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A review by sauvageloup
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I want to give this higher but it just didnt quite grab me in.
pros:
- loved the descriptions and worldbuilding, esp. with Mosima, outfits, landscapes and the fae creatures. Really beautiful and vivid.
- the plot twists were interesting and (mostly) surprising and kept you on your toes! especially liked Yerran getting Pila the obeah
- I liked the depth of the characters, with Yeeran not believing in prophercy like Lettle does and it being a sticking point even as they love each other, and Yeeran's relationships with Salawa and Furi.
- the side characters, like Komi, Golan, the prince, Furi and Rayan (kind of) were all interesting and explored, and all came into play.
- also enjoyed how different the characters were and their voices, with Lettle being impulsive and lighthearted compared to serious Yeeran. and the obeah's voices were brilliantly done, funny and sweet and a bit alien too.
- the start was gripping and you really feel for lettle, yeeran and everyone in the war. its emotive and worrying for the characters when everything goes to shit for them!
- I also liked that this was more adult and didnt shy from the violence of war and death and adult relationships (quite in contrast to the prev YA fantasy bk I read).
READ).
- It also felt like a new spin on tropes like fae, curses, prophecy, etc.
cons:
- mostly, I just didn't get very gripped overall. I picked it up and put it down and wasn't especially compelled. I cant really say why, maybe the stakes were lower mid and later in the book?
- too many characters a bit. I forgot who people were, incl. the prince and sode characters, Hosta and the guy Yeeran killed.
- some of the plot twists were a bit obvious, or they felt like they were trying to shock but didnt manage it. I didnt feel much about the queen dying bc we'd already had like 500 elves die bc of yeeran and the fae prince and the prophercy made it seem like it was just *shrug* inevitable
- wasnt super keen on te actual prophercy bits either. loved lettle's character and how she interacted with prophercy but I'm not one to rly enjoy foregone conclusions/tragedies so a bit blah if Rayan does die like in the prophercy. also thought Rayan would push more about Lettle's completely random toing and froing without explanation??
- also thought Furi and Yeeran moved a bit fast.
but overall, I did enjoy this! esp the feel of originality, the diverse (incl. nb) characters, and the worldbuilding, and I would like to know what happens in the next book.
pros:
- loved the descriptions and worldbuilding, esp. with Mosima, outfits, landscapes and the fae creatures. Really beautiful and vivid.
- the plot twists were interesting and (mostly) surprising and kept you on your toes!
- I liked the depth of the characters, with Yeeran not believing in prophercy like Lettle does and it being a sticking point even as they love each other, and Yeeran's relationships
- the side characters, like Komi, Golan, the prince, Furi and Rayan (kind of) were all interesting and explored, and all came into play.
- also enjoyed how different the characters were and their voices, with Lettle being impulsive and lighthearted compared to serious Yeeran. and the obeah's voices were brilliantly done, funny and sweet and a bit alien too.
- the start was gripping and you really feel for lettle, yeeran and everyone in the war. its emotive and worrying for the characters when everything goes to shit for them!
- I also liked that this was more adult and didnt shy from the violence of war and death and adult relationships (quite in contrast to the prev YA fantasy bk I read).
READ).
- It also felt like a new spin on tropes like fae, curses, prophecy, etc.
cons:
- mostly, I just didn't get very gripped overall. I picked it up and put it down and wasn't especially compelled. I cant really say why, maybe the stakes were lower mid and later in the book?
- too many characters a bit. I forgot who people were, incl. the prince and sode characters, Hosta and the guy Yeeran killed.
- some of the plot twists were a bit obvious, or they felt like they were trying to shock but didnt manage it. I didnt feel much about
- wasnt super keen on te actual prophercy bits either. loved lettle's character and how she interacted with prophercy but I'm not one to rly enjoy foregone conclusions/tragedies so a bit blah if
- also thought Furi and Yeeran moved a bit fast.
but overall, I did enjoy this! esp the feel of originality, the diverse (incl. nb) characters, and the worldbuilding, and I would like to know what happens in the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail