Review: Bound by Dreams by Christina Skye

I've always been fond of Christina Skye's Draycott Abbey novels. Partly because they draw so heavily upon the old Gothic Romance tradition. This newest installment, though, seeks to draw from the paranormal shapeshifting fad and that is likely why I was disappointed with it.

I struggled with the first 80 pages or so of Bound by Dreams. I put it down frequently. It did not hold my attention at all. I think the reason has a great deal to do with the cryptic and vague way the beginning
is written. It's confusing. It's deliberately sketchy with details and context. And while that may work for some novels, I don't think it worked with this one. I found it more annoying than suspenseful. And I think 80 pages of that is definitely overkill.
The hero, Calan, is your typical emotionally scarred hero who has a secret, nearly altruistic side. The heroine, Kiera, is fulfilling a deathbed request and has her own emotional problems. I don't think the fault lies with the characters in this book, since they both *finally* appear fully developed around the 100 page mark.

I'm not sure if the blending of paranormal with Gothic was a good idea. Skye seems to have had trouble doing so seamlessly, because this honestly felt like 3 distinct books rather than one.The inclusion of Izzy Teague, a well known Skye character, felt artificial. Like a space filler rather than a meaningful shout out to the SEALs series.

It's not awful; it did get better. But I honestly can't see myself ever reading this again.

My Grade: C-