Water Bound (Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart, #1) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Jul 12, 2010 Melissa rated it did not like it

Shelves: romance, paranormal, modern, horrid

Rikki Sitmore is not your average female. She has strange reactions to things people may consider normal. She only likes to eat peanut butter and broccoli and likes everything to be pristine and untouched. She might also be a sociopath because her parents, foster families, and fiancé’s houses all burned down and many of them died. But being a possible serial arsonist is not even the oddest thing about her. The winner is that she has the ability to control water (think water-bending in “Avatar: Rikki Sitmore is not your average female. She has strange reactions to things people may consider normal. She only likes to eat peanut butter and broccoli and likes everything to be pristine and untouched. She might also be a sociopath because her parents, foster families, and fiancé’s houses all burned down and many of them died. But being a possible serial arsonist is not even the oddest thing about her. The winner is that she has the ability to control water (think water-bending in “Avatar: The Last Airbender” style). Rikki is therefore surprised that she didn’t sense the giant tidal wave until it was literally crashing down upon her. The tidal wave doesn’t just bring water, however, but also the most dangerous-looking and handsome man Rikki has ever seen. Against her better instinct, she decides to save him. During the rescue, she shares a moment with this dangerous man that is sure to shake her world.

Lev Prakenskii is a very dangerous, deadly, and handsome man. This is the one thing he knows as he finds himself slammed against the rocks after falling into the ocean. The next thing he knows, he is saved by a beautiful woman whom he can’t help thinking must be a mermaid. She pulls Lev out of the ocean and the dizziness and uncertainly causes him to react in a way that would have King Triton stabbing him with his triton. Rather than throwing him back into the ocean, the strange woman responds angrily to his actions. This rather sobers Lev up to the fact that Ariel did not save him, since she is yelling and not singing to him. Despite his dangerous behavior, the woman takes him home. Lev soon realizes he can’t remember anything except that he has killed a lot of people. The one thing he does know is that he wants to spend his life with this mermaid-like woman.

I’m the first to admit that I’m no literary expert, but my biggest problem with this book was what I found to be poor writing. The author overuses adjectives and has the tendency to be repetitive and redundant. I did not need to be reminded on every page that Rikki is a strange woman. I also got the point after the first fifty times that Lev is a deadly and dangerous man who has killed a lot of people. I was tempted to start a drinking game every time I came across the words strange, deadly, dangerous, handsome, and a quite a few others. Needless to say, I would have been very drunk by the time I came to page two hundred, and the book is near five hundred pages long. Also, do we need a twenty page sex scene? A paragraph about walking into a grocery store? This book really could have benefitted from a strong editorial hand. The weak editing really ruined the story for me. I could not concentrate or care about the story because I kept trying to edit it in my mind.

Setting aside the editing issue, the story was rather weak as well. I really felt no connection to either Lev or Rikki. None. I’ve never read a book where I’ve never even felt a small connection. Because I felt no connection to either of the characters, I could not care less about what happened to them. There were exciting scenes here and there, but they are quickly overridden with the overuse of repeating themes and thoughts. I really thought when Lev’s past was revealed, the story would take an interesting turn. It didn’t. The major plot points are who is starting the fires and trying to kill Rikki and whether Lev can escape from his dangerous and deadly past. Both are resolved in the most lackluster way possible.

Oh yeah, Rikki and Lev got together at the end and I was relieved that the book was over. Those who don’t mind a lot of adjectives and repetitiveness will probably like this book better than I did. As it is, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
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Mar 09, 2013 Bambi Unbridled rated it liked it

Shelves: million-page-challenge, library, read-2016

I started the Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart series not realizing its a spinoff of the Drake series. I was just scrolling through my library audiobooks, and this one sounded interesting so I grabbed it. While it is not absolutely necessary that you read the earlier series, I wish I would have. There seems to be quite a bit of character crossover, and I think I would have liked this one a little more if I had the history. I would also call this "paranormal lite" - it seemed much more a contempora I started the Sea Haven/Sisters of the Heart series not realizing its a spinoff of the Drake series. I was just scrolling through my library audiobooks, and this one sounded interesting so I grabbed it. While it is not absolutely necessary that you read the earlier series, I wish I would have. There seems to be quite a bit of character crossover, and I think I would have liked this one a little more if I had the history. I would also call this "paranormal lite" - it seemed much more a contemporary romantic suspense with a few special abilities thrown in, but they were not the focus of the story.

The heroine in this book is Rikki Sitmore, a sea urchin diver and water element in the town of Sea Haven. Rikki is also autistic, albeit a high functioning one. Rikki is a tortured heroine in that everyone she has loved in the past has died in a horrible fires. Being caught in one of the fires herself, Rikki carries scars on her legs and feet. Most people see her as odd due to her autistic characteristics, and are quick to believe that she was the one who started all the fires. She is starting to believe it now herself. Rikki is not a typical heroine, or even one that has just a touch of Aspberger's or pervasive personality disorder. Rikki is truly autistic and displays a lot of the common signs and behaviors.

