Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

Let me start off by saying that I LOVE the two books in The Ending Fire series. So when not one, but two, special editions of this beauty showed up on my doorstep by the very same author, I was overjoyed...But after reading it, I am honestly extremely disappointed. This was not at all what I expected.

I took quite a few notes while I was reading, so instead of a synopsis, I am just going to go into my thoughts.

1.) There are four elf tribes. But I know nothing about them. Like actually nothing aside from their names. Not where they are located. Not anything about languages, or rulers or if anything in their life is different than that of the Waning tribe. To have four elf districts would lead me to believe that the world itself is fairy expansive (this is before we even get to the humans or the fae), yet there is NO world building. Sure, some locations are described but that's it. There is no sense of scale and basically NOTHING to distinguish these areas from one another.

2.) I feel like the concept of having these three separate races (humans, fae, and elves) is cool, but much like the map, nothing is well defined. Aside from having sharp teeth, the elves could be fae. If it wasn't for their pointy ears, the elves could be mistaken as humans. It seems like the author just wanted these big buzz words that attract fantasy readers to a romance, but this just falls flat. Which I think is another issue. I went into this expecting a fantasy, and maybe that's my fault for having the wrong expectations, but this is MAYBE a fantasy romance. But it certainly doesn't have the depth or development that I think most fantasy readers would expect to see. Especially coming from Saara El-Arifi's other novels.

3.) Time seems to pass way too quickly. As a result, I don't believe in any of the friendships or relationships these characters have formed. Neither do I get a sense of their growth and progression when it comes to learning and training because, for the most part, all of this happens off page. And instead, we're just supposed to take the author's word for it that weeks have passed and that they've learned new languages and now to perform magic.

4.) The romance in this book? I don't believe it for an instant. There is no a drop of chemistry between ANY of the characters. Instead, we just get physical attraction after physical attraction that they confuse as love. And it's like these characters KNOW it isn't love because all they talk about is their beauty, their dimples, THEIR LEGS, and they say it's love. For a fantasy romance, this is one hundred percent lacking in the romance department. Sure, there's a few sex scenes, but even those don't have any particular chemistry.

5.) The prophecies are mentioned entirely too often and because of that, they became too predictable. Because they were repeatedly shoved down my throat, I didn't have a chance to forget them in a book that is under four hundred pages, so none of the twists came as a surprise or held any shock value whatsoever.

I think I am going to continue the series, but if the next one doesn't work for me, then I may stop. I do think there is a chance to come back from this and I am hopeful enough that I would like to see where this goes. I do believe that as an author, El-Arifi has shown the potential to put out some really great work, so this could definitely get better.

I was really looking forward to this. I might have gotten my expectations too high. Did I like this, yes, yes I did. Did I think it could have been better also yes that being said I will definitely be continuing this series the ending had a lot of promise. I felt the story was a little slow to start but once things got going they were flying by. I liked the mythology of the world and the setting. Lettle and Rayan were my favorites, despite Lettle being a tad annoying with her prophecies. I also really liked Komi he would be interested in exploring more. As will Rayan and their bonded. Now for Yeeren our main heroine, I don't understand her obsession with her love interest nor her dedication to the war she doesn't seem to have a single real thought about the world and seems to take everything at face value and never looks any deeper or listens to anyone suggesting things may not be as they seem. I am very curious to see how the world expands and how the elves and fae learn to interact. Overall I am hopeful and excited about the next book

Delightful fantasy/romantasy about two Elven sisters and their friend who become exiled from their homeland and find themselves prisoners of the Fae, a race they have only seen in faerytales until now.

I enjoyed the writing and pacing in this book. It’s a shorter read for a fantasy epic, which I really appreciated after many 800+ page books. Although the storyline was sometimes a bit predictable for the genre, and one is able to pick up on what the big reveals will be before they happen, I still found the story exciting enough to get a lot of entertainment out of it. I look forward to reading more from Saara and more of the adventures of Yeeran and Lettle.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to preview this book.
I absolutely loved this story!
Faebound details the lives of a family of Elves who become imprisoned by the Fae, where all of their lives are drastically changed forever. This story has magic, war, love, and a found family. My favorite character was Lettle. Her banter gave me sassy vibes and she is extremely smart and loyal to a fault.
The last few chapters of this book were so exciting with a new twist constantly appearing.
I can’t wait to read more from this author! Make sure you add Faebound to your TBR and pre-order it today!
I will be posting a review to my instagram-@theexhaustedbookworm

I really enjoyed this book. There are a lot of Sarah J Maas feels to it but this is its own unique blend of fae, elves and humans. Lore is great, characters had growth and the land itself is amazing. The only thing I would say is that her misdirection needs some work...but rounding from 4.5 to a 5.
Can't wait til the next one.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I have no doubt this will be one of the top 5 fantasy books of the year. Faebound combines all the best aspects of a romantasy: fascinating mythology, exceptional diversity and dynamic characters with complicated relationships. Did I mention there are bonded mythical creatures?!

The story follows three Elves, Yeeran, the Colonel of the Waning Army, her sister Lettle who is a diviner and Rayan a friend and Captain in the Waning Army.

The story begins weaving the lore of the gods and their three creations the Elves, the Fae and the Humans and the magics the gods bestowed onto each creation. The Elven lands are in perpetual turmoil resulting in a war that divides the nation, robbing it's people of prosperity and resources necessary to live.

Without spoiling the book, Yeeran is thrust into a position that forces her to leave her tribe. Her obstinate little sister and her captain (who was tasked with looking after the sister) set off to follow Yeeran discovering all that they know and have learned is not true.

The book goes through some interesting twists and turns (some obvious, some less so) and ends on a cliffhanger that has me so excited for the next book.

So if you enjoy Sapphic and Achillean relationships, POC, magic and talking animals, this book is for you!

I received this book as an eARC. The opinions are entirely my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.5 ish? I mostly had fun reading this, it is well paced in the beginning and I am an absolute sucker for an animal companion. It pretty seamlessly incorporates gender diverse characters and a disabled protagonist, and I enjoyed the strong sister relationship. I just think it overall lacks some depth. I'm hard pressed to tell you what differentiates an elf from a fae (especially when you take in the Lightless), and I felt absolutely nothing towards any of the romances. The magic systems were pretty basic (this is probably a pro for some!) and it didn't feel fantastical enough. I guess I actually do like it when SFF writers come up for wild names for basic shit. I do want to read more black/African inspired fantasy though and might check out the Ending Fire Trilogy, which people seem to like.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for this arc. I am a huge fan of Saara, and I knew this was going to be a great read. I don’t even know how to put into words how much I enjoyed this book. My favorite character was Pila. Her deadpan one liners made my cheeks hurt from laughing. I did love the added touch of us being able to see the journal and its contents at the end.

Yeeran going back home to get Salawa to write a peace treaty of sorts is not going to go over well, especially since Yeeran is in love with Furi (I pray they end up together). Rayan turned out to be the biggest surprise aside of Nerad’s and Komi’s treachery. Everything about Rayan was shocking from Yeeran killing his father who was Furi’s brother and Sahar’s son, to now being crowned king and is half fae like Yeeran. Something I love in Saara’s writing is how she can do a one two punch with secrets and revelations. It’s the damndest thing.

I am absolutely looking forward to the next installment of this trilogy.

Faebound was such a fun ride! I was sucked into the story almost immediately and love this easy to understand fantasy world!!

Thank you NetGalley and Publishers!
I have nothing but praise for this book! I knew once it was announced that I was going to love it and I was not disappointed.

This story has Magic, war, romance, betrayal, mystery and just about everything you could ever wish for in a fantasy novel. I think the author did a good job world building and describing details about the characters. I found myself able to see what an Oheh looked like in my head thanks to the descriptions given. I also really loved the magic drum wielding Yeeran, as a drummer I thought this was super cool! I am very excited for more of this series and will be telling all of my friends about this book!

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this amazing opportunity for this ARC.If I didn’t think Saara would be an auto buy author before this would’ve made it happened. The story and the characters have been fleshed out yet I know she will write something that we didn’t know what was possible. Yeeran and Lettie are fierce and kind in one package and I love these sisters will all my heart even if they’re flaws. Each character has their flaws and they don’t try to hide it. I can’t wait to see what this story holds as the trilogy continues.

If I could give this book 6 stars I would. I loved every character Lettle being my favorite. I the desert setting and then this underground utopia that was a prison for so many. The romance between Furi and Yeeran was tangible with real enemies to lovers feels. Finally, Rayan the fates chose the best person for the job. Though the death of Komi was justified it hurt greatly because we had come to know and love him.

so many emotions.

These characters were so nuanced, real, and lovable. The sister bond was heartwarming. Love seeing a Black cast of characters, different gender expressions, queer and trans characters, and a sapphic romance from one of the main characters. The magic system is unique and the way you learn about it is interesting and holds your attention. The plot is fast paced and action packed. While I loved the twists and turns I did see all but one of them coming. I love being able to point to some tiny detail chapters back and say omg look! That’s the little hint of foreshadowing that we got. The hints in this story were very obvious to me, so I figured things out way before the characters did. Still had a great time and can’t wait for the next book!

Faebound was a strong start to 2024. Saara El-Arifi had me hooked from that short 2 page prologue..."In the beginning there were three gods."

