The star: Joley Drake was born with a legacy of unexpected magical gifts, but it was the gift of singing that made her an overnight sensation—a rock and roll goddess trapped by fame, fortune, and ambition. Heated by the flush of success, Joley could have any man she wanted. But there’s only man who can give her what she really needs.
The bodyguard: Ilya Prakenskii, cool, inscrutable, dangerously sexy, and working in the shadow of his infamous reputation—that of a secret Russian hit man on the payroll of a notorious mobster. He’s the last man Joley should get close to, yet when her life is threatened on tour she has nowhere left to turn. But in the seductive safe keep of Ilya’s embrace, is Joley really as secure as she imagines?
This review is going to be spoiler heavy, so continue at your own risk.
This is book 6 in Feehan’s Drake Sisters Series. Joley Drake has never been my favorite Drake sister. While she was a somewhat intriguing character, I never really looked forward to her book. Not like I looked forward to Hannah’s and am looking forward to Elle’s. Ilya Praneskii, the hero, was the real draw for me. A shadowy character, it was never really known if he was good or bad. Plus, imagining his Russian accent is hawtness.
Basically what we have here is a bunch of storylines that are supposed to tie into the main storyline of Ilya and Joley. There’s a psycho stalker, a Russian mobster, a religious zealot that wants to cure Joley from inspiring lust in men, and obsessed fans. If that’s not enough to make your head spin, Ilya is the bodyguard for the Russian mobster, Sergei Nikitin. Nikitin follows Joley and the band around the world. Wherever Joley goes, Nikitin goes. It’s a bit disconcerting and creepy.
I have to wonder what it is with authors feeling the need to tackle hot button topics in their books these days. I have no problem w/ gay characters (my favorite gay character ever is Jules Cassidy). What I have a problem with is using fictional books as a platform for personal opinion. That is a topic for another day, but I had to think about it when a gay character was introduced here. Brian, Joley’s best friend and bandmate, is deep in the closet. When he finally tells his secret to Joley, she’s surprised because she really never had a clue. You can look at this one of two ways: Joley is so self absorbed that she doesn’t even realize that her best friend is gay. Or Joley tries so hard not to get close to people that she was clueless. I’m smack in the middle of those two. I think Joley was self absorbed because she tries not to get close to people.
Brian’s gayness also reveals that it’s not Joley that Nikitin has been following all over the world…it’s Brian. Brian has no clue who Nikitin really is and Joley feels that she has to clue him in to keep him safe. In the midst of all this, Joley is also fighting her feelings for Ilya, a man that she knows will take over every aspect of her life if she allows it. Not only does she have to fight herself, but she has to fight Ilya because he’s bound her to him in an irrevocable way.
I loved Ilya. *sigh* I really wish that he wouldn’t have taken so much shit from Joley. He first fell for her after he heard her sing on the radio. His voice brought him peace, which he seldom has. Though he would have been content just listening to her, once he met her, there was no turning back. He did have to learn that he couldn’t take from Joley without giving back. She wasn’t someone that would be content with him holding back who he was.
I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I’d hoped to. There’s a few more surprises thrown in that make the book better, but I was still somewhat let down. There weren’t very many scenes between the sisters, which is really what the core of this series is. The bond between the seven of them is powerful and emotional. So I didn’t feel like the sisters together got enough face time. And what little time they did get didn’t leave me feeling very satisfied.
4 out of 5.
his book is available from Jove. You can buy it here or here in e-format.
Other books in the series:
Read Holly’s review of Turbulent Sea here.
I found that I skimmed the parts that didn’t deal directly with Joley and Ilya. I didn’t realize till you mentioned it the lack of the sisters in this book. I think that after Libby and Hannah’s books being heavy on the sisters we have come to expect that in this series.
I can hardly wait for Elle’s book. I really hope that she puts Elle and Jackson together.
I’m looking forward to reading this one. It’s too bad that she didn’t get the sisters together more often because you’re right, that is a core part of the series.
Thanks for the review!