Shadow Bound (Unbound, #2)

by Rachel Vincent

IF ALL YOU KNOW IS SHADOWS, YOU BEGIN TO FORGET THE LIGHT...

Shadow-walker Kori, able to travel from one human shadow to another, keeps her powers hidden from the world. Until supernatural crime lord Tower imprisons her and suppresses her magic. Freedom for her, and her magician sister Kenley, now comes at price. The job? Recruit Ian Holt, a man who can manipulate darkness - or kill him.

Yet Ian has a mission of his own: assassinate Kenley, whose unique powers give Tower a deadly advantage in their underworld. Fighting for two different sides, Kori and Ian can't deny the desperate magnetic pull that draws them together. But in a world of black and white, of good and evil, can their love survive in the shadows?

A MUST-READ for fans of KELLEY ARMSTRONG

• ISBN10: 0778313433
• ISBN13: 9780778313434
• Publish Date: 29 May 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 8 February 2021
• Imprint: Mira Books
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 439
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Proceed With Caution:

This book contains blood, death, murder, captivity, torture, and mentions of rape.

The Basics:

Shadow Bound is the second book of the Unbound series. It does follow new characters so if you want to skip the first book you can, but reading it will provide background for this one. It picks up six weeks after Kori helped her former friend rescue a missing child, but it also got her sadistic boss shot in the process, meaning Kori has been facing a brutal punishment. But now her boss needs her to recruit someone, which is not in Kori's job description, nor does she want to condemn another person to this life. But she will do anything to keep her sister safe.

My Thoughts:

I was surprised that Shadow Bound focused entirely on Kori, Liv's old friend, and newcomer Ian. Liv and Cam had completed their job by the end of Blood Bound, but they were just starting a new, if complicated, life together. There was still plenty to explore with them after the cliffhanger ending, but I can't say I wasn't eager to get to know Kori, as the relationship between all of the girls is what fascinated me the most. Sadly, we don't really get any more of their history, just Kori and Kenley's relationship, and how they wound up working for Tower. I was still hooked though.

Kori and Ian's relationship was tense to read develop. It's not an easy road, at all, as they're on opposite sides of a mission. Ian is tasked with infiltrating Jake Tower's syndicate and offing his prized Binder, Kori's younger sister. Kori is tasked with recruiting Ian into the syndicate or else she's dead and her sister is tortured. Obviously, they can't let the other know what their plan is, but they're both trying to get close to the other to reach their goal. Of course, real feelings have to grow during their deception.

The narration of Shadow Bound was also a step up from the previous book and not just because the chapters are labeled. Kori and Ian's voices actually sound different so I never forgot whose perspective I was reading from, which was great since they were almost always together and that would have gotten confusing fast! The story was also more romance focused this time around, which I also liked. The external plot was good too, definitely much more interesting to me than the first book, if less involved.

I really enjoyed Shadow Bound. It's action packed but also had a great romance at its center. I enjoyed getting to see more of this dark, crime fueled world and meeting different Skilled people. There's another sudden ending, but it's more happy than Blood Bound's was.

[Melanie]

Review originally posted at RabidReads.com.

I’ve been on a bit of relisten kick lately, ever since late last year. I decided I would relisten to this series. It is one that I really loved and since wasn’t reviewing when I read them the first time, I thought now would be a great time.

So, the Bound series. It is a PNR series that takes place in a world just like the one we live in today. However, their are people in this world that have special abilities. These “skills” (not a complete list, but the most important ones):

Trackers, people who can try by blood or name
Readers, people who can tell when a person is lying
Travelers, people who can travel from one dark shadow to another
Blinders, people who can create darkness around them
Jammers, people who block the signature of other skilled people. Many hare highly paid nannies to help keep children from being found by trackers
Binders, people who can bind you a contract to the point that it can kill you to break that contract.
That last one is really important. There are two “leaders” in this city. Ruben Cavazos and Jake Tower. They each control about a third of the city, with the last third being “free”. These guys are kinda like mob bosses. They offer to help people who are desperate and then sign these people to an unbreakable contract. Their underlings get chainlinks tattooed on their bodies to show their affiliations. The more links, the longer you’re in the syndicate or how long you’ve signed up for.

I will also mention that names have a lot of power in them. Every Skilled person has four names, first, last and two middle. Each parent assigns a middle name, but they don’t tell the other. This way, only the actual person knows all four names. That is something that they hold close and rarely share. They even go so far as to name their children where the first name can be shorten, so that you aren’t using your full name on a daily basis.

This story follows Kori. There was some things that happened in the first book that got her in a lot of trouble (putting it mildly). She’s been released from her prison to help recruit a new guy, Ian, who’s a blinder. He can create shadows so dark people can’t see at all. Ian is one of the strongest binders anyone has ever seen. Kori must get him to sign with Tower or she might not live much longer. Ian has his own agenda and has no intention of signing.

Narration
Gabra Zackman does an amazing job with the narration of this series. She keeps the voices consistent from book to book. I like her men and women’s voices. As these stories are told from first person POV that switches between the hero and heroine, Zackman even changes the narration parts so you can tell if the male or female is telling the story. Made the switch of POVs very easy to follow.

[Amber]

10/10, of course! Did you expect anything less?

[Linda]

Full review on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

I thought the character development, the fast pace and the supsense were great in this book!