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avid_reader_96's review
5.0
"I'll be your conscience," Cleo whispered, "if you'll be my courage." "Deal."
This book is officially one of my favorites. I loved the build up Cleo and Sebastian’s relationship and the plot slowly unraveling. I did feel like Sebastian and Cleo’s sex life may have been a little rushed considering his past but it didn’t diminish the story in any capacity. I’m saddened to leave yet another version of London created by this author that I loved. I’m eager to find another series by her that will enthrall me like this one and London Steampunk.
This book is officially one of my favorites. I loved the build up Cleo and Sebastian’s relationship and the plot slowly unraveling. I did feel like Sebastian and Cleo’s sex life may have been a little rushed considering his past but it didn’t diminish the story in any capacity. I’m saddened to leave yet another version of London created by this author that I loved. I’m eager to find another series by her that will enthrall me like this one and London Steampunk.
thewordslinger's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
3.5
So I'd been waiting for Sebastian and Cleo's story since book 1 and now that I'm done with it I don't know that it satisfied me.
There's a fair bit of angst in this book. Which, given Sebastian's backstory is totally understandable. The issue for me was the fact that this whole book felt like one looooong therapy session. Dude gets a pep-talk from literally every other "good" character that ever existed in this book. Literally every single one. And sometimes more than one. But despite these talks, Sebastian doesn't ever really seem to grow or learn or evolve as a person.
Yes, yes. I know trauma doesn't go away overnight. But good God, reading about his flashbacks and his self doubts over and over again got boring as hell. I think the trauma is accurately represented. I'm not faulting McMaster for that. But there needed to be a better progression toward acceptance for me. Instead of him flip-flopping between these tiny revelations and his dark angsty doubting moods and ultimately getting nowhere until he gives in and cements the bond between himself and Cleo.
The romance is sweet, but sort of lackluster. By necessity, it obviously had to be a slow burn. So I wasn't expecting a ton of scorching hot spice here. But there's a large chunk of the book where Cleo and Sebastian just...don't talk to each other. And that's annoying.
As for the plot. It's definitely there. But there's also a lot of time spent with people just... sitting around talking about what to do. The story was slower than I wanted it to be, given the 'urgency' of the threat that was presented.
I enjoyed this for what it was, and the conclusion was pretty decent. But I think book 2 was and remains my favorite in this series.
Reader's Notes:
Prologue: This whole chess game would have been a really interesting way to tie this series together. To have the player be revealed to be Cleo and the pieces with the various faces...Feels like a missed opportunity now. Still cool, though.
Chapter 1: This has an entirely different feel from the previous 2 books. It almost feels like it's from a different series. I wish we'd seen a bit more of this side of Cleo earlier on.
Chapter 2: I know McMaster mentioned in a previous book that words of power were unique to the sorcerer, and that some used Latin and some just made shit up, but I wish there were clearer rules. All these bizarre words written out with zero context about why that particular set of letters was chosen. Or why some use the SAME weird word when others just spout gobbledygook makes no sense.
How could Cleo have wielded the mirror as the Cassandra, if she couldn't look into it?
Chapter 3: Since when can Elenor talk again? Or move about on her own? Or take care of herself? She had a stroke in book 1 or 2, I thought? That's the whole reason Drake stepped down from being the Prime??? But now you're telling me in a matter of 3 or 4 weeks she's completely (or nearly completely) recovered from it? Dubious. Also where is her daughter? I got the impression she's staying with one of the brothers and their wives, since she needed looking after, but there's no mention of the daughter anywhere.
Chapter 5: This isn't a new thing, McMaster's been doing this for this whole series. But "Somehow" is really getting on my nerves. What do you mean SOMEHOW something happened? Is McMaster incapable of imagining the process by which arms fold around another person in a hug? It implies that neither McMaster, the reader, nor the characters know how a thing came to pass. When it's fucking obvious.
<b>Somehow he wrapped his arms around her. Then she was in his arms..." </b>
WHAAAAAT?!?!?! No shit, for real?!?!?! That's craaaaaaaaazy. How did that happen?!?!!
How many times are we gonna be told that Verity can translocate? Bitch I KNOW. I literally just read her book. Shut the fuck up.
Also--the exact same line has been written, verbatim, twice now about Verity not understanding she SHOULDN'T be able to teleport. The piss-poor editing is back again.
Uhm. How are we just now finding out about how the relics were created? And I liked Remy in book 1, but he wasn't at all in book 2, and now we're bringing him back as some sort of important knowledge source and we're finding out he's potentially immortal with a storied mysterious past...like if he's so damned important why wasn't he in book 2? Why hasn't he been involved this whole time? Feels more like a plot device than an actual believable part of the story to me.
Chapter 7: Gray's threat to burn the wand is stupid. Haven't we already learned that they can't be destroyed by traditional means?
Chapter 8: Cleo is aware of how Sebastian was essentially prostituted out to Morgana's friends. She's well aware that he's got issues with touch. He's already CONFESSED his darkest, most vulnerable secret to her--so why is she still acting clueless like he doesn't want her? Girl he's been TRAUMATIZED. You need to come at this a different way. Jesus.
Bishop telling Sebastian to ignore all his training and fuck shit up is fantastic. I love seeing the boys fight together. I wish Lucien wasn't so goddamned useless and could fight too. I feel like McMaster did that man a huge disservice.
Chapter 9: Whatever happened to Mercy? We never saw her debt get paid off. And surely Adrian wouldn't have let her stay in the Dials after he and Verity married? Wouldn't she be another valuable ally?
Oh my fucking god. If this book doesn't quit telling me that Verity can't seem to understand that she SHOULDN'T be able to teleport. This is no less than 3 times, almost VERBATIM. How did editors miss this shit???
Chapter 13: <b>The last time another woman -- aside from his wife -- had touched him, he'd suffered a flashback</b> --No, the last time a woman touched him was a couple hours ago, when Elenor kissed his cheek. Why say shit like this when it's so obviously false?
Chapter 15: I still don't understand how Lucien got out of Bedlam permanently. Like, legally, how does that work? Cause it was execution or imprisonment, right? So like, how'd he just manage to get free forever and everybody in the world is just FINE with it?
<b>"I wish you'd told me."</b> -- Cleo says Sebastian never told her that he'd never made love to a woman. But that's not true. The first night when she insinuated herself into his bed on their wedding night, he told her what had been done to him--perhaps not bluntly (that he'd been prostituted out), but that he'd fucked other women, that he'd hurt them even. He called himself a monster. He's actually told her MULTIPLE times by this point that he's got trauma around women touching him and intimacy--so I don't know why McMaster keeps trying to make out these two haven't ever talked about this shit? Why make Cleo sound like an absolute idiot by having her overthink his reactions and assume it's just because he doesn't like her?????
Chapter 16: Sebastian says he killed a man when his powers manifested. So. why isn't he a Death Dealer or whatever the hell like Bishop? We learned in book 2 that the way your powers manifest plays a part in what your proclivities are. So. ?????????????
Chapter 17: The brothers being brotherly and bonding (especially Bishop and Sebastian) is the unexpected highlight of this whole book.
chapter 18: I feel like there's a lot of time-wasting going on in this book. Days are passing without any significant progress on either side of the battle. In fact, we don't really even know what the demon is up to at all. And outside the trip to Gray's Pleasure Palace (tm) and the random attack from Morgana that didn't make any sense, there's been a whole lot of just... people sitting around talking.
Chapter 19: Well. I guess I asked for action...
Chapter 21: Okay so when Sebastian bought that ticket to the USA, he told Verity he had 10 days. There's been at least 2 before the ball, the 3 days Cleo was unconscious, the night he fingered her, the night he played pool with Bishop, and maybe one or two since then....so he's only got like a day or two left, right?
