Blood Bound

I really like Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series, so I was eager to read Unbound, her adult urban fantasy series. Blood Bound follows the tenacious and brave Olivia Warren and the witty and sexy Cam Caballero as they race to recover a little girl. In a world where oaths and contracts are magically enforced and betrayal has deadly consequences, they must find the child before their respective pasts catch up with them.

The world building in this book took me by surprise - it is well thought out and intricate, and readers are introduced to it a little at a time so it's not overwhelming. The Skilled are a cool addition to the world - people who have magical powers such as Tracking, Seeing into the future, Travelling using shadows and show more Binding people into magically enforced contracts. They have formed a black market, where their Skills are made available to the general public, for a price. Blood Bound is set in a city that where the Skilled are largely controlled by two rival gangs, and independents, like Liv, are hard to find and constantly in danger. The danger increases when her search for the child lands in the crosshairs of both gangs. I love the dark new world that Vincent has created and am looking forward to finding out more of the secrets and history behind the two gangs.

I instantly liked Liv when I met her. It would have been so easy for her come across like many other female protagonists in urban fantasy, but I found her strength realistic given her past and present predicaments. She's jaded, but not so much that it's tiring to read about how she doesn't believe in anything good anymore, and I think the reintroduction of Cam into her life makes Liv question a lot of things. Her Skill - the ability to track anyone by using their blood - is really interesting and I liked how it complimented Cam's Skill in finding people using only a name. She also has a vulnerable side and although she's never playing a helpless damsel in distress, its nice to see her acknowledge that she does need help sometimes.

The tension and romance between Cam and Liv is perfect : while they are focussed on their goal of saving their friend's daughter, but can't deny that their attraction to one another, six years after their break up. The story is told from both their perspectives so it's easy to sympathise with them. Cam is understandably confused about why Liv left him all those years ago, and wants to convince her to try again, while Liv is hiding a secret from him that could threaten their whole relationship. The dual perspective is potentially confusing it changes without warning, but I quickly got used to it. It is also nice to know what the guy is thinking for once, instead of having to guess like in most other novels.

An enjoyable book set in a vivid new world, Blood Bound will be enjoyed by fans of Rachel Vincent's previous works and those looking for new and unique urban fantasy. I enjoyed the book immensely and look forward to reading the sequel, Shadow Bound, soon.

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. show less

Sir Walter Scott's quote "What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" came to mind when I read Blood Bound. Layers upon layers of lies and oaths bind this story together.

In the Unbound world, you are bound by your word. Whether by blood or verbal oath, you are compelled to keep your promises. Going against your word can be hazardous to your health and even deadly. This world is filled with Skilled and un-Skilled humans. Most Skilled humans align themselves with one of two mob-type bosses, sometimes against their better judgment or even against their own will.

Liv Warren's life isn't always her own. A school girl promise, has Liv using her Blood Tracking Skills to help a childhood friend against her will. Liv is also show more forced to team up with he oh-so-sexy x-boyfriend Cam. He’s the one man she can’t live without, but has to. She is also secretly bound to a syndicate that basically owns her body and mind.

I absolutely loved the dynamic between Liv and Cam. They have a sexual tension that is so electric it jumps off the page. You can feel it in every word shared and even in every casual touch. I enjoyed uncovering their past while reading the story, it make me root for them more and more. Liv is strong both physically, mentally, and emotionally. She’s willing to give everything for the people she cares about. She isn’t a victim, like most modern female characters. You can’t help but fall in love with her character. I also enjoyed the secondary characters, and cannot wait to read more about them in Rachel’s Unbound upcoming books.

In true Rachel Vincent fashion, the ending of Blood Bound left me aching for more. She writes the most dramatic endings, that leave you torn between throwing the book at the wall and selling your first born for an advanced copy of the next book.

Rachel has an amazing knack for building unique fictional worlds. In a sea of carbon copy urban fantasy series, Blood Bound is a breath of fresh air. Her writing is both multifaceted and brilliant!

Overall, Blood Bound is a dark and seductive thrill ride. I found myself getting pulled in the Rachel’s Unbound world, and not wanting to leave. I enjoyed untangling the web that is Blood Bound!

