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lassarina 's review for:
Shadowbound
by Bec McMaster
I had so much fun with this book. A paranormal historical! Second chances! Agreements that are bad decisions in the best way! It does have a strong thread of lack of communication, but as with so many things, it's a question of how it's done - in this case, neither Ianthe nor Rathbourne has any damn reason to trust the other (and quite a few reasons not to), so both withhold certain pieces of information relevant to the plot. However, it doesn't get into antics of stretching out a necessary revelation because either one of them is being stupid.
I love the magic threaded through this, the distinction between controlled evocation and the violence of emotion-driven Expression. I didn't feel that the worldbuilding bogged down into lengthy explanations that detracted from the flow of the story, but there was always enough information to make the current situation understandable. I liked the characters, and I want to spend more time with them. I loved the agreement between Ianthe and Rathbourne - that he must serve her during the day, but she's his at night - which is a particularly fun bit of catnip for me. And I liked that a lot of the plot was driven not by immense magical power, per se, but by the follies and failures of humans which are then magnified by the existence of magical power - it made it feel more real.
I did roll my eyes a little at some repetitive writing ("golden topaz eyes", sigh) but not enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I'm definitely looking forward to more books in the series once I conquer some more of my to-read pile.
I love the magic threaded through this, the distinction between controlled evocation and the violence of emotion-driven Expression. I didn't feel that the worldbuilding bogged down into lengthy explanations that detracted from the flow of the story, but there was always enough information to make the current situation understandable. I liked the characters, and I want to spend more time with them. I loved the agreement between Ianthe and Rathbourne - that he must serve her during the day, but she's his at night - which is a particularly fun bit of catnip for me. And I liked that a lot of the plot was driven not by immense magical power, per se, but by the follies and failures of humans which are then magnified by the existence of magical power - it made it feel more real.
I did roll my eyes a little at some repetitive writing ("golden topaz eyes", sigh) but not enough to detract from my overall enjoyment of the book. I'm definitely looking forward to more books in the series once I conquer some more of my to-read pile.