70% worldbuilding, 20% court intrigue, 10% romance

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Somewhat. I did enjoy the setup and explanations of the culture, but unfortunately the romance was an afterthought at best. The summary had me expecting a marriage-then-love plot with some court politics, but what I got was a lot of background of the world the characters inhabited with little to no depth given to those characters themselves.

Would you recommend Soulbound to your friends? Why or why not?

No. I feel like friends who enjoy fantasy world-building wouldn't enjoy the shoehorned romance but friends who enjoy romance wouldn't enjoy the drawn out world-building explanations or the very poorly executed romance plot. The author seemed to want to do both, but ended up dividing her efforts too much between them and the story suffered for it.

Which character – as performed by Gabrielle de Cuir and Stefan Rudnicki – was your favorite?

None of the characters were especially relatable or lovable. They all felt shallow and one-note in their characterization. I would say Adams clearly had a favorite, because that character was given the most backstory and explanation of anyone, that being Lyr. While the author clearly meant for Arlyn to be the main character, she feels more like an alternate point of view to a story mainly revolving around her father.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Actually having spent time on said romance, for one. The summary implies that it is a main plotline but it is actually a background plot that receives little to no development. The characters are just suddenly "in love" with no buildup or effort. While Aryn is initially doubtful about the soulbond, after Kai is injured she is suddenly totally accepting of it. The two only have a handful of conversation in the entire book (most of which is just Kai explaining culture or history to Arlyn) but suddenly they are confessing their love to one another and falling into bed.

Any additional comments?

If you are primarily looking for a romance, this is really not the story for you. If you enjoy believable character depth & development, this is not the book you want. If you simply enjoy fantasy elven culture, you might really enjoy this book, because that is where the main focus is.

46 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

I would really prefer a narrator other than Gabrielle de Cuirass

I feel cruel writing this, but I feel compelled to do so. If you are fussy about the narrators of audiobooks, then you want to avoid this one. It was difficult to determine if I enjoyed the book. Every time Ms. de Cuir read, I found myself doing my best to not shut it off. I think it is a lack of her acting ability. Her inflection, intonation, and how she elongated words made it grueling to listen to. Finally, her voice of Arlyn was like that of a child/valley girl/annoyed teen. and not the voice of an adult.

Now, in Ms. De Cuir's defense of portraying Arlyn as an adult, Ms. Adams made her character too young for her age as well as her "soul mate." It was also difficult to believe a five hundred year old man would act like a teenager.

32 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Good enough book. Poor narration.

The female narrator did a good job with description and male voices but she made the female voice unbearable. I've stopped listening many times simply because I couldn't take the whining! She's supposed to be a grown woman, but she sounds pubescent. Book comes down 2 stars for me for that alone.

19 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Ok

the narration didn’t work for me not their voice but how they lack passion behind their words. The story it self was pretty if a little confusing. I wanted more passion from the characters as well. World building was good and so was much of the background story. Just lacked passion.

10 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

good book but...

having two narrators randomly switch kind of brings you out of the book it's a great book otherwise.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Lead is a dud

The story is captivating, nicely described scenes, and the elven characters are fascinating. The MC, however, is a bratty, whiny twerp. She approaches everything with a big chip on her shoulders while her father and soul bounded are nothing but polite and accommodating to her. I enjoyed the story but cringe a little every time she’s in a scene.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Too much

Feels like your comming in the middle if a story. it has potential, but there is too much going on and feels pressured. needs to do more story building, lengthen the book or break in to a multiple of books. Characters are not well developed and I was not invested in them.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

I love elves

This book does a good job of showing a sensitive yet strong male lead character. I wasn't sure about it at first but it's good.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Awesome first book! Give me more please.

If you are like me, another series is the last thing you need. But this one gets added to the list and gets bumped to the front end for priority too.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Unfinishable

I’ve tried 3 times now and just can’t. The main character is so eye-rollingly dumb and annoying my eyes nearly roll into my brain every time she’s in a scene.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile