Bound by Prophecy by Melissa Wright#1 The Descendants Series
Genre: Romance/Paranormal/Dystopian (?)
Goodreads Summary:
Twenty-two-year-old Aern is done watching his brother destroy the only thing that matters. He never wanted to take Morgan’s place among council, never wanted to rule their hidden world. But when the key to the prophecy is found, a young girl named Brianna whom Morgan will destroy, Aern knows he has to take action.
What he really wants, is for things to go back to normal. But now he’s kidnapped a girl, and his brother’s men are after him. His only hope is to join with the Division, but they have plans of their own, and it’s the last thing Aern is willing to do.
Emily just wants her sister back. She doesn't care about the prophecy, or realize what’s at stake. But when she goes after Aern, the truth of the matter uncoils, and Brianna isn't the only one who’s in danger.
Suddenly, they’re at the center of a secret war, and unless they can work together, they’ll both have a sacrifice too big to make.
**Spoiler Free Review**
I decided to pick this book up after Ben (From BenjaminofTomes) made it his bookclub book of the month. The plot definitely intrigued me as, although prophecies are often a bit overdone in books, this one sounded different to others and I thought it had a lot of potential.
Unfortunately, I do feel like this potential was somewhat wasted. This was the most vague book I think I have ever read. I was just left with a ridiculous amount of questions. I couldn't tell you where the book was set, what the world is like, why things are happening, or even what the main character's motives were and it's in a first person narrative. I understand when a book likes to slowly build up the world around it, but in this there was no world building, just a plot which lacked a lot of sense because of it. It also stopped me from connecting to the characters because I didn't understand them or why they were doing things.
We only get to hear vague things about the prophecy and an ancient language, as well as two groups called Council and The Division, but they seemed to blend at some point, which left me confused. I don't understand if this is set in the future, who this race of people are (if they are a different race?), what their powers are or why? Why? Why is anything happening??
One thing that did really bother me more than this though was the fact that even in a first person perspective where the main character knows a lot, they didn't let the reader know anything. Sometimes two characters would have a mental conversation. For example 'I willed her to understand what I meant, and she did', whilst the reader was left saying 'WHAT? What did she understand from that look??'
Despite all of this I do see that there is a good story hidden amongst the questions, it could have even been great with some more context and background thrown in. I did just get left feeling confused an awful lot and the ending felt quite rushed. The main plus I have of this book was that it was a quick read, but I would've preferred a longer read with some more background to it! I am going to continue the series (mostly because I bought the trilogy on kobo for £2.50) but also because I'm hoping the second and third books will explain more. I just hope that this book wasn't left deliberately vague to intrigue people into buying the sequels, because books written well and in detail can lure readers back much better than a vague one!
Twenty-two-year-old Aern is done watching his brother destroy the only thing that matters. He never wanted to take Morgan’s place among council, never wanted to rule their hidden world. But when the key to the prophecy is found, a young girl named Brianna whom Morgan will destroy, Aern knows he has to take action.
What he really wants, is for things to go back to normal. But now he’s kidnapped a girl, and his brother’s men are after him. His only hope is to join with the Division, but they have plans of their own, and it’s the last thing Aern is willing to do.
Emily just wants her sister back. She doesn't care about the prophecy, or realize what’s at stake. But when she goes after Aern, the truth of the matter uncoils, and Brianna isn't the only one who’s in danger.
Suddenly, they’re at the center of a secret war, and unless they can work together, they’ll both have a sacrifice too big to make.
**Spoiler Free Review**
I decided to pick this book up after Ben (From BenjaminofTomes) made it his bookclub book of the month. The plot definitely intrigued me as, although prophecies are often a bit overdone in books, this one sounded different to others and I thought it had a lot of potential.
Unfortunately, I do feel like this potential was somewhat wasted. This was the most vague book I think I have ever read. I was just left with a ridiculous amount of questions. I couldn't tell you where the book was set, what the world is like, why things are happening, or even what the main character's motives were and it's in a first person narrative. I understand when a book likes to slowly build up the world around it, but in this there was no world building, just a plot which lacked a lot of sense because of it. It also stopped me from connecting to the characters because I didn't understand them or why they were doing things.
We only get to hear vague things about the prophecy and an ancient language, as well as two groups called Council and The Division, but they seemed to blend at some point, which left me confused. I don't understand if this is set in the future, who this race of people are (if they are a different race?), what their powers are or why? Why? Why is anything happening??
One thing that did really bother me more than this though was the fact that even in a first person perspective where the main character knows a lot, they didn't let the reader know anything. Sometimes two characters would have a mental conversation. For example 'I willed her to understand what I meant, and she did', whilst the reader was left saying 'WHAT? What did she understand from that look??'
Despite all of this I do see that there is a good story hidden amongst the questions, it could have even been great with some more context and background thrown in. I did just get left feeling confused an awful lot and the ending felt quite rushed. The main plus I have of this book was that it was a quick read, but I would've preferred a longer read with some more background to it! I am going to continue the series (mostly because I bought the trilogy on kobo for £2.50) but also because I'm hoping the second and third books will explain more. I just hope that this book wasn't left deliberately vague to intrigue people into buying the sequels, because books written well and in detail can lure readers back much better than a vague one!
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