Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - The Binding

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Binding by Bridget Collins

48 reviews

thewileyseven's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I feel complicated in this rating--I really loved the book and, especially once I got to part II, I could hardly put it down! But I also have some major qualms. The uneven pacing left a lot to be desired for me. I understand why Part I was paced the way it was (considering

the impacts of binding on Emmett's mind--I kept wondering why he spent so much time just staring off into space. Now I know!

, but ultimately Parts I and II both dragged in places for me.

I also agree with another review I read regarding the treatment of women in this book. All completely sidelined, used as plot devices, killed off to further men's emotional development, and worse. Rough! Again, I can understand why, with commentaries on gender violence, historic sexism, and more, but I dunno. The main characters' complicity in this was a bummer.

Part II, however, sang for me. Beautiful, aching, blossoming. And the system of binding is a splendid magic. Overall, I think this was 100% worth the read for me. But there are just pieces that grated at me a little too much to go unsaid.

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katy_bee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A reread for me as it was this month's book club pick. I lived it the first time around and I wondered if it would lube up to memory. Actually it has, I feel swept up in Emmett and Lucian's story, the ways in which they're trapped, make mistakes, try and be authentic, let people down and ultimately find a way through. The world building around book binding is consistent and well drawn (although if magic worlds simply aren't your thing, this might feel a bit much in places). The background characters are also interesting. Women are mostly victims in the narrative and in particular they're victims of sexual violence- so heed the content warnings - but for me that felt in keeping with the world and narrative. I would have liked to see some light at the end of the tunnel for some of those characters whose trauma seemed perhaps diminished by the fact that their stories simply end when Emmett and Lucian's story is tied up but they're the main characters so perhaps unsurprising.

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stellabombella's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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oogtube's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Had a great first part, the buildup in the beginning location was everyone I wanted about a magic bookbinding apprentice- then It kinda moved onto the romance and it all went downhill. It focused FAR too much on the romance and near nothing on the concepts carefully built in the beginning and even kinda- abandoned the beginning tone in a heartless and sudden way that left you not feeling the emotional weight it really should have given.

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dananana's review

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emotional mysterious reflective

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

4.5

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ellahoward_'s review against another edition

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This had potential and great premise but it just felt bleak and dark, compared to how it has been advertised. I did enjoy it and think the 3 acts were well written it just seemed a little unfinished and the ending underwhelming.

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llyrian's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

That was so sad and wholesome and pretty

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milliemoo207's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was so beautiful - the characters and just the writing just EVERYTHING 🩵🩵 omfg had my crying and laughing and i didnt want it to end. Didnt really like Alta but i LOVED Emmet and Lucien they remined me of Elio and Oliver from cmbyn in part 2 also Splotch has my heart (rip) :(( words cannot describe my love for this book

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kaiiyo's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A joy to read that left me quietly weeping in the bath
Wonderful characters and beautifully evocative writing

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maeverose's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Edit: I just found out the author is a terf, so I removed my rating. But I’ll leave the review for now. :/

TL;DR: I love the concept of this book so much, I really liked the romance, the writing style is hit and miss for me, why does everyone have to interrupt each other in every conversati—

The Concept

I love the idea of binding people’s memories into a book to remove them from their mind. I love how this book explores that. It’s just so cool to me. As disturbing as it is to read, I like that it explores the horrible ways people could take advantage of that system.

The Romance

I liked it a lot. I tend to prefer books without romance side plots because they often feel tacked on and underdeveloped, but the romance in this one is a crucial part in the overall story, and I really liked how it was done.

I liked the progression of Emmett’s feelings for Lucian. The way it was written I genuinely wasn’t sure how that was gonna go at first. The slow progression of hate to attraction without Emmett even seeming to recognize it as attraction at first. Idk I just liked that. And the dance scene !! I almost wish they explored how Emmett being a binder effects their relationship being as Lucian hates binders, but also I don’t like relationship angst so I don’t entirely mind that it was kinda just dropped.

Writing

The prose worked for me sometimes, not other times. I generally like pretty prose if it’s done well, and for the most part this was. It had a very gothic atmosphere, which I always love. But I felt it was a little over written here and there, and that both took me out of the scene sometimes and slowed the pacing at times where it seemed like it should’ve been a more fast paced scene (namely, the very end). The last 30% was pretty slow. And a more subjective dislike: It focuses a lot on the unattractive things in a scene, and for some reason that often meant lots of bodily fluids… It was mentioned excessively and unnecessarily and I just don’t like that writing choice.

Plot Structure

I really like how we start out following Emmett after he’s been bound, then the way he eventually finds out, immediately leading into part two which is entirely just his memory. I definitely liked part three the least, but I think part three had to have been from Lucian’s pov or it wouldn’t’ve worked. And I definitely didn’t mind it. I think it could grow on me after a re read. Overall I just think the way the plot was structured was really smart.

Dislikes

My number one pet peeve was that in almost every. single. conversation. someone had to interrupt someone else mid sentence. It happened so often and half the time it made no sense why they interrupted the other person. I counted 22 times in the first chapter alone… I don’t know how the editors didn’t suggest changing that. It was so annoying.

It wouldn’t be a review from me if I didn’t point out the ableism! This one was just little comments here and there (e.g: a comment about becoming a ‘drooling lunatic’, calling someone ‘simple’, calling a disabled person useless), always from the main Characters’ pov (mostly Emmett’s, I think), always uncorrected. I know it’s probably supposed to be ‘fitting of the time period’ but leaving those out literally would’ve changed nothing. I’m tired of reading historical fiction/fantasy and always seeing shit like that. Those comments are still harmful.

There was also a plot point that was just dropped that I felt needed more explanation.

When Emmett used that weird voice to tell off the people who wanted to burn Seredith’s house down, it was only brought up again once. When Emmett brought it up to Seredith she basically told him ‘that was nothing’. But it definitely seemed like something..? He seemed almost possessed to me.

Alta annoyed me a bit but maybe that’s a me problem…

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