This was a very strange story about binders who were able to take people memories and bind them into books. It could be used to ease peoples lives, for example removing the memory of losing a loved one or by devious people to hide evil that they do to employees or servants etc. These books are supposed to be safely stored but unscrupulous people sell the for monetary gain because they can be read as a novel. The story revolves around two young men and their families who are caught up in these nefarious practices. Fascinating story.

It's impossible not to be drawn into this book. It is beautifully written, so that the people and places come to life. There is a sense of past, though at a time unspecified. And there is magic.
All this and more comes together to draw you in to a fantasy, yet strangely realistic, world.
Highly recommended
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

After a deceptively gentle start this imaginative love story worked its way under my skin, burrowing into my heart - the sort of book I'd undergo a binding for, just for the delight of discovering it fresh all over again. Wonderful world-building and characterisation coupled with beautiful prose make for a breathtaking story superbly told.

I really enjoyed this book that follows the trials and tribulations of Emmett Framer as he tries to discover the mysteries that will lead him towards his destiny to become a "binder". The book is set in what seems to be the Victorian era (trains are mentioned but mostly horse and carts/carriages are used and rich men wear top hats) but it is a different world to ours as some people are born being able to "bind" others in a book. Binders can lay hands on people and if they agree their memories can be bound in a book and they leave with no memory of the events they have shared. The bound book is kept in a vault.. Used well the binder is able to take away only traumatic memories and can help people, but there is an illicit trade in books and in people willing to sell their memories for cash. Reading a book is a visceral experience so much more than the fake experience of reading a novel, people are drawn to it and binders are often feared and reviled.

The book is divided into three parts. In part one, Emmett is living on his family farm (he is described as a young man and also an adolescent) recovering from a terrible illness where he suffered from a raging fever as well as murderous and self harming rages and is very weak. He has always believed his destiny is to take over the farm but his parents tell him he must become apprenticed to the binder (an elderly woman) who lives alone out on the Marshes. Although Emmett can read and write he has never read a book, he purchased one at a fair as a child and his father beat him, he has lived a sheltered life and has no concept of what being a binder involves or its purpose and the binder sets him to learning the manual end of bookbinding, gluing end covers and making marbled paper and the like rather than revealing what she does to people who call on her and go down to the vault. She assures Emmett that she will teach him in time and that he is a "born book binder" but Emmett is confused by the strange flashes and dreams that he has. Part two is a flashback to Emmett's life on the farm before his illness when he played out with his sister in the field and woods of their neighbour, a Lord who is letting his property fall into ruin. There they meet the Lord's nephew who becomes a kind of frenemy of Emmett's, but who has captured his sister's heart and mind as she would like to escape the farm to a life of greater luxury. Gradually Emmett discovers more about himself and his emotions and we learn why he has been so ill. In Part three the action shifts tot he present, Emmett is now living in the city, Castleford with the son of his old master who is also a binder, but a wealthy one. Emmett crosses paths again with his friend and their lives become quite perilous.

This book is great, there is a bit of magic, Dickensian vistas (the lonely marshes, the bustling town grimy and foggy) and skullduggery. The narrative flows and as I was reading it reminded me of the best YA fiction in it style of story telling, so I was not surprised on finishing the book to read the brief bio on the author , who is an acclaimed YA writer.

The book ended with a lot of promise for a sequel

I’ve seen lots of hype over this beautiful book on social media and it definitely didn’t disappoint. A fantastic historical novel which I really enjoyed and would thoroughly recommend

I really loved this book and though I had moments where I wondered where events were headed, I was pleasantly surprised how the story unfolded. The world with a craft called Binding in it is an interesting one, and never descends into bog standard fantasy fare. I found myself caring about even secondary characters because simply put this is a book where the stories of every single person matters. It really is a rollercoaster of emotions, seeing how such a skill can be used in fantastic and awful ways. I did find that pacing tripped up a bit when we swapped to Lucian's perspective- I understand the decision but even so much preferred Emmett's and maybe would have preferred straightforward storytelling. It's a small gripe, overall The Binding is enchanting.

I adored this book.
More than anything else, for me this is a book about the power of memories and the simple joy we get from them and often take for granted.
The love story was beautiful and the mechanic of the Binding was unique and powerful, yet to me it was the realising all the moments I keep within me that are so utterly priceless, and the gladness I feel for them now, that made this book truly spectacular. I love when fiction can affect how you feel in the real world and this did exactly that.

