Review: Soulbound by Heather Brewer

Soulbound

Author: Heather Brewer
Series: Legacy of Tril, Book One
Publisher: DIAL
Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 394 pages
Release Date: June 19, 2012
Source:  Personal Library, Bought
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Synopsis from Goodreads:

Tril is a world where Barrons and Healers are Bound to each other: Barrons fight and Healers cure their Barrons' wounds in the ongoing war with the evil Graplar King. Seventeen-year-old Kaya was born a Healer, but she wants to fight. In Tril, and at Shadow Academy, where she is sent to learn to heal, it is against Protocol for Healers to fight. So Kaya must learn in secret. Enter two young men: One charming, rule-following Barron who becomes Bound to Kaya and whose life she must protect at all costs. And one with a mysterious past who seems bent on making Kaya's life as difficult as possible. Kaya asks both to train her, but only one will, and the consequences will change their lives forever.

My Review:

I love this book! It’s about a girl who learns how to become a badass fighter. And guess what she fights with? A freaking katana! Um, coolest thing ever! So in the world that Brewer has created, there are Skilled people and Unskilled people. The Skilled people consist of Barrons and Healers and are governed by the Zettai Council. Each Barron is paired up with a Healer, either Soulbound or Bound. Soulbound means being bound from birth. A Bound Barron and Healer have gone through a binding ceremony after losing their Soulbound. The Zettai Council and their people are fighting the evil and mysterious King Darrek and his army of Graplars, nasty and vicious creatures. Great starting point for the story, am I right?

Our main character, Kaya, is a teenage girl who lives among the Unskilled. Her parents are both Barrons and have been in hiding from the Zettai Council since they forbid two Barrons or two Healers to marry.  In a turn of events, Kaya gets called to the Shadow Academy, where she will be Bound to a Barron and learn how to protect him at all costs. She quickly learns that Healers are seen as inferior to the Barrons. Kaya wants to learn how to fight so she can protect herself on the battlefield instead of depending on her Barron to fight for her. Unfortunately, the rules say that she’s not allowed to learn how to fight.

At first Kaya was weak, both physically and mentally. She was gripped with terror every time she had to face something scary such as a Graplar or even going to Shadow Academy in the first place. But once she starts training to fight, something changes in her. She gets physically and mentally stronger and becomes a fierce warrior who truly values human life, Skilled or Unskilled. This conversion could not have happened had it not been for Darius.

“Sorrow wrapped around me like vines, twisting and pulling until they threatened to rip me apart.” -Kaya

 

Darius is swoon-worthy. His silver hair and off-putting attitude makes him all the more appealing. He is the bad boy. Why are we always attracted to the bad boy? At least I am. I don’t know about you guys. He is the best fighter in the entire Shadow Academy and teaches Barrons in the art of the katana. Darius is tough as nails and he does not go easy on anyone. He is mysterious and doesn’t like to talk about himself. Actually, he doesn’t really like to talk to anyone, but this quality just made me want to know more about him. He also had his moments during the book where it seemed he was fighting to keep his tough exterior shell in place. At times, he wanted to let it crumble making him more likeable and relatable.

“The ghosts of them haunt me every night, and I will not stop until I am purged of this pain, this guilt. They are why I fight.” -Darius

Trayton is Kaya’s Bound Barron. Trayton is sweet as honey. He is kind of sickeningly sweet, constantly leaving roses in Kaya’s bedroom accompanied by little love notes. He follows the rules all the time and would never even consider breaking Protocol. Trayton seemed like kind of a rich, stuck-up kid even though he laments his father and wishes he wouldn’t use his money to help Trayton out at school. Even so, I still got the pampered boy vibe from him and it just wasn’t attractive. I do however, think that his feelings for Kaya are real and at times he was endearing.

Another important character was Kaya’s guard, Maddox. She is a spitfire, ready to break the rules anytime and not afraid to tell it like it is. Although she has kind of a cold personality, you know in your heart that she cares about Kaya. She is a supportive friend who becomes Kaya’s closest confidante.

The plot of this book moves quickly and will keep you turning the pages. There is a lot of action, awesome fight scenes, confusing love, and hot boys. What more could you ask for? One thing that I wanted to know more about was King Darrek, the antagonist controlling the Graplars. We didn’t really find out who he was or why he was attacking Tril (the place they live). I hope that in subsequent books we will find out more about him.

Overall, I loved this book. All the characters were enjoyable and had depth to them. Each character grew in some way over the course of the book and I enjoyed watching their journeys. This was a unique fantasy book that fans of Defiance by C.J. Redwine will love. I can’t wait for the second book, Soulbroken, which comes out August 20, 2013. Happy reading all!