Sometimes when I look through the unread books in my Kindle, I find ones that seem to have just appeared. I have no memory of how they got there but I own them😅 One of these books was Bound by Blood by Jessica M. Butler; a novella in the Starry Kingdom of the Fae series. This series contains eleven different stories and each one is written by a different author. I thought the cover was really pretty and the synopsis sounded like a cozy fantasy so I decided to give it a try. It wasn’t bad and I had fun but it could have been better. This review will be spoiler free.
I like to give a heat level rating for all books with romance. If you’re curious about my rating system, you can check it out here.
Synopsis:
A lonely soup maker’s bargain with a cursed blood fae for a magical pup opens the door to love, soup, and a chance something special in the midst of loss.
Erryn lets everyone believe she lost her memory years ago through a deal gone wrong with the fae, but that’s because the truth is too painful to speak about. She lost everything. Her home. Her family. She took all of them for granted, then struck a bargain that left her with nothing. The last deal she made with a fae revealed there was nothing special about her. But she might reconsider to save this pup.
Ryul lost his whole family in a devastating battle against an ancient enemy and is cursed to never walk the land when daylight touches it. His magic limited and distorted from the fight, he accidentally creates an apparition that turns into an ugly little dog. If he doesn’t get it back, his magic will be depleted.
Now this wretched human wants to keep the apparition, and her love is already turning it into a real dog. She swears she can make soup that will replenish his magic if he’ll just let her keep the dog. Though he knows he shouldn’t, he makes the trade. He even offers her another deal in the event she falls in love with him (which she swears she will never do).
He doesn’t make this trade because he likes her. Or because he’s lonely. It’s just…well, there’s a good reason in there somewhere. He needs time to figure out his next step and making sure this strange, sassy, stubborn human doesn’t poison him seems as good a diversion as any.
Or is he about to lose his heart as well as the plan?
My Thoughts:
- Rating-
- Heat Level-
This short and sweet story was honestly more of a 2.5 star read but I’ve decided to round up. It definitely brings the cozy vibes because truly, what’s more cozy than making soup in a cottage? There’s also a short adventure, plenty of magical creatures and a sweet puppy… who also has wings. The primary focus, though, was the romance and it was cute but a little meh. This was more of a slow burn, which is fine, but the characters really didn’t become a couple until the very end. Since this is a novella, there was much less time for the relationship to develop and that’s why I tend to not enjoy shorter romances.
However, the main reason I can’t rate this one higher is because of the clunky writing. There was a lot of repetition (mainly about soup) that could have been edited down to make room for more world building and details in general. I never really understood the world or the creatures in it; which is a shame because the descriptions that were given made it seem really interesting.
Final Thoughts:
Bound by Blood isn’t a great read but it’s also not a bad one. It’s free in Kindle Unlimited so if you’re wanting something short and cozy, I don’t think this would be a bad choice… but be aware that it will make you crave soup. Let me know if this one sounds interesting to you! Thanks for reading!
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