Bound by Duty (Bound, #1)

by Stormy Smith

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

Bound by Duty seemed to take me forever to read. I have admitted before that audiobooks tend to take me awhile because of my short commute, but I think there was something more at play with this one than just my short commute.

Bound by Duty felt too formulaic for me. The young girl with mysterious powers growing up in a single parent household goes off to school (college in this case) and is suddenly at the center of a love triangle and a huge power struggle where everyone is a knowledge hoarder. It’s obvious what the young girl needs to do and who she will end up with. I didn’t feel compelled to move forward with the story and I kept thinking, “I know how this ends. This is not a surprise.”

I also think that the audio version of the book perhaps did the story some injustice. Right from the start Kristin James’s narration grated on me. Everyone had husky voices and talked in whispers or lower tones. The story is told from the first person point of view and there was this weird echo effect used when Amelia would have an internal monologue. As if there were not enough textual clues given so the reader/listener would know that Amelia was thinking these thoughts and not speaking them out loud. A few of the characters had British accents, and I was never sure why. Their ethnic origins were never explained and there were times where the accents seemed to slip a bit. In the end, I regretted taking advantage of the audiobook sale.

While the story was formulaic and the narration didn’t jive with me, I did love Amelia’s best friend, Bethany. She was the picture perfect Southern Belle who infused a lot of life and confidence into Amelia’s life. Not much fazed Bethany, to Amelia’s benefit, and Bethany was a fighter. I wanted more Bethany.

I think fans of urban fantasy might find this story intriguing especially if you are looking for straightforward read with few surprises. I would shy away from the audiobook version, no matter how good the deal is, as I feel, perhaps, it doesn’t do the story justice. In the end, Bound by Duty was not a good fit for me, but others might like this foray into the paranormal with a new adult bent.


This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews