4 stars!

This is my first book by Saara El-Arifi and it most definitely will not be my last. I thought the world that she created was lush, interesting, and engaging. I loved how diverse the world was racially, sexually, and also through gender, and I appreciated how it was just a built-in part of the world. I've never read a fantasy book that mixed fae and elves so that was unique, and I think this was a great entry into a new series.

Where I think this wasn't extremely perfect for me was in two aspects: the predictability and the romance. I felt like this was marketed to me as a fantasy romance and I felt like all of the romance was super insta lovey and with specifically Lettle's relationship I'm not sure I ever understood what caused her and her relationship interest to start liking each other. Additionally, with the plot almost all of the twists I saw coming and there was nothing super surprising that shocked me.

That being said, I will definitely be reading the next book and I'm excited to see where else we go in this world!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you netgalley for gifting this arc for reviewing purpose's. This was such an awesome fantasy filled with amazing magic systems and easy to understand. There’s amazing world building that I was able to picture perfectly!! There is also some spice!!! I can’t wait for book 2 to come out to see where the story goes!!!

Thank you Random House and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great, but I’ll admit it took me a little to get into.

I love war stories, especially in fantasy, but the frustrating thing about following a main character who is a soldier is their unwavering loyalty, drive and purpose. They have such huge blinders on that it makes me wanna scream sometimes.

In saying that, Yeeran was a fantastic main character. She felt things so deeply, so keenly, and that passion was intoxicating to read. Even moreso when some of it transferred to Furi. I LOVED the progression of hers and Furi’s relationship and the way they could both understand and acknowledge the way they felt for each other while also understanding and acknowledging the way they felt didn’t change their duty or their purpose.

I also freaking adored Yeeran’s bond with Pila, too. Pila may actually be my favourite character. The little sassy remarks, the animal instinct combined with human thoughts and feelings, the deep bond they shared. It just made me so happy.

Lettle and Rayan were great characters, too. Their romance was a lot quicker and, on the surface, less complicated, but I’m so interested to see what happens with them next, especially with Lettle’s prophecy looming.

A lot of the foreshadowing in this felt a little too heavy handed, meaning nothing in the plot really took me by surprise when it felt like it was supposed to, but I still enjoyed the overall plot nonetheless, and I’m very keen to see what happens in the next book.

4.5/5 stars

Faebound is an enchanting story about a Warrior exiled from her home and her diviner sister who follows her sister into an unknown world. When the sisters discover the fairytales they hear of Fae and humans are true when they find themselves captured by fae and everything they knew about the world changes.

Can I just say I want an obeah? If you love the connection between dragons and riders or animals and fae, humans, elves then you will love the book.

Faebound had great pacing keeping readers on their toes. I loved the lgbtq+ representation and the gender fluidity of characters in the book. I did wish the book spent more time developing the characters. Sometimes the lack of depth of different characters from early on in the book made it hard to empathize and connect with characters. In addition, the book was sometimes very predictable for me even though the characters didn’t catch on until much later. That being said I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

I can’t wait until the next book to see where fate takes the characters. There is still so much adventure, political intrigue, romance and, I fear, heartbreak to be had in the world of Faebound.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Faebound brings us an enchanting world which long ago had the humans, the fae, and the elves living in a constant state of battle and bloodlust against one another. Over time, this led to the extinction of the humans and the disappearance of the fae, leaving only the elves behind and the memory of history to fade away into fable and myth.

I was quite intrigued by the premise of this story, especially because popular fantasy nowadays tends to include only fae and humans and I was eager to see another mythical race added into the mix. I think Saara did an incredible job fleshing out the similarities and differences between the three races, making each of their roles in the story quite relevant and important rather than just adding a new species for the sake of being new or different. This was well done!

Another aspect of Faebound that I LOVED was the gender fluidity of all the characters. It was so fun to read about and I loved being able to envision a society where people’s gender identity and preferences were just a natural part of life with no judgement or awkwardness. And the fact that it wasn’t just one token gender fluid character? *Chef’s kiss. It was by far my favorite part of Faebound!

I did have a few takeaway notes I wanted to share, highlighting the not-so-great aspects of this read.

- The pacing and the flow of the story was odd at times. In part one, events started happening so fast that I wasn’t given a chance to care about the characters before things started changing drastically. So as a character’s career and life is being ruined, I found I just didn’t care. It took me a good 50% of the book to become emotionally invested in the characters, and even then they felt hollow to me.
- Yeeran was just a h*rny gal, it seemed she couldn’t think of anything besides the beauty of her lovers.
- Tropey for the sake of being tropey. We get a one bed scene super early on between characters that had no real chemistry. It felt forced and unnatural and a bit cringey, and I felt it was added early just to draw in mainstream trope lovers. (Not that a one bed trope is bad, they can be REAL GOOD, it just wasn’t great timing or execution in this case).
- Characters that have logic? Nonexistent.
- The prophecies were quite obvious, and left me frustrated that the characters were unable to figure them out sooner. They are supposed to be incredibly intelligent military leaders! It seemed an insult to their (alleged) intelligence.
- There were a myriad of phrases and words used in the story that pulled me out of the reading haze/illusion rather abruptly. Like modern phrasing or references to things that just did not make sense in this world, or that these characters really should not know about. It was jarring to be engrossed in the story then to be pulled out of it by the writing in those instances.
- Marketed as Adult (I believe?), reads like a YA.

Overall, I really wanted to love this book and it had some real potential, but it ended up falling a bit flat for me.

Publication date: 1/23/2024

Thank you netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Faebound immediately caught my attention. It was a immersive and intricate story while still being fast-paced. I enjoyed the lore and the characters so much. Feels like just the beginning of a really exciting, and maybe devastating?, story.

Admittedly, I have a hard time getting into fantasy books. Perhaps I get too impatient with the details to appreciate how they lend to the world.

This book was no different to start. Much of the beginning 50-70% of the book was world and character building. You are introduced to three races - elves, humans, and fae - who are prophesied that all three shall perish lest all three survive.

Yeeran and Lettle are our main elf focuses, two sisters brought up during the Endless War. Yeeran has chosen to take up the fight like her mother while Lettle has chosen to be a diviner. Yeeran makes choices that get her exiled from her elven tribe and imprisoned by the fae, believed to have long died our from the world.

The action picks up a bit when Yeeran, Lettle, and Lettle's Captain Rayan are brought to Mosima where the fae live including their two queens, Queen Vyce's daughter Furi, and many others. Many events transpire as the eleves are immersed in this whole new world, finding more of themselves than they ever thought possible.

I was surprised by many of the twists as the book built in suspense. And at the end, despite the slow speed for me to get into it, I absolutely loved the story and can't wait to read more about the events unfolding and the relationships between the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and author Saara El-Arifi for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Faebound is the wonderfully cozy fantasy novel everyone needs to read this year! This book has a slower paced start but picks up immensely around the 20% mark. After that I couldn't put the book down. The writing style was clear and easy to read, flowing but not overwrought.
The main characters, Yeeran and Lettle, were endearing and showed very different perspectives on the fantasy world. This was made even more effective as the story is told in dual POV from both of the sisters. Their love for each other despite being so different was an endearing quality to the story and made me invested in the characters right away.

The lore in this book was complex and very well thought out. I loved the inclusion of the folk stories at the beginning of the sections of the book. The world itself was very inclusive and featured trans, nonbinary, POC, and disabled characters. It was so refreshing to read a book where all these characters are understood. In addition, this book features relationship structures of all kinds. It was especially great to see a sapphic relationship at the center as this is often underrepresented in books. The world overall feels like a place that you would want to live in forever but also has so much tension that builds throughout the book, and the magic system is unique and complex. If you love political tension, sisterly affection, and fantasy animals this world is for you!

Overall, this book is one of the best fantasy books that I have read in a long time and I cannot wait to see what the series has in store!

This one just didn't do it for me. The idea was really intriguing and the world building was a huge plus. I was really drawn in from just the first two pages. That being said, everything else felt rather bland.

The characters were pretty flat and hard to connect to, it was a bit predictable, and there seemed to be some pacing issues especially in the first halfish of the book.

It 100% was not an poor reading experience, but for me it was just fine. A lot of people LOVE this. I think if it was more of an intro into fantasy/romantasy it would be much more enjoyable.

Y’all. This book. I fell in love with this book, these characters, and this world.

For me, this fantasy world is one of my top favorites right now. From the Obeah, to the Fates, to some of the epic twists in the last half of the book, it was truly a fun, engaging, exciting read. I wanted to be immersed in this world and now I cannot wait to read more!

I will opt for only 4 stars here for the sole purpose that I think some of the writing with the love stories was a little bit shallow. I think there could have been some more depth to the relationships. I also think there were a few predictable twists, but I didn’t think it necessarily ruined the book by any means. Just made you start thinking about what would happen after that.

Overall, loved this book, will be reading the second and recommending to those who love fantasy as well :)

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey – Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. The opinions presented in this review are mine alone.

I have decided I would like to start each review with author appreciation. Writing a novel, whether it’s the first or the fiftieth is an accomplishment – I congratulate and thank this author for bringing their story out of their mind and onto the page.
---------
Faebound
by Saara El-Arifi
⭐⭐⭐
🌶🌶🌶
This story seemed to have many elements I enjoy: a fantasy world with an interesting magic system, fae, queer romance, prophecies, bonding with majestic magical creatures. Unfortunately, the execution just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I didn’t hate it. It was just…*shrug* okay.

We are set in a world built by three gods who each create a race of beings – Humans, Fae, and Elves. Legend says the Fae killed off all humans, save one, who then cursed the Fae to banishment under the earth and they are never seen again. No one knows what happened to the one remaining human. Only Elves remain.

The story mainly follows Yeeran, an Elven warrior who has recently been promoted to Colonel. She dedicated her life to the Waning Army – one of four Eleven territories (Waxing, Crescent, Eclipse, and Waning). The Elves have been engaged in the “Forever War,” fighting for access to untapped mines of a valuable crystal called Fraedia. This precious resource holds properties of the sun and just a small amount could be used to end hunger and poverty for Yeeran’s people.

Following the events of her first day as Colonel, Yeeran finds herself exiled from Elven lands. She is followed by her younger sister, Lettle, a diviner, and a devoted Captain, Rayan. They soon find themselves captured by Fae. They are taken back to the underground Fae realm, Mosima, where the rest of the story unfolds.

Mosima is a beautiful paradise, nothing like you would expect considering it’s underground. In fact, the Fae land and the magical creatures- the Obeah – who play a key role in the plot, were by far the most interesting aspects of the story for me. I enjoyed the lore, but the description of legends and history made the upcoming events somewhat predictable.

I also didn’t really connect with either Yeeran or Lettle (both given POVs). At first, I seemed to engage more with Lettle, but her reactions to prophecies that were ridiculously obvious ended up being annoying. As a diviner she admits prophecies don’t always mean what you immediately think they do, but then she jumps right into her assumptions, which ends up making her seem pretty obtuse. I did like Rayan and I am curious to see how his character develops in book two. Yeeran became more interesting once Pila, an Obeah, entered the picture. I adored Pila’s commentary. We all could use a Pila in our lives. More Pila please.

As for the spice: I’m all for a good romantasy and enemies-to-lovers plot line, but I just didn’t feel the sparks here. Spicy scenes are best when there has been effective sexual tension. Here it was a bit lackluster. I think it should have been drawn out longer. Just when sexual tension starts to build, they’re suddenly full-on into the action. Make them work before getting to the chili peppers!

