Customer Reviews

Spirit Bound (A Sea Haven Novel)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Come on, Feehan. Absolutely NO interaction between Ilya and his brothers? Alexandr doesn't warn Jonas that Stefan is dangerous? Jonas doesn't even think Stefan is dangerous?! After being around the sisters for so long, you would think he could detect "power" emanating from people. There's a storm that should have caused a ridiculous amount of damage to Sea Haven property, maybe even injury to some of its residents, with a tornado and walls of fire no less, but the town is just fine in the next chapter with barely a mention of it. Most importantly, the Drake sisters should have DEFINITELY been able to pick up on all that energy used and told Jonas about it. They should have even been able to trace it to its source. Finally, in a little town such as Sea Haven, wouldn't SOMEBODY have noticed a giant bear trap thingy being set up nearby, and wouldn't SEVERAL people have called 911 to report repeated gunshots during the shootout scene between Petr, Stefan, and Lev? I am so disappointed, Ms. Feehan, if you bother reading these, that the only repeated and redundant details in your recent books either have to do with the heroine's trade or skill and with the feelings the hero has for the heroine. SO many references to her basically being pure, shiny, perfect brightness...and the hero being cold, emotionless, a monster...gah! We get it already! I don't think I'm up for yet another book, in the future, that ignores so many important facets towards the writing of a good book: The details where they count and not leaving out or completely downplaying what should be KEY players in the story. I'm tired of holding out hope that these books will get any better. If I thought you were listening to your critics and fans, Ms. Feehan, I would.

I suffered through Water Bound because it was "Christine Feehan". I even purchased Spirit Bound because, hey, she's entitled to a not-so-good-book. It is becoming more commonplace for author's of series to begin to change mythology or characters and it is a trend that is totally frustrating me. How can you have your loyal readers read books about Jonas, Jackson and Ilya as well as all the "powerful" Drake sister and then relegate them to unaware, unnecessary afterthoughts? How is it that Ilya isn't even a factor in this book as a player? other than mentioning that he is the younger brother and Oh, by the way happens to be living in the same small town with all of the powers that his brothers have combined? Jonas suddenly becomes an "okey-dokey" type of sheriff? I understand that this a new series but don't undermine/re-write all of the previous character development you did prior to this series. The reason I read Water Bound was for some updates on the Drakes.

It also seems like this series is going to portray the Drake's as being impediments/psuedo-enemies in this series; how is that possible? I found Judith to be likeable as a character but the build-up to her powers and abilities left me feeling let-down when she actually put them to use. It didn't seem like she could do much at all. Stefan made sense in the way that all of the Prakenskii characters make sense (they are dark, antisocial, gorgeous and powerful) I don't know how much else Feehnan can do to distinguish them other than change, their powers, hair/eye color. I just realized as I typed this that the same descriptor can be used for her Carpathian novels but I digress. At least in the Carpathian novels they freely admit that they are over-protective, chauvinist that can be excused by the fact that they were born centuries ago. The overbearing/domineering nature of the Prakenskii male in this novel can get to be a bit too much. Judith is the perfect foil for that since she pretty much stands around looking guilty, beautiful and helpless. I've reached my limit of spending my money on this series from now on I will borrow a copy from the library.

I have read everything Feehan has written, i love her work, but i am very disappointed in Spirit Bound. This book took me quite a long time to read because the story line just seem to go on and on about Judith's sweet nature and the evil things Stephen has done. The final chapters were a disaster i cannot believe that Jean-Claude after obsessing about Judith for 5 years in prison and is a worldwide drug kingpin came after Judith and Stephen by himself there wasn't any entourage of bodyguards or nothing, there was no big face off between the old love and the new love. Once again there is no interaction between Ilya and his brothers and Jonas who is also very powerful was made to look like a fool.

