Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Avatar but this time they're riding the cats instead of *riding* the cats.

On my do not read list

Pre-reading:
No thoughts. Head empty. The blue Fairyloot edition is very pretty. My friend read this and said it was very meh, and I trust her opinion, so I've been putting this off but like maybe it’ll be okay?

Thick of it:
Only reading this god‘s name as bosom.

Imagine wanting kids.

Bat boy origin story for the fae fucking confirmed. Get Sarah out of here.

You’re telling me I have to read about two different species of pointed-ear fucks in this book? (On this episode of Samantha just opens books.)

Yeeran. As in ye ran? Oh christ.

Soldiers giving birth on the battle line is common? Be so forreal right now. What in the epidural are they taking that they’re going around swinging swords with gaping crevices?

Maybe you don’t have enough soldiers because they’re too busy lugging around pieces of wood as your maps. What do you mean?

This is so clunky already. DNF

She doesn’t like to be interrupted and she talks slow? My absolute nightmare.

This isn’t even a sex scene and already we’re getting turn-by-turn instructions for inserting tab A into slot B. It’s not vivid imagery to track their hands like this. It’s just bad writing.

Wow, it sounds like her army will not be there in the morning.

The city of guuuurl.

Is this the drum equivalent of catgut strings lol?

That doesn’t rhyme?

Oh wow, right in on the child soldiers.

The book: our people are starving
Also the book: we planted inedible flowers as ye olde Febreze because stinky dead bodies are like way more of a pressing issue
What do you mean.
Who published this? I wanna talk.

Credit where credit is due- I have never seen a book use drums in place of guns, but like also what the fuck.

So if they’re capable of making paper to make letters, why are we carrying around slabs of wood as our battlefield maps?

Lgbtq+ elves

If these critters are so valuable, why aren’t they breeding them?

Def aesthetic uniforms, but there's no way those are practical in battle

OK, disability rep. I see you.

I think it’s interesting that the book keeps having a blue aesthetic, but then the original cover is red. The Fairyloot special edition is blue, and it seems like it fits the story way better.

It’s such awkward, passive voice writing.

I assume her sister is the waning moon, and she’s going to turn against her tribe because they’re murdering the fae or some shit?

Oh there! So they’re like fucking pandas. They won’t breed in captivity.

How does a captain of the army not know basic battlefield first aid?

Oh my god, guys, they have the same favorite book. Do you think they’ll fall in love? I hate it here.

Oh, I’m glad a concussion can heal in an hour.

I can't not think of Hunger Games when people drink from trees.

Goodness, this is insta lovey and heavy-handed with the romance.

Nah, it's gonna be one bed. But like it’s so soon for that!

Okay acotar lol

A deep cut, but I’m just picturing them as mweors.

Anyone else just picturing Furiosa? Like I know I’m wrong, but same vibe, same girl crush.

And title drop

The author: Look, audience, I thought about world-building!
The audience: oh cool, what’s the answer?
The author: Psh, I said, I thought about it. I didn’t say I figured out any answers.

Book is very #fashion lol.

It reminds me of Avatar.

I mean, like obviously a cat is going to bind her so that they have to stop the execution.

Very Fourth Wing

Lol they follow a sun diet? Like that crazy vegan couple that starved their baby to death.

This romance is so forced. It’s funny because it’s hitting things that would normally work in books, but it’s just not working.

OK, so the queens are definitely gonna die and that glass staircase is definitely gonna break.

God, I’m so bored. I wish I DNFed books.

Why is the cat so willing to turn traitor on her whole family and species?

I assume Komi is the two-bladed tyrant guy.

I'm so boreddddd

So like the not!Cinna is definitely fucking the prince, right?

A simple mistake? She got 350 people killed, girlypop.

Lmao Crescent City’s otter mail, but it’s just bush babies.

This book’s pacing sucks.

YOU KILLED HER BROTHER, GIRL.

Not the G spot sin.

This is such a bad sex scene.

No one has chemistry. The politics of this world don’t work. The plot sucks. This is unreadable.

