Okay, I'm the first one to admit Christine Feehan's stuff is sometimes over the top. Her Dark series is extremely melodramatic, her alpha male heroes are one step short of cavemen, her 80-pg. love scenes go on and on about creamy skin and velvet sheaths. Nevertheless, I love her books.
Why?
Well, Christine Feehan knows something about what women want, and what is the essence of romantic fiction. One man, filled with purpose and integrity and courage, whose entire life centers around one single woman....his lifemate. He would kill for her, die for her. This theme, which is repeated over and over again, is incredibly romantic. It works. It makes for extremely satisfying HEAS, too. My only concern with Feehan is that the violence against women has escalated over the last couple of years, and in my opinion, is not necessary and detracts from the core of her books.
Because of that, I was nervous about starting this next series. I refused to read Hidden Currents because of the disturbing content, and I was pretty pissed off since I'd stuck with the whole Drake sisters series, and was really looking forward to Elle's book. I figured this spin-off series would also be too violent for me, so I was gonna pass on it. However, in a moment of boredom at the grocery store, I saw Water Bound and decided to give it a go.
I am so, so, so glad I did! This book is not typical for Christine Feehan...it's more subtle, more emotional and incredibly satisfying and romantic. I think it's the most romantic book she's written.
First of all, she took a chance on creating an autistic heroine. Rikki is strong and capable in spite of her autism. She is also loving and protective of her "sisters." The first scene in the book where Rikki and Lev "meet" underwater is absolutely amazing....their instant connection is surprising to both of them. I just loved this scene! Honestly, I sometimes forget how spectacular Feehan is in terms of her paranormal creativity. Rikki's affinity for water is one of the coolest things I've ever read....the water sparkles, plays, takes on a life of its own. The descriptions of Rikki connecting with water are astounding. What a great, unique paranormal concept. After an overload of vampire/werewolf descriptions, the water angle is fabulous, mesmerizing, inspiring.
Lev is one of my favorite Feehan heroes. He recognizes right away that Rikki is "different." He is patient with her and takes the time to learn the things he has to do to accommodate her special needs. This is one of the most romantic, wonderful gestures a hero could ever do. It made me fall in love with Lev. He's a trained, cold-hearted killer who learns to love and trust through his relationship with Rikki.
For both of them, falling in love is a huge leap of faith. Rikki has to step outside of her comfortable limits, which is a huge undertaking for someone with severe OCD issues. Lev wonders if he can truly shed his skin as a cold-blooded killer and become a "normal" man with a new identity.
It's simply a wonderful love story.
The only thing that bugged me a little bit was waiting for the conclusion to two separate conflicts at the end of the book...the arsonist problem and Lev's assassin. Didn't need two conflicts here....one would have sufficed.
I was very surprised by this book. It's not your typical Feehan story...but I thought that Rikki and Lev are a truly original and wonderful couple. I hope that the rest of this series continues on this path.
Grade: A
Next week.....Dark Peril is out! Yippee!
Having an awesome reading week and loving every minute of it,
Penelope
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