September 23, 2009

Hidden Currents by Christine Feehan (Drake Sisters, Book 7)

Filed under: Light Reading, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Science Fiction - Fantasy — Tags: , , , — susan @ 11:40 pm

I just finished reading the latest Drake sisters novel written by Christine Feehan and I definitely liked it. It was really different not just from the other Drake sisters books, but from most other romance books. It wasn’t the normal lighthearted fantasy that you would normally see in a love story.

I was very shocked that they abused her character the way they did, but it did make for a very touching story. It was very interesting read, just really surprising that they would go to such levels of abuse for a main character in a Romance/fantasy novel.

I was excited to pick up this book on several levels. I needed to find out finally what happens to Elle and the completion of the story of the seven sisters. I wanted to understand her magic which had been hinted at being all of the talents; I wondered how they would combine the talents, and why Elle wasn’t a more dominant figure with such powers. They had also foreshadowed so much in the other books about her and Sheriff Jackson so I was looking forward to see how they get together.

I was really shocked at the beginning of this book that someone as powerful as Elle could get captured. Once the abuse was done, it was touching to follow someone who had gone through such torture. I expected it to be like watching a car wreck and not being able to look away, but really her struggle to try to come back from the brink, and her strength and determination were encouraging.

The emotional turmoil was a bit of a downer, but it is a good story and great characters to follow. The paranormal fantasy parts were very interesting and I was glad that they showed all the sisters and their partners using their powers and being such an integral part of the plot. In all, this book isn’t as light and fun, but it is a great read and worth staying up late for!

March 15, 2009

Murder Game by Christine Feehan (Ghostwalkers Series)

Filed under: Light Reading, Paranormal Romance, Romance, Science Fiction - Fantasy — Tags: , — susan @ 9:52 pm

The lastest in the Ghostwalkers series is yet another romance filled with action, suspense and bullets. This book is not the best in the bunch, but the basics are still there. But depending on your wish to read pages and pages of love scenes, you may not want to pick this one up.

I love the premise of this series, it makes for some really exciting story lines and plot twists. Set in modern day, this series is about a group of people who have been experimented on to enhance their natural abilities.

Some of the men are soldiers who entered the experimental program through the government. They have been genetically altered to have different talents. Some have psychic abilities, superhuman leaping, climbing, running, etc. Some of the women who were also experiemented on (illegally) have some fun talents like firestarting, telekinesis, mind control, and more.

It makes for some interesting reading and great suspense when people are chasing after them trying to kill the lot and get rid of the evidence of their genetic experiments. There is also some solid government conspiracy, battle planning, army comraderie, and soldier mentality in thoughts and conversations.

That said, this latest in a long series is a bit of a stretch. There was a limit to the new concepts introduced, and it just wasn’t as interesting in reading about the characters’ supernatural abilities.

I found the development of the romance story weak in Murder Game, and really lame that the author tried to make this up with sex. Who in the world needs to read an eight page sex scene!? And that followed up by many more scenes that go on way too long.

I get the concept of showing love through actions, and feeling insecure unless you are touching or loving your new partner. However, this book is so over the top! It took moonlight and roses and “valentine be mine” into psychotic creepy “you are my possession and must submit”. Obsession is not love and treating a person as a possession is worse. All I could think of as I read this is that some women out there think that this is a normal romance, and are staying with their abusive husbands after reading this.

I would recommend skipping this latest in the series and re-reading an older one instead.

February 10, 2009

Turbulent Sea by Christine Feehan

Filed under: Paranormal Romance, Romance — Tags: , , , , — susan @ 5:20 pm

Book: Turbulent Sea
Author: Christine Feehan.
Blog: Susan Burgett, Book Fiend

I have to start by saying I am a big Christine Feehan fan and have read all her novels and series. After hearing that the latest Drake legacy book had been released, I was very excited to read this book and it jumped to the top of my pile. Maybe because of that I was a little disappointed in this one. Even though it was a good book on its own, it lacked the originality and character of the five previous books on the other Drake sisters. I was surprised there was so little in this book about the other sisters and their magical relationship after so much in the other books. But who can resist a paranormal romance with some action, suspense, magic, and rock n’ roll thrown in.

As a stand alone book, it had a great plot and kept me interested and reading. It was a good romance, with a bit of excitement and action thrown in which is my favorite. You’ve got to love some action and danger to really tie a couple together! The characters were real and had great consistency. I thought it was a very interesting twist that both of the characters have magic and aren’t afraid to use it! The magic is such a part of their personality. It was a great read and very entertaining all the way to the exciting end, with enough to keep me interested and up late at night reading. ;-)

*Spoilers*

Part of my disappointment was that Feehan had built up this relationship with Joley and Ilya in the previous Drake books, so I had very high expectations. There is plenty of magic in this story, but not in the same way as the other Drake books. A huge build up of Ilya and his role and his magic wasn’t really followed through on in the end. It was like this book started in the middle of the story and ended with a few chapters missing. How did Joley discover her magic talents? What kinds of adventures had she had? They talk about the band and their “wild” troubles, but no real examples. What about Ilya and the development of his talents, some stories at least instead of just one picture of a boy under a table.