These prophecies are really deus ex machina. Oh, there’s a plot hole? Shove a prophecy in it.

Dude, what the fuck is this dialogue? Hey, sex was great. And he’s like it was, wasn’t it? Fucking what is that?

Oh my god, I do not need another sex scene.

Not the cadence of her movements. Who fucking wrote this?

Is this gonna be a goddamn series? Cause it’s really shaping up to be, and I am not reading a second book. (Oh yes.)

I’m just saying if you crank this audiobook to 2.5 times speed because you’re trying to get through it because you are hate reading at this point, the main character’s name sounds like urine.

Good god, how much more is left? All they have to do is figure out that Komi is the tyrant, free themselves from fairyland, and other girlypop needs to realize that she has a cat protecting her too. I think killing her boyfriend will wait until book two or like the end of this one to end on a cliffhanger.

And like the fashion designer (Golan) is like definitely fucking the prince brother (Nerad) that I literally have not written down his name in my book notes because he’s so irrelevant to the plot.

Literally, I’m so bored. This book is so fucking predictable.

It’s so Fourth Wing with the cringe bonded animals.

I will give the book that I did not think this man was going to be relevant for anything more than his dick.

If I had been paying attention to this book, I would be so pissed that they were spoon-feeding me the plot right now, but seeing as how I have cranked and suffered through it, I’m a little grateful because it makes taking summary notes real easy.

Wow, I don’t need a third sex scene.

Guys, they’re like on a beach. Imagine the sand in all the nooks and crannies.

Not to be a germaphobe, but all these fantasy stories stories really freak me out when they’ll just be like exploring and fighting people and then they’re like time to finger blast each other. Like can you wash your hands? Like you know there’s dirt under those nails.

I feel like the prince is responsible for killing the queens and he used his boyfriend’s tattoo ink to do it, but like Komi is still definitely the tyrant guy. (I nailed this book.)

Literally, I’m so bored. I have predicted everything.

Take a shot every time this book says cadence.

I don’t think that’s what you do for a collapsed lung, but go off, bestie.

No body, no death.

Hey hey, cool motive, still murder. I don’t think murdering the queens was the right move there, my dude.

Well, they solved literally nothing. So glad I suffered through all of that to get literally nowhere in the plot. I did it. Thank fuck.

Post-reading:
Hated absolutely every second of this.

The plot’s generic and has been done before. It's predictable as shit. It's repetitive. The pacing sucks. The dialogue is stilted and awkward. The writing itself veers into passive voice way too much. The prophecies function as get-out-of-jail-free cards for the book’s plot holes and feel cheaty and deus ex machina rather than carefully plotted.

The romances feel forced. They hit all the cliche beats that normally work in fantasy romances, but this is what happens when you have a checklist of tropes to include and never focus on actual chemistry or banter. It all feels like instalove just because everyone is sooo hot. The sex scenes feel unnecessary and alienating because your audience is not invested in the romances. The scenes themselves read very insert tab an and into slot b. The book purports the idea that there’s a super special ridge inside vaginas that you can just press and have instant orgasms. Fuck right off. And then you’re also just throwing in unnecessary orgies and nudity for what? For vibes?

The companion animals are cringey. The plot doesn't make a ton of sense. Why is the cat-and you bet your ass I’m calling them cats in this fantasy meow mix clusterfuck of a novel-so willing to turn on its own to help this random ass girl that just showed up? The politics of the world make no sense. There is nothing stopping people from murdering the line of succession. The story’s war hinges on some sun crystals, but it’s not like the sun doesn’t exist in this world? Why are people starving? If they need better land to grow crops, a sun crystal isn’t exactly gonna fix that problem. And it’s not like the land won’t grow crops because the land works well enough to grow flowers to cover the stench of dead bodies because somehow that’s a priority. There’s no world-building. We know nothing about where these people live or how except that they’re cool with the LGBTQ.

