I really really enjoyed this! It was unlike anything I’ve ever read before and it really kept me hooked! I loved the characters, BUT I think sometimes they fell a little flat. I wish we got a little more emotion and chemistry. Everything else was fantastic though. I could feel their character development, the world building was well done, and the magic system was developed well. It was easy to follow while also being a highly complex world and cast of characters!

Faebound follows sisters Yeeran and Lettle who grew up in the midst of the forever war, a struggle between different elven tribes over control of their natural resources.

The first half of this book was exquisite. I loved the writing, the romance, the tension, and the prose. I loved Yeeran's strong character which was in contrast to Lettle's misunderstood and more timid nature. The story felt like a breath of fresh air. The world building was exciting and each twist was more surprising than the next.

But sometime around the halfway mark, the story began to lose it's luster. The plot twists became too frequent and erratic, the romance lost all its tension, and the storyline lost its spark.

While I really enjoyed this book, I do not think I would read the sequel.

Loved the world of this book! The story starts a little slow for me, but really sold me about a fourth of the way in, and after that I couldn't put it down. I feel like the themes of sisterhood and learning to see the world from others perspectives will really resonate with many people.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early!

This book started out slow for me and I was very close to quitting. I am very glad I didn’t. Once our main characters were taken to Mosima, I felt like the story finally started to unfold.

I also love the authors writing. The changes in POV felt seamless. Normally I HATE multiple POVs, but she does it very well. There is some romance in this, but it isn’t a main point. But if you enjoy fantasy with a side of romance, this is for you.

4.5
I enjoyed this sapphic romantasy of Faes and Elves quite a bit! While I do prefer Saara El-Arifi's meatier The Final Strife, Faebound still is written with El-Arifi's absolutely phenomenal lush prose with the most likable full bodied characters you'll ever meet.

This really fun story of sisterhood following an exiled warrior and an injured prophet. If you'd enjoy sentient beasts, fierce female main characters, star-crossed lovers, and political intrigue, you'd enjoy this as much as I did.

My only gripe with this novel is its heavy reliance on tropes and prophecies. I felt like things tied up far too nearly and slotted into place far too easily and all too conveniently because of the numerous prophecies and entire sections of the population that can foretell the future.

(+) queer norm world, full QPOC cast, disabled characters,

2.5 rounded up to 3. I really wanted to love this book, but ultimately it fell flat for me. The plot was extremely promising and the world building started out pretty interesting, but the story failed to really pick up and the character work was weak. The romance was too instant and the characters were very one dimensional which made it hard to root for them. The author spent a lot of time explaining the world of the fae, but I wanted to know more about the elf world as well. I liked that the story was diverse and that there was sapphic representation, but ultimately I was disappointed. .

Just finished Faebound, and what a beautiful journey it was! Somehow, Saara El-Arifi has imbued magic into the ink of these pages. The world building, the character arcs, the pining—the pining?! It did not feel like I was simply flipping through the pages of a novel; no, I was traversing a dense, intricate realm of Fae, Elves, and possibly humans, too.

For fans of the immaculate, intricate realm creation of Samantha Shannon and rife fantasy politics and systems of an R.F. Kuang novel, this will certainly be your cup of tea. For those looking for a more immersive fantasy read, the lore and meticulous world building was initially drew me into the book.. Coupled with Saara El-Arifi’s prose, the pairing of a new world, a very present history, and a looming conflict—Faeboound has it all.

The novel follows the journey of two sisters (Lettle and Yeeran) who are mysteriously led into the world of the Fae by a mistake that bears the consequences of an age-old conflict. The storylines are interwoven with that of another captive, Rayan, who tumbles into captivity with them.

There is so much to unpack in Faebound, and I can certainly see why this is simply the foundation for the remaining two books in the trilogy, as the final few chapters left much to be desired, but not in a trivial sense—it was the sort of tug that made me ecstatic for the next two installments!

I'm going to be screaming about this book for a LONG TIME and will be desperately waiting for book 2!!!! This is officially my new favorite fantasy series. I loved the magic system and world-building. They were beautifully woven, but easy enough to follow along with and it was definitely an approachable fantasy novel. I loved the characters and all the twists and turns it took. It was such an immersive experience reading this, and I will be looking into reading more of Saara's other novels!

