A review by jackiehorne
Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent

2.0

For readers who like fast-paced plots with fairly empty, placeholder characters. Most of the "aha" plot twists could be seen coming from a mile off, at least by an experienced fantasy reader. And I'm not fond of books where protagonists have so little control over their decisions and choices. In this one, the trope of being "bound" to a master in order to save a loved one simultaneously works to make the reader feel sorry for the ones who are bound, and lets the bound ones off the hook for the violence and other immoral acts they are ordered to perpetrate. Perhaps this lack of free will is addressed with more nuance in later books, but in this one, I felt myself resisting the text's attempt to manipulate my sympathies and judgment.