Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison

4 out of 5 Robots!
 

Shadow Bound

Author: Erin Kellison

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Release Date: June 29, 2010

Paperback: 322 pages
Publisher: Leisure Books
ISBN-10: 0505528290
ISBN-13: 978-0505528292

My Copy: Provided by Publisher

My Review:

Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison starts off with an intense prologue that literally sucks you into the story and makes you crave more. We're given a brief background of our heroine, Talia O'Brien, and how she was conceived. (Her heritage is an integral part of the story!) Then Kellison kicks off the story 26 years later and takes you for a dark, fresh and thrilling ride.

Having had a near death experience at 15 years old and subsequently finding herself in the Shadowman's company, Talia has devoted her work and studies to near-death experiences.  Now she has finally completed her dissertation for her doctorate and is just hours away from the start of a brilliant career. But her bright, normal life is suddenly shattered as she is thrown into the scary world of paranormal, soulless immortals that are hell bent on hunting her down. Retreating into the shadows to protect herself, our heroine is half fae. She can call the darkness for cover, becoming invisible to the wraiths tracking her and this is how she's outrun them for months... but is her luck running out?

Adam Thorne, our hero, has devoted his life's work to finding the means to slaughter all of the soulless wraiths. One of the few humans that are aware of their existence, his entire family was massacred by his brother-turned-wraith. He thinks he has discovered something that may catapult his research in the right direction- Talia's dissertation. Now desperately searching for Talia, he tracks her down. Now Adam must convince Talia that she must trust him and join his staff at his private research laboratory to work to save the world from the war against the wraiths.

The plot is magnificent. The story propelled me into an unfamiliar world where one can choose death or immortality; those willing to sacrifice their soul can trade it for everlasting life. Shadow Bound introduced me to new beings and a world that is rarely explored in most of the supernatural books I have read lately. Talia pulling in the darkness as a shield was fascinating! The romance was on the lighter side, but was enough to satiate my need for a little extra excitement. And although I felt it was a little flat, it made the characters feel both relative and pragmatic. The constant action, heartbreak and loss also kept me feeling connected to the story, I couldn't stop flipping the pages- rooting for Talia and Adam to find the answers they were seeking.

Now, even though this was a great story- I was a little disappointed with a few things. First of all, there was very little background provided for the wraiths. And the stunning Shadowman? He's bizarre! I was consistently trying to figure him out- what an amazing character. But I wanted to know more! He broke rules to conceive Talia and love her mother... I wish those rules and his world had been explored. There are descriptions and theories that could have been touched on more for me.

Shadow Bound was fun, suspenseful and action packed- making it hard to put down. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys Urban Fantasy. And good news! There is a second! Shadow Fall will be released in late July.

A special thank you to RRR's newest reviewer, Dewey, for this review! (And hopefully many more ;) )