Soulbound: The Darkest London Series: Book 6 (Darkest London, #6)

by Kristen Callihan

"When Adam's soul mate rejected him, there was more at stake than his heart. After seven hundred years of searching, his true match would have ended the curse that keeps his spirit in chains. But beautiful, stubborn Eliza May fled and now Adam is doomed to an eternity of anguish, his only hope for salvation gone. No matter how devilishly irresistible Adam was, Eliza couldn't stand the thought of relinquishing her freedom forever. So she escaped. But she soon discovers she is being hunted by someone far more dangerous. The only man who can help is the one man she vowed never to see again. Now Adam's kindness is an unexpected refuge, and Eliza finds that some vows are made to be broken"--Back cover.

• ISBN10: 1455581666
• ISBN13: 9781455581665
• Publish Date: 24 February 2015 (first published 1 January 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amanda]

4.5

I told myself to take a break from historical romance, and Soulbound is where I landed. Partly because it was sitting on my desk, but also partly because, while it’s paranormal, it’s technically historical romance too. Hey. I ease out of historical romance slowly, okay?

But this was precisely what I needed. PRECISELY. Kristen Callihan weaves such an intriguing world, and it expands with each installment. Plus, if my bookish memory serves me correctly (and that’s always an issue), Adam and Eliza were introduced in the previous book, Evernight, and it wasn’t a pretty relationship.

I mean, how does a romance blossom out of a relationship where Adam had Eliza chained to him? (And no, it wasn’t in a sexy way, either.)

But Kristen Callihan handles it beautifully, and really, there’s nothing I love more than a well-executed enemies to lovers trope. The enemies to lovers aspect helped to ease the eye-rolls of the soulmate factor. Often, it serves to fall precariously close to instalove, but Adam and Eliza (more so the latter) fought it, and it was only after they came to know each other that they embraced their fate.

And Adam. OH, ADAM. You see, part of my needing a break from historical romance stems from the overwhelming number of heroes who can’t seem to be without a woman warning their bed. They bed women frequently, often ending a relationship with a mistress mid-book (seriously, how do I keep finding books like that?). But Adam has been cursed to not feel anything until he finds the other half of his soul.

So, you know, there’s little lovin’ to be had that way. He’s celibate, essentially, for 700 years. And honestly, his lack of sexual experience made his interactions with Eliza all the more swoony. I like to see a rake fall hard for one woman, but there’s something infinitely sexy about a man who waits (intentionally or not) for his beloved.

As for the other, non-romance happenings in Soulbound (because there are some of those!), it was good. I figured out what the Golden Horn an Bas was long before they found it. (Because duh, I’m that good at guessing and it made sense given the clues.) But man. That ending. It was cruel and ripped my heart out (heh), but I was happy when Eliza and Adam finally found a way to be together.

I also found St. John’s POV to be useful for a couple reasons: 1, now I want to read his story (obviously), but 2, his POV gave us a glimpse of what was happening outside of Eliza and Adam’s POVs that we would not have been able to get otherwise, and it served to give us more answers (but also raise more questions). Gooooood stuff.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

Adam is certainly the most interesting leading man of the series, but he wasn't enough to make Soulbound a favorite for me. I still really liked it, but it didn't grab me like the other books did. We learned a bit about Adam and Eliza's situation in the previous book, but now it's time to dive into their story. Eliza is the granddaughter of Mab, queen of the fae, and Adam is simply a cursed man with some control over death. Eliza cannot stand to be around Adam after he literally chained her to his side, but it turns out that she now needs him to avoid a much worse man. And Adam needs her in order to break his curse.

I did love how the fae played a larger role in Soulbound, and we learn a whole lot more about them and their connection to the other characters. Mab is the ultimate trickster and has too many people in her power, but she can't seem to get to Adam. Yes, she has him chained and injured in her dungeon, but he won't give her want she wants. And once Eliza learns of her "aunt's" manipulations, she too can play along and slip away. Mellan, the fae who wants Eliza as his bride, is another problem entirely. Luckily, both get what's coming to them, although I did think both happened too neatly and conveniently.

I wasn't fully sold in the romance in Soulbound, although I did enjoy it. Eliza and Adam have history which we are savvy to and more is revealed as the story moves on. She finds him repulsive because of what he did to her and based on previous experiences with men, but Eliza learns to work with Adam and she can't really deny that she's attracted to him. There is the concern that maybe his feelings toward her aren't real, and are just part of his curse. Her attraction is also questioned since one of Adam's gifts is to be irresistible to men and women. It's a sticky situation which I liked, but their true love epiphany seemed to just spring out of nowhere. So, I liked Eliza and Adam together, but wish they had explored their misgivings more.

In the end, I liked Soulbound. It's certainly not the best of the series for me, but it was still an interesting installment. Adam had been in the background of most of the previous novels, so it was nice to finally learn all of his secrets. He's not quite as mysterious and all-powerful as his GIM and other supernaturals think he is. As always, there's a happy ending for our couple, but it was quite predictable and cliche.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.