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A review by booksarethenewblack
The First Binding by R.R. Virdi
3.5
You can see all my reviews here: Books Are The New Black
3.5 stars
I have had this book sitting on my bookshelf for so long. This is such a chunky book that it’s intimidating! I had an opportunity to read the second book as an ARC, and decided it was time to jump in! I buddy-read this with Dini, but it took us much longer than anticipated. We did it!
While the story is interesting, there are a lot of info dumps. It took us so long to get into this book. Just know that it is a slow read. It was confused throughout most of the first half. I’m so glad I buddy-read this with Dini so we could bounce thoughts off each other. I think there could have been better execution with the world-building. This world is extremely descriptive, and it suffers from it. The details are where most of the pacing gets bogged down, and it’s a snail’s pace. It takes a while to understand the bindings too. While it’s a cool world, and there are a lot of interesting aspects, there’s too much detail. With that being said, there are many parts that Virdi was able to captivate me with his writing. Most of this happens in the second half of the book. He’s juggling two timelines with Ari’s past and present. I think he did a great job weaving both stories and keeping me interested.
The characters are the best thing about this book! Ari is a character that drives me nuts most of the time, but I am desperately rooting for him. He’s so hot-headed, but it’s for the right reasons. He’s had a tough life, but he can be too rash. It’s a common theme throughout this book, and I’m curious to see if that changes in book two. Eloine is so elusive, but I’m so fascinated by her. I have a feeling she’s going to crush Ari, and I will not be ready for that. There are so many supporting characters throughout this book that I love so much.
Overall, I thought this was a decent read. Even if it suffered a lot of pacing issues, once I got into the story (about halfway), it was harder to put down! The dual timelines were also well done. I can’t wait to jump into book two and see what happens next. There’s a lot that has been left open that I need answers to!!
I own the hardcover, but thank you to Tor Books for sending a Netgalley widget. It was much easier to read with my little one! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
3.5 stars
I have had this book sitting on my bookshelf for so long. This is such a chunky book that it’s intimidating! I had an opportunity to read the second book as an ARC, and decided it was time to jump in! I buddy-read this with Dini, but it took us much longer than anticipated. We did it!
While the story is interesting, there are a lot of info dumps. It took us so long to get into this book. Just know that it is a slow read. It was confused throughout most of the first half. I’m so glad I buddy-read this with Dini so we could bounce thoughts off each other. I think there could have been better execution with the world-building. This world is extremely descriptive, and it suffers from it. The details are where most of the pacing gets bogged down, and it’s a snail’s pace. It takes a while to understand the bindings too. While it’s a cool world, and there are a lot of interesting aspects, there’s too much detail. With that being said, there are many parts that Virdi was able to captivate me with his writing. Most of this happens in the second half of the book. He’s juggling two timelines with Ari’s past and present. I think he did a great job weaving both stories and keeping me interested.
The characters are the best thing about this book! Ari is a character that drives me nuts most of the time, but I am desperately rooting for him. He’s so hot-headed, but it’s for the right reasons. He’s had a tough life, but he can be too rash. It’s a common theme throughout this book, and I’m curious to see if that changes in book two. Eloine is so elusive, but I’m so fascinated by her. I have a feeling she’s going to crush Ari, and I will not be ready for that. There are so many supporting characters throughout this book that I love so much.
Overall, I thought this was a decent read. Even if it suffered a lot of pacing issues, once I got into the story (about halfway), it was harder to put down! The dual timelines were also well done. I can’t wait to jump into book two and see what happens next. There’s a lot that has been left open that I need answers to!!
I own the hardcover, but thank you to Tor Books for sending a Netgalley widget. It was much easier to read with my little one! All thoughts and opinions are my own.