Monday, April 2, 2018

Bound to You by Alyssa Brandon

Bound to You 
by Alyssa Brandon
Read: February 16 - 18, 2018
Published: April 10, 2018 by Swoon Reads
Source: ALA MW 2018 
Category: YA, Paranormal Romance, Werewolves, Mates

Book Description: A teen werewolf finally meets her destined soulmate only to discover that he's not quite what she expected in this steamy debut romance.

She's met her mate . . . and he's met his match.

Megan Ross has been waiting her whole life for her mate to come and sweep her off her feet. But the wolf she meets on the beach is NOT the sweet gentle boy she's been dreaming of. Instead, he's a warrior, one whose suffering has led him to lock his heart away in a prison as cold and hard as a diamond, who fights to resist the bond and their deep sexual attraction.

Far from home, with a soulmate who is still a stranger, Megan learns that the path to true love isn't quite as straight and easy as she thought . . .
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Bound to You is a YA werewolf Paranormal Romance. It is also a Swoon Reads book. Neither of which I've had great luck with recently. However, I'm excited to report that I enjoyed this book a lot!

I dislike the "she's not like other girls" story angle. But it is true that this book doesn’t follow the typical PNR plotline. You know, the beautiful, but-she-doesn’t-know-it girl, who moves to a new town and falls in love with a super natural creature that she never knew existed, storyline? Don't get me wrong, I've loved many books with that set-up. But it was refreshing to read something different. In Bound to You, Megan is a werewolf who has grown up in a loving family/pack, so the direction of the story doesn't focus on the discovery of a previously unknown supernatural world. Although, Megan's view of her world is expanded throughout the book. 

Bound to You begins at Megan's 18th birthday party, where she hopes that among all the young eligible werewolf guests, she will find her mate. And she does find him there! But he’s not anything like she expected (of course). James is brooding and angry and less than thrilled to now be mates - despite his Wolf’s eagerness about it. James is a warrior wolf living with his pack in Canada and he takes Megan there right away. Life with this new pack isn’t what Megan expected, but she’s determined to make the best of it and win James over. I liked Megan and could sympathize so much with her excitement about being mated and confusion over James’ seeming indifference to it. But there’s a lot going on below the surface and as Megan slowly gets to know him, she begins to understand why he is the way he is. 

At the core of this book is a love story. A very swoony hate-to-love romance (well on James’ part it seems that way). I like the way this is set up, with these two being bound right away and having to figure out how to be together. I also really appreciated the message that every relationship takes work and care, even if you’re perfect mates. 

My only downgrade of this book is that I wanted more at the end! Also we are introduced to James’ packmates as well as the mysterious Lucy, all of whom I adored and wanted to read more about, but some of those story threads (especially involving Lucy) were introduced and left wide open. As was lots of questions about wraiths. Hopefully that means the author has some companion sequels planned! 

Love Triangle Factor: None
Cliffhanger Scale: stand-alone? (Seems to set-up for a series)


2 comments:

  1. I loved the early Swoon reads but not the most recent ones so I probably wouldn't have given this one a shot _ also thinking that it was erotica from the cover lol but it does sound really good. Great review!

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  2. Ohh, lovely review Lauren :D Gosh, I wish to read some werewolves books too. Maybe I'll get to this one one day :) You make it seem so awesome, though. YAY for great characters and romance :D Seems so good. <3 But ack, I always want more of endings too, haha :) But glad it was good. <3

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