Faebound

by Saara El-Arifi

4 out of 5

Synopsis

Yeeran is a warrior in the elven army and has known nothing but violence her whole life. Her sister, Lettle, is trying to make a living as a diviner, seeking prophecies of a better future.

When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven lands, they are both forced into the terrifying wilderness beyond their borders. There they encounter the the fae court.

The fae haven’t been seen for a millennium. But now Yeeran and Lettle are thrust into their seductive world – torn between their loyalty to each other, their elven homeland, and their hearts. . .

Review

Yeeran and her little sister Lettle are both doing their part in the Forever War. But when Lettle's prophecy that Yeeran will find glory in the East goes wrong, Yeeran is banished from the elf army, and stumbles upon the mythical fae.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The narrative is split equally between the two sisters, and although I enjoyed following Lettle, this is definitely Yeeran's story.

Her banishment for disobeying orders is what drives the story, with their first fateful encounter with the fae; and their subsequent attempts to escape from the fae city of Mosima.

Yeeran is a skilled fighter, smart and passionate about doing her part for the Waning tribe. She blindly follows her lover/leader Salawa, and even when she banishes her for life, Yeeran is obsessed with finding a way to buy her way back into the army's good graces, so she can return to the only thing she knows, the only thing she's good at.

Lettle feels somewhat responsible for Yeeran's banishment, after her sister misunderstood the prophecy Lettle gave; but Lettle knows that prophecies have a way of always coming true, even if it happens in an unexpected way. Which is why she is trying to keep the handsome Captain Rayan at a distance, when he accompanies her across the country, as she knows that the man she loves is destined to die.

Despite all the action and plot development, I found the first 20% of the book to be quite slow and sometimes hard to follow. It was hard to stay invested and understand the motives of the characters involved. Only when the story reaches the fae city of Mosima did it all fall into place.

It kinda felt like the author wasn't sure how to fill the pre-Mosima scenes; but was geared up for full-steam ahead with the fae.

I really enjoyed the book from this point onward, with the cursed fae, trapped inside the city for centuries; and their connection to the obeah - and the dark realisation of what happened when elves kill obeah for their magic.

I loved the growing connection between Yeeran and Furi - an actual enemies-to-lovers plot that didn't overwhelm the rest of the story. They actually want to kill each other in the beginning, with good reason. And it feels like a very natural and realistic progression for them.

I thought the plot was well done, and it kept me guessing until the end, what would happen, and why. There were some twists that I didn't see coming, but were very satisfying to read.

I'm definitely going to continue with this series.

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