Soul Bound by Anne Hope (Dark Souls #1)
Paranormal Romance
June 5, 2012
Samhain
Reviewed by Mandi
Jace Cutler was stabbed and Dr. Lia Benson watched him die on her table as she tried to save him. She also noticed a strange energy consume her when he died. But a few minutes later, Jace’s heart starts to beat and Lia knows her life is about to change.
Jace awakes with no memories and him and Lia are now linked, both yearning for the other, and both very confused about what just happened. Lia is dreaming Jace’s memories, and Jace is obsessed with having Lia near. What they soon learn is that there are creatures on this Earth called Kleptopsychs, who basically eat people’s souls. They thrive on darkness and evil. Jace Cutler is a hybrid. Half Kleptopsych, half human. Jace’s soul left his body on that operating table, but was reborn inside Lia. Because he is a hybrid, he still has that black energy inside of him, but he also has a good human side. It is a daily struggle for him to find the right path. He meets up with other hybrids, called Watchers, and he starts to train to maximize his abilities and learn the true nature of what he really is. All the while, Lia is struggling with this new world and the attraction with this new man while they both try to fight off the evil Kleptopsychs.
Soul Bound is a book with an interesting concept. I like the idea of Kleptopsychs and that the hero has a lot of darkness within him that he struggles with. It is a very hard road for him, for both having to fight off the evil forces, but also accepting who he really is. Lia also plays a nice role as she is caught in the middle, having part of Jace literally inside of her, not by her choice. They are both dragged into a supernatural world and the author does a nice job of having them both resist these crazy changes in their life, to finally accepting it and deciding to fight.
What I think hurts this story is the heavy world building. In the beginning of the book, the reader is just as lost as Lia and Jace as to what is going on. Eventually the rules and history of the world are presented and it is a lot of information to take in. Too much in my opinion. It really weighs the story down and made it difficult to absorb everything. It seems like each new chapter brings a ton of new rules and things we need to learn about this world.
I also think Lia and Jace’s relationship isn’t super romantic. They have a fierce connection, which they both can’t ignore, but it is a harder romance. No soft edges. They have to go all in quick, as they have a bond that demands things from them. I wanted to see them fall in love more, but instead it always felt like a struggle.
I enjoyed the addition of the Watchers who are there to kind of reel Jace in so he doesn’t choose the evil path. It takes a lot of Jace to trust anyone. I wish we got to know them better in this book. I thought the Villains in this one for the first half of the book, were a pretty poor opponent. It seemed Jace and company, even not really knowing what he was doing could out wit them, but they did put up a better fight towards the end. However, Lia runs out into danger by herself, and she definitely hit the TSTL category!
This would have been a better story had the world not been so complicated.
Rating: C
Recent Reviews:
Paranormal Romance – 4.5/5
Goodreads
Great review Mandi. I took a good hard look at this one, and decided to pass. Might be worthwhile to pick up later in the series when the world gets more flushed.
No, this book really does not call my name. The heroine with the soul of the hero inside of her, that just is not right.