Helpful Score: 5
Did you ever read a book and part way in get a confusing sense of deja vu? Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent was that way for me. Not only was the plot predictable, by page 100, I also developed a strong sense of revulsion for the 'world' she created and the people in it, all topped by a persistently confusing change in the point of view between the two lead characters, a technique that can be interesting in the hands of a skilled writer, but not here. There is almost no distinguishing between the female and male voices, so the reader can get justifiable disoriented. Third to first person would have been much less confusing.
Writing style issues aside, what I found truly distasteful is the abusive use of binding contracts that lead to forced sex, and murder. The 'ICK" meter went off the charts.
The basic plot is OK to a point. Four girls become 'BFF's' at the age of 12 and create a pact that they sign in blood. What those 12 year olds didn't know is that all of them were 'skilled', a term used to described humans with special gifts - like seers, trackers, and binders. One of those girls was a binder and even then her power sealed the fate of all 4. But like many commitments, this one ended up tearing their friendship apart. And their 'friendship' ends up ripping apart the life of Olivia Warren - not once, but twice.
Anyone who reads mysteries knew where the plot had to go, so zero surprises. Liv is forced by that stupid childhood contract to hunt down and kill the person who murdered her old friend Anne's husband, and she's forced to work with ex-boyfriend Cam while doing it. But during this, she's bound by another contract to find someone for one of the two 'mob' bosses that run the skilled in the city. You KNOW that the two things would cross, even how they would, as well as how it all would end. Oh, and to prove the stupidity part, at the end, Liv, who had spent years being sexually abused by a mob boss signs another contract with him. Honestly, can these people never break their patterns of idiocy?
This is paranormal romance? Really? What is 'romantic' about being compelled against your will to have sex with someone you hate, or to kill someone you love, or to track and kill someone because a childhood 'friend' wants retribution for her murdered husband and she uses that old agreement to force you? By page 100, I was so fed up with this combination of lack of free will and the repetitive stupidity of signing these contracts, I wanted to shoot everyone - starting with the author. I didn't find this sexy or thrilling or anything remotely romantic. Just really, really annoying.
Yeah, I am in the minority here, but I won't be buying book 2 in this series. I prefer to be entertained, not annoyed.
Writing style issues aside, what I found truly distasteful is the abusive use of binding contracts that lead to forced sex, and murder. The 'ICK" meter went off the charts.
The basic plot is OK to a point. Four girls become 'BFF's' at the age of 12 and create a pact that they sign in blood. What those 12 year olds didn't know is that all of them were 'skilled', a term used to described humans with special gifts - like seers, trackers, and binders. One of those girls was a binder and even then her power sealed the fate of all 4. But like many commitments, this one ended up tearing their friendship apart. And their 'friendship' ends up ripping apart the life of Olivia Warren - not once, but twice.
Anyone who reads mysteries knew where the plot had to go, so zero surprises. Liv is forced by that stupid childhood contract to hunt down and kill the person who murdered her old friend Anne's husband, and she's forced to work with ex-boyfriend Cam while doing it. But during this, she's bound by another contract to find someone for one of the two 'mob' bosses that run the skilled in the city. You KNOW that the two things would cross, even how they would, as well as how it all would end. Oh, and to prove the stupidity part, at the end, Liv, who had spent years being sexually abused by a mob boss signs another contract with him. Honestly, can these people never break their patterns of idiocy?
This is paranormal romance? Really? What is 'romantic' about being compelled against your will to have sex with someone you hate, or to kill someone you love, or to track and kill someone because a childhood 'friend' wants retribution for her murdered husband and she uses that old agreement to force you? By page 100, I was so fed up with this combination of lack of free will and the repetitive stupidity of signing these contracts, I wanted to shoot everyone - starting with the author. I didn't find this sexy or thrilling or anything remotely romantic. Just really, really annoying.
Yeah, I am in the minority here, but I won't be buying book 2 in this series. I prefer to be entertained, not annoyed.
