Review Detail

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