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A review by ria_mhrj
Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent
3.0
Blood Bound features a refreshingly different and well-realised world. The concept of the Skilled is unique and I especially loved the focus on the crime syndicates fuelled by these abilities. The bonds of employment, love and friendship were cleverly crafted and yielded some interesting scenarios as we sink deeper into Liv's world.
The book is gritty and makes for tough reading at times, with violence and injustice spilling off most pages. There's usually no greater way to spark a reaction from me as a reader than to present me with something horribly unfair, but more often than not Blood Bound didn't spark my ire, and I think this boils down to Liv and Cam.
At several points, a character refers to Liv and Cam as "star-crossed" and they are - in fact, there are so many obstacles in their path that at times, I was more inclined to say "why bother?" rather than to scream "you must fight for your love!". The inconsistent alternating first person perspective between the two probably hindered me from fully investing in them, as it frequently yanked me out of the story (at least head the chapters with the name of the narrator!).
So, an excellent concept, let down by the central characters. However, the ending was great and I am very keen to see more of Kori, who looks set to lead in book 2, so I will be coming back for more.
The book is gritty and makes for tough reading at times, with violence and injustice spilling off most pages. There's usually no greater way to spark a reaction from me as a reader than to present me with something horribly unfair, but more often than not Blood Bound didn't spark my ire, and I think this boils down to Liv and Cam.
At several points, a character refers to Liv and Cam as "star-crossed" and they are - in fact, there are so many obstacles in their path that at times, I was more inclined to say "why bother?" rather than to scream "you must fight for your love!". The inconsistent alternating first person perspective between the two probably hindered me from fully investing in them, as it frequently yanked me out of the story (at least head the chapters with the name of the narrator!).
So, an excellent concept, let down by the central characters. However, the ending was great and I am very keen to see more of Kori, who looks set to lead in book 2, so I will be coming back for more.