Soulbound

//Legacy of Tril: Soulbound// by Heather Brewer

I just finished Soulbound, and while the plot definitely had me coming back, I found more cons than pros.

I liked:
 * The setting- sort of Japan, with Japanese-inspired place names & family names, they use katanas, wear gis (even if they're not called that), etc.
 * Maddox, Kaya's assigned guard and new BFF (after her childhood one was eaten by monsters)- she's tough & sarcastic, though I'd like to see more effort spent on her in the next book
 * The "Beauty & the Beast"-esque library scene
 * Kaya's determination to learn how to protect herself & speak up for herself & what's right, and her eventual ability to kick serious butt.

I was disappointed by:


 * inconsistencies in world-building ("He reached for the light switch," but describing candles & torches for light sources; extremely rigid rules & oppressive school officials, but there's alcohol-fueled dorm parties, etc),
 * lack of details in the horrible beasts (big, blue, scaly & possess several rows of teeth, a horrible smell, and black eyes- tail? who knows? claws? dunno. number of limbs? no clue. All I kept picturing was the monster from "Scary Smash" with Joss Whedon (which you should go watch right now))
 * a whole lot of whaa mixed in with the main character's kick-ass-edness.
 * The straight-arrow love interest is WAY too straight-arrow, the bad boy love interest is interesting, but still not fully-fleshed.

The title "Soulbound" refers to a phenomenon where each "skilled" person is born with a crescent mark somewhere on their body. It is silver when you're born, red after you've met your soulbound partner (he/she was born at the same moment as you), and turns black if your partner dies. There's a big ol' twist at the end involving the fate of Kaya's (our heroine) soulbound partner. It's a big dunh-dunh-DUUUNNNNHHH moment, but all I kept thinking is, almost from the first explanation of the marks, WHAT DOES HER MARK LOOK LIKE??? If you're feeling mopey about the death of you soulbound mate, wouldn't you think about the only connection you had with him? And since the book is told from Kaya's POV, we should be privy to any thoughts she's having. But then, that would have given away the twist much earlier. So, I obviously am not recommending "Soulbound" for the Flume nominee list. I will probably read the next volume, cuz I have to finish a series once I'm in it, but this book is not Flume-worthy. There are plenty of great fantasy books out there (I have high hopes for "Bitterblue," next on my list), and this is not one of them.

-Lucia Von Letkemann, Wiggin Memorial Library, Stratham, 3/2/13

Lucia said everything I wanted to say about this book. I would not recommend it to the list either. Sally Nelson, Leach Library, Londonderry