Although it had a little bit of a slow start, Wild Rain turned out to be another winner for me. I can see how Christine Feehan's writing style doesn't work for everyone. She is very wordy. But I like that she really puts a lot of detail into descriptions of the setting and the feelings of the characters. It adds to the atmosphere and the emotional intensity of her stories, which is why she's a favorite of mine.Ah, the jungle descriptions. Simply gorgeous. I wanted to be there, so bad, except for the humidity and the nasty bugs (which she doesn't describe other than mosquitos). But all the plant life, the birds, the small mammals, the primates, and the big and small cats. It sounded like heaven to this animal and nature lover. And it was crucial to bring you into Rio's world: savage, yet beautiful.At first, I wasn't sure what to make of Rachael. She was very guarded, very closed-off. Soon, I came to realize that this was a very important part of her self-defense. As the story unfolds, you realize just why Rachael has made a lifetime out of isolating and withdrawing herself, not allowing herself to feel deeply and to become involved with anyone or anything.Rio, in contrast, is described as a man who feels his emotions deeply and honestly. He's not a crybaby or anything like that. No, he feels what he feels. He's not about denying things to himself to be tough. He deals with the lousy, and puts it into perspective. He was exiled from his people for an action he willingly committed. He is a loner, with few friends (only the men in his unit), and no one to love him. I loved that he was a tough, strong, deadly man, but he could be emotionally honest and available to his woman.Surprise, surprise when he comes home to find a girl in his house. This part amused me, reminding me of Goldilocks. But there is a violent interaction that leads to Rachael's leg being badly injured by one of Rio's companion clouded leopards (who are as cute as the Dickens). He ends up nursing her, and falling in love with her in the process. I really liked the nursing scenes (probably the medically-trained streak in me).There is a feeling of deja vu between the couple, as if they loved each other before. This left me a little confused. It wasn't attributed to reincarnation, but it was never explained why they felt that way. Were they merely soulmates who 'foreknew' each other, even to the point in which they knew what it felt like to make love to each other, and what pleased each other intimately? I never got clarification on that. But, it was a small thing, and I just went with it.I was really pleasantly surprised with the reveal about who Rachael truly was, and her complicated relationship with her brother, Elijah. Pretty dark stuff. Fascinating, really. I don't see too many heroines coming from that background. That's a thing I love about Christine Feehan. She is not afraid of the dark subject matter. And, I think she handles it very well. Can I just say that Elijah was a hot one? He definitely has an antihero vibe along the lines of Rehv from the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Very sexy and dangerous. He was a good counterpoint to Rio, who was also a very dangerous man, but very nurturing and gentle with Rachael, despite or because of his alpha-male tendencies. I'd love to see more of Elijah. He's so tortured. He deserves a happy ending.Oh, the shapeshifting and cat parts! One of my favored aspects of this book. I am a huge aficionado of big cats. They have the beauty, the elegance, and so much grace, coupled with a lethality that makes them utterly fascinating. I think that Ms. Feehan clearly did a lot of research into the rain forest ecology, and into the species of leopards that she used in this book. It felt very real, and it was interesting, but never came off as disruptive natural history lectures. Being the nerd that I am, I had to look up the various species on Wikipedia, to see pictures of them and learn even more facts. But, yes, I truly enjoyed the cat/shapeshifting parts of the story. It was very well done. This book is on my list of favorites in this genre.Although I read Burning Wild first, and I still like that one better, because Jake was so darn intense, and it was such a dark journey coupled with a strong, fascinating, beautiful romance; I really did enjoy this book. I can be honest and say that those who don't like certain aspects of Ms. Feehan's writing, will find things to quibble about. She does tend to overuse some words, but not the ones you're probably thinking of right now. And, as I stated earlier on, she is very verbose. I shrug it off. I am used to her writing style, and I go with the flow. I was very entertained with her vivid descriptions of the rain forest, animals, plants, and the beautiful, emotional romance between Rio and Rachael. I think this is an excellent series, and I cannot wait to read more.Overall rating: 4.5/5.0 stars.