This was a really unique and great read!! I started reading it on the ebook, but then switched to the audiobook around 30% in. This worked well for me since the beginning of the book was pretty slow, so the audiobook hurried it up for me. Once the main characters get to the Fae lands though, the pace picked up and it was a wild ride!! Also, major props for this book being set in a queernormative world with black elves/fae. Really awesome rep.

The Fae realm was extremely imaginative and vivid, and I could easily picture the inventive fantasy land that El-Arifi created. Plus there are a bunch of cool fantasy creatures that made the world seem real and fresh. There are also a LOT of side characters, all of which I was super intrigued by, and none of them fell flat to me! Okay well maybe one or two of them, but I did really like the main two sister characters, as well as their love interests. I appreciated that they grapple with some of their negative past actions as they learn more about the history of their people, and that they are the ones in the wrong.

And yes, there is some nice sapphic spice in this book, and a heads up that the first bit of it comes out of nowhere lol. I definitely felt that there could have been more lead-in and/or romantic tension between Yeeran and Furi!

And there's a BOOK ORCHARD in the fae realms, which was described as being like an outdoor library nestled in the trees and it's all magic and shit and I want to go there SO BAD!!!

The ending was excellent, it totally took me by surprise and made me really excited to see how the next book plays out!! 4.25 rounded up!

🌈Queer rep: lesbian/queer main character in FF relationships. Secondary F/NB couple, MM couple, multiple nonbinary/genderfluid characters. It is also mentioned that the Elven race can change their gender at will!

An enchanting adventure filled with magic and romance.

Yeeran and Lettle have lived very different lives despite being sisters, but when Yeeran makes a huge mistake and is exiled from her homeland, her sister follows her into the wilds and they find themselves embroiled in a mystery they never could have imagined.

Faebound very much throws you into the deep end both worldbuilding and story-wise, and slowly unveils what you need to know as the narrative continues.

The various kinds of magic were all fascinating, and I look forward to seeing how they evolve as the series continues. The race politics were interesting but fairly high-level in this book - although I suspect this will develop in the sequel(s) as the races interact more.

Once the story got going, it was fast paced and mysterious, and I really enjoyed the various narrative threads that came together. I’m intrigued to see where the plot goes in the next book, as there are several different storylines which could go a myriad of ways.

Overall, I really enjoyed Faebound and can’t wait to continue the series.

This story had me as enthralled as the Fae magic. I loved that though this was a world of familiar beings - the Fae and the elves - it was also so uniquely its own in how the mythology and lore is handled.
There were so many things that I loved about this story.
The characters, the twists and turns and surprises of the plot, and the magic system. I loved how a lot of the magic and the story returned to the connection between the people and the earth and other creatures.
The two main romantic plots in this story are very well done. You'll see them both coming, but how El-Arifi gets us there is fantastic. There is certainly a lot left unanswered, but this is book one of a trilogy so l'm sure there will be so much more to see and learn about the world coming up in the next two books.
I also the level of queer representation in this story and that this world is queernormative - not something that we get a lot in fantasy stories. And on top of all of that there are some pretty cool animal companions that have unique attitudes of their own.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. On one hand, I genuinely was interested and intrigued by the world and fantasy elements. On the other hand I feel that those elements were bogged down by the romance. Don't get me wrong I love romance in fantasy book. But I think that there needs to be a balance between the two and the romances need to be organic. I don't think that either of these romances were organic enough to have so much of the fantasy elements and world take a back seat to it.

This book was a fantastic start to the series. Not only are the characters POC, but there are non-binary and trans characters as well.

I was sucked into this world from the beginning. The world building was delivered in such a beautifully written and engaging way.

It would be great to see some art depicting the obeah. I love Pila. Her youthfulness and joy reminds me of Abraxos from the Throne of Glass series.