MY RATING:

Plot: 5/5
Setting: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Originality of Plot: 5/5
Characters Development: 4.5/5
Ending: 4.5/5
Cover Art: 4.5/5
Likelihood to Recommend: 5/5

Overall: 38/40 = 95% show less

The main concept: there are some people with particular skills living in a world where they are not officially acknowledged, but they are nonetheless coerced into using said skills to perform particular jobs for the mafia-lords that rule the city.
There is too little world-building to call this a dystopia, but we can fairly say that the world in which [b:Blood Bound|12101104|Blood Bound (Unbound Novel)|Rachel Vincent|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519paAM-0ZL._SL75_.jpg|15080228] is set is somewhat slightly dystopical-flavoured.

The novel is written in first-person, from the POV of alternatively the female and the male protagonist. The change in POV does not occur in random spots and the author is always careful to write the show more incipits in such a way that it's immediately clear which perspective is being told. Kudos to [a:Rachel Vincent|415967|Rachel Vincent|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1262900481p2/415967.jpg], that's not easy to accomplish.

Olivia is able to track people from a sample of their blood. Everything begins when her friend Anne knocks on her door and demands that she avenges the death of Anne's husband, who has been murdered just few hours before.
I hated the needy and whiny bitch on sight. But Olivia accepts the request quite graciously, given that a “demand” from her friend is actually a “do it or die” kind of deal; moreover, she has to do it at once and she has to work with her ex-boyfriend.
The bitch (Anne, not Olivia).
Just for putting a friend in such a position, Anne would have deserved a slow and painful death along the plot (but I'm not going to spoiler you and say if that actually happens or not).
Olivia finds herself between the proverbial rock and hard place, because fulfilling her friend's request can cause (and will cause) every sort of friction with her arrangments with the local mafia boss. Not to say anything about the forced collaboration with the ex.

There's plenty of mystery, little fun but a lot of sass, a lot of thrill and a conspicuous amount of sexual tension, even if there isn't a single sex scene in all the book (that's not to say there isn't sex, just that it's not overly detailed). Just writing this, I've decided to rate this five stars because really: what else do you want in a book?

Originally, I gave this four stars just because of Anniethebitch. Ok, and because there are some huge question marks left unanswered, too.
For example:
1: Why don't they all move to another city/state/continent, where they wouldn't be subjects of the mafia system? I'm not saying they should (after all, I'm still living in Italy), but we don't know why they don't do it.
2: How is the rest of the world organized, outside of the city? It's said that in the city there are two syndicated zones and an independent one. Are all the cities supposed to be the same?
3: Why didn't Cam (male protagonist) try to talk to Olivia before these events? Six years is quite a long time to keep waiting for something to happen. Why didn't he move sooner?
There are other ones that at the moment won't come to mind. And sure, there is also the problem with the ending. In series-related books some sort of cliffhanger is to be expected (if it were not so, the series would quickly come to an end). But I hate cliffhangers. Even little cliffhangers, like this one.

But all in all this book had me captivated from start to end, and it was a solid good read. Hence the five stars. show less

