roof is a quick little story that connects Vengeance neatly to Superstitious, the fourth work. It's steamy interlude for Mikhail and Nadia which also reveals Ilia's whereabouts following the end of the second story.

Superstitious, my favorite, is the story of Ilia who has set out to find a woman to be his and only his. He finds Molly, a beautiful full-figured woman who wants him as much as he wants her. He just doesn't know if he can win her over. He has to get her to accept him for what he really is and that won't be easy. She has a small son she's fiercely protective of and a grandmother who shares her apartment. The grandmother, Ruby, was great fun. A retired, and somewhat senile voodoo priestess, she knows exactly what Ilia is and tries to tell Molly he's a demon.

Captive was the final novella in this collection and follows the tale of Alex and Joey. Mostly human and created in a laboratory, they have escaped their dismal existence and only want to find a life out in the world like everyone else. The men who created them can't let the truth of their origins be revealed and in an effort to get away, they unwittingly kidnap a reporter. Casey Howard doesn't know how things will go for her. She was lured there with the promise of the story of her lifetime -- the truth about a huge company called Leviathan. She could still get that story if she'll help the two escapees out in a very intimate way.

I imagine reading these stories individually would be hard because at the end of each one, you want to know how the story continues. Having had the treat of reading them all together, I can only say that it's a fabulously written anthology. Ms. Jordan has created a world of conspiracy and dark magic with her feline shifters. Not only were their origins explained but they have the additional limitation of being unable to have sex with anyone but their own kind without facing the consequences. Sex with humans will cause them to change into their other form, that of the black leopard, and then they must kill to change back. This particular challenge along with the danger posed by the humans villains who are hunting them lent the stories a satisfying element of suspense.

The story that was woven through this collection was well plotted and came full circle to tie the first story to the last. The characterization was very strong and the author's ability to infuse so much emotion in each story really drew this reader in. The dialogue in the first couple of stories didn't flow well at times yet by the fourth and fifth story, the dialogue was quite good. The sensual scenes were plentiful in this anthology and very well depicted. There are group sex scenes, threesomes, and a little bit of everything else for the fan of erotic romance. There is also some violence and a few dark moments to mention but they blend well with the plot and are not played out in any sort of horrific fashion. Overall, I highly recommend this collection of dark, sexy stories and will be on the look for more work by Ms. Jordan.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Very sensual

Reviewer: Cameron Foster
April 9, 2008