Very interesting world building and characters. It was an intriguing start to a trilogy.

When Yeeran, the youngest elven commander in the history of the forever wars. Her sister Lettle joins her in isolation. They are thrust into the realm of Mossima, an underground fae city. Now it’s a war of survival.

The most anticipated fantasy book of 2024!

Alright, take my review with a grain of salt. This will be some reader’s favorite book of the year. For other readers, like me, it will miss the mark a little. Let me explain!

I have not read any previous books from this author, and those books are still on my TBR. For me, the premise and cover enticed me to pick this book up.

This book hits all the right marks: good writing, great atmosphere, and a unique enticing world. The issue for me came in with the romance. Like other reviewers, I felt it was a bit cheesy and conflicted with some plot points. I also couldn’t get attached to the characters, and truthfully I don’t know why. Maybe it was the feeling that I’ve read their personalities in so many other books. I don’t know, you may disagree.

Overall I think this book will do well and find its perfect audience. I still recommend reading it for that reason. Give it a try, see if you’ll like it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for this ARC.

This is my pleas for the ACOTAR girlies to pick up this book about sapphic, black fae!! There are not enough sapphic or BIPOC fantasy romance stories out there, so consider this a lil nudge to diversify your reading…with a book that’s already up your alley.

In a world that is constantly at war, Yeeran, our main character, has just been promoted to Colonel of her elven tribe and, after a grave mistake on her very first day, she’s been exiled by the ruler and her lover as a disgrace. Her little sister and diviner, Lettle, goes off into the desert after her, with Yeeran’s second in command, Rayan, in tow, determined to bring her home - not knowing that Yeeran’s schemed up a way to get herself out of exile. Yeeran’s hare-brained plan ends up backfiring and they are forced to contend with myths and legacies long believed to be false or dormant.

With curses and prophesies and drum magic abound, I especially loved that Yeeran was forced to confront her own willful blindness and the role she plays in perpetuating military propaganda. The writing construction was a little clunky at times and plot sometimes predictable, but the character building, multi-POVs and the messaging around the consequences of war and colonization – and how that leads to compounded generational trauma – had me glued to every page. On top of it all, I adored how queer-normative and disability normative the story was, which is refreshing for a fantasy book. FAEBOUND was a story about sisterhood and prophesy and has a little sprinkle of an enemies-to-lovers plotline as well. I can’t wait to see how the story continues in book 2!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for sharing this digital reviewer’s copy with me in exchange for my honest reviews.

I really enjoyed this book, I have not read from the author before but I found this book so easy to get into and invested it. I can’t wait to learn more about the world in the next two books and I hope we get to see more perspectives!

Really wish I could give half stars on here. 3.5 stars.
The ending definitely made it worth the read. It had a few twists that I wasn't expecting and absolutely love the magic system El-Arifi has created here. Drum magic i so unique and something I never imagined plus the Obeh is just chefs kiss.
It does take some time for the book to pick up. A lot of world building in the beginning. I enjoyed the sister relationship but they did get on my nerves some times. Definitely "Queernormative" like the Author mentioned in her review so if that's not your cup of tea I wouldn't pick it up. There's some spicy scenes sprinkled in towards the end and I was definitely cheering for Furi and Yeeran when it finally happened and don't even get me started on Lettle and Rayan! I think the character development could have been a bit better. I had a hard time connecting with the characters for majority of the book and really immersing myself in the world and I think that may have played a big role in why it took me so long to read.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing book for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

‘Cursed to endure, cursed to survive. All shall perish lest all three survive.’

There was once a world with three gods and three people: the Elves, the Fae, and the Humans. Only the Elven remain.

Yeeran, youngest colonel in the army, finds herself exiled from the elvish lands. Her younger sister, Lettle, and her former army Captain Rayan follow. They find themselves in an unprecedented situation as they try to hunt a rare and elusive obeah. The three are captured and imprisoned by the Fae - taken to an underground kingdom that should only exist in fairytales. As Yeeran and Lettle navigate the politics of the fae court in order to plan their escape, they find other obstacles in their path - secrets, seduction, conflicting desires.

