A review by yourbookishbff
The Bound Worlds by Megan E. O'Keefe

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a dread-inducing, prolonged anxiety spiral of a trilogy conclusion. The conflict expands fairly quickly in the start of this installment, as we are faced with a new challenge in the fight against cannus, and this conflict reshapes the world as we know it (again!). Where this installment shines is in its primary romance between Tarquin and Naira. It's complicated and tense, and we are forced to grapple with all new dimensions in their power imbalance and backgrounds. In this conclusion to their story, they each have to navigate how to be a person the other will be able to love and respect despite the horrific, universe-altering decisions they each will need to make. 
There is so much that feels pitch-perfect in this - the character studies, the alternating POVs, the reflections on sacrifice, redemption and freewill. The one challenge I have at the conclusion, though, is a feeling we lost the plot somewhere in the primary conflict. I'm left still fairly confused about how key issues resolved (did they resolve at all, actually?) and wish the conflict had been carried through more evenly. Our focus expanded and contracted a LOT in this, and it felt a bit disconnected from the first two books' central story arcs. That said, this trilogy is really strong, and I highly recommend it to SFF readers who love a compelling primary romance and character-driven conflict. 
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