Khalid’s Challenge (The Pridelands 5) by Jade Buchanan

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Lately I was neglecting this furry lovers series by Jade Buchanan for a very silly reason: I don't like menages and even more when the menages is among two male and a female. This is the fifth book in the series, but I only read the first one and skipped the following three since they are all menages. Now finally Jade Buchanan returns to a male on male story, and so also I'm returning to read her.

Khalid and Pran's characters are actually spin offs from the previous series, The Felidae. Pran is the Tigris who challenged Rajiv in a tribal tournament in Usama's Journey's book. Khalid is the half breed Tigris and half breed Leo named in Navin's Master's book, the estranged brother of one of the Tigris, actually the only one who has some power on Pran.

I remember that I was intrigued by this possible story and wondered how it could be: till now, the books I read on these two series always paired a strong alpha male to an omega male; sometime the alpha males where two, but always they were balanced by an omega male between them. Here instead both Pran than Khalid are alpha males, but there is not a clear dominant between them. The author chose to balance them in the two most obvious way: Pran is older than Khalid, and so the age difference gives him points, and Khalid is bigger than Pran, and so the physical appearance gives him his points. Since this is a society where the physical strenght is a strong component of the political power, maybe Khalid has some more points than Pran, but not so much.

As always the story is not very long, 71 pages, and after the two main characters resolve their conflict, there is a lot of sex, very physical and with an heavy dose of brutal force, but always tempered by love. Jade Buchanan doesn't forget that, at the end, she is writing about half beast, and so her characters can't be shrinking violet, and they must be driven by instinct.

http://www.changelingpress.com/index.php?uaid=ISFUDNYA

Series: The Pridelands
1) Darren’s Surprise: http://elisa-rolle.livejournal.com/156297.html 
2) Zula’s Stand
3) Sheer's Choice
4) Griffin's Joy
5) Khalid's Challenge

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Comments

[girluknow.livejournal.com]

I don't think it is a silly reason. I don't like menages, either. There's nothing wrong with not liking them. :)

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

I always try to be open to any type of romance, but I have my personal taste and it's reflected in what I read. More than not, I don't read a book if it's against my taste because I'm not sure that I can be impartial. Elisa