Series: Sisters of the Heart

Review: Bound Together by Christine Feehan

Posted March 13, 2017 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: Bound Together by Christine FeehanBound Together (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart, #6) by Christine Feehan
Series: Sisters of the Heart #6, Sea Haven #13
Also in this series: Water Bound, Spirit Bound, Air Bound, Earth Bound, Fire Bound, Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents, Magic in the Wind, The Twilight Before Christmas, Oceans of Fire, Dangerous Tides, Safe Harbor, Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents
Publisher: Jove
Publication Date: March 21st 2017
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars

The Sea Haven series comes to a climactic end as the mysterious man from Blythe Daniels’ past re-enters her life. Don’t miss the final Sea Haven novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling “queen of paranormal romance” (J. R. Ward).
For five years, Viktor Prakenskii has put his life on hold in order to take down the world’s most feared motorcycle club from the inside. But carrying out the insane violence and seeing the club’s exploitation of the innocent has brought his traumatic past roaring back. And there’s only one cure: to see the wife he left behind...
Blythe Daniels thought she’d never see Viktor again after he murdered her stepfather and left without a word. She rebuilt her life without him, becoming a personal trainer and physical therapist...becoming strong enough for others to lean on. But when Viktor comes back to Sea Haven, he’ll make Blythe question everything she thought she knew about good and evil—and the dark desires of the heart...

This is the final book in Feehan’s Drake Sisters/Sea Haven spin-off, Sisters of the Heart.

Five years ago Blythe Daniels married Viktor Prakenskii after knowing him a week. Then he busted her step-father as a pedophile and left her to deal with the aftermath without a word. Although she’s never been able to get over him, she doesn’t consider them married and wants nothing to do with him. So when he unexpectedly shows up in town and lays claim to her in public, she’s pretty furious. And confused. Especially since he claims he left her a letter explaining everything – and his excuse for disappearing is pretty damn good. Still, opening herself up to him after the trauma she suffered because of him isn’t high on her priority list.

Viktor always intended to return for Blythe, but he had to finish his undercover op first. He didn’t expect it to last as long as it did, but he knew she’d be waiting for him. He had no idea the trauma she suffered while he was gone. While dealing with their final target, he also needs to win Blythe back and convince her they’re meant to be.

This wrapped up some loose threads from the previous books in the series, and we got to see all the previous couples again, which is nice. I really liked the action and the MC element. I’ll be curious to read more about them in the future. Viktor and his MC had become a family. I really enjoyed their interactions with each other, and watching them warily begin to accept his blood-brothers.

As for Blythe and Viktor, I liked them as a couple, but something about their romance didn’t work for me. I think it was the rushed feeling as they came back together. I would have liked to see more of them alone, discussing their past issues and getting to know each other again.

There was a good amount of humor. I cracked up several times. Especially when it came to Blythe and the MC. I’ve always enjoyed the relationship between the sisters, and now the brothers as well. Feehan writes great family relationships.

I’m sad to see the series come to a close, but I’m happy to see Feehan is continuing on with Viktor’s Torpedo Ink MC brothers.

Feehan finishes the series on a high note. I was definitely left wanting more.

4 out of 5

four-stars


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Excerpt: Bound Together by Christine Feehan

Posted March 13, 2017 by Holly in Giveaways, Promotions | 3 Comments

Today we have an excerpt from Christine Feehan’s stunning conclusion to the Sisters of the Heart series. This is bittersweet for me. Sea Haven is one of my favorite fictional places, and I’m sad to see our time with the Prakenskii’s coming to an end. I’m hopeful we haven’t seen the last of them, however.

Excerpt: Bound Together by Christine FeehanBound Together by Christine Feehan
Series: Sisters of the Heart #6, Sea Haven #13
Also in this series: Water Bound, Spirit Bound, Air Bound, Earth Bound, Fire Bound, Bound Together (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart, #6), Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents, Magic in the Wind, The Twilight Before Christmas, Oceans of Fire, Dangerous Tides, Safe Harbor, Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: March 21st 2017
Pages: 416
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books

The Sea Haven series comes to a climactic end as the mysterious man from Blythe Daniels’ past re-enters her life. Don’t miss the final Sea Haven novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling “queen of paranormal romance” (J. R. Ward).
For five years, Viktor Prakenskii has put his life on hold in order to take down the world’s most feared motorcycle club from the inside. But carrying out the insane violence and seeing the club’s exploitation of the innocent has brought his traumatic past roaring back. And there’s only one cure: to see the wife he left behind...
Blythe Daniels thought she’d never see Viktor again after he murdered her stepfather and left without a word. She rebuilt her life without him, becoming a personal trainer and physical therapist...becoming strong enough for others to lean on. But when Viktor comes back to Sea Haven, he’ll make Blythe question everything she thought she knew about good and evil—and the dark desires of the heart...

