Review by sotheresthisbook - Faebound

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sotheresthisbook 's review for:

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

5.0

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious 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: Complicated

Genre: Romantic Fantasy

Spice: 2/5 🌶️

*spice ratings are relative to similar books in the same genre*

Tropes & themes: tale of two sisters, sapphic romance, enemies to lovers, slow burn, unique magic system, lore & legend, magical animal companions, war-torn world, warrior FMC & mystic FMC, star-crossed lovers, elves & fae, queer normative world

Spoiler-Free Summary:

Yeeran was born a warrior, but on the day of her greatest achievement, she loses it all. Now banished from the Elven territory of Waning, she must find her glory elsewhere in order to gain her place back in the army fighting the Forever War. When Lettle learns of her sister’s fate, she resolves to leave their war-torn territory behind and follow. With the help of some folks along the way, the sisters’ paths will converge on top of a secret so great, it will change the very world.

Thoughts:

This. Book. Is. Fantastic. Easily one of the best fantasy books I’ve read in the past two years. I swear at least once a month, I kick myself for leaving a book so log on my TBR, but I’m not sure I’ve ever been so mad at myself.

First and foremost, the world the author has painted is incredible. Built upon rich lore, legends, and magic, the world of Fae and Elves is dangerous, whimsical, and brilliant. I am deeply obsessed with the magic system, and cannot stop obsessing over the characters themselves. And the magical creature companions? Perfection.

Let me let you in on a little secret…I typically hate sister stories. Like, loathe them entirely. But THESE sisters? I will die for them your honor. I love Yeeran and Lettle. I love that they’re different and have opposing, yet complimentary, strengths. The side characters are incredibly interesting and well fleshed out, and I’m attached, so they’d better be okay in book two, lmao.

The romance is definitely not the main objective for this book, but I still deeply enjoyed both of the sisters’ journey to love.

Lastly, the queer normative world was EVERYTHING! So refreshing!!

If you love stories like The Empyrean series, or When The Moon Hatched, you will adore this. And even I can admit that Faebound is even more approachable than those, lmao.

Content Warnings