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My favorite fantasy authors are those who weave parallels between real and fiction—who use fantasy and magic as a way to reflect back the best (or the worst) of our own world—and, in doing so, give us the chance to examine the kind of world we're creating here on Earth.
And let me tell you: this book weaves threads between reality and fantasy like it's making a friggin’ tapestry. 🧶
Lemme illustrate just one: The elves are locked in a war. Underground, beneath the fighting, is a fuel source—one that could power everyone’s homes for decades to come. They call the fighting “the Forever War” saying: "...where there is value, there is power, and where there is power, violence will always be."
There was so much I adored about this book: the sibling love, the queer-normativity, the strong, disabled MC, the (to me) gender-euphoric way humans were described [“From the seeds of the Earth, Asase created humans. Sprigs became bones and flowers sprouted smiles.”]...
If I *had* to critique anything, it would be that the romance parts weren't super convincing for me? But I also understand that (1) I'm ace and romance storylines often just don't hit for me the way it does for most people and (2) there are 2 whole more books in the works that I'm sure will develop those storylines further.
Even with that small critique that might just be a me-problem, though, I think the coolest thing about this book is that it's bigger than the sum of its parts.
Truly, it feels like the beginning of a love letter to what our real world could become: how we might all be able to find liberation/freedom together. I can’t wait to see how we get there in real life AND in later books in the series.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to add everything else Saara El-Arifi has ever written to my TBR.
And let me tell you: this book weaves threads between reality and fantasy like it's making a friggin’ tapestry. 🧶
Lemme illustrate just one: The elves are locked in a war. Underground, beneath the fighting, is a fuel source—one that could power everyone’s homes for decades to come. They call the fighting “the Forever War” saying: "...where there is value, there is power, and where there is power, violence will always be."
There was so much I adored about this book: the sibling love, the queer-normativity, the strong, disabled MC, the (to me) gender-euphoric way humans were described [“From the seeds of the Earth, Asase created humans. Sprigs became bones and flowers sprouted smiles.”]...
If I *had* to critique anything, it would be that the romance parts weren't super convincing for me? But I also understand that (1) I'm ace and romance storylines often just don't hit for me the way it does for most people and (2) there are 2 whole more books in the works that I'm sure will develop those storylines further.
Even with that small critique that might just be a me-problem, though, I think the coolest thing about this book is that it's bigger than the sum of its parts.
Truly, it feels like the beginning of a love letter to what our real world could become: how we might all be able to find liberation/freedom together. I can’t wait to see how we get there in real life AND in later books in the series.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to add everything else Saara El-Arifi has ever written to my TBR.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, War
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Murder, War
Minor: Chronic illness, Genocide
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was really looking forward to Faebound's release; picked it up as soon as it arrived at my local bookstore. So it pained me to realize, as I was reading it, that Faebound had failed to meet my expectations. I should know by now that expectations are dangerous.
There's nothing particularly wrong with Faebound. Saara El-Arifi's prose is simple, but effective. Reminds me a lot of C.L. Clark's The Unbroken. The world she created is quite imaginative and the twists and turns revealed in the third act made me want to read more, so I will be picking up the sequel.
However, everything else feels quite unremarkable. The two main characters whose POV were are privy to read younger than they are, making the book read like a YA fiction when it's marketed as adult. I expected more tension between Yeeran and her love interest, their relationship barely having any time to develop properly, rendering the enemies-to-lovers trope quite irrelevant, in my opinion. Besides, Yeeran spends almost the entirety of her time in exile mourning this woman who's portrayed to us an ambiguous chieftain, who's both ruthless and caring at the same time. But we barely get to know her, so the constant allusions to Yeeran and her love for her became irritating. From the glimpse we have of Salawa and her actions towards Yeeran and their people, she sounds nothing more than a corrupt politician lavishing in riches while her people starve.
And on a more personal note and this is truly a quirk of mine and not at all a real issue with the book, but Yeeran's obeah (this panther/deer fae creature that she's bound to) being named Pila diminished the enjoyment of the book for me. I just couldn't take it seriously after THAT. (Context: Pila means "dick" in my native language, Portuguese.)
Unfortunately I didn't get what I wanted out of Faebound but I can see it being a favorite for some, especially if you're into romantasy and lighter fantasy reads.
There's nothing particularly wrong with Faebound. Saara El-Arifi's prose is simple, but effective. Reminds me a lot of C.L. Clark's The Unbroken. The world she created is quite imaginative and the twists and turns revealed in the third act made me want to read more, so I will be picking up the sequel.
However, everything else feels quite unremarkable. The two main characters whose POV were are privy to read younger than they are, making the book read like a YA fiction when it's marketed as adult. I expected more tension between Yeeran and her love interest, their relationship barely having any time to develop properly, rendering the enemies-to-lovers trope quite irrelevant, in my opinion. Besides, Yeeran spends almost the entirety of her time in exile mourning this woman who's portrayed to us an ambiguous chieftain, who's both ruthless and caring at the same time. But we barely get to know her, so the constant allusions to Yeeran and her love for her became irritating. From the glimpse we have of Salawa and her actions towards Yeeran and their people, she sounds nothing more than a corrupt politician lavishing in riches while her people starve.
