Bound By Duty Review + #Giveaway

Bound By Duty

Bound Series

Book #1

Stormy Smith

Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy

Release Date: July 23, 2014

ISBN: 978-0692259016

ASIN: B00M2B5EBA

Pages: 390

Goodreads Rating:  4.47

My Rating: 4.5

Book Description:

Amelia grew up in a world of half-truths. She knows she's an Elder but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she's betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and she doesn't even know his name.

Finally breaking free to live a few normal years at a community college, the last thing Amelia expects is to find her best friend in a cheeky Southern girl and to fall for a self-assured human who sees her for who she is and not what she'll be.

As she learns more about herself, Amelia realizes the line between love and duty is a thin one. As her power continues to increase exponentially and her questions are slowly answered, Amelia must make the ultimate choice. The question is, will her head or her heart win the battle?

My Take On The Book:

Ummm… Wow! That was all I could come up with to sum up my reaction to this book. It was a really interesting read and completely different from anything I’ve read recently if at all. While I will admit to some similar themes, pertaining to the romance, it was a book that stands all on its own in its structure and premise.

The story is one with a simple theme. Follow your heart or be honor bound. Love or Duty. Something that many of us readers are familiar with, particularly in paranormal romances. 

However, you will find that the execution of this book and characters are different and you’ll be shocked at the turn of events as the book comes to a close.

The Great (Pros):

• Bethany. There is something to be said about this character and her loyalty to Amelia… Something that I just can’t seem to put into words. Lets just leave it with… she’s awesome, amazing and totally under appreciated. She may not be the lead but she definitely steals the spotlight.

• Magic. I just love books with magic and the mages in this book are not different. I loved the originality that was put into the creation of this magical world and its inhabitants.

• Theme. The theme is one that we definitely see a lot in books. But the way it was written speaks for itself.

• Romances. I love romance in books especially when it’s done right. This book gets a lot right when it comes to pairings and the affection exchanged between the couples.

• Story. The story is a major aspect of the pros. It’s what ties everything together in a neat little ‘purple’ bow (yea I went there :D). Read the story and you’ll understand that pun. It’s a mesmerizing read, one that I definitely had trouble putting down.

The Not So Great (Cons):

• Predictability. As always, one of my biggest pet peeves is the predictability. Maybe I’ve just read too many books (Blasphemy I can’t believe I even wrote that… there is no such thing as reading to much) but I get really annoyed when the story turns out exactly as I guessed it would. Sure the execution of this story is different than others with this theme but ultimately if you pay enough attention and read between the lines the story is laid out for you. There were way too many moments that I was able to predict the outcome. Luckily, a lot of it was different from the norm so the predictability didn't affect the rating too much.

• Secrets. Literally, left and right on almost every page. This story is drowning in them. I like a little mystery but there were quite a few times that I just felt like yelling at the characters. If they would just take the time to be a little more honest and open with each other, kinda like Bethany is throughout the book then I feel like they could have accomplished a whole lot more.

• Cole and Micah. Don’t get me wrong, I love both characters respectively but their haughty, mightier than thou attitude just pissed me off. They hated that Amelia had her secrets but they were just chalk full of them. Whether they were to protect her or not I didn’t like their hypocrisy.

4.5 Quills

I was so disappointed when I turned the page and that was it. I absolutely can not wait for the next installment. As for my recommendation, I know there is something to liken this to but for the past 30 mins or so I haven’t been able to pull up a comparison list O_o. So just take the chance and read it for yourself.

About The Author 

I was born in Southeast Iowa, in a tiny town without much to do. I came to love reading honestly, with a Mom that had an entire room devoted to books. We read together until I could read alone, and then we often shared books. We talked stories and favorite characters, even shared tears over the best ones. I made friends who also loved books and we grew up with the likes of V.C. Andrews, L.J. Smith and Anne Rice.

I live in central Iowa now, and went into marketing because I could use my love of words and head for branding. I married a guy who hates fiction and loves video games, but we compromise with great movies (often my book adaptations) and live music. We have two crazy cats that constantly walk across my key board or curl into my lap for naps while I write.

I love chocolate peanut butter and mint chocolate chip ice cream and Sauvignon Blanc wine, though not at the same time. I always have music of some sort on and someday I'll convince my husband to move to the ocean. Someday.

Author Links:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

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“I received a free copy of the book from the author/publisher for my honest opinion. I was in no way compensated for this review and all opinions are expressly my own.”

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