Clearing My Bookshelf: The Binding by Bridget Collins

 Clearing My Bookshelf: The Binding by Bridget Collins

4/5

Tags: animal abuse, animal death, arson, cheating, homophobia, kidnapping, marital affair, memory manipulation, murder, non-linear narrative, pet death, pregnancy, pregnancy from sexual assault, rape, suicide

Sometimes you read a book and it vibes with you; this was that kind of book. It was a quick, easy, and enjoyable read after all the dense nonfiction that I’ve been reading. 

I’m afraid that the premise is better than its execution. That’s to say that the book doesn’t delve deep into the interesting worldbuilding it sets up in its first part. I did like how the three part structure was used. Oftentimes parts are just to break up story segments but here each part gives more context to the part before it.

The author really likes to embellish the writing and it takes a significant amount of page space. It’s something you either don’t mind or it’ll drive you nuts though, statistically speaking, some people will love it. The family dynamic was interesting because you really see how the main character is the least favorite child. Characters are defined but aside from the main character I couldn’t tell you their personalities. Motivations, appearance, status, and goals yes, character no. This is a problem because part 2 sets up a romance and that relationship sets part 1 and part 3 in motion. Even though 2/3 of the book was related to the romance I couldn’t tell you why they cared for each other or why they were together. This story is plot centered not character centered. 

TLDR; If you want a competently written soft magic fantasy with a gay relationship this is it for you.