There were one or two big reveals I didn’t predict but most I saw coming a mile away. At the end, we’re left hanging with one piece of prophecy and I’m pretty sure I know where it’s headed but I hope it will go somewhere unexpected.

Though this didn’t quite hit the mark for me it did hold my attention until the end. There are good bones here and I do want to find out what happens in book two. My hope is that book one ends up being the world-building, background/foundation that develops into a captivating epic fantasy…with more Pila. Always more Pila.

Sometimes you stumble on a gem. This book will wrap you up in its fantasy and keep you thinking about it long after. The characters are like your friends and family. You will find yourself rooting and hollering across the room for them! Don’t think too hard about it, buy it. You don’t want to miss out on this adventure.

This was a solid Fantasy book, and a solid Sapphic Fantasy.
I am not sure I would categorize it as a Romantasy though, even though there was some romance portions.

In this book there are three Gods, and those three gods had three children, Fae, Elves, and Humans.
"All shall perish lest all three thrive."

This book had all the elements of books I've been seeing lately. There are elements of choosing your own gender, freedom of sexuality, with the Fae you can have multiple sexual partner, and you don't even have to raise your own children, there are animal soul bonds, drum fire, divination, prophesies and there is a forever war among the Elves that had a lot of political classism elements to it. Two Tribes who seem to be fighting over resources and just the fact that they've always been at war they will never stop being at war. Oh and most importantly there are sisters, who would do anything for each other.

When it came to the love interests, I wasn't really sold on either one of them, they felt rushed and didn't feel solid to me. I wasn't rooting for them if that makes sense.

The book was fun to read, but around the middle, it got a little bit drawn out.

-Characters-
Yeeran the older sister was a solider inside and out, but I felt like she should have been smarter in some parts of the book, rather than fawning over someone. This is my only critic of that portion.
Leetle the younger sister who has learned the power of Divination. I liked her a little more than the older sister but again I felt like she should have been focusing more on her situation rather than trying to not love someone.
These are things that I have to put on the back burner of my review though because this is a romance/fantasy.
Pila however has my heart for ever and ever. She was so cute and I loved her so much.
Golan reminded me heavily of China from the hunger games, I am going to assume that is who this character was based on, and if it's not I will be REALLY surprised.

One other minor issue, is I saw some of the things coming from a mile away and I wanted some more surprise plot twists. I wanted the prophesies to be a little less obvious as well.

The world building wasn't exhausting which I appreciate more than I can express, while it wasn't extensive, I got enough of it to understand what's happening and why.

I will be reading the next book, and I am glad I read this one, it was enjoyable. I'm not going to say it was the best book of the year, but it was good.

Thank you Net Galley for the Arc Approval.

Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️💫

Im actually very sad that I did not love this book as much as I wanted to. The ideas were brilliant but I was left with some level of disappointment.

Let me start by sharing the things I enjoyed about the book:

The magical ending of the book was exactly what I was hoping for. The romance was an integral part of the story without becoming the entire plot. Additionally, the world was unique, and the magical elements were easy to grasp. The diversity of the characters was a highlight: including people of color, nonbinary, and LGBTQ+ characters. There were also very strong female characters were scattered throughout the book

However, there were some things that I found difficult:

Some of the characters were frustratingly difficult, and their challenging demeanor didn't add much to the plot. Some of them were so dense it was annoying. The pacing of the book was inconsistent throughout. Some spots were so slow I wanted to put the book down and others were so exciting it kept me going. The world-building was scattered and missed the mark on capturing the full beauty of the world. These things made the book pretty unenjoyable to me but I do think the right person would love this.

If the author had added a solid 200-300 pages to focus on the characters, magic, and background of the fae, human, and elvish war, the book would have been much better. Although the ending was predictable, it was enjoyable. While I struggled with the book's first 70%, I'm glad I powered through for the ending.

