Welcome to my tour stop for the Bound by Duty Blog Tour! I am beyond excited to take part in this tour. I am very honored to be joining some amazing bloggers for this tour! To see other bloggers check the schedule.
Author: Stormy Smith
Series: Bound Series #1
Genres: YA Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Publication Date: July 24th, 2014
Publisher: Storm Publishing LLC
Page Numbers: 390
Format: Paperback, E-Book
Source: YA Bound Book Tours
Purchase: Amazon
Synopsis from Goodreads:
My Rating: ★★★★★Amelia grew up in a world of half-truths. She knows she's an Elder but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she's betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and she doesn't even know his name.Finally breaking free to live a few normal years at a community college, the last thing Amelia expects is to find her best friend in a cheeky Southern girl and to fall for a self-assured human who sees her for who she is and not what she'll be.As she learns more about herself, Amelia realizes the line between love and duty is a thin one. As her power continues to increase exponentially and her questions are slowly answered, Amelia must make the ultimate choice. The question is, will her head or her heart win the battle?
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Favorite Quotes
"Amelia, that's no line. I don't have lines. I don't say things because they'll make you feel better. I say them because I want to. Or because they're true. Usually both."
- Aidan
"Your power is an extension of the woman you will become and, at the very least, I can teach you to control it and defend yourself, if that's what you want."
- Micah
"I don't want you to be afraid of this, Amelia. Afraid of me. So, we'll go slow. I know I can be intense. I guess that's the foster kid in me. When I find someone worth it I give it everything I've got."
- Aidan
"I know what you're saying about being scared, but Aidan isn't going to run away and I don't think he'll let you either. You've got to decide what's more important, lady -- following your fear or following your heart. If you pick heart, you're gonna have to accept being scared to death, but what you get in the end could be better than you ever imagined."
- Bethany
"The only thing you can do is listen when people talk and decide later what was worth hearing."
- Amelia
"Pick me, Amelia. Please, pick me. Be the one who finally picks me."
- Aidan
My Review
This book was completely outstanding. It started off slow and at about 45% in I was ready to just give up on it, but boy did this book pick up and shock me in so many ways. First off I'm just going to say that damn cliffhanger. Like why do these amazing stories have such painful, gripping cliffhangers?! I need more!This story follows Amelia who lives her life in a pile of lies. She's just started community college to live a normal life as she live in an Immortal world as an Elder. She is the last of her kind and she doesn't understand how to control her powers. She has lived her life listening to her father and brother and putting everyone else before her. It's not until her brother Cole, also an Elder (just not as powerful. Men were not powerful, the women were) takes her on a journey to meet her Uncle Derreck, an uncle who Cole kept a secret. When she meets her uncle she learns that only is she an Elder, but she is the Keeper. She holds the power of all five families of Elder making her extremely powerful and the only one that can kill the evil Queen Julia. She also learns that her father is not crazy, he was in essence a spy for the Queen thanks to Hunter Rhi (can't go into detail because it will be all spoilers). To throw all that in, she was also betrothed to the Prince from birth.
Bethany is a spitfire! She is sassy, sweet, loving, caring and absolutely the perfect best friend for Amelia. Her heart makes her the perfect person. Even when she was thrown into the world of Immortals and learned about Micah (towards the end) she was cool and down-to-Earth. Awesome best friend!
Micah was an awesome guy until the truth of his identity is discovered. First off, I think Amelia should have listened to her gut instinct about Micah from the start. However, Micah was an awesome boyfriend to Bethany and a cool "mentor" to Amelia. He helped her control her powers and taught her new things. I loved how hard he tried to help her. When the truth of his identity if discovered, thanks to the AniMages, is revealed it throws a true spin on everything. To be Prince Mikail and betray the trust of Cole, Amelia and Aidan is just crazy.
Aidan was such an awesome guy. He was bold and caring. His upbringing totally bought me to tears and the ending when he begged Amelia to pick him for her to be the first one to pick him just tore my heart to pieces. I loved that he found out he wasn't completely human and confided in her. I believe he is Amelia's mate that will help her unlock her powers. It's already been proven when she went up against the red headed woman.
Queen Julia …what can I say about this wretched woman. She is beyond evil. Killing Elders, exiling the AniMages, killing innocent people all to avoid the prophecy…she seriously has issues. I hope Amelia kicks her butt in the next book. Queen Julia is the epitome of jealous sore loser.
I am quite captivated by this series and can't wait to see what happens next for Amelia and the path she truly decides on.
About the Author
I was
born in Southeast Iowa, in a tiny town without much to do. I came to love
reading honestly, with a Mom that had an entire room devoted to books. We read
together until I could read alone, and then we often shared books. We talked
stories and favorite characters, even shared tears over the best ones. I made
friends who also loved books and we grew up with the likes of V.C. Andrews,
L.J. Smith and Anne Rice.
I
live in central Iowa now, and went into marketing because I could use my love
of words and head for branding. I married a guy who hates fiction and loves
video games, but we compromise with great movies (often my book adaptations)
and live music. We have two crazy cats that constantly walk across my key board
or curl into my lap for naps while I write.
I love chocolate peanut butter and mint chocolate chip ice cream and Sauvignon Blanc wine, though not at the same time. I always have music of some sort on and someday I'll convince my husband to move to the ocean. Someday.
I love chocolate peanut butter and mint chocolate chip ice cream and Sauvignon Blanc wine, though not at the same time. I always have music of some sort on and someday I'll convince my husband to move to the ocean. Someday.
Giveaway
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