Bound by Duty (Bound Series Book 1) by Stormy Smith
A Contemporary YA Fantasy/Romance Novel published by Perfect Storm Publishing, LLC (07/23/2014)
Summary:
Since she was born, Amelia has been promised to the Prince, the son of evil Queen Julia. Amelia herself is no Princess, but she is an Elder, one with magical abilities. Her father never wanted her to practice her magic or to leave the safety of their home, to wait out the years until she turned twenty one and had to fulfill her promise to wed the prince. All Amelia thinks she wants is a few years of normalcy, so she leaves home and safety to go to college. At first she only has one human friend, Bethany, but then she meets Aidan. He is gorgeous, but she holds back, knowing she is not free to choose for love. Still, Aidan relentlessly pursues her until she can no longer say no. Amelia’s life has changed so much since she left home, but there are quite a few more surprises ahead for her.
Keywords:
Magic, Mage, Family, Secrets, Loyalty, Prince, Queen, Evil, Promises, Mate, Best Friend, Brother, MMA, Power, Animages
My Review:
Amelia, Micah and Cole keep important and relevant information from each other for apparently no other reason than a “feeling.” This does create plot items, but ultimately doesn’t feel real.
I want to love the main character but at best she was likeable. She was easily overpowered by her own anger and inner magic. She was often selfish to the point of putting others at risk. She didn’t have much of a chance in this book to show if she was romantic or nice (except when she was guilted into remembering she had a best friend etc. and to be nice). She wasn’t mean or cruel, per se, but she wasn’t overwhelmingly friendly. This ties into the boy girl romance aspect I roll my eyes at in most books with a romance. Why does Aidan like her, why does he persist in trying to win her over? Subsequently why does Amelia like Aidan, only because he chose her? There isn’t anything special about him, other than the fact that he likes her, or is there? The author hints and drops clues as to the effect under the skin that Aidan has on Ame, his effect on her magic, the intense way she feels. Still, it was too much love at first sight for me.
My favorite character was Bethany. She was the most interesting of the bunch, and human at that. Bethany was a southern belle, a pageant queen, a beauty prone to mild forms of drama. I can just imagine her being so lively and animated and stealing the spotlight for this book.
Amelia’s story about how she wants to be normal is the main story, but she is also part of a greater and more intriguing story that she is a large part of.
This novel was published by Perfect Storm Publishing, LLC 07/23/2014 and is available on Amazon here.
TLDR Star Rating: 4.0
Links for more information:
Rachel Author Barnard 