Published: March 20, 2021
Publisher: Ryan Cahill
Series: The Bound and the Broken #1
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 541 (Kindle)
My Rating: 4.0/5.0
Synopsis:
Born in fire. Tempered in blood.
Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the south squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North.
In the remote villages of southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving—a test of courage and skill that not all survive.
But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war that has been raging for centuries.
There is no prophecy. His coming was not foretold.
He bleeds like any man, and bleed he will.
So, if you’ve ever wanted adult fantasy Eragon with a touch of Wheel of Time vibes then this is the book for you! I picked it up after seeing some buzz from a few Youtubers I follow because hey, I’m all about finding my new favorite fantasy series and some of the self-pubbed stuff is truly excellent. This is one that actually needs more hype because it’s pretty damn cool, even if it’s not bringing anything groundbreaking to the genre. But that’s the thing, not every book needs to be fresh and new, classics are great and this is a classic epic fantasy with dragons, sorcery, and evil empires – such nostalgia!
It starts off with Calen Bryer and his best friends Dann and Rist setting off for the Proving – essentially a coming of age tradition for boys in the Glade. They set off into the woods with the goal of surviving the beasts of the forest and bringing back a worthy trophy. They are set upon by dark monsters and barely survive, which is the first sign that something in the world is not as it should be. As the synopsis mentions, the boys encounter strangers who change their world forever. Suddenly their world goes from being the Glade and the surrounding villages to one that spans continents and includes people and cultures they never thought they’d meet. Oh, and did I mention the best part? DRAGONS! Yes, there are dragons and it is wonderful!
Fortunately, the book isn’t completely dominated by the boys club and Calen’s sister Ella gets her own POV chapters once she and her lover run away from the Glade. While her chapters weren’t particularly exciting at first, they got exponentially more interesting as the story goes along. Calen, Dann, and Rist also get their own POV chapters, but not until a bit later in the book when the characters aren’t necessarily together all the time.
I like Calen. He’s a classic hero figure who starts off as the son of a blacksmith with a smidge of sword skill to his name and then he becomes the rallying force behind a rebellion. He does start off as an immature kid at first, but he grows out of this (for the most part) as the story goes along. The wider world and hard experiences force you to grow up fast. Dann is supposed to be comedic relief I guess, but I found him to be annoying most of the time. Rist was the more level headed of the trio, but after he gets kidnapped (spoiler) he doesn’t get too many POV chapters. You do get more of him in the second book though! Ella, like I said, wasn’t particularly exciting at first. She and her lover have run away from the village and are going to start a new life in one of the larger empire cities and they know nothing of what occurred at the Glade when everything went sour. Their time is mostly spent on the road – lots of walking and gawking.
The worldbuilding is pretty usual fantasy stuff, but I greatly enjoyed the descriptions of evil dragon riders, massive cities, and rebellions. I can say for certain that the second book takes this to an even greater level of detail since I’ve already finished it too! While I wouldn’t say this story stands out from the crowd (it combines a ton of very classic fantasy elements) it is well written and each book after is even better. I love a good tale of beating up on evil empires, young heroes discovering hidden powers, animal companions, and friendship. This was a great debut novel and I would recommend the audiobook because the narration really made the story come alive and feel more vibrant. While this book as a solid 4 stars, I can already say the second book, Of Darkness and Light, was even better! I’ll be sharing a review of that soon!
Powder & Page 