Waterbound was bad enough, but of course I tried to give this next installation a chance and was very disappointed. Too many pages dedicated to nothing (absolutely nothing)! Judith's hair, her sweet nature or Stefan's bad boy image, enough already! Hard to read this book without falling asleep or skipping pages, even the s/b hot love scenes were a disappointment.

I have been a fan of Christine Feehan since I purchased my first Christine Feehan novel. Her "Dark" books are among my favorites. However, this new series has somewhat disappointed me. First, we have an autistic diver (I really couldn't get into her character, the way she was written) and now we have a super sensitive Judith attracting a super tough like Stefan. There were lots of places in this book where you have to just "go with it", like Jonas not being as intelligent as we know him to be, citizens not calling 9-1-1 when hearing gunshots, and like another reviewer pointed out, the bad guy not showing up with a full entourage of bad guys. Oh well, Christine can't always be perfect. Unfortunately, that is what her readers are coming to expect from her. I gave this book only a 3 because the potential was there, but the book didn't live up to it.

Did anyone else catch that the oldest sister knew the priest? Are we to learn that she is married to another of the brothers? Are we going to see all the women married to the brothers? If so, Christine, please have your editors pay more attention to the things in previous books. Your characters should stay true to themselves, even in follow-up books.

I skimmed through 80% of this book and it still took me 3 days to finish it. That maybe because I found myself staring at the wall in a mind numbing zombie like state 4 -5 times throughout the skimming! As other reviewers have mentioned, just too many pages of nothing. Conversations that went on for pages that did nothing to add to the story. Too much description and repetition on how sweet natured and beautiful Judith is. It's like reading one of the Drake sister series except a lot more boring. I will give this a zero star if it's possible. I want my money and time back.

Summary:

Stefan Prakenskii and all of his brothers are one of Russia's dirty little secrets. As a young child his parents were killed in front of him and his 6 brothers and they were all shipped off to orphanages/military installments to teach these kids everything that they should never been taught.

Now one of Russia's top agents he has been tasked with recovering a vital microchip containing Russia's defense system. For five years he has been tracking the chip and all trails lead straight to Jean-Claude La Roux. Now, after five years Stefan almost has La Roux in his clutches, he is sharing a jail cell with the terrorist in France. Stefan knows the way to catch La Roux is to break him out of jail and interrogate him. Stefan knows La Roux's weakness is a young beautiful woman that La Roux literally has hundreds of photos of around his cell.

Five years ago Judith was a young art student in France when she met Jean-Claude La Roux, and was swept off her feet by the handsome influential Frenchman. Ignoring all the red flags was the most fatal mistake Judith ever made and it cost her brother his life. Five years later Judith is an artist coming into international fame and is living in Sea Haven with her "sisters". She cuts herself off from all emotion because she knows the power she holds and how dangerous it can be. She is almost drowning in her own emotions when another entirely different successful business man enters her life looking to buy an art gallery; Judith is to broker the deal as the art gallery's general manager.

Sea Haven seems to be coming up a lot in Stefan's life lately. It is where his youngest brother Ilya settled and where his other brother reportedly died when a ship sunk. It comes as little surprise to Stefan, when his orders change and he is sent to Sea Haven instead of integrating La Roux to babysit Judith on the off chance La Roux will come for her. Stefan has a feeling this is really about his brother Lev, their handlers don't really believe he's dead. In fact neither does Stefan. Stefan, dusts off one of his deep covers even Russia doesn't know about and heads to Sea Haven as Thomas Vincent a successful business man looking to buy an art gallery.

What Stefan wasn't expecting was Judith. The first time Judith looks Vincent in the eye she knows something big just happened... her spirit connected to someone's else's spirit for the first time and merged with his and for a Spirit Element that is a big deal. Judith knows for that same reason she has to stay far from Vincent even as she is drawn to him. Bad things happen when her element gets involved. When "Thomas Vincent" looks Judith's eye's for the first time it is Stephan that knows his life has just changed; life as he always known it is no longer going to be enough. Now all he has to do is win over Judith, save his brother's life, kill Petr Ivanov, find the microchip and find a way to "die" so Russia doesn't decide to "retire" him. Easy Pezzy!

