2008-07-04 Rio is to die for!

I just finish reading the breed series and what can I say but WOW!!!
I'm glad I got all 4 bks first, because as I got into the story, I just devoured them.
I least expected to like this series, especially after reading JR Ward's BDB books.(the 1st 3 were excellent) But I didn't care much for the BDB books that followed after the 3rd one. In the Breed series, I loved everyone of the books. And Dec is too darn long to wait for the 5th bk, in my opinion.

Onto the book.
All the heroes in this series are wonderful but Rio, he just steals your breath away. He truly does.
When you first meet Rio from bk one he is the happy go lucky guy, with a perpetual smile. (later on you realise there is more to him and the torment and darkness that he hides behind his smiling fascade. He allowed no one to know the real man, until Dylan.)
All that changes when he's betrayed by his mate, Eva, and he nearly loses his life in the explosion. As he recovers he filled with pain, rage and hatred and changes drastically.( Who can blame the poor guy?)
Besides the horrendous pain and terrible blackouts he has to live with, the explosion leaves half his face and body badly scarred. He lives in isolation for a long time until the day Dylan accidently stumbles upon him in his cave. And his life changes once again.
And Dylan, she discovers a world she never knew existed and falls for a man who was like no other.

This series is gripping stuff. It has everything, Alpha heroes, strong heroines, wonderful loves scenes and a HEA. And don't forget those sexy vampire markings-whew!!!
This is my kinda book.
I like that this books doesn't devote pages upon pages to the Rogues (the Breeds enemies). Lara Adrian does this in a more forthright manner and she make it still interesting. And you have a mystery-threat which doesn't continue tediously throughout the series, which can be frustrating, but is solved by the 3rd book and a new threat comes from the closure of the last problem. It makes for exciting reading.
I like the way LA created her vampire race and how they came to be in existance. And the fact that they are warm-blooded, have a heartbeat and are half human. Its their human half that makes them the truly wonderful heroes they are. It tempers the other half that would have made them vicious and dangerous and true vampires.

The story between H/H could have been a bit more indept and longer, and Rio should have gotten rid of Eva's presence in his apartment before Dylan got there. Yes, I know he does that in the end, but still it bothered me that they could stay there with her presence all over. But I suppose LA needed to do it this way, so Dylan could come across the photos and know that Eva was the vision she had seen who led her to the cave where Rio was. (All breedmates have an ability, and Dylan's was seeing the dead.)
I did not like what Eva had done, I'm glad she redeems herself in the end.