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Excerpt

Excerpt from BOUND TOGETHER by Christine Feehan

Victor couldn’t help but stare at the tattoos on his fingers, the ones sleeving his arms, going up his neck and disappearing into his shirt. They all had tattoos. Ones that told stories if you knew how to read them. Every single one of them wore the Torpedo Ink tat on their backs—and they wore it with pride.

The cypress tree spread out with seventeen branches. Roots tangled at the bottom with piles of skulls buried among them. Crows flying away from the tree or picking through the skulls at the roots. Each skull represented a kill. Reaper’s tat was alarmingly full. The others were quickly catching up with this last assignment. He hoped to slow them all down. To find reasons not to do what they did, but Reaper was so right when he said they’d never be able to stop. He’d never be able to stop.

What would Blythe think about their inability to stop what they did best? Could he get away with not telling her? Women, as a rule, didn’t know club business. That was the way it was. They didn’t sit in on the meetings, and they were expected to do what their old men told them to do.

Blythe wasn’t going to like that. She was all about women’s rights and women being strong. He liked strong women, especially her, but he wanted her to trust him enough to follow his lead. He was a leader. He’d been put in that position at age ten and he was still in that position. He couldn’t be anything else. He glanced over at Reaper, who was still sitting on his bike, taking a careful look around. The man was right. Either she loved him for who he really was, or she didn’t.

“Your woman knows how to deal with trauma?” Absinthe prompted.

His woman walked on water. “She can do just about anything. She’ll love Alena and Lana, and they need a little love.”

“They have us,” Absinthe reminded quietly. “We love them, and they still aren’t better.”

Viktor raised his head and looked his brother in the eye. “Are you?”

Because none of them were. Not a single one, especially him. Viktor was as screwed up as the rest of them. He suffered the same nightmares and had all kinds of issues he didn’t want to talk about—especially with someone as sweet and innocent as Blythe. He sighed and shoved his hand through his hair. “You’re right, Absinthe, they aren’t better.”

Alena came out of the women’s room walking toward them with her long, confident strides, her glossy platinum hair flowing around her. She always wrapped her hair in some kind of intricate knot when she was riding, but took it down the moment she was off the bike. He knew that was a leftover from when one of the instructors had beat her senseless and shaved her head. She’d been six and it had taken all of them to console her. But then, she’d never really gotten over it.

“What is it?” Reaper asked.

The man was creepy silent even in motorcycle boots. Viktor heard everything, but he never heard Reaper or Savage. The two were a force to be reckoned with. He didn’t know which was worse, Reaper, the older brother, or Savage, the younger. Most likely Reaper. Had any of Viktor’s birth brothers been in that place of horror, he would have lost his mind.

“We’re all pretty fucked-up, aren’t we, Reaper?” What if Blythe didn’t take him back? That question had haunted him for too long now. He woke up in the middle of the night numerous times, sweat pouring off of him, his heart pounding at the possibility. He had never once considered she wouldn’t want him, not in the first year or two, but then as time stretched out and he couldn’t see or hear from her, that fear had begun to take hold.

“Some of us more than others. You, not so much. You were older than the rest of us and figured out a way to fight back. You kept us human when we would have all been animals.” Reaper gazed out at the shimmering water. “You gave us a life, Czar. Stop beating yourself up. I’ve never seen you like this. She’s either the one or she’s not.”

Viktor pressed his thumb to the center of his left palm and held it there. Prakenskiis didn’t make mistakes when it came to choosing their women. Blythe was the one. She was his wife. His partner. His only. He touched his chest, the lock tattooed over his heart. She had the key tattooed on her body. “She’s the one.” He turned toward the ocean, and strode away from Reaper. The man saw too much.

Posted by arrangement with Berkley, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © Christine Feehan, 2017.

