Soulbound (Legacy of Tril #1)

Soulbound left me reeling. I was pulled in by the promising premise, but the immature characters, the less-than-exciting romance, and the numerous plot holes unfortunately made this book fall short of my expectations.

When I read the synopsis, I was expecting this book to be action-packed and full of romance. It isn’t. More than half of the book is spent on world-building and introducing characters. (And even the latter half doesn’t have the action and romance I was hoping for.) And–get this–Brewer didn’t even do a good job on world-building. I was left confused several times: why is the world of the Skilled kept secret from the Unskilled? What is the difference between Bound and Soulbound? Brewer didn’t explain anything, and I was left to figure things out myself.

Most of the characters felt one-dimensional to me. Even though Kaya is headstrong (which I like in heroines), she’s too self-conscious. Also, her reaction to her best friend Avery’s death felt too subdued, and although she wants to protect her parents from dying at the hands of the Zettai Council, she still sneaks around, training in self-defense against the rules. Very contradictory.

But she’s attracted to Trayton, a gorgeous goody-two-shoes to whom she’s Bound. (Personally, I think his preppy name suits him.) Trayton is too perfect to be real (and sometimes he acts like a jerk), and their insta-love is just too unrealistic for me to believe. Darius, on the other hand, is more on the grumpy side and shuns Kaya for the first half of the book. He’s much more realistic than Trayton, but I still don’t understand his actions and I definitely don’t know what’s up with his silver hair.

But the thing that upset me the most was the big shocking secret revealed in the last two pages of the book. The problem? Well, for me, it wasn’t shocking. I had made a prediction about the love triangle 40 pages into the book based on reader experience and the synopsis…and it came true. And to add insult to injury, the book leaves the reader stuck with that new revelation and absolutely no explanation following. (Yay, cliffies. Not.)

Despite my disappointment, I admit that the book wasn’t bad. It was entertaining at times, and I did want to continue reading.

So my review wrapped up in a pretty little bow? Soulbound was okay. I loved the idea and the world created, but the execution and the characters were less than satisfying. It was a good story, but just not good enough.

source: hardcover borrowed from library

Kaya is born a healer, the child of a forbidden union between two, warriors called barrons. The Healers and Barrons are engaged in a longstanding war against the graplars, monstrous beasts and King Darrek,.The healers follow there Barrons into Battle and heal them of wounds so they can continue to fight and the Barrons protect the Healers and themselves. Both are bound by protocol a series of rules that governs Healer/Barron interactions.

After Kaya's father is forced to utilize his Barron abilities to save villagers from a graplar, Kaya, her mother and father are revealed to Barron Society and Kaya is forced to go live at the Shadow Academy, a school devoted to training healers and Barrons.On her way to the school, sheis attacked by a graplar, and is saved by a mysterious silver-haired stranger, Darius, who she later learns is a teacher at the school. Once there Kaya is bound to a Barron, Taryton, and becomes his healer. However, after a few days at the academy, Kaya is extremely disenchanted in the protocol at shadow academy. Healers aren't allowed to fight or learn even self-defense, instead they must rely on their Barron to protect them, and Healers are treated as though they are inferior to Barrons.Kaya refuses to accept the status quo, and asks to be taught to fight. She has two options she can try to convince her Barron, Trayton, who is belives in a strict interpertation if healer/barron etiquette and is very resistant to teaching or she can ask darius, the young teacher who apparently dilikes her for no reason. Only one of the young men agrees to train her and the repercussions from the training and the attraction that Kaya feels for Darius and Trayton, are far-reaching. In the end a battle takes place and a shocking-revelation is revealed.

Soulbound plays with an interesting concept, Healers and Barrons are soulbound at birth with each Healer and Barron somewhere having there opposite counterpart. If a healer or Barron of the soulbound pair dies the remaining individual can be bound with another, though the bound is not as deep usually. Heather Brewer creates a strong- heroine that is unique and willing to take control of her life and destiny. the world of Tril is imaginative and enchanting, with charcters that are equally interesting.

Soulbound has a few aspects, that decrease what could have been a five-star book. Description is lacking in lot of places in the book. The book is slow paced until 1/3 of the way into the story and the beginning feels like it could have been condensed into less pages without harming, the plot or characterization. Also the author falls into the same fantasy teen love triangle, that so many books have nowadays without making, said triangle new or fresh.

Despite these criticisms, Soulbound is an excellent start to a series, with an amazingly strong heroine. Soulbound has Great characters and an interesting plot. The revelation in the end is nothing short of brillant!

Age Group: 13 and older

Content: violence and descriptions of it, made-up curse words(ex. that's fakked up!), kisses, teens drinking wine

Disclaimer: Review is based on ARC with uncorrected text, ARC was obtained from librarything early reviewers giveaway.(less)