Over the summer, I read Marked by Alyson Dawn. I had a lot of fun with its characters, and wanted to see more of its unique shadow magic system. Therefore I was very excited to get a message asking if I would read an ARC of the sequel too. Bound publishes today, Sunday, January 25th and completes this duology. It definitely delivers more magic and it covers far more than I expected from a single book. Both books are available via Bookshop.org

Summary:

After the events of Marked, Blair and her friends are still on the run from Hunters. They’ve won their battles, but not without cost. But it looks like they’ll soon be able to turn the tide. Their abilities have been growing, and new allies will teach them even more. Once their strength has grown enough, they’ll be able to take the fight to the Hunters. Potentially, they could even take on the King himself. It’s the only path they can see toward a future where Shadowborn like themselves can be free to live openly. For now, they live in fear of incarceration or death over the circumstances of their birth.

My Thoughts:

I liked that we got a much deeper view into the magic system this time around. I finished the first book feeling like the shadow magic was unique and versatile and I wanted to see more. Dawn definitely delivered on that front. The action this time around is set at a much slower pace. The majority of the book focuses on the characters training and developing their skills, so we as readers get to see their abilities in intricate detail.

We also spend a lot more time with the characters getting to understand their motivations and backstories. This includes a few new additions to the core team as well, who are all equally as fun as its original members. However, these explorations into their histories reveal serious trauma for more than one of them. The book does not shy away from describing these ordeals, so it’s a good idea to heed relevant content warnings.

Because there’s so much focus on character development and the magical system, there’s less space for action. It is still present, though. There’s a little bit sprinkled throughout the book, but the majority takes place in the very climactic final 15 percent. Up until that point, I was wondering whether there would be a book three, because I didn’t see how the story could be resolved before the end of this one. This led to the ending feeling a lot more sudden when it did arrive than it likely would have with more consistent pacing throughout.

I had a good time with this one. This author has created a world and characters that are a lot of fun to read. I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes out with next.

Content Warnings: Blood, Graphic Depictions of Violence and Injury, Panic Disorders, SA, Child Abuse, Grief, Graphic Sexual Content, Racism, Concentration Camps, Genocide, War, Segregation, Torture, Fire & Burn Injuries

After I Finished Bound

After finishing Bound, I dove right into another ARC that’s been waiting patiently in my queue. This one was sent to me by the publisher after I’d read and thoroughly loved another book from them. Since I’d enjoyed the previous book they’d sent me so much, and the premise of this one sounded fun too, I happily said yes. As of now, I’m a little less than halfway through, but having a ton of fun with it and can’t wait to see where else it goes.

My next review will be for Silver & Blood by Jessie Mihalik.