I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Elven race has been split into several warring factions, based on the phases of the moon, so waxing, waning, crescent, etc. They have been warring for so long that it is known as the “Forever War”. Yeeran is a newly made colonel in the waning army. On the morning of her promotion, her lover, who is also the chieftain, gives her a precious gift – a drum, made from the skin of an Obeah, creatures who contain magic. Her drum is also a weapon. The Elves use it to fire bolts of magic at their enemies. Yeeran takes her new squad out on a mission, but she disobeys an order, resulting in heavy casualties. Yeeran is then sentenced to exile. Her sister, Lettle, and her next in command, Rayan, follow her. They hunt down a massive elder Obeah, and Yeeran kills it, hoping that presenting the skin to her former chieftain will allow her to return to her tribe. However, they are quickly taken by the Fae, a race of being long believed to have vanished. Turns out that they bond to the Obeah, and killing one also kills the Fae that is bound to it. Also, the one Yeeran killed was bound to their prince. Crap.
I hate when I expect to love a book and I just…don’t. Faebound could have been great, SHOULD have been great. Look at that cover! It’s so pretty! But it was just…meh. I thought this was going to be the next great Romantasy novel, but the main love story felt forced, and the secondary one felt rushed. I didn’t feel particularly connected to any of the characters. This is the first book of a trilogy, and I’m wondering if all of the story could have been wrapped up in one book. I have been reading fantasy for 30 years, and there wasn’t anything groundbreaking here.
3 Stars.