Judith Henderson was an artist on the rise—an ethereal, and haunted woman whose own picture-perfect beauty stirred the souls of two men who have made her their obsession. For years she has been waiting for someone to come and unlock the passion and fire within her—waiting for the right man to surrender it to. But only one man can survive her secrets, and the shadow she has cast over both their lives.
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Ok everyone, time for a sigh of relief - I don't think Christine Feehan has totally lost her mind. Yes Dark Predator was kind of a debacle, with a laughable 'hero' and a 'romance' that was pretty much the antithesis of romantic. Luckily I think fans of her work can shift some of their devotion to her new Sea Haven series without too much of a problem because while Stefan could be a bit of a butthead at moments, not only does Judith call him on it, he also learns from his mistakes.
The most interesting part of this particular book (and maybe for the rest of the books too?) was the heroine, Judith. She's undergone so much guilt, grief, and pain trying to work through what happened to her brother and what she feels is her part in it. Reading about her pain wasn't easy and made the relationship between her and Stefan work that much more. She needs someone strong not only to snap her out when she's have a sad moment, but someone who won't succumb to the emotional emanations she gives off at the same time. If Stefan wasn't a bit of a mess he wouldn't work so well with her. All in all I think their relationship is pretty satisfying and believable, even if by this point readers can definitely see the writing on the wall - seven sisters, seven brothers, sparks are a-coming people, round up the wagons! (Also I wonder how long it's going to be before we get Blythe's book? Taunting us with that whole left hand/'I've seen this ceremony' stuff is just mean!)
I do wish that Feehan would back off the explainy bits in the beginning. When I started the book I felt like I kept being pushed out of the story by all the 'this is what this person looks like'. I don't usually find myself with that problem when reading Feehan, so I can only suppose that as we're still near the beginning of this latest series there's maybe more of a need for it to be there. Shrug. I wasn't the biggest fan but it didn't totally detract from the rest or annoy me enough to make me stop reading.
I'm still excited for the next one!
Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.
Series - 1) Water Bound 2) Spirit Bound
