I like this series but this one was just okay for me. I felt that the super alpha loner Maxim fell for Airiana too quickly. Maybe some of those interminable pages of Maxim snapping necks could have been better used to develop their relationship. I know these are romantic/magical suspense but there was just too much killing and I'm a person who reads military memoirs and military thrillers but this was just too much. I was all "come on, this is like those scenes in Mr and Mrs Smith where the bullets never touch the protagonists but nearly everyone else in the film ends up dead." Action sequences work best if they are built up to and not too many or too long or too unbelievable.

I do like the Prasenskiis but the romance between the two of them was too facile. I think that at least for Airiana at least there was a huge element of destiny. Look here's my predestined Prakenskii brother! I don't need to work on getting to know him and falling in love 'cuz it's already a done deal. It takes away from the reason we read romances when all the questions are answered before the hero and heroine even meet. I know that in a genre romance there is a guaranteed HEA but this was like that guaranty times 9.

So middle of the road read for me. ( )

So first off I started this series out of order but not by much.

That being said I like this story more than the others. I don't know if it's the action that happens. The fact that Airiana is very independent and a kick-butt-take-names-later kind of woman? Sure she's a genius who went into hiding after her mother was killed. And sure she's got some crazy mad skills when it comes to reading and controlling the air element but damn....she sees patterns in everything and her mind is going 24/7 so that she needs constant knowledge; how trying would that be?

Also got a kick how her and Lissa were talking about the other Prakenskii brothers and what might happen if they ended up at the farm, would they too end up falling in love and marrying one of the remaining brothers. They even joke about not speaking that out loud and putting it into the universe... foreshadowing at it's best.

Maxim thought he was double crossing the Greek human trafficker/drug lord/ arms dealer to make sure that Airiana did not end up with him but her long lost Russian physicist father, who also is a genius but he is not tied to the elements as Airi and her mother were. From the get go you know her father is up to no good and boy, does he ever show his true nature quickly. Luckily by the time it happens Maxim has claimed Airi as his and did the whole palm branding trick. Oh and get this... he can control air too maybe even better than she can.

It goes on about them rescuing 4 children who were orphaned for the express purpose of turning them into sex slaves for some really perverted rich men. While I know it was part of this story line I was uncomfortable with it mostly because the thought of children being used like that sickens me. The author did good in setting the tone, giving some descriptions of the actions but didn't go overboard and get too graphic. Maxim who wasn't even sure he wanted to claim Airi now finds himself promising the children to take care of them and keep them safe. Instant family for a man who never wanted to care for anyone so he could never experience the pain of losing another loved one.

Did a lot of people die in this book more than the others, certainly did seem like it. But for plot sake the deaths made sense...it's not like he was just going to be able to walk away with Airi and these mercenaries were going to let him do it because he's a Prakenskii Bad Ass.

Ending battle scene proves once again that these women are strong but put them together and they are virtually unstoppable. Even their men are still confounded at the power they possess and wield.

Since I am back on track order wise in the series....off to Lissa's story and see which brother she ends up with. (Although I pretty much know since I read the last book first, but would be nice to know how they got together. ) ( )

Airiana has a brilliant mind and is an air element, it just so happens so is Maxim. He kidnaps her to take her to her father and save her from the mad billionaire. She goes from trying to escape him to loving him and he in turn. He fights against her pull on his heart strings but can't help falling for her. We also get to see cameos from the other Prakenskii's and a few from the Drake Sisters
( )

Forgot to do a review. Enjoying this series mote than the Dark. Looking forward to next one. ( )

Air Bound

The Characters:

Airiana Ridell: Wholesome, sweet, cares very deeply for the people she loves
Maxim Prakenskii: Have yet to meet a Prakenskii brother that I didn’t like and Maxim is no exception.

The Story:

Time is short for me right now so no proper review but I greatly enjoyed the story.

The Random Thoughts:

Great Narrator

4 Stars ( )