Wild Rain is book 2 of Christine Feehan’s series Leopard People. The Awakening, book 1, I was immediately attracted to Christine’s eloquent and detailed descriptions of rain forests and the significant role the climatic conditions play in the background. This landscape provide a huge amount of natural medicines even used today, and some are even exposed in this entertaining book as brown pastes and other salves.Christine’s world building allows readers to experience all of the nuances of the landscape amidst travel, battle, loving, and living. Caves under waterfalls are awesome shelters as well as hideaways for steamy explorations.Another fun element in this distinctive drama is the presence of a super-alpha female Rachael tagged by a super-alpha male. I roared with laughter at many occasions of their insulting, demeaning, and maddening shouting matches. In my opinion, Rachael ruled, and Rio drooled.Rachael and Rio both had uniquely disturbing histories which were partially revealed from the beginning to the end of the story. Both of them, having prices on their heads, were guarded in exposing any information that could be misinterpreted. This style of disclosure may irritate some readers, but for me it meant that I could not put the book down from start to finish.The fact that Rachael was running from her past and a million dollar payoff for either her death or capture as she invaded Rio’s residence was the launch point for a very vacillating story between shouting, fighting, and sex. The initial fight seriously injured Rachel by both Rio and his house cats, aka clouded leopards. Rio didn’t emerge without a knock to the head. What a way to start a romance!! Without giving away the story, Rachael didn’t know about shape shifters and the fact that she also was to experience Han Vol Dan, or shifting to a cat. After overcoming the initial meeting and introduction to Rio’s world, besides the steamy romps, she began to care for him and was concerned that the assassins sent after her might endanger him. Rio took on the role, in an alpha fashion, of being her guardian as well as lover. Rachael was of the opinion that her brother Elijah and uncle were sending the assassins. I couldn’t put this book down, and like the first book, I felt like I could smell the flowers, hear the birds and other critters as well as having to shower from the humidity and steam. This is an adult read especially good for Feehan fans, and those who like engaging landscapes and sexy romances.
Do You like book Wild Rain (2004)?
Ok, I have to admit I've read this book 7 times and each time I read it, it's like the first time all over again. Rio, a sexy hot shifter lives on his own away from his people feeling that he's not worthy to live among his tribe, but at the same time he has taken on the job of being part of a shifter team whose jobs are to protect the people at a possible great cost to their own lives.Then along comes Rachael, now she has her own secrets and is running away from her life ending up in the South American jungle. She feels at home here, like the jungle is calling to her and welcoming her in its embrace of the wild and dangerous, but why? Ahhh, she is about to find out.The character's are real and will embrace your mind and fill your thoughts of what if's. What if these people really did exist? What if I could make this magical change? Oh my, the possibilities are endless in your dreams. There's action in here, good sink your teeth in and tear em up action. That's cat talk you know. As always Christine will give you some good solid knowledge of the area and her style of writing is easy to read, understand and follow. The book really moves, no dragging and the editing is superb.This book, one of the best that Feehan has written, is full of danger, intrigue, the hottest intimate scenes ever, and lots of shifting. Of course now I've not read all of Feehan's books YET, but I'm working on it. If you're a shifter fan you gotta read this one, yes it's an older book but you can still purchase this one.
—Annie
This was my first Christine Feehan book. I was under the impression she was cheezy, because of the common complaint in several reviews, make fun of her always using 'velvet sheath' as her romantic, hot sexy vagina word. They were right, it is overly used. Velvet is dry and somewhat fuzzy, so it bugged me too!! SOooo sorry!! Other authors use better words, descriptions, and don't over use the description. I got to where I skipped those parts entirely. Overall, though, it was a pretty good story. Don't get me wrong, I will read more of her. I was pleasantly surprised it was not the cheezy book I expected. Typical... Girl has secret. Fakes death. She's hunted. Hides in an assumed abandoned house up in trees. Owner comes home. They attack each other. Fall in love. Solve both their problems etc. Over a course of 350 or so pages. MY PROBLEM: Velvet sheath OBVIOUSLY!!By the time the girls familial secret was revealed, it no longer mattered. The other characters did not care either, so what was the point holding out.Last, The girl was wounded badly. The whole book, she is hurt, can't walk etc., and way later on in the book, it is just dropped and she's better??? HUH??? That must have happened during a velvet sheath description, because I skipped those later... Apparently sex is a cure all! COOOOL!!I gave a 4 because, she really is a good writer, so NOT cheezy, but lost points with her hold outs. Her sheath word is my problem. It does not ruin her writing.
—Lolita de libros
Book #2 in the Leopard series and it really ticked me off how this book was marketed. It is not NEW, but repackaged.Warning A,: If you already have the book "Fever" you already have this book! "Fever" includes: "Wild Rain" (book #2) and "The Awakening" (book #1) in the Leopard Series. It's a large-size paperback. This copy of "Wild Rain" is identical except the print is very small and it's in a mass market paperback. So get out a magnifying glass to read it. Warning B,: If you already have the book "Fantasy" you already have a copy of "The Awakening." As for the contents, I liked it. I think the marketing ploy to snag "buys" was underhanded and I became distrustful of this author. I don't care if she had no control. Her name. Her book.
—Kathrynn