First off you cannot help but notice the beauty of this book cover. That beaut continues within the story.
This is a fantasy historical book- we read about Emmelt Farmer- it comes with loads of secrets, pain and sadness.
You are going to go through every emotional possible.
Beautiful read
Thank you to both NetGalley and Harper Collins uk for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

This is a beautifully written book that manages to create an almost timeless world that is set in an unknown land, but which has easily identifiable references and parallels with our own. It is based on a fascinating idea of 'binding', which holds supernatural powers and a sense of dread, depending on how it is used or exploited. I was totally sucked into the exquisitely described narrative and kept guessing as to the real purpose of the skill. An unusual premise which is both absorbing and at times repellent - a brilliant read!

Quite beautiful: a story with more layers than a mille feuille.

At first I thought this novel was a the average fantasy genre story, with characters living in a world that looked an awful lot like our own past, but with a twist. Indeed, at first, that's exactly what it is. It takes quite a few chapters to get going (too many, really) and I nearly gave up, but then...then it turned into a beautiful love story that in itself would be enough to charm, but it also asks deep questions - about love, society's rules and the role of memory in our lives - that lift it into something quite extraordinary.

Have you ever wished you could simply forget, stop feeling, move on from a painful event in your life? What if you could - would you? I suspect many of us, especially those who have experienced brutality and trauma, would. What about a broken heart? What about the death of a marriage? What about the loss of a child? At what point does memory loss become helpful or damaging? What memories should we want to keep close, no matter how painful? We are who we are because of our memories - our character and behaviours are predicated upon our past experiences, bad as well as good. Wiping the slate clean might be as damaging as learning to live with what we know. This dilemma is beautifully examined in this novel, with answers seemingly clear, and then unclear, allowing you to make up your own mind, if you can.

There was so much hype and build up to this book that i was worried that it was going to fail to live up to the expectation. I shouldnt have been worried, its a fantastic book. The quality of the writing is of the highest level. Collins' prose weaves a subtle yet haunting tale of love and loss, despair and redemption. Its brilliant.

The idea of binding memories into books is unique yet so simply believable. It seriously made me pause and take a look at the books on my shelves, imagining that they were the memories of desperate people.

Last but not least i need to talk about the cover. Its a work of art. Stunning. This is the real reason why i became interested in The Binding in the first place. I've had to go and buy a special edition with sprayed edges - i cant wait to have this book on my shelf.

Magical.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a mystery historical novel and not something I normally read but saying that I actually finished it and enjoyed it.

If you have memories that you don’t want to bear anymore, you can be bound. With your consent, a binder will remove those memories to a book, stored securely, no longer impacting you.

Emmett Farmer, a poor farmworker, is a binder as he discovers when he is apprenticed to Seredith in her bindery on the marshes. One day, the shock discovery of the book that shows that he himself has been bound opens a flood of memories that will change his life and future.

Lucian Darney, a member of the gentry, is also held captive by a binding, and his own knowledge that bindings can hide sordid activity – as in the case of his father.

Together Emmett and Lucian’s stories weave together, alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming. A beautifully written, cleverly crafted narrative by Bridget Collins. Highly recommended, and let’s hope Bridget Collins continues her foray into adult fiction!

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from The Binding. Probably something a little like Ink, a YA fantasy, more imaginative than most, intrepid heroes and heroines discovering secrets that make them realise that All is Not Well in their seemingly perfect life and off they go to become reluctant leaders. There is nothing wrong with those books, I love them in fact, and actually there are shades of that journey in The Binding. But it is so much more... this is a lushly written exploration of what makes us who we are.
In the world Collins conjures books are made from real people's memories, ripped from their consciousness by binders and either hidden away or sold to wealthy collectors. Novels are despised as mere imitators, reading a memory book means becoming that person for a time. Some memories are removed because they are too painful to remember, others are sold. Some are bound at the bidding of third parties who would prefer their wife or child or maid to forget... but for most people books are unclean, binders little better than witches and book collectors unsavoury. Emmett Farmer has grown up in such a house. So when, after a long summer of illness, he is sent away to become a binder it is like being exiled, a punishment, although he can't imagine why. And then one day a young man comes to have a memory bound, a man who looks at Emmett with fear and revulsion and anger. A man Emmett can't remember meeting. And yet... When Emmett realises he too was bound, he knows it's connected to the young man and he sets off to try and recover his lost memories.
Set in a familiar yet different past. a world of rustic family life, grey smoke-filled cities and isolated foggy marshes, The Binding is a spell-binding, beautiful, evocative exploration of love, loss and self.

