Shadowbound is a fantasy, roughly based on the fairy tales many of us are familiar with.
The books heroine is Rhiannon, younger sister of Allesha, who has gone missing. Rhiannon’s hunt for her older sister takes her from secret night spot to secret night spot trying to trace her sister’s footsteps thought a realm of deceit and mystery. A realm, it turns out, run by the Fae so that they may trap humans and transport them to a land where the fairy live.
A land whose ruling families have a special interest in Allesha, Rhiannon and their family.
From here I will not go into the twists and turns of her journey; simply because there are far too many of them to remember.
I had a lot of difficulty rating this book, for several reasons. First, fantasy is not my cup of tea and Shadowbound is not a book I would have selected on my own to read. It is however, very well written (with a few exceptions that I’ll get to) with a good plot, a ton of twists and turns, and great characters.
On the flip side, several things annoyed me. At times it seemed like the author was trying to use every word she’s ever heard; sometimes needlessly or incorrectly. There is also a scene containing animal sacrifice that I found disturbing and several scenes that are quite dark with fairy being tortured and killed in cruel and unusual ways. (This is the side of fairies your mum never told you about!)
Finally, Rhiannon’s realizing she had been misled, over and over again wore thin after a while and, toward the end of the book you could pretty much predict each time it was coming.
All of the above would normally have reduced my rating but, L. Stout’s talent as a good story teller and author shined through the things I didn’t like. I sincerely hope she takes my, and other reviewers comments to heart, and uses them to improve because I believe she is going to become an outstanding author.
Recommended as a good read with a lot of twists and turns that will hold your interest.