Reviews

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

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jell_e_kelly's review against another edition

2.0

3 star story - I am still curious what happens

4 star world building - I enjoyed the setting

2 stars for characters, dialog and overall writing - these characters are suppose to be near 30 and act like teens, someone armpit tingled in excitement at one point, like what?

overhillunderhill's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

I'm going to start this with the one negative because it's a personal preferences thing. I'm not much of a romance fan and the slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers of it all was a little eye roll inducing for me.

That said, to balance out the romance, there was a complicated plot with deep layered characters and amazing world building with an interesting system of magic. El-Arifi plays this game where a prophecy is dropped and because you as the reader are seeing a bigger picture of the playing field than the specific character, Lettle, you know precisely what it means and you're all but shouting Lettle about the bit she's misinterpreting.

I feel like El-Arifi does this really clever thing with the reveals that feel a little more like "I'm about to reveal something have you guessed yet" and if you did you feel clever. Usually, authors are like "Ta-Da" and I'm like "uh, huh." If you get this reference, it's Warren telling Buffy April's a robot.

I'm definitely invested. I am excited for the next book in the series and how the big picture plays out.

amariexciryatan's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 / 5 ⭐️
Not the best written book I’ve ever read, some parts being a bit cringe, but overall I really enjoyed this read. I first tried the audiobook but the narrator was not it. The pronunciations and the voices.. just no.
When I switched to the physical read, I found the story way more immersive. I loved the setting, the queer / trans representation, and most of the characters. Very curious what the sequel will bring!

soleilc's review against another edition

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2.0

I think when I start looking at bad reviews of a book I’m reading to see if it validates how I’m feeling about it so far shows that I’m not enjoying the book and that I will not rate it well.

I wanted to like this book since fantasy is one of my favorite genres and the premise was interesting, but the romance subplot felt rushed and I didn’t feel any chemistry between any of them. They kept calling it love but it only felt like pure lust and desire. I think this would’ve done stronger if the romance wasn’t as forced and it allowed more buildup in the series instead of having it all in one book.

The writing felt a bit inconsistent and that nearly everything is spelt out for you (lots of telling instead of showing). Lots of things happened out of pure convenience, even if it made no sense. I also wasn’t rooting for any of the characters, and I think the author didn’t lean into the fantasy elements as much as she should’ve.

I can see why others like this book, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.