Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - The Binding

This book has a lot going on. It's got the good historical fiction atmospherics—scenic rural landscape, old bookbinder's workshop—but it's grounded in real human interactions, with flawed characters making difficult choices. It deals with some really heavy topics—trauma, homophobia, assault, to name a few—but it's not relentlessly gloomy. It's a weird hybrid of coming of age, mystery, and romance. The first part feels like a quest for truth, like how Chasing Vermeer felt when I was a kid. There's a sense of wonder even among the awful things people do to one another, and there is beauty and hope. The latter part becomes darker and romancier: if you've read or watched Fingersmith or The Handmaiden, there's some of that energy, though without the masterminding. Would recommend if you like that sort of thing, or time loop or memory loss stories. I think part of the polarization of reviews is because this is such a teenage story even if it has more adult themes. Another reviewer here described it as a Drarry fic with the serial numbers filed off—I don't know whether that's true, but describes the vibe very well and could be useful in deciding whether to check it out.

Content Warnings

maeverose's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Edit: I just found out the author is a terf, so I removed my rating. But I’ll leave the review for now. :/

TL;DR: I love the concept of this book so much, I really liked the romance, the writing style is hit and miss for me, why does everyone have to interrupt each other in every conversati—

The Concept

I love the idea of binding people’s memories into a book to remove them from their mind. I love how this book explores that. It’s just so cool to me. As disturbing as it is to read, I like that it explores the horrible ways people could take advantage of that system.

The Romance

I liked it a lot. I tend to prefer books without romance side plots because they often feel tacked on and underdeveloped, but the romance in this one is a crucial part in the overall story, and I really liked how it was done.

I liked the progression of Emmett’s feelings for Lucian. The way it was written I genuinely wasn’t sure how that was gonna go at first. The slow progression of hate to attraction without Emmett even seeming to recognize it as attraction at first. Idk I just liked that. And the dance scene !! I almost wish they explored how Emmett being a binder effects their relationship being as Lucian hates binders, but also I don’t like relationship angst so I don’t entirely mind that it was kinda just dropped.

Writing

The prose worked for me sometimes, not other times. I generally like pretty prose if it’s done well, and for the most part this was. It had a very gothic atmosphere, which I always love. But I felt it was a little over written here and there, and that both took me out of the scene sometimes and slowed the pacing at times where it seemed like it should’ve been a more fast paced scene (namely, the very end). The last 30% was pretty slow. And a more subjective dislike: It focuses a lot on the unattractive things in a scene, and for some reason that often meant lots of bodily fluids… It was mentioned excessively and unnecessarily and I just don’t like that writing choice.

Plot Structure

I really like how we start out following Emmett after he’s been bound, then the way he eventually finds out, immediately leading into part two which is entirely just his memory. I definitely liked part three the least, but I think part three had to have been from Lucian’s pov or it wouldn’t’ve worked. And I definitely didn’t mind it. I think it could grow on me after a re read. Overall I just think the way the plot was structured was really smart.

Dislikes

My number one pet peeve was that in almost every. single. conversation. someone had to interrupt someone else mid sentence. It happened so often and half the time it made no sense why they interrupted the other person. I counted 22 times in the first chapter alone… I don’t know how the editors didn’t suggest changing that. It was so annoying.

It wouldn’t be a review from me if I didn’t point out the ableism! This one was just little comments here and there (e.g: a comment about becoming a ‘drooling lunatic’, calling someone ‘simple’, calling a disabled person useless), always from the main Characters’ pov (mostly Emmett’s, I think), always uncorrected. I know it’s probably supposed to be ‘fitting of the time period’ but leaving those out literally would’ve changed nothing. I’m tired of reading historical fiction/fantasy and always seeing shit like that. Those comments are still harmful.

There was also a plot point that was just dropped that I felt needed more explanation.

When Emmett used that weird voice to tell off the people who wanted to burn Seredith’s house down, it was only brought up again once. When Emmett brought it up to Seredith she basically told him ‘that was nothing’. But it definitely seemed like something..? He seemed almost possessed to me.

Alta annoyed me a bit but maybe that’s a me problem…

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torturedreadersdept's review

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emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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prashiie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

“We take memories and bind them. Whatever people can’t bear to remember. Whatever they can’t live with. We take those memories and put them where they can’t do any more harm. That’s all books are.”
I have mixed feelings about this book. While I really love the (queer) characters, the general outline and the uniqueness of the story, I also think it did not deliver its full potential. This book could have been so much more. Getting into the story was especially troublesome as the writing really threw me off. The detailed description of the surroundings part one almost felt cinematic. The writing in parts two and three on the other hand was more pleasant.

Also the blurb is somewhat misleading. It comes across as if Emmett is already an apprentice and has bound many people and one day he finds his own volume. But in fact at the beginning of the story he is forced to take the apprenticeship and for a long time he has no idea how binding works. And he does not find his own book in his mentor’s vault. Someone taunts him with his book when he goes to his first binding.

I would have loved to see what happens to our main characters! I was so invested in their love story, it felt like an abrupt ending. And I wish Seredith had a bigger role in this story, she really was my favourite character and the noblest of all!

"To have another person’s memory entrusted to you… To take the deepest, darkest part away from them and keep it safe, forever. To honour it, to make it beautiful, even though no one will ever see it. To guard it with your own life."
Although the majority of people loathed binders, she didn't let that influence her character. She stayed true to her profession until the end.

“There was sympathy in her face, as if I could tell her everything and she would understand.”
It is with Seredith that Emmett finds a real home. He carries her sympathy, morality and loyality while her own son, de Havilland, chooses a different path.

It's a pity that the point of view changes after Emmett goes to his first binding and gets his memories back. It would have been interesting to see how he gets to know his own powers and proceeds to become a fine binder. For example, the voice that he uses to curse the people that threatened to burn down Seredith's bindery with Seredith in it? This never gets mentioned again in the story.

The story also goes to show how greed and power can destroy any noble art.

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