I recommend Faebound to those who are not familiar with fantasy novels. It's more romantic fantasy, and some people love that! This may be a case where it just wasn’t for me but would absolutely be a top read for someone else. I think this storyline has some serious potential. I understand why this is a highly anticipated book and I hope that the next book in the series picks up with the same pace and excitement as the ending.

This was give to me as an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book!

idk i wish i liked this a lot more than i did, the lore and fantasy was good but it was just kinda underwhelming? i took a break in between to read fanfiction and that’s kinda what helped me realize i wasn’t enjoying the book as much as i thought i was. the sapphic relationship was great tho! also i felt like the characters acted a lot younger than what they were? like when i realized they’re thirty i was kinda confused cus they act as though they’re in their early 20s.

Thank you Random House Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

If you’re looking for a romantasy that diversifies your shelf this is it. A fantasy inspired by African mythology with an incredibly unique magic system. Sapphic romance and gender fluid representation. A world with three gods and three people; fae, elves and humans. A forever war that will continue until all three can unite. Our FMC is an elf, a colonel in the Forever War who has grown up in a world where fae and human have been eradicated. Rival clans of elves continue in a war for power and land. This book starts off strong as a war based fantasy and quickly transports the reader into the unknown world where our main characters discover that their world is much larger than it seemed and that their history may be richer than they realize. Multiple magic types; drum magic, divination, sun magic, and talking bonded magical animal companions. Absolutely loved this story and cannot wait for the continuation of this series.

Set in a world where there once lived Fae, Elves, and Humans, you follow 2 sisters who think that only Elves remain. Locked in a Forever War with different Elven Tribes, you follow Yeeran, a colonel in the Waning Tribe's Army, and her sister Lettle, a diviner training to lead all diviners, as their destined are interrupted. First by becoming outcasts and then by stumbling into Fae which they believed no longer existed. As they navigate life with the Fae, we begin to understand the flaws in both Elvish and Fae societies. The story starts off slow but builds into a crescendo of action and adventure. While some of the plot twists are very foreshadowed, there are still some that will take you by surprise. At the end of the day, the rush of adventure is the reason to read this story as well as the exploration of the Fae and their Obeah companions. Add a dash of romance and heap of familial affection and this becomes a 2024 fantasy must read. I have high hopes for the next book in the series.

I just want to have a little preface on my review. I want you to know that I really like the ideas and the themes that Saara El-Arifi was going for. Like the world is really fleshed out and Mosima was such an amazing background for most of the plot. And the whole the environment reacts to the rulers thing was so cool. There are so many things that happened that were exciting and all the secrets were awesome. All tge characters were really fleshed out and I could really feel their differences. However with all of that I still felt like this story could have had something more or different. The book has some pacing problems. Usually people say that they love really fast paced books but this one felt like it was sprinting to the end. I would have loved to actually feel like Mosima was real but it felt really empty. I felt like the Fae and their Obeah were not even there. Like this is literally all of the Fae people in one place, and yet we don't interact with hardly any of them. I'm just saying this would have been my favorite book to read this year but it just didn't really reach that. Still was a fun and quick read and really helped me escape reality.

Saara El-Arifi NEVER DISAPPOINTS!

If you loved The Final Strife, you'll definitely love this book! If you haven't read The Final Strife... read it after you read Faebound!

I cannot wait to see how the story picks up in the next book!! 😩😩

I enjoyed the overall concept/plot of this book and the aspects included but it definitely fell short. I do feel like it was far too predictable. I liked the characters as individuals, but when it came to their romantic relationships it felt like there was no chemistry due to “insta love”. I honestly feel like this should have been edited more carefully. There were so many dropped hints that gave the book away I was bored before the halfway mark. The chemistry between characters could have been built up through more dialogue and character action. The obeah were by far the best part of Faebound.
Aspects I liked:
Multiple POVs
POC characters (Afro/Arab inspired)
LGBTQ relationships and gender fluidity
Disability representation
Drum magic
Elves and Fae
Political intrigue