This book is marketed as adult but aside from the sex scenes and child soldiers, there’s nothing adult about this. Those could be removed, and this could’ve been marketed as YA which would make a lot more sense because the characters read like teenagers even though they’re in their 30s.

I also just really disliked the main character. She kills 350 people for following her sister‘s prophecy on a whim and shows no remorse for it and then she kills her love interest’s brother, but we’re supposed to just brush that off because she knows more now? Please.

Don’t waste your time. Read literally anything else.

Who should read this:
No one?
Generic fantasy romance girlies

Do I want to reread this:
Fuck no.

Similar books:
* Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros- fantasy romance, cringe animal companions
* Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem-actual enemies to lovers fantasy romance,
* Sun of Blood and Ruin by Mariely Lares-generic historical fantasy romance, enemies to lovers, secret magical heritage
* Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson-generic fantasy romance, enemies to lovers
* Bow Before the Elf Queen by J. M. Kearl- generic fantasy romance, enemies to lovers, secret magical heritage
* Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout-generic fantasy romance, secret magical heritage, overly horny fae
* Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun-generic fantasy romance, enemies to lovers, secret magical heritage

"Cursed to endure, cursed to survive. All shall perish lest all three thrive."

'Faebound' by Saara El-Arifi is an excellent book to recommend to new fantasy readers. The prologue immediately hooked me with its vivid depiction of the gods, creation, and the intriguing magic system in this world. The overarching plot was detailed, albeit predictable, with some unexpected twists. I particularly enjoyed the depiction of sisterhood in this book—as someone with two sisters, the realistic bickering, arguments, and complicated relationship between Yeeran and Lettle were the best part of the book.

This book fell apart a little bit when it came to storytelling. It was all very literal in that it detailed the character's motivations, the dialogue between characters, and the development of the plot without any subtlety. This lack of subtlety made the story feel less immersive and more like a series of narrated events. I wanted to be shown these things through scenes that felt more organic, not a means to an end. Marketing this as a New Adult book was a mistake. The explicit content in this book did not feel natural and added nothing to the character's relationships. It would have been better if it didn't exist or if it faded to black. As it was, it decreased the book's readability and took me out of the novel. I loved that this book showcased sexual and gender fluidity and how it was integrated into society. While this book had flaws, it helped me escape my reading slump. I enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what Saara El-Arif does with the rest of the series.

I had some trouble reading this it wouldn't grab me then it would but then it didn't. I wanted to love this book I've been anticipating it for so long but it just didn't keep you wanting to read more. It's an awesome story and plot but some of the character lacked in development. The romance was there but not well executed. I will want to read the next books in this series to see where the story goes. Thank you for this arc!

3.5/5 a very good high fantasy! Had me on my toes and was very interesting. I did get a little lost in the world building/magic system but still enjoyed it

Thank you for the advance copy of Faebound! This is a truly beautiful written book. El-Arifi's world building is brilliant and refreshing within a very saturated Fantasy genre. I truly couldn't put this book down, and cannot wait for more. The characters are compelling and the romance enticing. I would highly, highly recommend!

This book will be great for some people but it didn’t mesh with me. I loved the animal companions, and the romance was cute. The mythological elements were cool and I liked how it was woven in while still being unique. The representation in this book was great. However, the world building was confusing, the plot was predictable, and the pace was off for me. The characters were hard to connect with, they made decisions that didn’t make sense. I would still recommend this book because there’s a lot to love about it, it just wasn’t for me personally. Thank you to Ballantine/Del Rey for providing an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Don't get me wrong, I will be reading this. If you know me - you know at some point I will, I mean come on standalone (I think?) elf sapphics? I think I was just overwhelmed with the length?

I think I may have went into this with too high of expectations--the hype for this book was immense! I cannot pinpoint what exactly I liked or disliked about this book, I just know I was bored most of the time. One thing I definitely enjoyed was the Obeahs and the bond they shared--similar to the bond between rider and dragon in Fourth Wing. If you enjoyed that, you may enjoy this book--especially if you have a higher tollerance before feeling bored of something. Over all a decent book--it just fell flat for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for providing me with an eARC of Faebound in exchange for my honest review!

As a fan of fae fantasy and romantasy, Faebound was fairly compelling for me, but I'm also left wishing it could have had a more creative and fleshed-out execution. I've read a ton of such books, so I'm quite familiar with all the tropes, the worldbuilding, the political games, the love stories, etc. I get to dive into plenty of such material in this book, which manages to create a convincing landscape that's populated by some gripping characters and their dynamics, particularly that which builds up between Yeeran and Furi. However, this narrative restrains itself to a formulaic mold that makes me wish it could have gone down a more innovative route and subverted some fantasy cliches. It's why I don't think this will stand out all that much compared to other fae fantasy books I've picked up.

That being said, I still enjoy Faebound enough to give it three out of five stars, and I'll keep an eye out for more of Saara El-Arifi's work in the future.

I was not sure what to expect after that intro and exile (scavenging bloated rotting corpses? 🤢), but I was quickly intrigued when they met the fae court. The soul bind to the animals is very unique to this book, and I loved the conversations between the pairs. I didn’t really understand all the politics and story telling about the gods, and there was a lot about the world building & relationships that fell short for me. The ending felt a little chaotic and confusing, but overall it was mostly enjoyable.

I received an advance review copy for free via Netgalley (THANK YOU) and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a digital advanced copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review.

This review contains Spoilers:

I really liked the world. The world building was 5/5 stars for me! I think the lore and magic system are very interesting. I like the integration of the different magic systems and the prophecy aspect. I love how seamlessly the queer aspects integrated into the story. It didn't feel forced or tokenized. I truly enjoyed the experience of reading a fantasy novel that had representation like that. I also enjoyed reading a Black/African Fantasy book. Being a cis female white reader, I appreciate expanding my consumption to voices and experiences that are not like my own and challenging my assumed cis/whiteness bias.

Unfortunately, I felt like the romance, which I assume was supposed to be slow burn, was lack luster and the climax (pun intended) was underwhelming. The slow burn romance for Yeeran and Furi also had that kind of Stockholm syndrome trope that is problematic to me. And I never really felt or understood why Yeeran and Furi fell in love. The resolution between Lettle and Rayan when they finally admitted to their love of each other felt rushed and anticlimactic as well. The 2nd half of the book just seemed kind of rushed and under-whelming. I also felt like it took me a long time to read this. I am a bit of a mood reader, but this did not draw me in as much as I expected it to.

I do love a good Beast-Non-Beast-Mind-Reading-Bond. Pila is so cute.

Who it's for: Readers who love world building; readers who want to experience Black/African fantasy, readers who want to see more queer representation in their book selection. beginner to intermediate fantasy readers.

Who it's not for: epic/high fantasy readers who want very intricate plot twists; readers who want a LOT of steamy scenes; readers not comfortable with queer characters.

3-3.5 I enjoyed this book! It was a fun read. I did feel like sometimes the characters were overly obtuse or reactive and the story could have been presented a little more delicately. I definitely preferred Yeren's POV over Lettle's, Lettle was a little harder to empathize with but I did see some character growth and am hoping for more in the coming books. Also, for both FMC's I wish it was a little less insta-love with their respective partners, but who knows whats next for them. Overall I enjoyed and would read further books in this series.

i thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. the journey of Yeren and Lettle through love, heartbreak, betrayal, and the realization that everything they knew wasn't 100% true. this book was written beautifully and i loved everything about it!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC I read of Faebound.

This was a very delightful read. I fell in love with the world very quickly and that is what had me so intrigued and continuing to read throughout. I really loved the three different groups of people we had in this book: Elves, Fae, and Humans. Though we only hear about the humans, they sounded interesting too, but I actually really liked that the book only had Elves and Fae as characters. I think I've read too many books about fae were the main character is a weak human and it gets overdone after awhile, so this was a breath of fresh air in that regard. The lore behind the world was interesting and I especially liked all the prophecies since they were like little puzzles I put together as I read. The plot was also interesting to me and the ending has me really excited to see what will happen in the next book.