Review:

I have to say I was looking forward to this release for months before it came out. I love the Prakenskii's, especially Ilya! Well I mean who doesn't love Ilya?? And Lev is yummy in his own right, so when I saw that Stefan was going to be our next Prakenskii I have to say I was excited. Now I have to say I disappointed with this installment of the Sisters of the Heart Sea Haven installment. Why was I disappointed you ask??

*Insta-Love: In the first half of this book I was about choking on the insta-love between Stefan and Judith. I know that with the Prakenskii's it's a soul mate deal and they know when they have found their woman; but there is insta-love done well and there is insta-love done horribally wrong. In this case it really rode the fine line. I wasn't turned off enough to give up on the book; which I have done in the past but it was definitely enough to roll my eyes several times. I mean in less than 24 hours they are both thinking in terms of forever. Even as Judith is saying "No, this can't happen, I'm too dangerous" she is sucking major face with Stefan. Talk about "No, mean's Yes! Take me NOW!" LOL.

*Repetitive statements: Feehan, kept repeating herself over and over in the first half of the book. She was basically re-writing the same few sentences in different ways over and over and over again. I was like ok, we get it already, move on.
Hypocrite Much: Stefan was pretty hypocritical in the first half. I dislike a blatant hypocrite. It gets better in the second half.

*Know your characters: It didn't seem like to me that even Feehan had a firm grasp of who her characters were as people; Judith especially. Judith seems under developed. Who is Judith? I don't feel like I could give you a good answer to that question after finishing this book. I know that Rikki is a controversial character due to her autism, but you knew who she was as a person, she had a distinct personality. Maybe the issue with Judith is Feehan was trying to do too much with her, spreading her in too many directions.

*Spirit Element: What in the world is a spirit element?? I'm not sure I can even give you a full answer on that. Ok, so she can draw on people's emotions and project her emotion onto others that I get. Now how does that translate to weaving other elements together and boosting powers? I don't get it. Am I an idiot am I the only one that didn't really get that one?

*Prakenskii Talents: So Lev can use animals to do his bidding and look through their eyes, he can heal and plant memories. Stefan displayed opening locks and telekenisis and that's it, and the 2nd didn't even come out until the 2nd half of the book. Ilya only displayed some control of the weather like Hannah, considerable healing powers similar to Libby, Spell speaking like Joley and make himself unnoticeable. Ilya is supposed to have all the gifts but displayed more Drake like skills then Prakenskii like skills and this inconsistency kinda bugged me. (inconstancies is one of my biggest pet peeves).

*Bonehead Decisions: Judith really makes some seriously stupid decisions a few times in this book. To the point I was going WTF! Seriously, damn that was stupid, what are you thinking?? And there was one scene that was just a big cluster ....
No Ilya: So the entire reason I picked up this spin off from the Drakes was to see Ilya again. I was disappointed that he wasn't in the first book, but Lev kind of made up for that. But here I am again wishing for a glimpse of Ilya but again he is absent. Erg! You do a teeny tiny bit of Jonas and a micro second of Alexsandr. If I couldn't have Ilya I could have lived with more Alexsandr but even that was so fleeting it was just a tease.

*Second Half: Just about everything of importance comes toward the second half. The first half is almost entirely made up of Stefan and Judith and their insta-love.

