Reviews

Bound by D.D. Larsen

readlovereviewblog's review

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4.0

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book begins with Jaime dreaming; of course, Wren is present as well. Wren is injured, unconscious, and Jaime is losing it. They are at the Academy, and Jaime still has more questions than answers, but she accepts Wren as her mate.

Jaime's life is full of love, friends, and family but also secrecy and doubt. She doesn't know who to trust and still has no solutions to her issues. At least her relationship with her brother is amazing and more like actual siblings. It is peculiar reading this story and Jaimes being so lost and alone. She is a true heroine, but a piece of the puzzle is missing with Wren being unconscious. The action in this book finally ramps up, and I'm just as nervous for the end as Jaime is. Omg, this book ends even better than I expected. I really hope there is a sequel that covers more of the future with Jaime and Wren.

I love this story. It is unlike most of what I read, but I enjoy the slight steam, the intense action, and the heroine in this book. Jaime is a force to be reckoned with, and it shows as she battles her own mind and her feeling in this story and the external obstacles. I love the support she has in the people she loves. Even though this book is different with less relationship stuff, I did enjoy the read. This book is much more action-packed and intense. I liked how the author revealed the person not to be trusted at the end of the story, and it was a complete surprise.

courtofmeows's review

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5.0

Picks up right where you're left in book two and you find out what happens to the characters after a tumultuous cliff hanger. We learn more about some of the characters that we didn't know too much about in the first two books. However there are some great plot twists added into this book and makes you second guess certain things along the way. In the end there is a HEA which made me happy, but I also wish the story would be continuing as I would love to see how things progress -- but I guess that's what our imagination is for right?

I do feel that this book was very action packed and allowed the reader to connect more with some characters but I also feel that the way things were handled with Wren could have been better. I feel like he was essentially pushed out of the storyline because there was an issue with him fitting into the story. But I also think that it may have needed to be that way for Jamie to grow into herself like she did.

_mkarys's review

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4.0

Bound was a very exciting conclusion to the series, with a twist that I didn’t see coming! I did have my suspicions that something was going on…but I didn’t expect that. Sorry for being vague, but that’s how it must be done to avoid spoilers.

This book focuses a lot on plot, and it was also a fast read. We got to see Jacob a lot more in this one, which I enjoyed. I think with this book, he became my favorite character. That being said, while I did enjoy the fast pace, I did miss the romance. For reasons that I shall not name, we don’t see a lot of it, and I missed it. I missed Wren. I’m also happy that the author didn’t go forward with any romantic plotline where Alex was concerned, because this far into the story it would have been a whiplash, in my opinion. Though their dynamic would have certainly been interesting in different circumstances, I think there wasn’t enough time. Besides, Wren and Jamie’s story was built to be an epic love story. They were meant to be together.

Speaking of Jacob, I may be dreaming and wishing for things that won’t be, but a part of me hopes that the author will consider doing a story with him as the protagonist. There’s a dynamic involving him and another character that promises a lot of potential, especially since I feel like said character has a very interesting story.

I really don’t know what else to say without giving away this thrilling conclusion. If you enjoy shifter books, then you don’t want to miss out on this one! With the final book out, these books are a total binge! I know because while I read the first book earlier this year, I inhaled the second and third book in the past week.

Thank you to the author for sending me a copy. Opinions are my own.

_ckarys's review

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4.0

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

There’s something extremely satisfying about wrapping up a series after a good binge. BOUND gave me the epic conclusion I was hoping for, while also giving me some things that leave me excited for more, as well as things I wasn’t expecting.

Out of all the books in The Academy trilogy, this one was perhaps the most plot driven. It’s not a bad thing for me, since I can easily read books with a reduced romance element, but it’s definitely something I wasn’t expecting from a shifter romance. I appreciated the action, but I did miss the romantic element a little bit. Against all odds, I grew fond of Wren, so having so little of him in the last book made me a bit sad.

However, I was super glad of the rise of the secondary characters! Jacob was one of my favorites in this last book, and he’d already captured my interest in the previous installment, so I very much appreciated this. I also enjoyed Cass, the new entry to the series. I’m a big fan of witches, and meeting a new one is always cause for celebration. She plays a very big role in the plot of this last book, and she also had a very interesting backstory. I will admit that I’m holding on to hope for a spin-off series starring Jacob and Cass. They both have very interesting stories and give me reason to want more of them. If they’re together, even better!

Overall, I was very satisfied with this ending. There are some things that I would have liked to see in more detail to make the climax flow more smoothly, and as I mentioned before, I suffered the lack of romance a little bit, but the story wrapped up nicely for both the plot and the characters, so that’s always a great plus when reading a finale! Now that the trilogy is over, I strongly recommend a healthy binge to all my shifter lovers!

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy. All opinions are my own.
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