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A review by gothbaby
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Faebound was highly anticipated read for me and I read it in less than two days. I wished I had loved it as dearly as I anticipated considering its blurb and sapphic storyline.
Faebound struggled to wow me from its prose to its execution. While I still enjoyed the plot and worldbuilding, I found both to be very two-dimensional. On one hand, I appreciated being thrown into the story and learning as the characters journeyed through their respective stories. On the other, I found myself wanting more out of it all. More details, more exposition, more dimension, and overall tension within the story and between characters.
The plot, and unfortunately the characters too, were so shallow that I almost didn't care for the sapphic subplot. Not only was it very sidelined, it did not have the intense build and tension I usually look for. One moment Yeeran and Furi didn't speak, the next they were sharing stolen glances in each other's directions. When it came to the intimate scenes (sapphic and otherwise), they were very rushed and emotionless. It added to the overall feeling that the romance was merely there to be checked off.
Similarly, all conflict happened and was resolved within a page to two pages maximum. It lacked tension to the point where I simply ceased to care about the overarching conflict.
I wanted so bad to have loved this but it really didn't even impress me.
Faebound struggled to wow me from its prose to its execution. While I still enjoyed the plot and worldbuilding, I found both to be very two-dimensional. On one hand, I appreciated being thrown into the story and learning as the characters journeyed through their respective stories. On the other, I found myself wanting more out of it all. More details, more exposition, more dimension, and overall tension within the story and between characters.
The plot, and unfortunately the characters too, were so shallow that I almost didn't care for the sapphic subplot. Not only was it very sidelined, it did not have the intense build and tension I usually look for. One moment Yeeran and Furi didn't speak, the next they were sharing stolen glances in each other's directions. When it came to the intimate scenes (sapphic and otherwise), they were very rushed and emotionless. It added to the overall feeling that the romance was merely there to be checked off.
Similarly, all conflict happened and was resolved within a page to two pages maximum. It lacked tension to the point where I simply ceased to care about the overarching conflict.
I wanted so bad to have loved this but it really didn't even impress me.