Christine Feehan - Water Bound

Sisters of the Heart Sea Haven Series:

Book 1:

Water Bound: Lev Prakenskii and Rikki

 

*Note this is the UK cover

Summary:

This book picks up right where the last Drake Sisters novel left off, on the day of the mass Drake sister wedding. Rikki is a sea urchin diver with an affinity to water. On the day of the wedding she is out at sea farming for sea urchins when the huge wave that the Drakes sisters combated back knocks Rikki off her boat and back into the ocean. Thankfully, she still had all her gear on. While in the ocean a large man is being knocked around in the aftermath of the waves, Rikki grabs onto him and pulls him back onto the boat. When Lev comes to on a boat, he realizes that he is not sure who he is entirely but he does know that there is life threatening danger surrounding him. When he realizes there is someone on the boat with him instinct takes over and he goes for the throat, literally. When he comes out of his haze he realizes it is the woman with the eyes that pulled him out of the water. Rikki has no idea what to do with this man, she pulled him out of the water so she feels responsible for him, his life is depending on her and something about that resonates with Rikki and she knows without her he will probably die.  He is severely injured and is convinced there is someone out there trying to kill only he doesn’t know who or why. Rikki takes Lev back home with her under much duress, after 4 fires and the death of 3 loved ones she is not entirely sure she isn’t setting those fires herself, so she has become paranoid about anyone being in her home. Lev quickly learned that Rikki is a very unique person and does not like anyone messing up her routine, but something about her stirs his protective instincts, which he never knew he had. He doesn’t know much but he knows that he is a killer, but not in what capacity. As time passes Lev becomes stronger in body, remembers more of his previous life and knows it’s not good. He also knows he wants to start a new life with Rikki and starts to build a new identity. Rikki is autistic with sensory problems; simple things like fluorescent lights cause her severe pain.  After several fires and 3 deaths, Rikki found her “sisters” and same to Sea Haven where she has managed to carve out a peaceful existence for herself. Letting Lev into her life has been extremely difficult for Rikki, but his presence also brings her some sort of calm she never had before. She comes to accept his existence in her world. Lev recognizes Rikki as a water element and under his encouragement she starts to explore her talents more. She finds that she can do a lot more than she always thought she could, she can actually command the water in all its forms. Lev is not without his own talents; he can plant memories, see through animals eyes, and heal to some extent. But with all their talents combined can they combat the two forces that threaten the peace that Lev and Rikki have managed?

Review:

I have read some reviews where people didn’t like how eccentric Rikki is, I disagree with that opinion. I really enjoyed her eccentricities (well I don’t have to live with them, so it’s easy for me. LOL). People come in all forms even autistic ones. Not all heroines are going to be perfect with no bad habits.  What I like about Rikki is despite her disabilities she has she has found a way to live her life the best she can. I can’t even imagine not being able to go into the grocery store because the lights cause her pain. Yet Rikki has managed to become a productive member of the community as well as on the farm with her “sisters”. Lev is a government agent for Russia and is tired of living in the shadows, once he starts remembering things he realizes this is his chance to get out, for Lev to die and Levi to live. He knows that he wants to start his life over with Rikki, when she looks into his eyes he feels like she is looking into his soul. He knows he’s met someone that he can really start over with, someone that accepts everything about him including his past. It was so sweet to see this hardened killer, really accept someone that would realistically be very difficult to be with. He is willing to do what it takes to keep Rikki stable and able to manage within her personal limitations. You get the feeling that these two are the only two that could possibly make it work with each other for the long haul. I do want to note this novel is more of an emotional story there is very little “action” and what little “action” there is, is at the end. What I did not like about this novel was Ilya did not make any appearances, which was one of the reasons I picked this book up. He was my favorite male from the Drake sisters. I waited the whole book for some sort of reunion and there wasn’t one. That was a bummer! And the cover if this book is terrible, I almost skipped listing the picture on this blog I think its so bad! But luckly I found the UK cover (much better)! So please don’t judge this book by its cover. Lol!

Rating:

3.5 moons out of 5