Series

Water Bound
Spirit Bound
Air Bound
Earth Bound
Fire Bound
Bound Together

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About the Author

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Christine Feehan is a #1 New York Times bestselling author multiple times over with her portfolio including over 40 published novels, including five series; Leopard Series, Dark Series, Ghostwalker Series, Drake Sisters Series, & the Sisters of the Heart Series. All five series hit the #1 spot on the New York Times bestselling list as well. Her debut novel Dark Prince received 3 of the 9 Paranormal Excellence Awards in Romantic Literature (PEARL) in 1999. Since then she has been published by various publishing houses including Leisure Books, Pocket Books, and currently is writing for Berkley/Jove. She also has earned 7 more PEARL awards since Dark Prince.


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Joint Review: Fire Bound by Christine Feehan

Posted April 27, 2016 by Holly in Reviews | 0 Comments

Joint Review: Fire Bound by Christine FeehanReviewer: Holly and Casee
Fire Bound by Christine Feehan
Series: Sisters of the Heart #5, Sea Haven
Also in this series: Water Bound, Spirit Bound, Air Bound, Earth Bound, Bound Together (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart, #6), Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents, Magic in the Wind, The Twilight Before Christmas, Oceans of Fire, Dangerous Tides, Safe Harbor, Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: April 26th 2016
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
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three-half-stars

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sea Haven novels returns to the circle of the six sisters of the heart, bound by the elements—and to one who possesses the power to inflame the most dangerous passions of all.  Flame-haired Lissa Piner is a skilled glass blower whose delicate gift conceals a burning inner strength that can destroy as exquisitely as it can create. Commissioned to design chandeliers for a string of luxury hotels, her remarkable skills have taken her to Italy. But Lissa’s real mission there is a secret. For her entire life has been a lie, leading to a chance to avenge a terrible wrong.   Enlisted as her bodyguard is Casmir Prakenskii, a trained assassin living off the grid. In Lissa, he sees a kindred spirit—something unexpected and wicked, mysterious and sensual. But more than desire is about to bring them together: because both of their pasts cry out for revenge. And for two people with this many secrets, this much passion, and this many enemies, someone is bound to get burned.

Casee: I love the Sea Haven series.  I’ve read all the books she’s written but the Drake Sisters and Sisters of the Heart are my favorite.  Fire Bound was like no other Feehan book.  Mostly it’s the men that are killers and, as readers, we simply accept it.  They are trying to protect their woman, right? Lissa was unlike any heroine  that she’s written.  Lissa is a straight up killer.  It doesn’t matter that she’s doing it for revenge for the death of her family, it’s still murder.  Yet, I wasn’t horrified.  It was refreshing change from her normal heroines.

Holly:  The Sea Haven books are my favorites as well. Lissa was a great heroine. I liked that she was just as deadly as Casimir and she wasn’t portrayed as someone who needed rescuing. I was actually surprised at the number of risks she took and that he didn’t try to stop her.

Casee: I did love how Casimir was partner, not a dictator.  He didn’t “allow” Lissa to do what she needed to do.  He helped her, understood her, and was generally there for her.

Holly: No, he didn’t “allow” her to do anything. She made her choices and he reluctantly followed along.

I do feel like Feehan keeps writing the same love story again and again. Lissa was a different sort of heroine and Casimir and different hero in that he wasn’t as overbearing and chauvinistic as the others, but the romance itself felt like the same thing we’ve read in all the other books.

Casee: I do agree with you about the love story being the same.  How can she write different love stories when she’s written so many?  While their romance didn’t fall flat, it was the same as the other Prakenskii romances.

Holly: It felt the same as all the other Prakenskii romances because it was the same. Almost exactly.

Casee: You’re right all the Prakenskii romances are all the same.  Touch palms and you’re my mate, hear me roar.  Have lots of sex, the heroine objects, then realizes she’s in love with him.  Lissa accepted Casimir almost from the start.  She didn’t fight it.

Holly: I really liked that Lissa accepted Casimir right away. Neither of them really fought it. The conflicts were mostly external.

Casee: The sex was the same as always, which I skipped through.  I want the story, not the sex these days.  Most of her books are over 10 pages per sex scene and there are always more than one.

Holly: I didn’t read the sex scenes beyond the first, either. I see other readers complaining about the lack of sex in books, but I feel just the opposite. I’m tired of pages and pages of sex scenes when, more often than not, the story suffers for them.

