Scan barcode
A review by literarypenguin
Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This was one of my most anticipated releases for 2024. I was excited by this story featuring elves and fae, but I am sad to say I was very disappointed.
The one thing I will say I liked about this book is that the setting with a bit more work could have been a beautiful thing to explore. I loved the idea of fae, elves, and humans inhabiting the same world. That was very interesting to me. I wish I could say the rest of the book had that same spark. The plot felt rushed, and some things didn't really make sense. Things would just happen for no reason or come out of nowhere. Even parts of the world started to not make sense after a short while.
The characters were easily my least favorite part of this book. They were alluded to being in their late twenties or mid thirties. However, they didn't act like it. They acted like they were teenagers. The decisions they would make irritated me in particular Lettle. She seemed like such a brat to me. She got upset over everything her sister did no matter what the intentions were behind it. Out of the two, Yeeran was a bit more tolerable not by much, though. I did enjoy her bond and banter with Pila.
The romance, which was one of the major points about this book. It was not great. The enemies to lovers arch really didn't show up until about towards the third of the book. It happened so quickly and really didn't feel like an enemies to lovers. It felt like it skipped a step in the middle. Her sisters romance was no better and felt rushed as well. They were both pushed together right away despite not spending enough time together.
Overall, this book was a big disappointment, and I am not so sure if I will be continuing this series. Maybe the second book will be better and more fleshed out. I really hope that is the case, and this book just suffered from a typical first book problem. Let's hope the second book is much better and improves things because I really want this book to be good. Have its ideas live up to their potential.
The one thing I will say I liked about this book is that the setting with a bit more work could have been a beautiful thing to explore. I loved the idea of fae, elves, and humans inhabiting the same world. That was very interesting to me. I wish I could say the rest of the book had that same spark. The plot felt rushed, and some things didn't really make sense. Things would just happen for no reason or come out of nowhere. Even parts of the world started to not make sense after a short while.
The characters were easily my least favorite part of this book. They were alluded to being in their late twenties or mid thirties. However, they didn't act like it. They acted like they were teenagers. The decisions they would make irritated me in particular Lettle. She seemed like such a brat to me. She got upset over everything her sister did no matter what the intentions were behind it. Out of the two, Yeeran was a bit more tolerable not by much, though. I did enjoy her bond and banter with Pila.
The romance, which was one of the major points about this book. It was not great. The enemies to lovers arch really didn't show up until about towards the third of the book. It happened so quickly and really didn't feel like an enemies to lovers. It felt like it skipped a step in the middle. Her sisters romance was no better and felt rushed as well. They were both pushed together right away despite not spending enough time together.
Overall, this book was a big disappointment, and I am not so sure if I will be continuing this series. Maybe the second book will be better and more fleshed out. I really hope that is the case, and this book just suffered from a typical first book problem. Let's hope the second book is much better and improves things because I really want this book to be good. Have its ideas live up to their potential.