Reviews

The Binding by Bridget Collins

lisamchuk's review against another edition

3.0

Historical fiction (olde England of the period you’d expect) with a smidge of “magic”. The unique way “binding” affects the world is interesting and certainly keeps the plot moving, and the romance is both unexpected and predictable, but interesting enough that both held my attention to the end, though the pace is slow. What really bothered me was the lack of strong female characters, or any “interesting” or even “good” female characters at all. All the women are stuck in their traditional roles and treated terribly by the patriarchy - very terribly, disturbingly terribly. I suppose this is a reflection of the historical time period, and not the point of the story at all considering who the two main characters are. But still. An interesting story, but disturbing in parts.

robinhood2000's review against another edition

4.0

I loved this story, it is a LGBTQIA+ love story but I love that it didn't say that on the book. Let the homophobes be disgusted, I love when you just say love story and it might be gay. It's not gay love, it's just love man. Overall the binding aspect was hella cool and the book was a really enjoyable read. Recommend!

mollyhyland's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-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

jrmarr's review against another edition

4.0

This book was a surprise. I honestly did not expect to be so drawn in by the story, by the characters, or by the world. Despite the magical realism of the central part of the story, this is a tale of how memories impact on your life, and the importance of dealing with trauma, rather than suppressing it. I'm not sure if I would be so drawn in on a subsequent reading, but I did appreciate the twists and turns of it on the first reading.

crookedmidnight's review against another edition

3.5

Interesting concept and story but the end was dragged out too long and not that satisfying

bethyj218's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

calebmatthews's review against another edition

5.0

Plot driven fantasy always has a special place in my heart. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was really great. The book is divided into three parts. Part one I give a 4 out of 5 for a interesting premise, but a slow start. Part two caught me off guard and is easily a 5. I loved this part of the book. Part three was interesting and engaging. I give it a 4.5 out of 5.

WARNING: There were times when this book went full dark no stars really fast. Watch out!

I liked the world that was built and the writing style of the author. I was longing for more when I set down the book which is the easiest way I have found to spot a 5 star read. This one will also be fun to re-read based on what happens in the book.

tracie's review against another edition

4.0

In The Binding a book is a dangerous thing. You can choose to have certain memories bound into a book thereby removing the pain of these experiences from your life. I expected a high fantasy book but at its heart The Binding is a love story. While there is magic and the odd witch it is a story rooted very much in a world similar to Victorian England. It touches on family, class, and the importance of holding on to what we consider precious. I know some people found the pace to slow and it is definitely a slow burn, taking its time to weave its magic. And for this reason I chose to listen to this on audio and the narrator did a wonderful job at drawing me and making me care about these characters. 4.5. A fav. of the year so far.

(LGBT+rep. CW for violence and sexual assault)

nikolinaza's review against another edition

5.0

Trigger warning: rape, violence, homophobia, death, ilness.

Awalnya kukira ini bergenre fantasi. Tetapi ternyata lebih ke magical realisme. Unsur magisnya bisa dilihat dari pekerjaan sebagai book binder, yaitu orang yang mentransfer ingatan seseorang ke dalam sebuah buku dan juga buku-buku terlarang berisi ingatan-ingatan yang ingin dilupakan. Kalau buku ini terbakar, ingatan itu kembali ke pemiliknya.

Alurnya cukup lambat, tapi enggak membosankan, lebih ke tipe slow-burn yang bisa dinikmati pembaca dengan tenang sekaligus was-was karena kita tahu pada akhirnya akan terjadi sesuatu yang buruk terhadap para tokoh. Pilihan diksi yang dipakai penulis membuat aku teringat pada Caraval karya Stephanie Garber, meski di The Binding ini Bridget Collins tidak banyak memakai perumpamaan yang aneh-aneh.

Aku membaca buku ini setelah baca Darius the Great dengan harapan bisa mengalihkan pikiran dari nuansa sedih dan muram yang ada di buku sebelumnya, but boy I was so WRONG. The Binding ini cukup kelam dan banyak tragedinya. Jadi, bagi yang ingin menyegarkan pikiran setelah baca yang sedih-sedih, sebaiknya jangan sentuh buku ini. Kecuali kalian tipe masokis yang suka menyiksa diri dengan bacaan yang bikin patah hati

sophiabunny3's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0