This book cleans up some story-arcs that started early in the series. It was nice to get some closure and see some things come to an end.

Casee: It’s been such a long time since the first book.  What story-arcs did it clean up?

Holly: Lissa and Casimir going after the Russian’s who have been after the Prakenskii’s for so long. View Spoiler » Which makes sense since there’s only one book left in the series.

Casee:  I didn’t even think about that arc being over.  I’m really smart like that.  View Spoiler »

I was very surprised by the oldest brother and how things played out there.  I’m really looking forward to the last book, even though I will be the last.  I will be sad to see it to, but I feel like begging her not to try to drag it on.  It’s perfect the way it is.  I’ll always re-read this series.

Holly: I’m curious about the oldest brother and how that will play out. Lissa chewing him out made me laugh. I guess we’ll see what happens when he meets Blythe again.

Casee: What I’m curious to know is if Blythe even knows she’s been “mated” to a Prakenskii.

Holly: I have a feeling she knows she mated, but I doubt she knows they’re married.

Heather on Goodreads said Feehan plans to continue the Sea Haven books (I haven’t bothered to look it up and confirm). I’ll be curious to see who and what that entails.

Casee: There are 29 Dark books.  I read them diligently because Dark Prince was the first paranormal/vampire book I ever read.  I don’t want the Sea Haven books to drag on like that.

Holly: I don’t want 27 books, but I’m not ready for the series to end.

Overall, I really liked Lissa and Casimir together, but it felt like a copy of all the other books. I’m not saying I didn’t like it, just that I felt like it was a story I’d already read.

Casee: I think it was a copy of all the other books too, with the exception on Ilya’s. Eventually you run out of material when you’re writing the same thing over and over.

Holly: I heart Ilya. He’s my favorite.

Casee: I do think this was my favorite of the series just because Lissa was so unique.

Holly: Water Bound is still my favorite of the series. Ricky is the best heroine Feehan has ever written, IMO. Lissa was unique and I liked her, but she doesn’t top Ricky.

I’m going to give this 3.75 out of 5.

Casee: I’m giving it a 3.5 our of 5.

Final Grades:

Holly: 3.75 out of 5
Casee: 3.5 out of 5

The Series

Water Bound
Spirit Bound
Air Bound
Earth Bound
Fire Bound

three-half-stars


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Review: Earth Bound by Christine Feehan

Posted July 22, 2015 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Earth Bound by Christine FeehanReviewer: Holly
Earth Bound by Christine Feehan
Series: Sisters of the Heart #4, Sea Haven
Also in this series: Water Bound, Spirit Bound, Air Bound, Fire Bound, Bound Together (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart, #6), Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents, Magic in the Wind, The Twilight Before Christmas, Oceans of Fire, Dangerous Tides, Safe Harbor, Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: July 7th 2015
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 384
Add It: Goodreads
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four-stars

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Air Bound returns to the mysterious coastal town of Sea Haven where six sisters of the heart are bound by the elements, and one is stalked by an inescapable past…
After escaping from a cult, Lexi found refuge with her sisters on the farm that more than sustained her body—it nurtured her soul as well.  But she never forgot the terror she left behind or the always present fear that the cult would find her again, and claim her. Then her nightmare came true.
Lexi was discovered and threatened—only to be suddenly saved by a stranger. He is Gavriil Prakenskii, and he’s awestruck by the woman he’s rescued. She is destined for him. He can feel it in his soul. But how can Lexi find happiness with a man steeped in secrets and shadows, one intimately acquainted with violence, and whose very love could be the death of them?
NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED
From the Paperback edition.

This is my favorite series of Feehan’s. I gave up on the Dark series long ago, and while I’ve read some of the Leopard and Game books, this is the one I get most excited for. I dove in as soon as I received the book for review. While I enjoyed it, I didn’t love it as much as some of the others in the series.

I think the part I struggled with the most was Lexi’s sexual abuse and how it was glossed over. Gavrill thinks about it quite a bit, but it isn’t addressed out in the open very well and there were no major issues because of it. I felt like that was missed opportunity to explore something that was clearly a deep, dark problem for Lexi.

I still love the relationship between the sisters and now the added bonus of the brother’s forming their own relationship. My favorite part of this book was Gavrill’s initial visit to Ilya. His need to protect his little brother coupled with his natural wariness over not knowing him at all came across very well. I also liked Gavrill’s natural protectiveness toward Lexi.