I didn't make it very far into this book but the initial setup for the main plot is so abysmally bad, I can not understand how anyone can see past it at all.
What truly baffles me is that apparently nobody else even thought this worth mentioning. Did I read the same book?
This next part spoils the first hour of the audiobook which is nothing more than the basic story setup. I am not even far enough in the story to cover the entire blurb.
Bear with me, I have to set this entire thing up. I want you to experience the entire scope of my outrage over this bullshit.
The MC and her 3 best childhood friends accidentally oath-bound each other together magically so that if they requested anything from each other the other had to try everything in show more their power to fulfill that request or die within minutes if the asker didn't take the request back.
That unsurprisingly eventually ruined their friendship but we didn't (yet?) learn exactly what went down back then. In the end, they bound each other with a second oath that prevents them from asking for anything from each other and the MC went her own way. Makes sense.
Later on, the MC had a boyfriend or something of the sort that was very serious, but she was so badly mixed up in the criminal underworld as a tracker and sometimes even a killer, that she decided to basically ghost him because she couldn't bear him potentially dying because of her shit. (At least that's my interpretation of the vagueness about it.)
So far so good, not very original, maybe, but I am totally on board!
Now comes the kicker.
Present-day.
The husband of one of her friends was murdered (probably by some murder-for-hire type) and she suddenly shows up on the MCs doorstep asking her to find and kill the murderer.
Apparently, the second oath has been broken without the MC knowing about it.
The MC initially refuses and promptly starts to die, feeling incredible pain, and experiencing how each individual part of her body shuts down but with her nervous system staying fully intact.
Let me emphasize this. This previous childhood friend is willing to torture and kill her previous best friend just for potential revenge. Her husband isn't even dead a day at this point.
After this "friend" told the MC how she was happily married and has a child, the MC gets soft and gives in at least partly, agreeing to find but not murder the guy.
It is explicitly pointed out that because of her underworld connections, she might very well sign her own death warrant by killing the guy.
The MC then wants to know how the "friend" found her because apparently, she is pretty hard to find. Turns out the MCs previous lover (or whatever), "Cam", can find her anywhere with his magic. And not only did he find her for this "friend", but he also arranged the entire thing, putting her up to this in the first place. So they not only want her to kills someone for her, potentially endangering her life, no, she also requires the MC to do it all together with this Cam stalker guy under threat of torture and death because he asked her to I guess? The MC tries to stay away from the guy because he is still gorgeous and incredibly tempting but she can't get involved with him again for reasons.
So, now, what would you do in this situation. How would you feel?
Honestly, I would feel so incredibly betrayed I would never forgive either person but especially Cam who is essentially exploiting the suffering of the poor woman to get into the MC's pants. It's incredibly disgusting. If I had trouble resisting that guy before, after that stunt I wouldn't anymore.
But no, not at all, the MC feels bad for her "friend" and agrees because she feels bad for her and because she has a daughter. That apparently makes sense somehow? Oh, and the "friend" can't possibly do the killing herself because it would scar her for life...
So, after all this bullshit, I was already pretty done but I didn't yet drop. There still was potential for redemption. But no, it gets even worse. The MC then asks for a retainer. And these two dickwads react in outrage and hurt. And she doesn't even ask for much. She accepts just 5$! But Cam now looks at her with disdain because the MC supposedly exploits the suffering of the poor "friend" for the financial gain of 5$.
And the MC actually feels bad about it and reacts like she is in the wrong in this entire fucked up situation! That is the part that truly enrages me. The situation is portrayed in a way that is supposed to make us believe she isn't being fucked over big times but is instead just stubborn and doesn't want to help a friend.


Nope, nope, nope. I am DONE! show less

I have been looking forward to this book coming out since the moment Rachel Vincent announced there would be a new series. I'm not sure I knew what to expect or even if I cared what the book was about, all that mattered was Shifters was coming to an end and this new series meant I got to keep reading Rachel Vincent's words. It's funny that I didn't panic a little that the books had nothing to do with the typical supernatural creature, a big departure from the were world Vincent had already created, but I have never not liked anything I have read of Vincent's so I knew it was going to be good, thankfully it was.

If I had to pick one thing as Vincent's best writing skill is she is great at world building. She never throws it all at the show more reader, she gives just enough a little at a time. I never feel confused by whatever world I enter when reading one of her books, and the same was true for this one. The concept was really interesting, everyone is human, but some of those humans are Skilled. It's kind of like magic with a weird twist, only some people have certain skills. Liv and Cam (main characters) being different forms of trackers, blood and names respectively. I don't know if the Skilled people would be nearly as interesting if they didn't live in a city that can only be described as mob controlled times 10. The difference is being in the mob is taken to the extreme because you can be bound to that organization by blood, meaning not fulfilling your contract means death.Talk about intense.

Liv is a great lead character, she's broken to an extent but still fighting as hard as she can. She can dish it out and she can take it, as shown numerous times throughout the book. Cam is also broken to extent, losing Liv before the events take place. Them separating ultimately ends up with them being on two different sides of the city and in one way or another bound to a different syndicate. This certainly complicated every aspect of the plot.

Liv and Cam come together for the first time in six years in order to do a favor for a mutual friend, a friend that Liv happens to be bound to help. The events that happen all happen very quickly, in the course of maybe a day and half. Books that move that fast almost always make me wonder how the following book is going to be, will it be months into the future, or will the main characters just live an insane month over the course of several books, makes me wonder how Vincent is going to handle the second book.