Pros:
The world building and the lore is done spectacularly well
Interesting premise overall, didn't feel like a repeat in any way
Female lead characters were interesting and layered
Gender fluid characters
Animal companion!

Cons:
Sometimes it felt like a little too much world building at the cost of more plot driving writing
Didn't feel the emotional connection between the love interests as strongly as I would have liked
Easy easy easy prophecies

Overall well worth the read and would recommend. Utterly enchanting and wholly it's own thing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
1.5/5 🌶️

From start to finish I was enthralled. I couldn’t put this book down.

From the care shown to not only gender and sexuality, but to race, and disability. This book had it all. The struggles of political and moral discourse. The discrimination against those who are different. The devastation brought on by war. The struggles of what is right and what is just. The author did an amazing job. It was absolutely fantastic.

This book was very war focused, with a few different love stories between multiple POV’s. I really enjoyed having the multiple view points. The way they intertwined with each other between the timeline of events was beautifully done.

My favorite character was Lettle. She was treated like a child, she was put down, but she was so incredibly strong. She showed everyone what she was made of. I love her character so much.

If you loved fourth wing and the banter with the characters and their dragon familiars then you’ll loveeeeee this book!


I did personally struggle with one of the TW’s, the malnutrition and starvation aspect that was brought up multiple times during the book. As someone who was starved and malnourished to the point of almost dying it brought up a lot of emotions for me, that I thought I had worked through. There was a particular moment in the book about half way through that hit me hard. I don’t know if the author has ever had to also go through a situation where they were starved and malnourished but they wrote like they knew exactly what someone who’s been through that would say and feel. It didn’t feel mocking, it didn’t feel like it was an after thought. The emotions that were expressed while discussing those things were present. And accurate.

As hard as it was for me emotionally I hope it puts into perspective for some people who have never been through something like that, that they can imagine the difficulties and trauma it causes someone. How often that trauma pops up. And how words about food, and eating can affect the people around you without you even realizing it.


A mix of Tropes, and TW’s just to name a few -
found family, enemies to lovers, familiars, murder, death, war, starvation/malnourishment, friends to lovers, WW, MM, MW, disability representation, discrimination, gore, animal death, descriptive language of desecration of animal remains, hunting, confinement.

I was so very excited about this book. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood or maybe I was actually just disappointed. It promised everything I love: fae, elves, rivals to lovers, sapphic romance.
I had the highest of hopes but when I realized it took me 4 days to get only 33% into the book and I was struggling to maintain the motivation to consistently read it, I realized it just might not be for me.

I DO still have my pre-order of the Waterstones edition and I feel like if I’m in a different mood I might like this better. I enjoyed the storyline while I was reading, but I think it was just too slow paced for my liking.

This started a little slow for me due to the world building but quickly picked up and took me into the world of elves and fae. The bond between Yerran and Lettle stretches and grows with each choice they make as they struggle to reconcile the versions of themselves before Mosima and after. The book ends with several unanswered questions that makes you wish you could just keep turning the pages to discover. Looking forward to reading the next one!

This is a very enjoyable fantasy book, I fell in love with the characters and friendships. The premise of this book is super interesting and I loved the world building and the way the world was presented from the first page. I loved that this book was about two sisters with such different personalities, it made the story so compelling for me. I would say this is a great introductory book into adult fantasy as the magic system and storyline aren't overwhelming or confusing. Theres not a ton of characters to keep track of and the main plotlines are fairly straightforward. I will definitely be checking out the other series by this author as I loved the writing style and inclusive feel of her writing. My only complaint was it was a bit instalovey which isn't a trope I typically enjoy so the romances (there are 2) while they were cute I was never fully invested in them. I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series and seeing some fanart of all the characters and creatures!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine, Del Rey for granting me access to the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you random house for the chance to read this arc. I know its the beginning of 2024 but when I say that I believe this book will be in the top 3 books I read in 2024, I truly believe that. The politics, world building, dialogue, different lands, the plot, just everything was perfect. I was hooked from page one. I was never bored. This is my first 5-star book of the year and I'm so excited to read the rest of this series. Also, I loved this book so much that I want to own the physical copy. Cause the cover is so pretty and the story is so beautiful. Everyone needs to read this. Ill have my tik tok review posted sometime tomorrow and will link it to this review. The enemies to lovers is true enemies to lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this eARC in exchange for a review.

This book was great! It is a romantasy at its core and I think going into the book knowing that will help with the reading. I am a sucker for unique creatures and Faebound has no shortage of them! This book brings war, enemies to lovers, and elves/fae into one delectable read! One thing I wish was different was the repeating my of information between the POVs of Lettle and Yeeran. Sometimes I feel like I was reading the same thing for multiple chapters, which is why it is a 4/5 for me. Would recommend!!