There is SO much repetition about Sebastian and his shitty existence with Morgana happening. I got it. His life was hell and he's got CPTSD. The angst was great for the first like, 30% of this book. But broham's not progressing AT ALL.
I feel like we've been having 1 big therapy session this whole book. Sebastian's had pep-talks from Bishop and Lucien, from Lady E, from Verity and several from Cleo. But none of it seems to be penetrating. We keep coming back to the same old insecurities and doubts and bad memories.
And look, I get it. CPTSD and trauma isn't something that just goes away overnight. I can give McMaster kudos for that--but when it comes to reading about it in a book like this, having to read the same agonizing, angsty scenes over and over and seeing ZERO growth or change in the characters is just mind-meltingly boring.
Chapter 22: I've been saying it since the Prologue. "2 sides of the same coin"--but there's still only 1 coin. The twist isn't really twisting for me.
Also where the hell did Remy go? Is he still fucking that incubus? He's screaming plot device rather than legit side character people actually care about. Cause ain't a single soul brought him up since they left him at Gray's estate.
Chapter 23: Why isn't Ianthe calling all wizards to her aid? It seems like if a demon is gonna destroy all of London, why not assemble an army to fight it off? Surely the other 400 magic users would be inconvenienced if London suddenly became overran with demons? Why is this resting on the shoulders of like 6 people?
Chapter 28: Once again--where's Remy?
Chapter 30: This convo with Gray that Cleo has would be GREAT if we had SEEN evil Cleo doing whatever it is they're talking about.
Also who is this mysterious "she" Gray is waiting for? Does she matter for this story? Cause this feels like a setup for another book/series.
There's a fair bit of angst in this book. Which, given Sebastian's backstory is totally understandable. The issue for me was the fact that this whole book felt like one looooong therapy session. Dude gets a pep-talk from literally every other "good" character that ever existed in this book. Literally every single one. And sometimes more than one. But despite these talks, Sebastian doesn't ever really seem to grow or learn or evolve as a person.
Yes, yes. I know trauma doesn't go away overnight. But good God, reading about his flashbacks and his self doubts over and over again got boring as hell. I think the trauma is accurately represented. I'm not faulting McMaster for that. But there needed to be a better progression toward acceptance for me. Instead of him flip-flopping between these tiny revelations and his dark angsty doubting moods and ultimately getting nowhere until he gives in and cements the bond between himself and Cleo.
The romance is sweet, but sort of lackluster. By necessity, it obviously had to be a slow burn. So I wasn't expecting a ton of scorching hot spice here. But there's a large chunk of the book where Cleo and Sebastian just...don't talk to each other. And that's annoying.
As for the plot. It's definitely there. But there's also a lot of time spent with people just... sitting around talking about what to do. The story was slower than I wanted it to be, given the 'urgency' of the threat that was presented.
I enjoyed this for what it was, and the conclusion was pretty decent. But I think book 2 was and remains my favorite in this series.
Reader's Notes:
Chapter 1: This has an entirely different feel from the previous 2 books. It almost feels like it's from a different series. I wish we'd seen a bit more of this side of Cleo earlier on.
Chapter 2: I know McMaster mentioned in a previous book that words of power were unique to the sorcerer, and that some used Latin and some just made shit up, but I wish there were clearer rules. All these bizarre words written out with zero context about why that particular set of letters was chosen. Or why some use the SAME weird word when others just spout gobbledygook makes no sense.
How could Cleo have wielded the mirror as the Cassandra, if she couldn't look into it?
Chapter 3: Since when can Elenor talk again? Or move about on her own? Or take care of herself? She had a stroke in book 1 or 2, I thought? That's the whole reason Drake stepped down from being the Prime??? But now you're telling me in a matter of 3 or 4 weeks she's completely (or nearly completely) recovered from it? Dubious. Also where is her daughter? I got the impression she's staying with one of the brothers and their wives, since she needed looking after, but there's no mention of the daughter anywhere.
Chapter 5: This isn't a new thing, McMaster's been doing this for this whole series. But "Somehow" is really getting on my nerves. What do you mean SOMEHOW something happened? Is McMaster incapable of imagining the process by which arms fold around another person in a hug? It implies that neither McMaster, the reader, nor the characters know how a thing came to pass. When it's fucking obvious.
<b>Somehow he wrapped his arms around her. Then she was in his arms..." </b>
WHAAAAAT?!?!?! No shit, for real?!?!?! That's craaaaaaaaazy. How did that happen?!?!!
How many times are we gonna be told that Verity can translocate? Bitch I KNOW. I literally just read her book. Shut the fuck up.
Also--the exact same line has been written, verbatim, twice now about Verity not understanding she SHOULDN'T be able to teleport. The piss-poor editing is back again.
Uhm. How are we just now finding out about how the relics were created? And I liked Remy in book 1, but he wasn't at all in book 2, and now we're bringing him back as some sort of important knowledge source and we're finding out he's potentially immortal with a storied mysterious past...like if he's so damned important why wasn't he in book 2? Why hasn't he been involved this whole time? Feels more like a plot device than an actual believable part of the story to me.
Chapter 7: Gray's threat to burn the wand is stupid. Haven't we already learned that they can't be destroyed by traditional means?
Chapter 8: Cleo is aware of how Sebastian was essentially prostituted out to Morgana's friends. She's well aware that he's got issues with touch. He's already CONFESSED his darkest, most vulnerable secret to her--so why is she still acting clueless like he doesn't want her? Girl he's been TRAUMATIZED. You need to come at this a different way. Jesus.
Bishop telling Sebastian to ignore all his training and fuck shit up is fantastic. I love seeing the boys fight together. I wish Lucien wasn't so goddamned useless and could fight too. I feel like McMaster did that man a huge disservice.
Chapter 9: Whatever happened to Mercy? We never saw her debt get paid off. And surely Adrian wouldn't have let her stay in the Dials after he and Verity married? Wouldn't she be another valuable ally?
Oh my fucking god. If this book doesn't quit telling me that Verity can't seem to understand that she SHOULDN'T be able to teleport. This is no less than 3 times, almost VERBATIM. How did editors miss this shit???
Chapter 13: <b>The last time another woman -- aside from his wife -- had touched him, he'd suffered a flashback</b> --No, the last time a woman touched him was a couple hours ago, when Elenor kissed his cheek. Why say shit like this when it's so obviously false?
Chapter 15: I still don't understand how Lucien got out of Bedlam permanently. Like, legally, how does that work? Cause it was execution or imprisonment, right? So like, how'd he just manage to get free forever and everybody in the world is just FINE with it?
<b>"I wish you'd told me."</b> -- Cleo says Sebastian never told her that he'd never made love to a woman. But that's not true. The first night when she insinuated herself into his bed on their wedding night, he told her what had been done to him--perhaps not bluntly (that he'd been prostituted out), but that he'd fucked other women, that he'd hurt them even. He called himself a monster. He's actually told her MULTIPLE times by this point that he's got trauma around women touching him and intimacy--so I don't know why McMaster keeps trying to make out these two haven't ever talked about this shit? Why make Cleo sound like an absolute idiot by having her overthink his reactions and assume it's just because he doesn't like her?????
Chapter 16: Sebastian says he killed a man when his powers manifested. So. why isn't he a Death Dealer or whatever the hell like Bishop? We learned in book 2 that the way your powers manifest plays a part in what your proclivities are. So. ?????????????
Chapter 17: The brothers being brotherly and bonding (especially Bishop and Sebastian) is the unexpected highlight of this whole book.
chapter 18: I feel like there's a lot of time-wasting going on in this book. Days are passing without any significant progress on either side of the battle. In fact, we don't really even know what the demon is up to at all. And outside the trip to Gray's Pleasure Palace (tm) and the random attack from Morgana that didn't make any sense, there's been a whole lot of just... people sitting around talking.
Chapter 19: Well. I guess I asked for action...
Chapter 21: Okay so when Sebastian bought that ticket to the USA, he told Verity he had 10 days. There's been at least 2 before the ball, the 3 days Cleo was unconscious, the night he fingered her, the night he played pool with Bishop, and maybe one or two since then....so he's only got like a day or two left, right?
There is SO much repetition about Sebastian and his shitty existence with Morgana happening. I got it. His life was hell and he's got CPTSD. The angst was great for the first like, 30% of this book. But broham's not progressing AT ALL.
I feel like we've been having 1 big therapy session this whole book. Sebastian's had pep-talks from Bishop and Lucien, from Lady E, from Verity and several from Cleo. But none of it seems to be penetrating. We keep coming back to the same old insecurities and doubts and bad memories.
And look, I get it. CPTSD and trauma isn't something that just goes away overnight. I can give McMaster kudos for that--but when it comes to reading about it in a book like this, having to read the same agonizing, angsty scenes over and over and seeing ZERO growth or change in the characters is just mind-meltingly boring.
Chapter 22: I've been saying it since the Prologue. "2 sides of the same coin"--but there's still only 1 coin. The twist isn't really twisting for me.
Also where the hell did Remy go? Is he still fucking that incubus? He's screaming plot device rather than legit side character people actually care about. Cause ain't a single soul brought him up since they left him at Gray's estate.
Chapter 23: Why isn't Ianthe calling all wizards to her aid? It seems like if a demon is gonna destroy all of London, why not assemble an army to fight it off? Surely the other 400 magic users would be inconvenienced if London suddenly became overran with demons? Why is this resting on the shoulders of like 6 people?
Chapter 28: Once again--where's Remy?
Chapter 30: This convo with Gray that Cleo has would be GREAT if we had SEEN evil Cleo doing whatever it is they're talking about.
Also who is this mysterious "she" Gray is waiting for? Does she matter for this story? Cause this feels like a setup for another book/series.
roobie's review
4.0
⭐4 stars⭐
I think the worst thing about hateful parents are those small moments of kindness. For they give you a glimpse of hope. They make you crave it, and you can never understand why they withhold it so frequently.
I think the worst thing about hateful parents are those small moments of kindness. For they give you a glimpse of hope. They make you crave it, and you can never understand why they withhold it so frequently.
mdalida's review
5.0
I love all things Bec McMaster. I honestly could just finish the review there since now you know I’ll just be loving on this book!
Things I loved:
Buildup. This story was woven into the last two stories so the reader could feel how incredibly tortured this hero was. Seriously - nothing held back: mother tortures son, collars him to do her bidding, pumps him out for other women to fuck, makes him kill for her. You have to like a LOT of angst in your romances to find this one appealing. Lucky for me, I totally do.
Parent-child fucked up relationships. Mainly because of my own history, I like reading about past trauma. Not really in some twisted way, but mainly because I get to see people working thru it and healing. The main takeaway may be something I’ve heard a thousand times (“you aren’t your mother/father. You aren’t your childhood. You aren’t responsible for their decisions. You can choose your own path”) But for me, I like reading about someone else’s process. And I think McMaster did it really well here.
Ianthe. Seriously, this woman is so badass. Yes yes yes, I’m technically talking about the heroine from the first book that makes an appearance here but DAMN! She was one of my faves.
Morgana. Eek, I feel ick saying that. I feel pity for her in a way I didn’t expect to, which was the point I’m sure. I still feel ick about it. I do like the tie in to fucked up parental relationships as discussed previously. Morgana didn’t consciously choose to separate herself from her childhood, but holy fuck, again, what an awful childhood. It felt like reading about a rabid dog. You feel sorry for the dog because the beginning wasn’t their fault. But there’s no cure, and the dog will only continue to hurt people so..
The lead in to the next book! Wow, I’m so excited for the next series. Bring on more dark and tortured heroes! I’d love for a dark and tortured alpha female as well!!
Things that didn’t blow my socks off:
Buildup. Haha yes, I’m pretty fickle. I know. After taking up a good portion of space in the other two books to flesh out their story and then to have a really, really heavy story in their own book almost gave me romance couple fatigue. I was *almost* tired of all the bad that came their way.
Sexy times. There’s an early kissing scene that gave me lots of tingly goodness feelings. And then nothing for maybe the next 60% of the book! I get that they had tons of shit to work out; and it still felt ‘too little, too late’.
Black Queen. When there’s a secret villain buildup, I’d love to see more of the buildup than one short intro and one short exit. Meh, but that was super minor because the exit scene led into a really heart wrenching and beautiful love confession scene 😍
Overall, one of my faves of hers!!
Things I loved:
Buildup. This story was woven into the last two stories so the reader could feel how incredibly tortured this hero was. Seriously - nothing held back: mother tortures son, collars him to do her bidding, pumps him out for other women to fuck, makes him kill for her. You have to like a LOT of angst in your romances to find this one appealing. Lucky for me, I totally do.
Parent-child fucked up relationships. Mainly because of my own history, I like reading about past trauma. Not really in some twisted way, but mainly because I get to see people working thru it and healing. The main takeaway may be something I’ve heard a thousand times (“you aren’t your mother/father. You aren’t your childhood. You aren’t responsible for their decisions. You can choose your own path”) But for me, I like reading about someone else’s process. And I think McMaster did it really well here.
Ianthe. Seriously, this woman is so badass. Yes yes yes, I’m technically talking about the heroine from the first book that makes an appearance here but DAMN! She was one of my faves.
Morgana. Eek, I feel ick saying that. I feel pity for her in a way I didn’t expect to, which was the point I’m sure. I still feel ick about it. I do like the tie in to fucked up parental relationships as discussed previously. Morgana didn’t consciously choose to separate herself from her childhood, but holy fuck, again, what an awful childhood. It felt like reading about a rabid dog. You feel sorry for the dog because the beginning wasn’t their fault. But there’s no cure, and the dog will only continue to hurt people so..
The lead in to the next book! Wow, I’m so excited for the next series. Bring on more dark and tortured heroes! I’d love for a dark and tortured alpha female as well!!
Things that didn’t blow my socks off:
Buildup. Haha yes, I’m pretty fickle. I know. After taking up a good portion of space in the other two books to flesh out their story and then to have a really, really heavy story in their own book almost gave me romance couple fatigue. I was *almost* tired of all the bad that came their way.
Sexy times. There’s an early kissing scene that gave me lots of tingly goodness feelings. And then nothing for maybe the next 60% of the book! I get that they had tons of shit to work out; and it still felt ‘too little, too late’.
Black Queen. When there’s a secret villain buildup, I’d love to see more of the buildup than one short intro and one short exit. Meh, but that was super minor because the exit scene led into a really heart wrenching and beautiful love confession scene 😍
Overall, one of my faves of hers!!
nelsonseye's review
3.0
I liked Soulbound, but not as much as I thought I would. I think too much time had passed since reading the other books, and some of the details of Sebastian and Cleo's relationship were not as fresh as they could have been. That being said, I very much enjoyed the brotherly dynamic (the pink waistcoat definitely stood out) and the worldbuilding regarding the origins of seers/clairvoyants. It will be interesting to read Remy's story, and I assume that Malachi has a story in the works too.
scrittrice's review against another edition
4.0
Full disclosure: I received an eARC of this book for review. My opinions are my own.
https://wordpress.com/post/icanreadformiles.wordpress.com/9137
Soulbound, Sebastian and Cleo’s story, is the finale of Bec McMaster’s Dark Arts trilogy about three brothers, three relics, and a demon trying to kill everyone.
The magic is not pretty. McMaster has said that Penny Dreadful is her aesthetic inspiration. The magic is dangerous, people are harsh and cruel, and life is cheap. Which feels kind of honest about Victorian life.