Despite seeing many mixed reviews regarding this book, I found it highly enjoyable. The fantasy world building was well done, full of mythical lore and history. The author includes a lot of representation in this book from physical differences to LGBTQUIA+ characters and relationships, which flow seamlessly. I really liked the bonding of the obeah and the mind-link with their person. It added a fun element and a different perspective to the story as things unfolded.

The pacing felt a bit off to me as things progress quickly at both the beginning and the end. The start of the book read like a military fantasy, but that changes significantly once Yeeran is exiled. When they are captured by the fae, the storyline slows down to focus on the myth and lore, but once again picks up and is full of twist and turns, and some very predictable prophecies. I would have liked more relationship development between our main love interests, but overall the characters are interesting and likable.

If you’re looking for a unique, diverse fantasy - don’t hesitate to pick this up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballentine, Del Rey for a free digital copy of this book. This is my honest review. Publication date: January 23, 2024.

Some things done really well is the world building, the magic system, and the diversity of the characters. Unfortunately, I felt like the plot and introduction dragged in the beginning, but some aspects were too rushed at the same time. I’m personally not a fan of “instant love” tropes. While there are diverse characters, these are supposed to be older characters…they seemed immature at times. This might have just been an issue with writing style. I also found the prophesies to be quite predictable. The ending of the book did redeem the slow start slightly.

I had to DNF at at 10%. I don't like the characters or the dialogue at all. It will definitely hook people in but this book is just not for me.

4 ✨

I came into this book with high hopes after falling in love with Saara El-Arifi’s Ending Fire trilogy, and I was not disappointed. If you love classic fantasy, particularly classic fantasy species such as Elves and Fae, but want really interesting twists in their mythology look no further. This book also has really awesome animal companions that share a psychic link with their chosen person so you also get all the fun banter. The big drawback for me was neither of the main romantic relationships really did it for me. I loved that our main characters were 34 and 28, but their romantic relationship development would have made more sense if they were in their teens. The nigh instalove just didn’t give me the opportunity to get fully invested in the relationships, but I definitely hope future books will sell me on this aspect. But the awesome lore and twisty plot were more than enough to keep me coming back for more!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up! Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for approving me for this ARC.

I truly enjoyed Faebound and kept hating whenever I had to pause or stop reading bc of silly things like sleeping or work. Yeeran was a character I couldn't connect with at first, but I really liked her by the end. I would love a whole book just from Lettle's POV.

Though I rounded up, I say 4.5 stars because some of the twists were so obvious you could see them from a mile away, even if it was just the broad strokes. The gold and pearl? Yeah. Komi? Knew there was something there. But none of that took away from my enjoyment.

The cover is absolutely beautiful and the story flew by so quickly, it seemed like I finished it so much faster than I've been reading other books. I devoured this story.

I truly cannot wait for the next book in the series.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
I loved this book! It’s was such an original story unlike anything I’ve read before. There’s prophecies throughout that I found myself trying to connect the dots on which was fun! It has its own lore and three original gods who created the world and the elves, humans, and fae. The magic was beautiful and reading this story you’re able to imagine the threads of magic and visual the creatures and it’s just a great book. Highly recommend. I am going to be (im)patiently waiting for the sequel.

I was super excited to read this book because I love books about Fae and Elves.

I really enjoyed the storyline and how it was about 2 sisters. I wish that there was more interaction with the sisters though, I feel like the story lacked emotional connection between the two
I would say that the plot was a little bit predictable and I am not good at predicting endings at all so I feel like the “twist” could have been better at the end with Queens.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I would definitely read anything else by this author

I really wanted to like this. I think the concept of the story was great and the characters had the makings to be interesting. However, the follow through on character depth and development wasn’t there. The characters seemed much younger than they were and the connections for relationships were sudden. Also, the plot itself was predictable.

I found the world-building and the lore of Faebound to be very enjoyable. Having a world of Fae, Elves, and Humans is different from most current fantasy books and I felt like I was finally reading a fresh new story. The magic systems were unique and brought an interesting element to the story.

Overall I did enjoy the book, but there were a few things that I did not. Firstly, I found the more explicit romance scenes to be something that I didn't need in this particular story. While I do like the characters in both romances, they happened so fast. One minute one MC hates her love interest, she feels the sexual tension, and then BAM she loves her? The other one I felt happened so fast despite one refusing to let herself admit her feelings. The romance aspect of the book underwhelmed me, and I was excited to have both a ff and mf romance.

I found the story to be predictable in many situations, but mostly from the prophesies. I figured out who/what they were about so quickly. That being said, I love the shaman and mystic aspect of this world.

Overall I did enjoy this book and am excited to continue with the series and to see where it goes.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this advance reader copy of #Faebound! The thoughts expressed below are entirely my own with no outside influence.

Yeeran, an Elf and leader in her military, makes a call on the battlefield that has catastrophic results. The Chieftain of her clan declares that as punishment she will suffer a fate worse than death. Yeeran is outcast and exiled from the Elf lands entirely. Yeeran is joined by her younger sister and military companion as they search for a way to bring Yeeran back to the Cheiftain’s good graces. Inadvertently, they stumble into the land of the Fae, who were considered extinct from this world centuries ago. Yeeran and co must navigate the court politics of the fae and centuries of hatred between the Elf and Fae kind.

So, obviously my favorite character is Pila, because omg what a cutie patootie I really cannot stand it! <3
The pacing was consistent throughout. The plot was engaging and very complex. There were several twists and turns that I did not anticipate or see coming. About halfway through the book I was feeling like, “oh okay I know where this is going”. Then around like 75% of the way through I was like “nope I was mistaken, what is happening”, then at the end I was like “HMMMM???!” In short, the plot developments threw me for a LOOP.
The descriptions of the scenery were so lush and beautiful! The author’s descriptors brought the landscape to life in my mind.
The romances that developed seemed a bit too insta-love? Each of the relationships (platonic and romantic) could have been expanded upon with a bit more clarity to create the emotional investment in the readers.
Overall, I’m deeply excited to see the continuation of this story and how the plot develops. Every character has their own motivations, most of which are conflicting with one another. So, this could be MESSY and I LOVE THAT.
FOUR STAR READ!

Thank you to NetGalley & Del Rey for an arc of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review, along with FairyLoot who sent a stunning early edition in their monthly box.

I really enjoyed the entire concept of this book. It has one of the most interesting magic systems I have seen in a long time and a rich history interwoven into the story. I think it is a good kick off point for a series and can wait to see what the next books hold. My one complaint would be that the relationships seem to be all or nothing at the speed of light and I could have used more build up there and banter vs we hate each other and now suddenly we don’t because you’re so hot. The twists and turns kept me interested though and took me by surprise.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to receive an ARC in exchange for a review.
I'm excited that Faebound is the first book in this series and not a standalone because I think this series could grow into something better than the first book while the story gets more in depth and the writing style grows. The dynamics, the tension, the twists and turns is what kept me reading. The book was easy to read and follow and I think would be a good recommendation for introducing someone to fantasy.

This book wasn’t totally for me. I did enjoy the world building and the idea but the characters just didn’t work for me.

I personally felt like this book dragged on forever with a bunch of nothing happening. Part III is where the action finally picks up and everything sorta comes together. As for the romantic relationships in this book, I felt like they were all rushed and didn't feel at all convinced that anyone held any true romantic connections, as it all just felt like it came out of left field. Based off of that, I wouldn't quite call this a Romantasy like other have. As for the world building and magic system, I did enjoy both. However, to no other fault but my own, I couldn't quite picture how the Obeah should have appeared, as I kept imaging them as dragons. Overall this book felt a bit flat to me.

This is the book about fae I've always wanted. I've never been super interested in fae fantasy stories but I think that's because it was never done as well as this one. I devoured this book from start to finish and loved the characters so much.

First, let's talk magic system. I am obsessed with the drum magic and love the use of the reverberations as the way to direct and control it. The crystals that give basically the energy of the sun added such an interesting component to the world and a genuinely believable reason for the elves to stay at war that long. I'm also a sucker for a good animal companion and liked the imagery of a stag panther creature that was then bonded to the soul of the person it chooses.

This book has a wonderful queer cast and other diverse identities within. I think the tension was immaculate in both romances and really gave me something to root for. Our main characters have become so entangled with the court politics of the fae that I'm really interested in further books to see how they will tie back in the elves to the story.