I absolutely loved this book, I was hooked from the beginning and devoured it as soon as I could. So many different points about this book that makes it stand out MILES from anything else.

•Male protagonist – Check

•LBGT Representation – Check

•Magic – Check

•BOOKS – CHECK


Honestly, this book has everything. I’ll briefly explain and do my best to avoid any spoilers because this book really is a MUST READ!


Part One begins with Emmets story – in the present. He is sick, this means he is not any help to his father on the farm. He has been summoned to work in a bindery, much to his parents disgust. They’ve done everything they can to keep books away from him. But they send him on his way where he learns that Binders ‘help’ people, they take away their memories and lock them in a book. The only price is that the person bound will not remember anything. Unless the book is destroyed.

Emmet quickly discovers that he is sick because he had binders fever – and only working in the Bindery will help him get better. Slowly his health does indeed improve – but Seredith is taken ill so Emmet summons help – her son, another Binder. Unfortunately she does not recover from her illness and passes away in her sleep. So her son take’s over as Emmets Master and takes him back to his Bindery. Only, his morals are not quite the same and he sees Binding as a money-maker.. and not the ‘Help’ it is intended for.


Part Two – This is a flashback, it allows us to get to know Emmet better and also introduces us to Lucian (You meet him briefly in part one) and his life on the farm, before binders fever. For me, this part of the book was where I got really wrapped up in the story. You really get to know the characters, where you watch their relationships grow as well as die. It really had it all. Friendship, Love, Betrayal. In fact, this is where I just couldn’t put the book down… so I didn’t.


Part Three– This is Lucian’s story, back to present day. Emmet is still very much present in this part, but it gives you a lot more of the ‘other side’ of the story. There is SO MUCH I want to add, but I really do not want to give any spoilers away so I’m afraid I’m going to leave it that brief.

My ONLY disappointment is that this book is a standalone, I’d very much like to revisit the characters someday. However, it’s an easy recommendation for me! Go see for yourself.

Overall: 5 ***** – Spellbinding brilliance. I was swept away in the magic/secrets and I didn’t want it to end!

I loved this story. It drew me in straight away, and even when I didn’t know where it might take me, I was hooked. I like that its period isn’t spelt out; it’s recent enough that there are factories, long enough ago that transport is by horse. The descriptions of the landscape and weather are beautiful.
Bridget Collins is very good at doling out small pieces of information about the characters and what binding involves, so that my interest was tugged along throughout. Just as I had half an idea where the story might go, the rug was pulled out from underneath me a quarter of the way in. And with part two, a whole new layer of the story was revealed. Great stuff.
I found the characters really engaging, complex and believable – I cared what happened to them. I raced through this book, wanting to delve back into its world and find out what happened next. A joy.

This is such a beautifully written book! Some reviewers have said it was a bit slow in the beginning, but I was caught up in it immediately. The descriptions of rural and city life transported me there, and were a wonderful contrast with the slightly supernatural aspect of binding. The characters' back stories and the nature of binding were gradually revealed, so I couldn't put it down. When I'd finished I immediately re-read part one, with new eyes. I highly recommend.

A mystical read that completely enthralled me. The binders who could take away fear,unhappiness, despair who wouldn’t want this but also secrets and love. A beautifully written novel which I connected with entirely. An interesting and absorbing read.

I was mesmerised! An unexpected tale of mystery, tragic loss and redemption.
Bridget Collins has created an unexpected world, but one I couldn't help comparing to our own, drawing parallels, seeing the innocence and the hypocrisies.

This is a book I will read again and probably again. I loved the way the truth gradually dawns and love finds its own way.

A definitely must read, it reminded me in many ways of Philip Pullman's books.

A spellbinding escape into the 19th century with a taste of magic, passion, cruelty, love, duty and destiny.
The characters, even peripheral ones, were so interesting it leaves you thinking just as much about them, their pasts, their futures,as it does the main characters. The writing is superb, lyrical, emotive and romantic; you feel, see and breathe everything the characters do. There are many shifts and twists within the plot, that you get hooked in and kept entertained.
A powerful, stunning and clever book.