And on a more personal note and this is truly a quirk of mine and not at all a real issue with the book, but Yeeran's obeah (this panther/deer fae creature that she's bound to) being named Pila diminished the enjoyment of the book for me. I just couldn't take it seriously after THAT. (Context: Pila means "dick" in my native language, Portuguese.)
Unfortunately I didn't get what I wanted out of Faebound but I can see it being a favorite for some, especially if you're into romantasy and lighter fantasy reads.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, War
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Genocide, Violence, Murder
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, War
Moderate: Violence
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I thought this novel started very strong and ended very strong, however the story plateaued for me around the halfway mark. I thought there were parts that needed to be fleshed out a bit more as things in this story tend to happen quickly with little build up. This, to me, lessens the emotional investment I had with the story and the characters. The storytelling is very matter of fact and straight to the point. The strengths of the book: the unique world, the character of fae familiar Pila, the gender fluid and queer normalizing, the divination aspect was interesting to me as well as the twists that helped tie up the story at the end. The pitfalls were the rushed plot lines, lack of explanation in some parts while over-repeating other points, the writing was simplistic and the characters had little depth and I was unable to emotionally connect to any of them. I found myself questioning the main character Yeeran a lot during the entire story as I could not understand her motives or loyalties after a blatant misunderstanding and betrayal.
Overall I’m giving this 3 stars as I wasn’t overwhelmingly engaged with this story, however I did think it had some strengths overall and potential for more growth in sequels.
Overall I’m giving this 3 stars as I wasn’t overwhelmingly engaged with this story, however I did think it had some strengths overall and potential for more growth in sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I could have really enjoyed the story, but the author was far too focused on left wing narratives to allow it to feel as though it was flowing naturally. Of all of the characters in the book, there was only one couple, 2 total people, who were not portrayed as LGBTQ+. This book was obviously set up for a sequel, but sadly I would not read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Murder, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Faebound 3.75⭐️ 3🌶️
Fantasy
🏳️🌈 Main Characters
Older fmc’s
Dual POV
BIPOC
War
Unique Magic System
Sister story
Disability rep
Animal familiars
🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ normative societies
The magic system was very interesting, I really loved the familiars the fae have. So many good quotes come from Pila, who is a familiar, innocently with true intention.
I found the worldbuilding to be a little slow. The foreshadowing was very heavy, so I wasn’t thrown for a loop when the big twists came.
The plot really dragged. I wish that there was a little bit more angst than just someone refusing to interact with the other and calling it romantic tension. The cast of main characters are all 28 and older, but the inner monologues are very juvenile. It made it harder for me to read, I think.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
This was an entertaining addition to the new adult, queernormative fantasy world!
I felt that this was clearly setting up the rest of the series, because the rotating third-person limited POVs of sisters Yeeran and Lettle felt quite character-driven, helping readers get to know the fae courts just as they did. The world building felt easy to follow and because of that, I’d recommend this to someone who is new to fantasy and wants to try the genre on for size!
The buildup towards Furi and Yeeran was a lot of fun; it will assuredly be catnip for the enemies-to-lovers honeys! 🤗 The ending will have readers wondering if their love can conquer everything else going on (the Forever War, their individual quests and goals, the unrelenting betrayal going on inside the fae court walls).
I was less invested in Lettle’s POV which is so fascinating to me because I am typically not a pew-pew-pew war girly, pulled to soldiers and trained fighters like Yeeran. I *usually* prefer to get to know characters like Lettle, who want to become diviners in having visions of the future and wielding this for good! However, Lettle’s POVs and relationships left me wanting. The big reveal about Lettle and Yeeran’s father at the end though? Give me more of that! Whew!
Much of the edge-of-your-seat action happens towards the end of the book, which makes sense because El-Arifi is building up anticipation for the next book! I’m excited to see where this series goes!
steam rating: 2/5 — give me more face sitting, that was fun! kthxbye 🤭
This was an entertaining addition to the new adult, queernormative fantasy world!
I felt that this was clearly setting up the rest of the series, because the rotating third-person limited POVs of sisters Yeeran and Lettle felt quite character-driven, helping readers get to know the fae courts just as they did. The world building felt easy to follow and because of that, I’d recommend this to someone who is new to fantasy and wants to try the genre on for size!
The buildup towards Furi and Yeeran was a lot of fun; it will assuredly be catnip for the enemies-to-lovers honeys! 🤗 The ending will have readers wondering if their love can conquer everything else going on (the Forever War, their individual quests and goals, the unrelenting betrayal going on inside the fae court walls).
I was less invested in Lettle’s POV which is so fascinating to me because I am typically not a pew-pew-pew war girly, pulled to soldiers and trained fighters like Yeeran. I *usually* prefer to get to know characters like Lettle, who want to become diviners in having visions of the future and wielding this for good! However, Lettle’s POVs and relationships left me wanting. The big reveal about Lettle and Yeeran’s father at the end though? Give me more of that! Whew!
Much of the edge-of-your-seat action happens towards the end of the book, which makes sense because El-Arifi is building up anticipation for the next book! I’m excited to see where this series goes!
steam rating: 2/5 — give me more face sitting, that was fun! kthxbye 🤭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail