A review by matmatmatty
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This is the story of two elven sisters, Yeeran and Lettle. Yeeran is a colonel in the army and Lettle is training to become a diviner (someone who can read the future). When Yeeran disobeys orders and ends up causing a huge defeat, she is exiled, leaving her sister to follow her (along with Yeeran's captain, Rayan). The three of them reunite, only to be discovered by a group of fae (who are thought to be fairytales) after committing a huge crime in the eyes of the fae.
Now they need to manage the politics of a new place, while trying to figure out a way to get home. And without getting executed ideally.

I really liked parts of this story, and others I found a bit annoying. Overall, this was an interesting fantasy with a lot of cool worldbuilding.

Things I enjoyed:
  • Loved the queernormative world - its really important to have good representation like this, especially in fantasy
  • I really enjoyed the world building - the creation myth with the three gods and the humans, fae and elves I thought was really interesting. That story created the basis for the story which I enjoyed.
  • I liked the struggles that the main characters faced -
    Yeeran wasn't suddenly able to control her fae magic, despite literally only getting it. She had to work hard and figure it out, and it made it feel real.
  • The obeahs and their relationship to the fae -
    I liked how well respected they were, the fact that houses are built to accommodate them was really cool. That line about only lovers touching another’s obeah also showed that there is a lot of respect for them, that they are an extension of another person whilst also being their own person. Was cool. Also big kitties.
  • I liked the hierarchy of the fae - how those without obeahs are treated differently. I think it was good to show that even a utopia in the eyes of some can be flawed.
  • I liked how our main characters are flawed - they both had a rough upbringing and that's reflected in their characters. They're both done things they're not proud of, but they did it to survive. Their characterisation is still in line with their past and present.
  • Loved how Lettle was not helpless - it wouldn't make sense for her to have served in the army and survived and yet still been helpless, but a lot of stories like this I've read, the little sister character is helpless and constantly needs rescuing and can't handle herself at all.
    Even when Lettle was put in situations where she was in danger, she would try and fight back, and I appreciated that.

Things I didn't enjoy:
  • The prophecies - I think prophecies can an interesting addition to a story, but this was a bit of a let-down.
    I found most of the prophecies pretty easy to understand, and it felt like i spent most of the book knowing what was going to happen with the characters not knowing, which was quite frustrating.
  • Because of the prophecies, twists were predictable.
    I guessed that Najima had fathered one of them (though will say i thought it would be Yeeran, though glad they didn't do that), I guessed that Golan had a hand in the murder of the queens (the only poison is mentioned by him, then they're poisoned?, its too obvious), I knew it was the queens who would be murdered as soon as we met them (one gilded, one pearl was far too obvious imo) and I guessed Komi was the other chieftain as soon as that prophecy was read because it was too obvious.
  • Other than a general sense of wanting to be home, I don't quite get why they were so hell-bent on escaping. I get that they are trapped here, and that would add to the sense of not belonging, but I didn't really get an idea that their lives back home were all that good. Yes Yeeran was rich and a colonel, but she had been exiled - she isn't going back to that life. She wouldn't be allowed back in the army surely? Or not at her old position anyway? Lettle struggled with money (and we didn't hear much about her life other than that) so i don't get why the mad rush to escape.


Overall, I didn't hate this. I will probably read the next one, as I am a bit invested in this story. 

Note on CV: talk of executions and capital punishment.
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