Dawn's Awakening: A Novel of the Breeds

This erotic romance had a pretty good plot and when there was action it was exciting but the rest of the story was just the heroine fighting her emotions or suppressing her inner animal or having sex, not much romance. Dawn's reconnects with her mate Seth after a ten year separation while she tried to heal from her childhood torture.

I've been waiting for Dawn and Seth's story ever since they met in The Man Within (second in Leigh's Breed Series.)Well worth the wait! It was emotional, gripping, sexy, and I even had a little chuckle there at the end.Here's the send up:Scarred from their horrific time in the labs that created genetically engineered man/ animal cross breeds- and from the treacherous dealings of a breed she had once considered brother- Dawn is the most emotionally vulnerable of all of them.Having met when Seth turned up looking for Roni (The Man Within), his long lost sister and Dawn's sister-in-Law; Seth and Dawn are destined to be mates. Callan, head of the feline Breeds located at the Sanctuary compound, makes the decision to share with Seth her tortured background at the hands of their creators, knowing that Dawn was not ready for the demands of the mating heat- an unforeseen phenomenon with the breeds and a well guarded secret.After seeing the evidence of her abuse, Seth makes the decision to stay far away from her until such time she would be ready to come to him.Ten years later, Dawn is awakening, and a situation has come up that places her mate in imminent peril. Someone is trying to kill Seth, and despite all the conflict between them, she's letting no one else protect him.No longer the shy, wounded girl he once knew, she is ready to go toe to toe with him- and is angered over the fact that he left her alone all these years, even while knowing she was in no way ready for the heat between them.Oh yes someone's out to destroy, but no one guesses who the true target is until it's almost too late.Dawn's story wrenched my heart, but I cheered her courage when she laid aside all her misgivings and went after him- especially knowing she wasn't quite healed from all her past experiences. What else could she do after she found out he had conquered the ravages of the mating heat and was ready to propose marriage to another woman? She'd have to fight her inner demons- and him!- to win him back ... and that's exactly what she did.DA didn't get into all the kink that LL is known for, but it still delivered enough steam to fog my reading glasses- well, it would have if I had them!I just loved the intrigue plot line of someone sniping at them from under cover (nothing new but somehow it worked), as well as the side family issues going on between she and Callan. (I think Callan suffering self-imposed guilt on not being able to protect Dawn as he felt he should have wrenched my heart just as much as Dawn and Seth's tale!)Many of the characters we've come to know and love appeared in this one, Callan, Merc, Dash, Elizabeth & Cassie, to name just a few, as well as some of the breeds we hope to see get their own story's- JONAS!If you gave up on the Breeds after Harmony's Way, you need to pick it back up again. Tanner's Scheme and Dawn's Awakening are not to be missed! And if you've never read a Breed, DA's is as good as any to start with- although I do suggest reading Tempting The Beast (1st in the Series) as soon as possible!

In the beginning of the book Dawn kinda got my nerves, but considering all she’d been through due to the Counsel and their soldiers I suffered through the first couple of chapters. I began to respect her resilience and understood why the dreams were the only weakness she showed the world. Seth suffered for some of the 10 years but stepped up when Dawn needed him to.

I've been waiting and waiting for Dawn's story to come around! This story is an emotional roller coaster and only the third in this series to bring tears to my eyes. The journey Dawn had to go through to get to a good place with her mate was long and hard. I was happy to see Cassie come back into play as well. I love that character. The intrigue with the stranger is something I will look forward to as well.

Dawn the cougar breed has had the worst done to her. She has come out of it with a tortured soul. Her memories are blanked out right now just enough to keep her sane. What will happen when they start to return? Will her love, her mate that she turned away be able to save her ?
Nothing is easy in this story of a tortured little girl. It is very dark. I did not enjoy it as much as I did the other breed book I have read, Bengal's Heart. It was more predictable. I did not develop a connection to the characters, and the child torture was awful to read. The sex, over written. 2.5 stars

Dawn's Awakening is the worst breed book in this series so far. I didn't care at all about Dawn or Seth. I didn't care about the plot and ended skimming the last hundred pages. I'm on the fence about continuing with this series.

I'd spent some time apart from the Breeds and what a way to come back! Incredible gut wrenching hot and sexy book with some awesome characters and plot. I just have to say that this one has made its was to the top of my Breeds' favorites!

This book took it's time getting here!! I have been waiting for Dawn to claim her mate since book two!! About time she and Seth made ago of it!! Super sexy steamy scenes a plenty!! Also hits for the future of the series!! I can not wait for Cassie to be claimed by her mate...whoever it may be!

Pretty much porn. Not that it's bad, it's just...yep. Be prepared. Porn.

Oh, and an oddly heavy thread of religious themes running through this one. Mixes strangely with the explicit sex and "animal" type themes.

Well I just finished Dawn's Awakening so I thought that while it was real fresh in my mind I might as well write the review for it!!! Dawn Daniels, in her young life endured years of torture, especially by the council. She is then freed by her brother, the pride leader Callen, but whom she feels a lot of hatred toward. Now years later, she is tormented by her mate, Seth Lawrence, where its been ten years and he has moved on with his life, and the mating hermone is no longer in his body, but she still burns for him, and not knowing if it will be in her for the rest of her life, but knowing that she desperately needs him, despite how much hurt they both have experienced. Now when Seth's life has been put into danger, she has to be so close to him, and a desire that nearly overwhelms them both, and changes the course of both of their lives. But now not only has Seth's life been put in danger, now Dawn is in danger from the one that tormented her so in her past, not knowing if this one enemy of hers could destroy everything beautiful that both She and Seth have created, only to have it crumble and fall.Dawn's Awakening is a sensual yet emotionally compelling story that will have you tied in knots, just like I was. From the first page, my heart truly went out to the heroine, for she suffered so much, and now has built a life for herself, and despite the fact she still feel the mating heat, her mate doesn't, which only makes her suffer even more. So when she hears that not only does he not feel it anymore, he is getting married to someone else, she finds herself falling out of control, and not knowing what she may do. But then they collide passionately, they no longer can deny what they feel for one another. Dawn's Awakening is a story that I just loved. I just love the Breeds series, much more than Lora Leigh's other series though. Dawns Awakening has a action packed plot, a sensual passion that bursts at the seams, and a love that can survive the most challenging circumstances. Its definitely not one you want to miss out on reading, especially if you have come to adore Lora Leigh as I have!!! This one is defintely a keeper and should never be missed on reading!!

This is probably the hardest of the Breed books to read or at least for me it is. So keep the tissue close because I have found parts throughout the story that I needed them. There is so much going on in this story, Dawn and Seth as well as Cassie. When I first read this book I was surprised that Seth had been able to make the mating heat start to go away. I was so sad that Dawn was losing Seth. She needed him so bad. She was so broken and hurt. I was surprised that she had survived as long as she did. I remember her from the earlier books and what her pride brother had done to her. Seth was the perfect mate of the wound warrior. There are so many surprises at the end of the story and you just have to shake your head at what happens. I am sure the Council guard trying to kidnap Cassie and Dawn in front of so many influential people has helped the Breed place in society. Cassie is a much loved member of Breed community. Having her hurt by a madman will definitely make for some juicy headlines. I still wonder how much is going on in Ms. Leigh's head as far as the Council is concerned. There are so many things being hinted at and so many direction that the story could go. I am off to read the next story.