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
Buy the Book
Goodreads
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!
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