I think one of my favorite things about this book is so many people within the book betray each other in so many different and sometimes terrible ways, and as a reader you want to hate those people and then you have to remind yourself, they did all those terrible things against their will. I have to admit being rather annoyed at some people and then being annoyed that I couldn't really fault any of these people for their actions, because they were compelled to do; especially since most of the characters in the book fought their bonds and found as many loop holes as they possibly could. Although towards the end on the "mob" bosses said something that stuck with me, that while people are just following orders they all entered into their bonds on their own, and everyone was responsible for their actions. As much as know some of the actions were done against their will, they all made the decision to give up their free will, so that has to be considered. I makes for quite a quandary when trying to decide if I like a character.

I loved the book, like seriously loved this book, I literally had to resist the urge to read it a second time immediately after I finished reading it in one sitting the first time. I don't know why by Rachel Vincent's writing sucks me in more than any other author I have read. Her books are not just an enjoyable read, but they make me think. No one is ever perfect in any of the world's she creates, and it's those imperfections, both big and small that make me enjoy her characters so much. I love the dimension of the characters, that everyone is in one way or another a little broken or jaded from life. I also love that even though this book is one of a series she wraps up the plot. Nothing is more annoying than when I have to wait an entire year for one plot to be concluded. Sure in the last two pages it is clear that there are going to be new challenges for Liv and Cam, they are going to be new challenges, and I am not going to have to wait a year to find out how the first plot ends (thank you so much for that Rachel). I would recommend this book to anyone, even those who aren't really big on the supernatural, while this book does give some humans a type of power, they are still human and I think it would make a great read for people who aren't into vampires and weres. Already looking forward to the next installment. show less

First off: I tried to read STRAY, the first of Rachel Vincent's Shifters series, and put it down about halfway through, equally disgusted with the main character and her love interest. I haven't felt the slightest desire to return to the Shifter books but I was impressed with Vincent's talent enough that, combined with the very interesting premise of BLOOD BOUND, I decided to give it a try. And I have to say, all other thoughts aside, none of the things that frustrated me about STRAY were present in BLOOD BOUND.

BLOOD BOUND is fascinating and very dark. It presents a world full of people with Skills who live underground, most of them bound by nefarious means to cruel mafia lords. And while the Skills themselves sound pretty cool at show more first - Trackers can track people, Seers can see the future, etc. - they cause more harm then good. Vincent has played out the implications of these nifty superpowers to the point of creating a terrifying dystopia, and the best case in point forms the fulcrum around which the rest of the novel turns: at the age of twelve, the heroine, Olivia, and her three best friends all swore a vow to help one another whenever asked for the rest of their lives. The presence of a Binder in their group made the vow binding, and permanent. Sounds great, right? Nope. The vow ruined their friendship, and very nearly their lives.

When Olivia's friend Anne knocks on her door and demands that she drop everything in order to find and murder the person who killed Anne's husband, Olivia has no choice but to agree. She has a very difficult time negotiating, or even hesitating. If she resists for long enough, she dies. And actually, I thought Anne was the weakest link in the whole novel. Anne is the least sympathetic grieving widow/protective mama that I've ever had the displeasure to encounter in a book. Her husband's body is barely cold on the floor but the first thing she thinks to do is force Olivia into an immoral act, despite her protests? It's gross, and when Olivia calls her on it, asking Anne to at least take some time to reflect, this is Anne's reply: "I would rather have this whole thing over with before I go pick up Hadley. I don't want to have to think about this while I'm trying to decide how best to explain what happened to her father without scarring her for life." Ugh! So smug and self-righteous. I hated Anne.

Anyhow: the real take home point there is that most of the characters, even the villains, are at least a touch more sympathetic.

So Olivia is off to find the dead husband's killer, in the company of the old flame she's suffered much to protect. They work out their old issues only to discover that bigger ones have risen up in the meanwhile. They find the killer only to get some unpleasant news about what his real goal was, and who he worked for. Again and again, those nifty Skills that ought to make the world a better place just turn the screws tighter and make things worse.

I ended up finding the story and the relationships really compelling. But...I'm going to spoiler tag this. I'm not giving away anything specific, but my impression of the end The conclusion really hit me like a sucker-punch to the gut. Such a devastating cliffhanger. After having gotten all excited about this new series I turned the last page thinking: nope, I don't want to read about that, it will be too awful. Who knows if I'll be able to resist temptation but, man, I am not a happy camper right now.. Aside from that, anyhow, BLOOD BOUND is worth a try. show less

4.5/5 stars!

Note that this is a review for both books one and two, so it will be posted at both listings.

I'd say I'm a casual fan of Vincent's work - I only skimmed the first two books of the "Alphas" series (it didn't hold too much interest for me), but I do really like the "Soul Screamers" series. Then I heard about this one, and decided to pick it up. And I'm really glad I did, because I think I can safely say that this series is some of her best work yet. The intensity and unflinching grittiness that begins in book one ("Blood Bound") continues with no middle book syndrome whatsoever. If you're just getting into the urban fantasy genre, I HIGHLY recommend the "Unbound" trilogy as it stands right now.

It feels like Vincent has show more improved leaps and bounds when it comes to worldbuilding and character construction. The world, though small, blew me away in "Blood Bound" in it's tiny simplicity - there are the Skilled, those who have supernatural abilities that make them very desirable to certain parties, and the unSkilled - normal human beings. There are no shapeshifters or werewolves, and that alone in a paranormal story these days seems to be getting rarer and rarer. There's only the fear of one's blood being spilt - it can bind you to someone and make you do anything they want, whether you're aware of it or not. And then there's one career path - the US government will not acknowledge the Skilled even if they've been out of the collective social closet for over 30 years, so your job path is one of two things - you either freelance it and use your Skill that way, or you join the mob.

What's wonderful about this worldbuilding is that there are so few choices and everything is very clearly defined and labeled, severely limiting the characters' behaviors and choices. This is great for putting one's characters under pressure and seeing what comes out of it - and what comes out of it, in both books, is nothing short of a story so good you're willing to lose good-sized chunks of sleep for each book.

If you've read some of Vincent's other work, you know that she's really good at killing her darlings in order to really emotionally connect with the audience and have her characters really take wonderful journeys through their individual character arcs. She sets it all up beautifully in "Blood Bound", where both Kori and Cam have no choice but to obey conflicting orders and go through a ridiculous amount of pain in the process in order to accomplish what each person wants. Olivia is a wonderful heroine in the first book, but with "Shadow Bound", Kori has become my favorite for her sheer willpower to survive and protect her sister. The storyline that took up most of book one - that of the accidental BFFs Forever Pact - isn't really up at the forefront in book two. Book two deals with the fallout from the end of book one, which is directly linked to the Pact, though the Pact itself isn't really explicitly discussed. Book two is all Kori, and everything she's willing to do to keep going, keep surviving. There is no love triangle, there is only duty - duty to the syndicate that has tortured her, and duty to her family (and to a lesser part, to the teenage pact).

Book two has some very triggery material - that of torture and rape - and I'd say that Vincent handled those PTSD flashbacks very appropriately. They weren't graphic, but they were just enough to make you realize how bad things got for Kori, and how much it took for her not to break into millions of pieces. It's hard to handle material like that in any book, and I think Vincent pulled it off very well and then made it loop back into the teenage pact where Olivia and Cam are asked for help, bringing us back full circle into what got everyone into this mess in the first place. It was beautifully outlined and written and everything tied up rather neatly. If this weren't a trilogy, I'd be convinced otherwise that this is the last book in this series. But it's not. And writing a series book to read as if it were a standalone is one of the most difficult things one can do as an author.

Overall? I adore these two books, and I can't wait to own them. Vincent's worldbuilding and characters make this series unforgettable, and absolutely unputdownable (I usually cringe at that term, but it's entirely correct here). But the worst part? Waiting for book 3, "Oath Bound" - it's going to be published sometime in early 2013, and I don't want to wait that long!

So if you want something new and fresh in this genre to read by an old hand, pick up the first two "Unbound" trilogy books "Blood Bound" and "Shadow Bound". Both have made my best of 2012 list so far and it's well-deserved. Both are out now from Mira/Harlequin books in North America, and "Shadow Bound" will be released on June 1, 2012 in the UK by Harlequin UK. Be sure to check them out - especially if you're getting tired of the same ol' plots and tropes in the urban fantasy genre. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

(posted to goodreads, shelfari, librarything, and birthofanewwitch.wordpress.com) show less