Aside from the lack of depth in dealing with Lexi’s past, I enjoyed Gavrill and Lexi’s relationship. He’s very protective of her, which could have been overbearing, but actually worked since I felt she needed someone to care for her and put her needs first. He got her to open up a bit and he really came to rely on her as well. Lexi didn’t just roll over and let Gavrill take charge of her life. She demanded he give as much as he took. This is a “fated mates” type series, wherein each Prakenskii male forms a bond with one woman. Feehan is one of the few authors who makes that work for me. Despite being “fated” to be together, they both worked to form a relationship and keep it going.

Though I struggled with how easy Lexi seemed to deal with her past issues, I enjoyed their relationship and the connection between the siblings. Feehan excels at writing believable and engaging friendships.

3.75 out of 5

The Series:

Water Bound
Spirit Bound
Air Bound
Earth Bound

four-stars


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Review: Air Bound by Christine Feehan

Posted May 13, 2014 by Holly in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: Air Bound by Christine FeehanReviewer: Holly
Air Bound by Christine Feehan
Series: Sisters of the Heart #3, Sea Haven
Also in this series: Water Bound, Spirit Bound, Earth Bound, Fire Bound, Bound Together (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart, #6), Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents, Magic in the Wind, The Twilight Before Christmas, Oceans of Fire, Dangerous Tides, Safe Harbor, Turbulent Sea, Hidden Currents
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: May 27th 2014
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 400
Add It: Goodreads
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four-half-stars

The sisters of Sea Haven, bound by the heart and the magical power of the elements, return in this soul-stirring new novel from Christine Feehan,  #1 New York Times bestselling author of Spirit Bound...
Air Bound
For as far back as she can remember, Airiana Ridell has always been aware of her extraordinary gift. She can intuit revealing and illuminating “patterns” in the air around her—whether in a spray of mist, in billowing clouds, or in the dense swirls of an impenetrable fog. Her abilities led to her placement in a secret government training facility when she was a child, but everything changed after her mother was murdered.
Airiana fled the program, but she couldn’t outrun the desperate members of a shadowy cabal who want her, who need her, who will kill to get her. Kidnapped and held aboard a ship bound for dangerous seas, her only chance for rescue is Maxim Prakenskii. He has his reasons for helping her, but he isn’t about to reveal them to Airiana. Not yet. Not as the two are drawn together as moth to flame. Not when there are so many secrets yet untold that could shatter the quaint community of Sea Haven and all who reside there…

I’ve been anxiously awaiting this book since the last, Spirit Bound, was released in 2011. I have no idea why Feehan goes so long between releases in this series. She’s quick to put out Dark books. I wish she’d focus more here since I feel this is the stronger of the two series.

Airi was a genius child who was also able to manipulate air and see patters in the air around her.  She was recruited to work in a secret government program from the time she was very young through high school. When her mother was murdered she fled the program, and found refuge with her sisters of the heart – four beautiful women who all shared gifts similar to hers. When men show up on their farm intent on capturing her, she tries her best to get away, until she realizes she’s putting her sisters in danger. Still, the last thing she expected was to meet someone else who can manipulate air the way she can – especially when that man is beautiful and deadly. She recognizes him as the brother of one sister’s husband, but his shadowy past and dark aura don’t do him any favors. Especially since he’s the one kidnapping her…

Maxim Prakenskii is just doing a job – he’s taking Airiana to meet her father, someone who claims he needs her help. It isn’t long before he realizes he made a huge mistake, however. Airi is nothing like he expected. He knows if he delivers her into the hands of her father – or any of the others looking to exploit her mind – it will be the end of her. So instead he decides to protect her. But protection comes in all forms and he knows staying with him could be the most dangerous thing for her – which is too bad since he can’t seem to let her go.

I absolutely adored the first book, Water Bound, and I had similar happy feelings while reading this one. Airiana and Maxim were a solid couple and the story was fast-paced and exciting. Non-stop action from page one. Though the plot was tense there was a surprising amount of humor. I actually laughed out loud a couple times.

This was a good reminder why I read Feehan. When she hits, she hits big and Air Bound landed out of the park.

4.25 out of 5

The Series:

Water Bound
Spirit Bound
Air Bound
Earth Bound

This book is available from Jove. You can buy it here or here in e-format.

four-half-stars


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