Rachel Vincent
Unbound #1
When Liv and her three best friends were twelve, they swore a magically binding oath to help one another whenever they needed it. Now an old friend Liv hasn't seen in years has come to call in the vow and have Liv, a blood Tracker, find her husband's killer. Worse yet, Liv will have to work with her former boyfriend Cam and in the territory of her unwanted employer's enemy. Together Liv and Cam must uncover a criminal enterprise where nothing is what it seems.
Wow. This was an amazing start to a new series for Rachel Vincent. I couldn't put this thrilling story down. (Fortunately I was reading it on a three hour plane ride so that was not really a problem.)
The world of Unbound is dark and fascinating - the Skilled, legally nonexistent, are in high demand in crime syndicates, who are willing to do just about anything to get their hands on the strongest and most unique of the lot. There's not much chance of a Mary Sue here; each Skill is a single very specific power, and a person can only have one.
Blood Bound is a little different from most urban fantasy in that it's told by two narrators, Liv and Cam. It works though - you get Liv's fear and Cam's fury over the state of their relationship, and Vincent does a great job keeping secrets secret as long as she needs to.
And those secrets were plentiful. Everyone was keeping things from everyone else, and we didn't learn the whole story until the end, which is something I absolutely love in books. The layers of mystery and misdirection filled Blood Bound with suspense.
The characters were both believable and intriguing. This wasn't a good guys/bad guys kind of story; no one was squeaky clean and they were mostly just trying to survive, and I think that makes it a better book. I really liked Liv, who was relatable and sympathetic for quite a few reasons, and I was rooting for her and Cam the whole time.
Without spoiling anything, the ending made me angry, but in a good way, if that makes sense. I really want to get my hands on the next book!
Plot: 5 cupcakes
Characters: 4 cupcakes
Style: 4 cupcakes
Overall: 4 cupcakes
GARS Score: 1 (3/3/3/3)
What's a GARS Score?
If you liked Blood Bound, try:
Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh
Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
Grave Witch by Kalayna Price
I had been wanting to read this for quite some time now.
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