So I don't want it to seem like this book was all bad, the second half does pick up. Most of the issues above are in the first half and you just have to chug through it. Stefan and Judith kind of calm down on the insta-love and find some more medium ground. Actually, Stefan kind of pushes through and becomes more likeable in the 2nd half and you get more of a feel of who he is aside from a covert agent who lives in the shadows. His attempts at figuring out relationships are quite comical and make you smile. This leads into there is more Stefan and Lev interaction. In fact some of the best parts of this book are Stefan and Lev interacting. I really liked bringing these two together. Stefan may have been older but it was Lev that ended up guiding Stefan a lot. He was basically Stefan's guide into the world of women and emotions and it was kind of endearing as far as brother moments go. A lot more action happens in the second half, almost making it seemed rushed but that's okay, at least something happens. You get a hint at a future story and it'll probably be a dozy! My curiosity is definitely aroused with this small glimpse and no I'm not telling what this small glimpse is. Read the book!

So should you read this book? I'd say yes if you are planning on keeping with this series. There are four more Prakenskii brothers lingering out there and single and just waiting for their story to be told. Because let's face it we all started this series for the Prakenskii brothers not so much the "sisters" although a few of the sisters have also intrigued me. All you have to get through is the smothering insta-love in the beginning and then the rest of the book reads more like the other books of the Drake/Sisters of the Heart books. And if you don't mind or actually like insta-love then that won't bother you.

Very disappointing from Ms. Feehan. I waited months to read this book and wish I hadn't. Where were the editors for this book?? the repetitions were mind numbingly boring. I gave this one star because the last 20% was better than the first 80%. I will hesitate before buying another in this series.

I don't know why i even bothered spending money on this book. I couldn't finish it! Christine Feehan has officially lost me as a fan. I will never spend another dime on anything she writes. This book is awful... save your money!!

Spirit Bound by Christine Feehan
Paranormal Romance Dec 27th, 2011
4 ½ stars

Sprit Bound is the second book in a series about women from varying backgrounds with elemental powers who find each other and create a haven in a small village known as Sea Haven. Together they have built a small but successful farm. (It is not necessary to have read the first book, Water Bound, but some characters do tie in from that book and the Drake sisters series.)

Judith Henderson is haunted by a mistake she made when she was young. The boyfriend she thought she loved turned out to be a ruthless crime boss named Jean-Claude. With the aid of her brother, she was able to escape him but at the cost of her brother's life when he would not reveal her whereabouts. Haunted by her beloved brother's death, she longs for vengeance. But Judith's power is based on the spirit which prevents her from really causing someone harm.

Stefan Prakenskii is a hardened agent who will do whatever is necessary to finish the job. His latest assignment is to find information held by the evil Jean-Claude. But after working undercover as Jean-Claude's cell mate, Stefan can only find one weakness of Jean-Claude's -his obsession with a woman named Judith Henderson. Stefan believes that Judith is the key, and when he is reassigned to Sea Haven to find Judith, he discovers that he was bewitched by her, too. Can he save Judith from her own dark vengeance and protect her at the same time? And what will she do when she discovers his lies?

The strong writing and sympathetic characters make this the story one that fans of Christine Feehan will love. Although I did not find myself as emotionally connected to the characters as I did in the first book, Spirit Bound. This was still a pleasure to read. Stefan is part of a group of specially trained brothers, and I really enjoyed reading more about him and his training/past. Stefan is dangerous and single-minded, and I loved how his focus changed from the job to taking care of Judith. Judith has her own demons as she is tortured by the death of her brother. She feels responsible and cannot forgive herself. Since Jean-Claude, she has felt dead inside and is shocked by her attraction to Stefan. This story felt a bit like sleeping beauty as Judith is awakened emotionally and passionately by the hardened and focused Stefan. All the Prakenskii brothers are the perfect heroes, and I am glad the author has continued them in her stories. I only hope there will be more! I like how the brothers are very protective, capable and with a core of steel but they do not overpower their mate. Besides this, one of the best things about this new series are the love and devotion between the women who have banded through heartache and are determined to care for each other. Every book brings more depth to each character, and I am already looking forward to reading the next romance in this series. If you enjoyed the Drake Sister series, getting into this one is a no brainer!

Another strong and emotionally powerful paranormal romance that explores the healing power of love and sisterhood. Gotta love it and the hot hero!

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club