Shadow Bound: A great book for older readers.
Shadow bound is a book by Rachel Vincent, and so far it is one of her best books. While it may be unsuitable for preteens and under due to some adult themes, it’s a great book. The very tag line of the book was what drew me to it:
In a world of black and white, can their love survive the shadows?
This may be starting to sound like a mushy live story, but trust me – its anything but. There is swearing, and there is violence, but this is the world Kori lives in. Trapped by the Syndicate owner Jake Towers, she is abused and mistreated to the point of not feeling anything. Then he offers her a chance to redeem herself, but with severe consequences if she doesn’t. Even worse, Kori is bound to Jake Towers – she has to do what he says, and cannot do what he tells her not to, or she will face resistance pain and this would most likely kill her… But that doesn’t stop her breaking the rules. There are always loopholes.
The first paragraph alone is a great hook:
If you live in the dark long enough, you start to forget what light looks like. What it feels like. You may remember it in an academic sense. Illumination. … But after awhile those abstract memories are a you have left, and they’re worth less than the memory of water to a man dying of thirst.
This made me suddenly sit up and realise that this book was not just the ordinary; it possessed a powerful message, and if there is one thing I would choose in a book, it is meaning. This book is not about winning all the time. It is about manipulating and, to quote Pluto Heavensbee, it is about moves and countermoves. That’s all there is to it.
As said before, I would recommend the book to anyone of the teenage bracket and above, as there are some things that could be unsuitable for younger ages, but as I don’t believe in telling people not to read a book regardless of their age, if you’ve read Rachel Vincent before and like her work or have heard good things about it (or this review has convinced you to try it!) then I’d say use your own judgement on whether you want to read it or not because, let’s face it, only you can judge what is suitable for you.
Shadow Bound: The Back of the book.
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