Title: Oceans of FireSeries: Drake Sisters
Author: Christine Feehan
Read copy: Mass Market Paperback
Published: May 31, 2005
Publisher: Jove
ISBN: 051513953X
ISBN-13: 9780515139532
As the third daughter in a magical bloodline, Abigail Drake was born with a mystical affinity for water, and possessed a particularly strong bond with dolphins. She spent her entire life studying them, learning from them, and swimming among them in the waters off her hometown of Sea Haven...
Until the day Abby witnessed a cold-blooded murder on shore, and found herself fleeing for her life—right into the arms of Aleksandr Volstov. He’s an Interpol agent on the trail of stolen Russian antiquities, a relentless man who gets what he goes after—and the man who broke Abby’s heart. But he isn’t going to let the only woman he ever loved be placed in harm’s way—or slip away from his embrace...
My rating:
After a tragic incident four years ago that has lost her her love, and her self-esteem, Abigail "Abbey" Drake, the third of the seven Drake sisters doesn't trust her magic any longer. The traumatic experience has turned her into a loner, spending most of her time with her sisters and even more swimming with dolphins. One evening, after returning from one such swim, she witnesses a murder, resulting in her being briefly held at gunpoint, staring into deep blue eyes she left behind four years ago.
Alexandr Volstov, an Interpol agent and then some, had two reasons for coming to America. One was to uncover the criminal organization smuggling antiques from Russia. The other was to try and win back the heart of the only woman he's ever loved, the only woman who could bring him peace—Abbey.
On the adventurous journey to find the smugglers...and the path back into each other's embrace...they'll have to deal with six meddling sisters, one meddling aunt, a Russian crime lord trying to get a dirty bomb into the US, and a Russian hotshot hit man with his own agenda.
The first in this series that didn't suffer a rating-drop on a re-read. Mostly because whatever I disliked in this book, I already disliked on the first read, and what I did like, I liked even better this second time around.
The story was plausible (yes, even the magic part), with all the smugglers traipsing about a sleepy coastal town in California, men trying to find the smugglers, men not being what they seemed etc., the characters were nicely developed, the dialogue was snappy, and the humor, what there was, was great.
While I didn't much appreciate the dynamic between the seven Drake sisters in the first two installments, I loved their relationship in this book, and even the bratty Hannah has managed to grow up enough in between to keep me from getting the hives each time she was on the page.
I like most Christine Feehan's heroes. She knows how to write them dark, broody, slightly overbearing, and all the way mouth-watering. And although I never thought a Russian accent to be sexy, and I'll admit, Alexandr "Sasha" Volstov didn't exactly make my heart go all aflutter (how can he when he's sharing his book with the ultimate Russian hottie, Ilya Prakenskii), he was still a typical Feehan hero. All stubborn and male and refusing to back down no matter what. Because, yes, he was there in an official capacity, but let's face it, he came for the girl and he was determined to get the girl or die trying. Which he almost did.
It was the girl in question that was the biggest problem this story had. She was all over the place with her emotions, her indecision, and her stubbornness to face facts; with herself, with her man, and with their future. She was annoying as hell, blowing hot and cold, and before the half-mark, I wanted someone to shake her until her teeth rattled.
I know she lived through a traumatic experience, through what she deemed a betrayal by the man she loved, but the whole
"I'm hurting, so I'll hurt you as well" got a little old a little too fast.
I mean, make up your damn mind! It was as Alexandr said "I'm condemned no matter what". You can't be pissed off at him for betraying you and doing everything in his power to get you to safety. You can't have it both ways, child, pick one! And then move on, for Pete's sake!
The rest was great, the sisters, Jonas, Ilya and his first "meeting" with Joley (was it just me or did those two have more chemistry in their one tiny scene together than all three couples so far combined?), the action scenes, the suspense...Can't complain (except about Abbey, of course).
4 stars, bitchslappable heroine/hero, bodyguard/military/merc/gov/cop/spy, Christine Feehan, contemporary, contemporary romance, paranormal, paranormal romance, re-read, suspense/mystery/adventure/thriller
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