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gondorgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
I listened to the audio on 2x speed and it sounded like the main character was being called "Urine". If you listed sped up you may want to stick to the physical book for this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Animal death
Moderate: Confinement, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Alcohol, and Death of parent
moonlitreading_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“Forever the war will rage, until united, the three shall die. Humans made low, then fae made lower, Then elves in ignorance, gone is their power, Cursed to endure, cursed to survive. All shall perish lest all three thrive.”
This book was something I was looking forward to reading and I was really happy when I got approved for an ARC. Elves, fae, magic, mythical creatures, diversity, and sapphic romance. Who wouldn’t be excited to read something with all those elements?? I especially loved the POC and the LGBTQIA+ representation; I think Saara El-Arifi did a good job in that area.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book has left me disappointed. The prologue and the first few chapters of the book sparked my interest that made me think I was about to go on an epic journey (I didn’t). The worldbuilding itself wasn’t bad but it felt lacking. Some of the twists were obvious, especially the ones from prophecies, and this is coming from someone who is pretty bad at guessing them. As for the romance, I did not care for any of the romantic relationships. It felt forced like they were there just for the sake of having romance in the book.
Thank you HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, War, and Death
caprivoyant's review against another edition
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, Blood, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
ashareadsbooks's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: War
jamieleepilk's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Sexual content, War, and Grief
gussurireads's review against another edition
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
3.0
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: Xenophobia, War, and Sexual content
Minor: Animal death, Murder, Violence, Genocide, and Alcoholism
alyssarenee's review against another edition
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? Yes
2.75
The good:
- I really appreciated the diverse cast of characters (race, gender, sexuality, disabilities) and how normalized much of this is in society.
- Loved the concept of the world and magic, though the worldbuilding could have been better. I hope that future books will dive into the elven culture more and we get a more rational explanation of the war.
The not so great:
- Not an actual criticism, but, wow I hate the elves' magic system and their obsession with killing obeah (and with war). This was a bold way to open the book.
- I'm not one for military fantasy, luckily this becomes less of a focus later in the book.
- The author really hits you over the head with repetitive foreshadowing and prophecies. As a result, the plot is predictable, yet none of the characters seem able to put 2 and 2 together. The last "reveal" is especially egregious. A lot of the lore is explained straight off the bat when it might have served the story better to have a little more mystery.
- All of the characters are super hot and we're reminded of this every few pages because everyone is so thirsty despite being in a brutal war, or held captive and supposedly terrified for their lives
- Romantasy readers might enjoy this more. I am not a fan of extraneous romance or spice in my fantasy. All the romance felt rushed, underdeveloped, and honestly a bit weird in some of the contexts.
- None of the characters really hit for me. They felt pretty surface level, and all seemed to act much younger than their age. Yeeran is especially unlikeable and unsympathetic. She's bloodthirsty, prejudiced, and very naive/ignorant when it comes to the elven war. She gets only mildly more tolerable throughout the story. Maybe she will have a bit more growth in the next installment when she returns to the elven lands with a fresh perspective .
- The writing just wasn't good. Clunky and awkward, and could have used some more thorough editing.
Giving this a 2.75 rounded up, there were some big flaws that could not be ignored and took me out of the story. I'm not sure if I'll continue the series or not. I imagine Booktok romantasy readers will enjoy this one.
Thank you to the publishers for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
- I really appreciated the diverse cast of characters (race, gender, sexuality, disabilities) and how normalized much of this is in society.
- Loved the concept of the world and magic, though the worldbuilding could have been better. I hope that future books will dive into the elven culture more and we get a more rational explanation of the war.
The not so great:
- Not an actual criticism, but, wow I hate the elves' magic system and their obsession with killing obeah (and with war). This was a bold way to open the book.
- I'm not one for military fantasy, luckily this becomes less of a focus later in the book.
- The author really hits you over the head with repetitive foreshadowing and prophecies. As a result, the plot is predictable, yet none of the characters seem able to put 2 and 2 together. The last "reveal" is especially egregious. A lot of the lore is explained straight off the bat when it might have served the story better to have a little more mystery.
- All of the characters are super hot and we're reminded of this every few pages because everyone is so thirsty despite being in a brutal war,
- Romantasy readers might enjoy this more. I am not a fan of extraneous romance or spice in my fantasy. All the romance felt rushed, underdeveloped, and honestly a bit weird in some of the contexts.
- None of the characters really hit for me. They felt pretty surface level, and all seemed to act much younger than their age. Yeeran is especially unlikeable and unsympathetic. She's bloodthirsty, prejudiced, and very naive/ignorant when it comes to the elven war. She gets only mildly more tolerable throughout the story. Maybe she will have a bit more growth in the next installment when
- The writing just wasn't good. Clunky and awkward, and could have used some more thorough editing.
Giving this a 2.75 rounded up, there were some big flaws that could not be ignored and took me out of the story. I'm not sure if I'll continue the series or not. I imagine Booktok romantasy readers will enjoy this one.
Thank you to the publishers for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Sexual content, Animal death, and Xenophobia
courtneyreadsallnight's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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: Murder, Violence, War, and Sexual content
lisashelves's review against another edition
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Racial slurs, War, and Blood
Minor: Mental illness
booksalacarte's review against another edition
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
3.75
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, Emotional abuse, Violence, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual content, War, and Injury/Injury detail