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fairyollie's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
it is so rare to find a book with a main character who is not just disabled, but disabled and sexy, and strong, and smart. i love the diversity of the characters and the world in Faebound, how gender, sexuality, and disability all were natural facets of life (as they should be). such a beautiful book, with stunning world-building, rich lore, and intriguing, complex characters. cannot wait for the rest in the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Xenophobia, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Dementia, and Grief
bookish_hollyx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Murder, Death, and War
30something_reads's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This is one of those instances where I went into this book with the full expectation that I would LOVE it and that unfortunately just did not happen. There were parts that I really enjoyed though. Below is a list (and it does contain spoilers so proceed with caution.)
Things that I liked:
- Queer norm AND disability norm world - Honestly, one of the things I was most excited about with this book. I loved that one of our main characters is sapphic and how standard queer relationships were within the world. And I enjoyed how there were multiple characters with varying physical disabilities, including our other main POV character.
- The magic system - VERY cool. I don't think I have ever read about a magic system incorporating drums like this. And the obeah?? LOVED them. It was reminiscent of the daemons in His Dark Materials.
- The lore and the worldbuilding - LOVED the premise behind the three species and how they came to be.
- Sister POVs (rather than love interest POVs) - I thought this was a really refreshing change of pace, especially for a Romantasy. I loved the focus on the relationship between the two sisters
- Rayan’s storyline - to be fair, at first I did not really care for Rayan and he felt a little bland BUT I did love where the author went with his character ARC (and it actually turned out to be the most interesting character arc for me.)
So all of these things were great! But unfortunately, there were quite a few things that I really did not like as well.
Things that I didn’t like:
- Lettle- I liked her less and less as the story progressed (which is unfortunate considering she is a main POV character) and by the last couple chapters?? She comes off as very selfish and hypocritical. Especially pertaining to Yeeran's decisions at the end. Hopefully that is intentional and addressed later? Idk though.
- All of the heavy-handed reminders of prophesies made the majority of the plot very predictable. - This was especially frustrating as this is an adult fantasy book. The constant references back to earlier prophecies kept feeling like the author didn't trust the reader to remember.
- Also all of the Darth Father situations with some of these characters and their “secret” identities. - Truly... it just felt like more instances where I'm not sure if we were supposed to pick up on them immediately... because, I did.
- The romantic relationships - didn’t really feel authentic or like they had enough time to develop. This was the situation with BOTH couples as they progress. The initial set up for Yeeran and Furi was amazing - a perfect enemies to lovers arc - but then it was "I hate you" to one meaningful conversation to "we're both insanely attracted to one another" to "I think I'm in love"?? And the same really goes for Lettle and Rayan. They had a great start, barely communicated throughout the entire middle, and then Lettle somehow thinks "Yeah I'm in love with him".... so I just didn't buy the chemistry in either romance.
- The spice kind of felt unnecessary - Usually you will never catch me saying this because I love a spicy scene but I think this goes hand in hand with the fact that I did not feel committed to the romance. For me, the spice is always an added bonus after tons of tension and build up. And unfortunately I did not feel either in these relationships.
And where does this leave me? Honestly, idk. I see where the series is progressing. But I'm not sure if I'm committed enough to these characters to continue.
*The audiobook was good though! And shout out to PRH Audio Influencer Program for providing a free listener copy. *
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent
the_lesbrarian's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Faebound follows the complex bond between two sisters: a devoted war general and a haunted seer. When one is exiled from their tribe trying to fulfill a prophecy, both find themselves trapped in the realm of fae that the world lost to fable. Within, they find themselves questioning the truths of the homeland they have been fighting for.
The diversity of the characters is well-written and normalized. Most characters are black, as the setting is West-African inspired. Several of the main and major characters are queer, one of the major characters is trans, and many characters throughout the novel have disabilities.
This novel has the elements of a sapphic “romantasy,” and spends a lot more time with the romance than most other sapphic books in this sphere. If you’re looking for a Sarah J. Maas level split of fantasy and romance, but much more diverse and sapphic, this is the closest you will get from major publishing houses right now.
While this book suffered from some minor pacing issues— the middle third dragged a bit and a lot happened in the last quarter that I wish had been given more pages to be explored— those problems are easy to overlook for all of the beauty that the rest of the novel had to offer. A unique magic system, true diversity of characters, and an adult sapphic romance make Faebound a fun new read this winter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Animal death, and War
Moderate: Grief and Death
Minor: Alcohol
madscientistcat's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Murder, War, and Xenophobia
emrosenq's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol
bibliomich's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Faebound hooked me from the first chapter, and this ended up being quite a quick read for me, especially as someone who typically takes a long time to finish fantasy novels.
What I appreciated:
- Diverse character representation
- The setting of Mosima; I could truly picture the landscape, and the underground world that El-Arifi imagined was so vibrant and beautifully described.
- The relationships between the characters, especially the complicated sister relationship between Yeeran & Lettle
- The different systems of magic
What would have made this book even better:
- The end of the novel felt a little rushed to me. I appreciate that this was structured to be the first in a series, and I was completely okay with the loose ends and questions that we were left with at the end of the book. But I still felt like so many hugely significant events happened in a very short period of time, and we don't really get to see the characters process these events.
- I would have loved to have seen the obeah play a more prominent role in the book. I don't want to say much more, as I don't want to provide any spoilers, but I will just say that this was one particular area where I was really hoping for *more*.
I'm very much looking forward to the next installment in the series. Thank you to NetGalley for my digital ARC.
What I appreciated:
- Diverse character representation
- The setting of Mosima; I could truly picture the landscape, and the underground world that El-Arifi imagined was so vibrant and beautifully described.
- The relationships between the characters, especially the complicated sister relationship between Yeeran & Lettle
- The different systems of magic
What would have made this book even better:
- The end of the novel felt a little rushed to me. I appreciate that this was structured to be the first in a series, and I was completely okay with the loose ends and questions that we were left with at the end of the book. But I still felt like so many hugely significant events happened in a very short period of time, and we don't really get to see the characters process these events.
- I would have loved to have seen the obeah play a more prominent role in the book. I don't want to say much more, as I don't want to provide any spoilers, but I will just say that this was one particular area where I was really hoping for *more*.
I'm very much looking forward to the next installment in the series. Thank you to NetGalley for my digital ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Classism, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Minor: Dementia and Sexual content
vbzshenanigans's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
becann's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Overall an amazing read! Incredibly well written and truly draws you into the world. Lots of twists and turns keep you engaged throughout the book.
There were a few moments that left me a bit confused by the authors choices, but those moments were overshadowed by how interesting and thought provoking the rest of the book is.
There were a few moments that left me a bit confused by the authors choices, but those moments were overshadowed by how interesting and thought provoking the rest of the book is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Animal death
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, War, Animal cruelty, and Violence
ofbooksandechos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Medical content, Classism, and Blood
Minor: Police brutality, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Other CWs: Fictional racism, death of a family member, fictional confinement, starvation, poverty, references to Kwarshiorkor in children, mention of child soldiers