We have two POV characters in the book and I liked them both, although there were certainly times when they annoyed me a bit. Lettle for example was always so quick to anger over nothing that it got a little frustrating. She also had like no tact. She did however get smarter by the end so that was nice to see. I think her divination was really cool so I really would love to see some more character growth from her in book 2. If so I think I would really end up loving her. Yeeran was less annoying to me and I also found her really interesting, even if I wish she had similar views to her sister sometimes (mostly about war and also her belittle divination was annoying). I do wish the characters were a little smarter though. There were so many little breadcrumbs of foreshadowing that gave away all of the major "twists" and I picked up on them all but it would take the characters so long to figure it out. There is literally a time in the book where Yeeran thinks to herself: "How had she not realized until now?" Like girl, that's what I kept asking myself about you all the entire book. But even with the little annoyances, I overall liked the characters and enjoyed reading from their POVs. This is actually one of the few books where I didn't have a preferred POV character, so that was really nice.

The romance however fell pretty flat for me. It happened really fast (at least the feelings part, not necessarily the "getting together" part) and without any build up. I liked the two couples and wanted them to be together, but I didn't really see why they liked each other because it wasn't shown. So this aspect was disappointing and if it had been done better this definitely would have been a five star read for me.

But while the romance was lacking, this world really just scratched an itch in my brain and I loved it and wanted to keep reading anyway. So ultimately, I am really glad I read this and I am excited for book 2. I also haven't read the author's other series but since that one isn't a romantasy just a fantasy, I'm really excited for it now since that seems to be where the author excels.

I don't think this book is for me. Saara El-Arifi is undoubtedly a talented writer -- some of her sentences will stay with me for a long time -- but besides that and the general premise, I wasn't all that engaged by the story, unfortunately.

I really enjoyed this book. It has such an interesting world with such amazing lore. We learned some of the lore in this one, but there is still so much to learn and I can't wait to find out more. I loved the characters and thought that they were well developed. I do wish the pacing was a bit more even throughout the novel. There were some parts in the beginning that was very slow and that's what kept it from being a full five star read, but overall I really enjoyed

This book took a bit to develop and find its feet for me—the beginning is interesting enough with a good inciting incident. But some pacing issues with the romance in the beginning and the overall conflict was slow. There were many predictable plot lines (e.g. the prophecies, which usually elude me, were pretty obvious to me). But I really like the world this story builds. As with other novels by this author, I’m waiting to see how this unfolds—if this is anything like her other series, it should develop into a more complex narrative and I’m here for it!

Summary: an elven warrior and her sister must navigate through the far court. Twists and turns abound.

First off, lovely cover. It was a decent story. I liked Yeeran as a military soldier. It’s not often you get a strong woman as a main character.
But it wasn’t the new fantasy world I wanted to get lost in. It didn’t flow, I didn’t feel any particular connection to the characters, and parts just seemed thrown in.

This actually lived up to the recent hype I had seen around it! Not that I expected something terrible but this was pleasantly surprising. I really liked the main character Yeeran and her sister Lettle. The author did a fantastic job at world building and character development, it had me absolutely sucked in. I loved learning about the elven tribes and all the background lore. I think this really helped you relate to the characters and while they each had flaws, their personalities certainly made up for it! I really enjoyed this one!

I really wanted to like this book but I had an incredibly hard time getting into it. I kept picking it up and dropping it and eventually DNFed it. I really did like the diversity of the book but I didn’t really like the writing style. I did not find myself liking any of the characters. Reading it just felt very distant and almost clinical. I had a hard time picturing the world and felt like this moved too slow and then too quickly. I also found myself frustrated with the characters and how it seemed like Lettle switched moods so quickly for no reason and she came across as rude to me a lot. I did get frustrated with the Obeah sounding like they were so highly regarded but then also just casually hunted to extinction. I may try to read it again in the future. But for now it’s just not working for me.