Our hero is Lev Prakenskii, a Russian operative who Rikki literally pulls out of the water after a yacht explosion. Lev's injuries cause him some memory loss, which he slowly gets back over the course of the book. However, even without his memory, Lev knows that he is a dangerous man. For starters, he is loaded down with weapons and his first instinct is to kill. He is also a bit broken and broody, and given his dangerous nature and ass-kicking abilities, he is the type of hero that I usually like.

I liked the idea of this book and, don't get me wrong, it was okay. I think I would have liked it more if I had read the Drake Sisters series first. But the execution and characters just didn't work for me in a way that would have let me connect and drawn me into the story. And I hate myself for saying this and have debated whether to even put it out there... but the main reason I couldn't connect was the autistic heroine.

I am a reader that likes to imagine myself as the heroine or main character. That helps me connect with the story, it allows me to go on the adventure, what have you. I was not able to put myself in Rikki's place as the heroine - her problems were just too detailed and specific for me to fit myself into the mold. I have also never been around any autistic adults, or even autistic children really. I have not watched any autistic adults on television (other than light Aspberger's cases). So I had a hard time picturing Rikki's autism as anything but what I have seen of autistic children on TV. And Rikki did display a lot of those behaviors/characteristics: rocking, fixation, hand movements, sensory problems, outbursts, etc. So relating to her character as a child really made it impossible for me to see her as a romantic figure. The sex between her and the hero just felt wrong to me. Actually, the whole pairing of her with this dangerous hero felt wrong. No matter how I looked at it, the relationship just didn't work.

The story also meandered along and started dragging. Listening to it in audio as I was, I found myself zoning out and having to rewind once I realized it. With a paranormal, that was geared toward romantic suspense, I wanted more action and faster pacing. Instead a lot of the book was Lev trying to overcome Rikki's disability, or Rikki's extreme reactions to normal situations. I think if there would have been a little less focus on Rikki's disability, then I would have enjoyed the story more. Sometimes less is more when it comes to these things.

I will probably continue the series, but not until after I go back and read the Drake Sisters. 3 stars / 3 flames. ...more

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Jun 17, 2011 Suzanne rated it liked it

Shelves: books-that-i-have-on-audio, audible-book, dhasg-reading-challenge, read-in-2016

A lot of repetition throughout the story (she's a water element, she's different, etc;) and it got a bit annoying. I also didn't like how they labeled her autistic. Her character would do things that were austic, but the part that was "in her mind" did seem autistic to me and I just wasn't buying it. I wish the author had made her OCD or something. ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 BooksBooksandmoreBooks69 rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-blog

This series is based in Sea Haven, and one of the heroine’s in this series is actually a cousin to the Drake Sisters.

Lev Prakenskii (Is a brother to Ilya, who’s book is “Turbulent Sea) was on the boat that Elle was held hostage on (her story was Hidden Currents) He tried to save her, tried to get her off the boat, he knew his boss was interested in Elle. He had to standby and watch her being abused, he couldn’t risk saving her and blowing his cover. He bitterly regretted not doing anything, but This series is based in Sea Haven, and one of the heroine’s in this series is actually a cousin to the Drake Sisters.

Lev Prakenskii (Is a brother to Ilya, who’s book is “Turbulent Sea) was on the boat that Elle was held hostage on (her story was Hidden Currents) He tried to save her, tried to get her off the boat, he knew his boss was interested in Elle. He had to standby and watch her being abused, he couldn’t risk saving her and blowing his cover. He bitterly regretted not doing anything, but he knew they both would be killed. But she got away and he was pleased. He wasn’t pleased when his boss found Elle again and tried to take her back. Elle retaliated and now Lev finds himself being blown off the boat and into the sea. But he’s ok with that, he’s done his job, he doesn’t need to worry about anything anymore.....

Rikki loves the water, that is where she is at home. The sea grounds her, keeps her calm. And diving for sea urchins, gives her purpose, focus and an excuse to be out on the water.
Rikki lost her whole family due to a violent tragedy, back bad things always seem to happen around her, is she a jinx? Or is there something more sinister going on?
And when she comes across a man in the water, Rikki has to decide wether to rescue him or let the sea claim him.....

Rikki hates anything that disturbs her peace of mind or her routine. And Lev does that on all levels, after rescuing him, he becomes a firm fixture in her life, but there is his memory loss to worry about, and the fact that he feels dangerous to Rikki and her way of life.

And when her “sisters” meet him (they aren’t blood related, they met at a self help group for abused women) they don’t like him, but Rikki sees past the harsh exterior, and maybe, just maybe Rikki will keep him.

Lev (or Levi as the name he now goes under) is suffering from memory loss, but he knows how to handle a gun. And as his memory returns, he’s worried his old life will come back and harm the woman he’s falling in love with.

I loved this book, it handled Rikki’s issues with care and sensitivity. Being autistic and having a life, was written really carefully. We never forgot that Rikki was different, and to find a man that would treat her with respect and love was love to to read. So many heroines are either kick ass or helpless, Rikki was neither. She is strong, independent, but very rigid in her daily life.

So will Levi and Rikki have a life by the sea? Or will both their pasts come back and haunt them?

🦋 ...more

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