A review by oatmilktea
The Binding by Bridget Collins

Did not finish book.
dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.75

DNF at 50 %

The Binding has a promising premise: having your memories bound into books to forget them, the ethics of voluntary and sometimes coerced memory loss, the consequences for the ones whose memories are bound, the abuse of people and books… there are so many really interesting issues that could have been explored. But they were barely more than a backdrop for a romance I wasn't invested in.

The wordy, convoluted writing and slow pace bothered me from the start but I kept going because I was still mildly intrigued by the book binding. Then came the end of Part 1, which, having read the blurb, felt incredibly anticlimactic. And now, three chapters into Part 2, I'm no longer just bored but also annoyed and will read no further.

Other reviews confirmed my suspicions that the plot is leading nowhere, basically. I could have finished it but I don't want to spend another week forcing myself to read. Good thing I can just return this one to the library.

TLDR: convoluted, boring, annoying 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings