A review by bex_readz
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

 The scars of their life had fused them together.

Wow, for being a 400ish page, it took me a long time to finish this book. My initial reaction is that I liked it AND I am not sure I am excited for the rest of the series.

Plot- 3.5/5๐Ÿ”†
Spice- 1ish/5๐ŸŒถ๏ธ
Romance-0/5๐Ÿ’—

Ok, so first of all, Pila is my favorite character. She is the only one who has REAL TALK. Puts people in their place. The rest of the characters felt pretty complex. I went from liking them to being annoyed pretty quickly. They are older characters which I love, but unfortunately they all act young. One in particular loves to throw tantrums, yes we are looking at you Lettle. No one is ever on the same page with each other, and it felt like all the characters were bumping off of each other the entire time, like a pin ball game. I love chemistry and banter, and I think I felt like it was missing that.

The plot is intense. There feels like a lot of details are provided, which is why I felt like this was a slower read. I really thought I had the whole story figured out but the last 20 % of the book was one plot twist after another. That was a pleasant surprise.

Lastly, I can't mentally picture drumfire without giggling. Thinking of Yeeran tippy tapping her fingers to try and kill someone is just silly. It feels like that cannot be a serious tool for war. But anyways..

This book has great representation of people with disability and LGBTQ+. I would say this book is way more fantasy than romance. In fact the "romance" in the book seemed to be just an accidental thing that happens, rather than a plot point.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review! 

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