I will be continuing with this series when they are released!

arc kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

3★

took me a lot longer to read this book than i would've wanted, and it wasn't because it was bad, but i just couldn't connect to the characters, which made caring about anything in the book significantly harder.

overall, i'd say this was a pretty solid read. i loved how atmospheric this book was, the writing was definitely to my taste, sentences not too long but not too simple either.

i loved lettle, her character was the most fun to read about, but let's be honest, pila was the true star of this book. i loved the idea of fae bonding with the obeah and i loved the prophecies, but i think if they were even more secretive and hard to decipher it would've been an even better addition to the book.

the only issue that i have with it really is the pacing when it came to characters' relationships. furi and yeeran's relationship switched from enemies to lovers very abruptly; it felt like some of the issues that they had with one another, the issues that were very important and serious, just kind of got glossed over. i would've loved a more slowburn development between the two.

regardless, i'd recommend this book as it was definitely a fun read.

Faebound (ARC)
Saara El Arifi
3.5⭐️

This is obviously fantasy however the writing style makes feel out of that realm at times. There's mention of make up and other tiny details that just takes it out of the vibe (I know make up exists back then but I was hoping for a different term). The world building is good, easily followable, not very complex and short enough to not drag on. I didn't particularly like the main characters but I adored the side ones (who, I think have much more personality than the mains). It's good, but not as compelling and devourable as I hoped it would be. One of the first scenes reminded me of another fantasy book I read before. And as much as I adore characters linked to fantasy beasts, it's not as original and reminds me of another book. Otherwise, it's okay. The ending was unexpected. This is the first of a trilogy but I believe you can read this now even if the next books are nowhere in sight yet. It's obviously unfinished but it didn't end on a cliffhanger. It's a good point in the plot to stop. Will I read the next ones? Yes. I am invested.

I truly think every fantasy lover should read this at least once! Featuring elves, fae, sapphism, POC leads, animal familiars, truly unique magic systems, and a comforting amount of representation, I cannot wait to see how the second book will play out! The only thing I wish for is more world-building, so fingers crossed for more in book two! Thanks to Netgalley for ARC access.

Loved the multiple romance storylines. The book was very easy to follow and was a relaxing read. Many diverse characters. I’m hoping for a second!

This book earns a solid 3.5 stars. While engaging, I found myself craving more extensive world-building and a deeper exploration of Leetle’s perspective.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

I love fae/elves and I love fantasy, so this has got to be one of the biggest letdowns of 2024 I've read so far. I'll start by saying I have not read The Final Strife, and after this, I'm afraid that I'm not sure I will. Sometimes I read an author's work that doesn't gel with me--and I think this is one author. But not only that, I did feel that elements were objectively bad, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around why this book has received so much positive praise.

This book had potential. Rivers of it. But it was held back by its prose, to begin with: confusing, weirdly described ("Salawa’s breathing elongated" is one example, but there are many.) It feels pretentious without any actual skill to back it up, a self-grandiose style that does neither the narrative nor the characters any favors. The worldbuilding was vague, uninspired, and borrowed from numerous (which is fine) things without being its own. The prophecies should have been revealed more slowly, as it took away the majority of the intrigue. The romance was flat and uninspired, as were the points of view, which often blended into each other without any real way of differentiating them.

Lastly--and one of the most damning things--is the sheer prejudice in this book (regarding the magic system of killing intelligent creatures to get power) coming from an author who claims to be against it.

If you like a fantasy that has lore, politics, magic, twists and turns, romance, and diversity. Faebound is for you. This book takes you on a journey of the Forever War. You learn about how fae, elves, and humans are connected but also disconnected. You also learn why the Forever War continues and what has to be done to stop it. You follow a Colonel of the elven army, her Captain, and her sister who can read prophecies. You meet many twists and turns along the way. Of course in a story where prophecy is used, some of the twists and turns are obvious, but a couple caught me off guard. This book is diverse in many different ways. You have a POC and LGBTQIA+ main character, but you also have both in side characters as well. There is also some diversity regarding disabilities. You have a character using a cane and one that has an arm issue caused by an illness as a child.

The magic used in this book was really intriguing to me. I’m not very well versed in the Fantasy genre, so the magic was unique to me. The use of a drum to work the magic and how magic works with Mother Nature and other’s magic was interesting.

I am going to rate this book a 3.75-4. There were times that it was really slow for me and I never really became attached to the characters. The book didn’t evoke the emotion that I expected and wanted. However, it did leave me wanting the next book.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.