I have to disagree with some of the reviews I saw about this not being as good as her others in this series. I think it is one of her BEST. I am giving this one 5 stars. There is actually a damn good story here & one worth reading. I have read ALL her books in this series. Some of them definitely 5 star worthy, some not. She took out the repetitiveness in this one, thank goodness, & gave it a new fresh face. The sex scenes are new & different. The whole book is so much better than her last few that it definitely deserves 5 stars. Well done Lora Leigh. ( )

Great Breed story. It references a lot to past events and fills in some of the blanks left previously. Looking forward to the next Breed story.
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Bengal’s Quest is book thirty in the Breeds series by Lora Leigh.

I will point out that this is not a standalone nor a good place to start. Their are key elements, storylines, and continuing things in play in a Bengal's Quest. You might be able to get away with starting at [b:Stygian's Honor|11540546|Stygian's Honor (Breeds, #27; Wolf Breeds, #9)|Lora Leigh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1329932871s/11540546.jpg|16479855] for this storyline. The opening prologue helped me recall some events, but it’s not enough for a newcomer to the series.

Cat has been in hiding and now that she is exposed, she is finally living her life. She was born human, but due to an illness she was genetically altered into a Breed to save her life. She suffered just like other Breeds and once she escaped she found herself in a position where she had to pose as Claire Martinez to hid from the Genetic Council and the Breed who swore to kill her.

Years ago, Gideon saved a little girl more then once that he called his own. During his last heroic rescue of her, he found himself hurt and she saved him with a blood transfusion, due to that he he swore to kill her. He hurt her emotionally to protect her from the Mating Heat that was starting to consuming him. Now that Cat is a women, he knows it’s time to claim her as his mate.

Confusing? Bengal’s Quest was a bit confusing and well this storyline has been a bit confusing from the start. The storyline spans at least three books maybe more. We get a vague description of transferring spirits and souls into other bodies. Which this concept has been odd and unusual from the moment it was introduced. I never fully understood what was going on with this spirit/soul storyline, until the end of Bengal’s Quest. Even at the end I was still feeling a little like I was missing something in this area. It’s not complete and I don’t know what’s going to happen or if we will get answers. This isn't the first time the author has gone down one path and then changed her mind and never finished.

The romance between Cat and Gideon was mediocre. I never really connected to either, though I did like that Cat was strong-willed and that she put effort into reaching both Gideon the “monster” and Graeme the alpha. It just felt like the same romance was happening again.

Bengal’s Quest also offered too much and didn’t focus enough on long-standing characters. Ms. Leigh continues to expand her world, rather than focus on the characters she has. We are introduced to several potential future storylines that just got in the way and mad things more confusing. For example we have Cat’s friend, Khi (what is up their?), adding more new Breeds, and what possibly happened or will happen to Claire’s spirit. Finally, the story was riddled with repetitive dialogue and inner-monologue.

I will say it was nice to return to the Breed series after stepping away from it for a time, but I felt like it was the same, rinse wash repeat, and doesn’t have that spark that attracted me to the series to begin with. I’m sure I’ll continue on, but it’s not at the top of my list.

Rated: 3 Stars

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I liked but I think these last few books are dragging the story too much until the point that matters. Things that need explaining don't get explained or are done so in a unsatisfying way.

One of the biggest reasons that I keep coming back to these books are the incredibly pairings and chemistry created by the author. The sex scenes are hot, spicy and they have incredible emotion wrapped up in them. Here, that aspect showed through perfectly. ( )

To say that the heroine and her hero has a complex relationship would be an understatement. Sent to him as a baby dying, the heroine inspired the hero to do everything he could to see her well and safe. Even as a boy of 14, he might not have entirely understood the idea of what a mate truly was but he knew that the little girl was simply everything to him. He saved her, took her under his wing, made her part of his pride. Growing up in the labs, she adored her alpha. He was perfect to her and she loved him infinitely. First as a child loves their idol and then later as a woman loves a man. Then, all of a sudden, he cuts ties with her. He leaves her alone in the lab to fend for herself and when she later meets him as he saves her from being killed, she gives him her blood and this enrages him to the point where he vows to kill her. Heartbroken and completely devastated, the heroine tries very very hard to hate him in return. Also on the wrong side of sane and completely unstable mentality, the heroine blood sparked within him the mating heat and because she was so young, he knew the only way to save her from himself was to push her away. But now, he can no longer fight the all consuming desire to claim her as his own. Problem is, he's succeeded in making her distrust him completely and actually hate him even though she can't hide or fight her desire for him. He is known as the bogeyman in the Breed culture, the bad man who strikes terror into the hearts and minds of anyone who thinks to cross him and he has done everything that he's been accused of and worse. But she is his sanity. She's the only thing that can contain the crazy in his blood, and even if she can't control him, she knows she's the only thing standing between him and chaos. But she wants nothing to do with him. The pain of his rejection is still sharp and very real and sex isn't just going to make it go away. He needs to show her vulnerability. He needs to show her the man she once knew, the man she feel in love with. The monster inside. This book was very good even if they did tend to go around and around in circles with their conversations and arguments. Most of the heroine's speeches were about her pain and rejections and all that she's suffered. In return, most of the hero's speeches were about possessing the heroine. Despite this, I found myself in love with his character. I enjoy anti-hero's and this dude was not a very nice guy. He was ruthless and evil to anyone who crossed her and those he claimed as his. And he was a huge dick to the heroine is the past and was a bit demanding when it came to her just forgetting about all of it and accepting him as his mate. Though he pushed her away for a reason and she was never truly as forgotten as she imagined herself to be, the pain was nether the less real and I admired her for standing true to her feelings. She didn't just fall into bed with him though her instincts her urging her to do so. Rather she listened to her heart instead of her body and in her heart he had to seriously earn back her trust. It was also a less erotic heavy novel and the two characters had plenty of passion without it being pornographic. Nice book. ( )