Customer Reviews

Bound by Dreams (Hqn Romance)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kiera Morrissey promised her dying mom she would return to Draycott Abbey, which she does, but hell literally breaks out when she sneaks on to the grounds of the estate. Two goons attack her, but she shocks them when she fights back. They are followed by the biggest canine she has ever seen. She manages to escape the human thugs mostly because of the wolf.

Calan MacKay awakens the next day knowing he was drugged but that he saved the female's life. He has come back to Draycott Abbey because his friend Nicholas Draycott needs his help to keep his family safe during some political dealings. He wonders why Kiera apparently loathes the Draycott brood and whether she is the threat and why he believes she is the answer to controlling his curse, but allied as his enemy.

This is a super entry in the Draycott Scottish Highland fantasy series as DNA haunts the lead couple. Like Calan, readers will want to know why Kiera hates all things and people Draycott while also wondering will she accept his other the wolf. Fans will enjoy this terrific suspense thriller as each is Bound by Dreams to each other, but is love enough to overcome their respective heritage especially with someone willing to answer with a lethal negative.

Harriet Klausner

I've always been fond of Christina Skye's Draycott Abbey novels. Partly because they draw so heavily upon the old Gothic Romance tradition. This newest installment, though, seeks to draw from the paranormal shapeshifting fad and that is likely why I was disappointed with it.

I struggled with the first 80 pages or so of Bound by Dreams. I put it down frequently. It did not hold my attention at all. I think the reason has a great deal to do with the cryptic and vague way the beginning
is written. It's confusing. It's deliberately sketchy with details and context. And while that may work for some novels, I don't think it worked with this one. I found it more annoying than suspenseful. And I think 80 pages of that is definitely overkill.
The hero, Calan, is your typical emotionally scarred hero who has a secret, nearly altruistic side. The heroine, Kiera, is fulfilling a deathbed request and has her own emotional problems. I don't think the fault lies with the characters in this book, since they both *finally* appear fully developed around the 100 page mark.

I'm not sure if the blending of paranormal with Gothic was a good idea. Skye seems to have had trouble doing so seamlessly, because this honestly felt like 3 distinct books rather than one.The inclusion of Izzy Teague, a well known Skye character, felt artificial. Like a space filler rather than a meaningful shout out to the SEALs series.

It's not awful; it did get better. But I honestly can't see myself ever reading this again.

from the very first Draycott Abbey Novel,Hour of the Rose/1994, to the very last The Perfect Gift/1999, I was hooked. It wouldn't take me but a day or two to finish the book, then i would either reread or go back to another book in the series to satisfy my habit. I was devastated to learn after Perfect Gift that Mz. Skye would no longer be writing in the Draycott world. She was moving on to 'contemporary' books. So once a year I would send off an email to remind her that there were still people out there that really enjoyed Draycott. I would plug her name into Amazon once or twice a year just to check on what she was writing only to be disappointed. Then low and behold two new books, ok so Draycott Everlasting: Christmas Knight\Moonrise was one old and one new but hey beggers can't be choosy. I bought both Everlasting and Bound by Dreams as soon as I could and settled in for a wonderful read.

But something was missing. I really can't put my finger on it but the magic she wove in the 8 past Novels is gone. Where her words would flow was now like watching a drunk try to walk a straight line. It's as if she has forgotten what made Drayscott a living thing and was just going thru the motions. In my humble opinion combining Christmas Knight and Moonrise was a very bad idea. You have this wonderful story in Christmas Knight then the experience falls flat with Moonrise. I really didn't care about the characters even the small addition of Izzy Teague didn't save it for me. The story was rushed and disjointed. Then we have Bound By Dreams. Again the story was rushed and I was hard pressed to feel anything for the characters.

I wish I knew why she decided to write in this World again, for it sure wasn't for the love of the inhabitants.

American travel expert Kiera Morissey is adept at getting in and out of tight spots. But when a deathbed promise brings Kiera back to Draycott Abbey, she meets rugged Scotsman Calan MacKay, and her life is changed forever. For fifteen years, changed by turns to a swift creature of night, Calan has used his deadly strength and speed to protect. But he wakes with bruises on his body and blood on his hands. And Kiera may be the key to getting his life back.

So this sounds exciting and I was eager to read another story by this author since I love her work. Bound by Dreams was dry and there just wasnt anything to grab me. Kiera was angsty about her reason for being there and when the secret for why she's at the abbey comes out I'm more like..okaaay I can see you being upset but not enough to explain her overly emotional response to the Draycott family. The blurb made it seem like Calan had done something awful and that Kiera will help him solve the mystery. NOT. He knows why he wakes up bloody and bruised since they are at the event together that causes the blood and bruises. The relationship between them was ok but I just felt disconnected. At the end of the book I was grateful for the HEA for them and the fact that I was done.

** possible small spoilers


My pet peeve is Nicholas Draycott who makes an appearance sans wife again. she is always coming or going with their child in most of the later novels at the abbey. Adrian the ghost also is sans his wife. I'm not sure why Skye has Nicholas and Adrian make appearances when their wives are never around unless its just so we can have the abbey as a back drop.

I'm a fan of Ms. Sykes and have read a great majority of her books. This book is different from the others I have read. I enjoyed reading it.

As usual, the Draycott Abbey books are excellent with just the right mix of fantasy and suspense. Let's have more, and more, of them!

Christina did it again great book. I always want more of the Draycott stories. Never get tired of them.