Sebastian is a tortured hero, and Cleo is a virginal innocent, but McMaster complicates them sufficiently that they are more than the basics of the trope. We see the way Sebastian has been affected by his abuse and how Cleo’s father’s neglect has made her very focused on affection. McMaster expertly balances their lives, motivations, and traumas, as well as bringing in the external plot with the demon and the threat to London.
I feel that the writing moved the plot a little better than Hexbound, and I appreciate that McMaster avoided most of the romance-writing tropes that can throw me out of the story (usually, this means too much hyperbole of words or emotions).
One thing I always love about McMaster’s books, her characters don’t fall out of the story once they aren’t the primary pair, nor do their personal struggles end. They continue to interact with the new main characters, including men and women who are not romantically interested. We keep seeing the romances of previous characters (though Lucian and Ianthe were definitely tertiary in this book).
I love McMaster for her Worldbuilding and her characters. And her plot. And her brain. I’m so pleased that we’ll continue on in this world with Cursebound. Thought it is 100% a world I do not want to visit any closer than a book.
https://wordpress.com/post/icanreadformiles.wordpress.com/9137
Soulbound, Sebastian and Cleo’s story, is the finale of Bec McMaster’s Dark Arts trilogy about three brothers, three relics, and a demon trying to kill everyone.
The magic is not pretty. McMaster has said that Penny Dreadful is her aesthetic inspiration. The magic is dangerous, people are harsh and cruel, and life is cheap. Which feels kind of honest about Victorian life.
Sebastian is a tortured hero, and Cleo is a virginal innocent, but McMaster complicates them sufficiently that they are more than the basics of the trope. We see the way Sebastian has been affected by his abuse and how Cleo’s father’s neglect has made her very focused on affection. McMaster expertly balances their lives, motivations, and traumas, as well as bringing in the external plot with the demon and the threat to London.
I feel that the writing moved the plot a little better than Hexbound, and I appreciate that McMaster avoided most of the romance-writing tropes that can throw me out of the story (usually, this means too much hyperbole of words or emotions).
One thing I always love about McMaster’s books, her characters don’t fall out of the story once they aren’t the primary pair, nor do their personal struggles end. They continue to interact with the new main characters, including men and women who are not romantically interested. We keep seeing the romances of previous characters (though Lucian and Ianthe were definitely tertiary in this book).
I love McMaster for her Worldbuilding and her characters. And her plot. And her brain. I’m so pleased that we’ll continue on in this world with Cursebound. Thought it is 100% a world I do not want to visit any closer than a book.
nelsonseye's review against another edition
3.0
I liked Soulbound, but not as much as I thought I would. I think too much time had passed since reading the other books, and some of the details of Sebastian and Cleo's relationship were not as fresh as they could have been. That being said, I very much enjoyed the brotherly dynamic (the pink waistcoat definitely stood out) and the worldbuilding regarding the origins of seers/clairvoyants. It will be interesting to read Remy's story, and I assume that Malachi has a story in the works too.
samantha_reads_more's review against another edition
5.0
This book was really well done.
We not only get to see the resolution of the past two books and defeat the darkness/demon in London, we get to see the goodness grow in Sebastian. He was always a favorite character of mine, from when he was first introduced and seeing him and Cleo turn into these truly lovely characters who are flawed but are able to overcome their past and be the people they needed to be.
It was just an excellent series, as always I recommend Bec McMaster bc she's an amazing author who builds loveable characters with realistic flaws and redemptions.
We not only get to see the resolution of the past two books and defeat the darkness/demon in London, we get to see the goodness grow in Sebastian. He was always a favorite character of mine, from when he was first introduced and seeing him and Cleo turn into these truly lovely characters who are flawed but are able to overcome their past and be the people they needed to be.
It was just an excellent series, as always I recommend Bec McMaster bc she's an amazing author who builds loveable characters with realistic flaws and redemptions.