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.

7 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.

4 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.

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

Awful narration

The female narrator was terrible. The voice she gave the main character was screeching and whining. I eventually gave up on finishing the book because I couldn't stand to hear the narrator. If you are interested in the book then I suggest reading the ebook instead of the audio version.

1 personne a 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.

1 personne a 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.

1 personne a 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.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

I have a new series to listen to now

I loved the idea of the story. Arlyn finding out her father was from another world. A world of fairies, elves & other creatures. When her mother died she traveled to her father's realm in search for him. While doing this she accidently met her mate and the bonding process started withoutian her knowledge. Once there she had to learn their customs and language. I loved the characters. Even the bad guys were good characters. The author also had a great pair narrating the story. Loved it & highly recommend it if you like the fairies.

Good but she’s self conscious

The main character is a bit self conscious and it becomes frustrating. Anyways, here’s the sum of it...
Half human twenty something girl meets elfin dad after human mom dies, best friend of dad lays claim to girl without her knowledge (don’t worry, they work it out), they find out whom killed the grandfather, and the half girl finds out that she may actually only 3/8 human. There is a tree that the girl will have to guard when her dad can no longer do so. I think it may have been some kind of god.
I will request a refund, let’s see how it goes. Sigh...