At the beginning of the year I said that I wanted to read more fantasy again and I’m doing good with that goal. Faebound was one of the 2024 fantasy releases I was really excited about and I finally finished reading it (I get way too distracted by books, haha). So keep on reading to find out more about the book and my thoughts!
A big thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager for providing me with an eARC to read and review. This does not affect my opinion in any way.
Two elven sisters become imprisoned in the hidden world of the fae where danger, and love, lies in wait. Faebound is the first book in an enchanting new trilogy from the internationally bestselling author of The Final Strife.
A thousand years ago, the world held three beings: fae, elves, and humans. But now the fae and humans exist only in myth and legend, survived by the elves who are trapped in an endless war over the remaining lands.
Yeeran is a colonel in the elven army and has known nothing but a life of violence and hardship. Her sister, Lettle, is a diviner whose magic promises a different future for her and her sister, but the prophecies have yet come to pass.
When a fatal mistake leads to Yeeran’s exile from the Elven Lands, Lettle, fearful for her sister’s life, follows her into the uncharted territory beyond their borders. In the wilderness the sisters encounter the largest obeah they have ever seen. Part leopard, part stag, the obeah’s magic is harnessed to make weapons for the elven war. It is during this hunt that they are confronted with the impossible: a group of fae who take them captive. Imprisoned in a new land, they must navigate the politics of the fae court all while planning their escape.
Now Yeeran and Lettle are fighting a different kind of war: between their loyalty to their elven homeland and the intoxicating world of the fae, between what duty decrees is right, and what their hearts tell them they need.
Review
Faebound is a fantasy that pulls you in from the start and kept me on the edge of my seat. Our main characters, Yeeran and Lettle, are sisters and both experience different things which makes falling into this world really easy. The author slowly lets us learn about the world and magic system without making it feel like we get an info dump.
Yeeran has a hard life and only knows the threat of war. So when she makes a mistake and is banned from the Elven Lands, she doesn’t know what will happen. All she knows is that she has to make it right and get back to her people. Lettle, of course, is scared for her sister’s life and goes after her. Lettle saw a prophecy involving her sister, but it definitely didn’t go as she had thought it would. That’s when they discover there’s more to the world than they know and fae exist and have a whole different set of ways, magic, and beliefs.
The pacing in this book was done well and I could understand this new world. I loved the balance between world building, action, character development, and romance. Some twists I kind of saw coming, but others not at all. Especially that ending! Do they go back to the Elven Lands or are they where they belong?
I’m so glad this book had dual POV and I wish we got a few chapters through two other characters’ eyes, but all in all I was satisfied. It’s hard to say a lot about this book without giving little spoilers, so all I can really say is go read this book! I’ll definitely be reading more by Saara! I’m grateful there are some books I still need to read.
Faebound was a great start to a new fantasy series and I can’t wait until the next book releases, because that ending definitely leaves you wanting more! Have you read any new amazing fantasy releases lately? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.
