Shadow Bound- Rachel Vincent
Ah! I’m over-joyed. I loved it! The last chapters were little hastily put but what’s the fun if the final action isn’t breath-taking and wrapped up so well in the end? This book had me since the very beginning. There wasn’t a moment when I was bored and anything that I could’ve predicted, which I didn’t, would’ve been wrong. Vincent knows how to build the suspense and knows how to keep the audience enthralled. I did not particularly like Kori in the first book but this book really made me respect her. She is strong, kick-ass like any action figurine and has a potty-mouth. She is loyal to her sister and is very smart; maybe not the brightest but smart enough to not trust anyone. Ian was a likable character. I mean, he was too chivalrous for my taste and well the whole love story kinda took place in a matter of two days but then they didn’t get married or were like “I-can’t-breathe-without-you” crazy in love. It didn’t feel like insta-love and it definitely was better than most romances I’ve read. There was a lot of bickering, a lot of dark alleys, guns, knives, lies they had to go through but in the end they came out unscathed. Literally and figuratively speaking. I enjoyed reading from both their perspectives. I liked how at least Liv and Cam were involved in this book. There was hardly any involvement of Cavazos and I’m guessing there will be another book to set the downfall of his empire. Jake and Jonah died too quickly. I would have wanted a slower more painful death for them. But you don’t get everything you wish for, right? Also, the whole deal with Kenley breaking the seals seemed too easy. At least it wasn’t as absurd as Liv leaving Cam after hearing Noelle’s prophecy. I mean, it was somewhat understandable that Jake wouldn’t let Kenley know that she could break a binding only by willing for it to break. But like Ian did his homework couldn’t Kori find out how to break a binding using some resources if she was so hell bent on saving her sister and herself from the syndicate? Maybe I’m overthinking it but it seemed like such a trivial easy thing to do. But maybe that was the point, right? That it was so easy that everyone missed it out. Ugh. I’m answering my own questions. Oh and remember the bet that Kori and Ian had? We never got to see who won. I’m pretty sure that Kori lost cause she said “asshole” and then again started toning down her words. I’m not sure if Vincent paid attention to that or maybe the 24 hour duration was over and then she was still acting civil? Not likely and I’m doing it again: explaining things to my own self. *mutters unintelligible gibberish* All in all it wasn’t a cliffhanger like Blood Bound. Although on second thought, I think I always knew that Liv would share her term with Cam if she could. She loved him too much to be selfish. I liked the relative happy ending in this book and even if the whole Kenley’s room-mate Nadia using her blood to bind Steven in college years seemed too far-fetched just like Noelle seeing everyone’s future and then pushing her friend’s into the lion’s den; it wasn’t that bad. It was more like a very bad coincidence but then it led to Kori, Van, Kenley being free from Jake Tower so who would complain? 3.5 stars. Big and bright. Favorite quotes: “Second of all, I am offended on behalf of pretty people everywhere. I’m not just a chiseled jaw and eyes you could get lost in. I am worth more than the sum of my defined biceps, sculpted pecs and a six-pack you could scrub laundry on.”- Ian “Son of a motherfucking, ass-reaming, shit-eating, hell-dodging soulless bitch!” I stood too fast and my head swam, and the water poured down my pants to form freezing puddles in my boots. Ian burst into laughter, the waitress burst into tears, and more profanity exploded from my mouth so fast I couldn’t even tell what I was saying. But the whole damn bar heard it.- Kori “It’s fucking Niagara Falls in my pants. With ice.” “There is a backlog of crude jokes in here just begging to be cracked,” he said, tapping his own temple for emphasis.- Kori and Ian “I would make fire rain from the heavens to smite your enemies with the flames of our shared rage.”- Ian