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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
Just because you cannot see something doesn't mean it is not real.
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
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
adventurous
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
I enjoyed this story a lot! I liked learning about this world of elves and fae. (It was refreshing to see an elf get absorbed into the fae world, rather than a human). I love the obeah 🥲. I liked the twist at the end, and it made me immediately dive into the next book (which hasn't happened to me in a hot minute).
My only critique is that the majority of world building was the main characters asking a bunch of questions to other characters. Once I noticed it, it became kinda obvious. This didn’t really bother me though, but I know it may irk some other people.
My only critique is that the majority of world building was the main characters asking a bunch of questions to other characters. Once I noticed it, it became kinda obvious. This didn’t really bother me though, but I know it may irk some other people.
Faebound took me a little while to get into. It’s definitely a slow burn, especially in the beginning. The world-building is rich and layered, but it required some patience to fully sink into the story and its characters. That said, I’m really glad I stuck with it.
Once the plot picked up, I found myself completely drawn in. The pacing quickens, the stakes get higher, and the emotional depth of the characters really comes through. The twists and dynamics in the second half made it hard to put down, and by the end, I was fully invested.
Once the plot picked up, I found myself completely drawn in. The pacing quickens, the stakes get higher, and the emotional depth of the characters really comes through. The twists and dynamics in the second half made it hard to put down, and by the end, I was fully invested.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.50 ✨
1.50 🌶️
Overall: This book is very, very slow-paced. I feel like this book knows that it’s part of a 3-book trilogy, and so it takes a very long time to explain everything, preparing readers for the next books in the series. (I can’t confirm, since I’ve only read this one so far, but that’s my gut feeling.)
Tropes + Vibes:
🧡 fae, elves, + humans
❤️ battles, war
🧡 gods, divination
❤️ third person, dual POV - sisters
🧡 FF + MF romance
❤️ forced proximity
đź–¤ tw: war violence, death, grief
Bookish Thoughts:
I thought the magic and world developing was interesting. I liked that El-Arifi gives the reader a bit of information at a time, rather than doing a lot of front-loading where I have to remember many facts very quickly to get involved in the story. The magic feels very unique, and I’m excited to learn more about the world, especially the three groups of peoples.
I found the narrators to both be a bit annoying, unfortunately. Yeeran was very headstrong, which I can connect with, but sometimes she was so stubborn it was frustrating. I felt like her military background and physical strength made her just want to fight at every turn instead of stopping to think about any implications of her actions. Lettle felt to me like she was whining for most of the story, and that was hard to deal with for me.
I really liked that we had two romance stories in this book AND that there was diversity in those romances. We have both FF and MF romances with our narrators. There are additional MM, among other romantic couplings, which is an excellent representation to see all in one book.
From a writing perspective, I thought overall that the writing was good. I struggled a bit with the foreshadowing and repetition. I thought the foreshadowing was a bit too obvious, and many lines were repeated a lot. I just personally felt like it was a bit too much.
I’m about to jump right into book 2. I’m looking forward to see what the next step looks like, and I read somewhere there’s more narrators, so I’m interested to see how that looks!
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The initial concept of the book is intriguing: three species with different god-given gifts and that balance has been lost to time. However, almost immediately the writing felt very one-dimensional. The narrative tone remained the same no matter who was narrating or what their emotion was. All of the characters were pissed off about everything all of the time. Most of the interpersonal conflict and plot leaps were caused by characters jumping to wild conclusions, a few of which were correct. I didn’t find any of the characters lovable, especially not the two sisters. The “twists” were telegraphed way too much and could be seen a mile away. The denouement was also nonsensical.
My overall impression is that this had an interesting concept but was seriously underbaked.
Really loved the world building and thought the ideas behind this book were really unique also always love a queer norm book ❤️ I think the character development was the weakest point of the story for me as I felt the characters weren’t very flushed out and I didn’t really care/feel a connection to any of the characters. Also the romances felt way too rushed and like some of the characters were basically just already in love and I was like y’all just met I’m confused?? That being said I’m really excited for the next books in the series and hoping there’s more character development