This is a great story. I really enjoyed all the details that went into the world building. The complex societies and legends were really interesting to learn. The characters are really bold and just spring from the page. The plot kind of blew my mind at a few points. The author definitely has a way with a twist in the story. I can’t wait to see what happens next. If you are looking for an amazing fantasy with some romance please check this out!

Faebound by Saara El‑Arifi is a lushly imagined sapphic epic fantasy that centers on Elven warrior Yeeran and her diviner sister Lettle, who, after exile from their war-torn homeland, become entangled within the seductive and secretive realm of the long-forgotten fae . The novel’s strengths lie in its evocative world-building melding African and Arab cultural inspirations with rich mythology, dual sister POVs, and immersive prose that draws readers into the fae court’s intoxicating underworld . It also features prominent queer representation, with normalized sapphic and gender-fluid characters woven seamlessly into the narrative . That said, some readers felt the emotional dynamics and romance developed unevenly one critique argued that the characters’ feelings were overshared, making big emotional moments feel undercut by shallow connections . Others pointed to a predictable plot and occasional pacing dips in the midsection, noting that twists arrived too early to truly surprise. Still, for fans of character-driven fantastical escapism especially queer romantasy with strong sisterly bonds Faebound offers a fast-paced, atmospheric, and beautifully textured entry into a promising trilogy.

I actually am surprised how much I am invested in this story. Everything was so interesting and I had a lot of fun reading

While I found the plotline to be interesting and unique, I was unfortunately let down by thin world building, clunky and robotic writing, and a romance that went from enemies on one page to lovers on the next. I enjoyed the characters and book two may build on this one and flow better, but book one was just not for me.

I liked a lot about this book, mainly being the characters - I do feel like the romance aspect fell a little flat for me but that’s okay. I enjoyed the world building but unfortunately I began to lose interest throughout. I’ve heard great things about this author’s other works though and I’m excited to try others!

After a year and a half of trying to read this, I'm officially giving up and dnfing it. It was hard for me to pay attention to everything going on and I only really cared about the obeahs

It started off so strong, like I genuinely thought this was going to be my favorite fantasy novel of all time…. But then it just took a nose dive plot and character wise and got worse and worse with every unnecessary plot twist. Which is really unfortunate because I love this author and their other series was mind blowing. This story needed a lot more fleshing out for the plot lines to flow together—and there were a lot of different plot lines. I’m also really disappointed because the relationships were incredibly stale. All of them. I don’t know if I’ll read the next one or not, I don’t think I’m invested enough in these characters to do so.

I LOVED the idea of this story, the world was creatively described and thought out but less time was spent on the actual characters and plot. The lore that was built around the fae and elves was poetic and so interesting but it continuously felt like an afterthought when it came to applying it to the story.

I think it’s still a good read over all if you want to read for the lore (and some of the spicy scenes between the lesbians were fab), the fantastical elements, fae/elf relationships, or even the representation. That was phenomenal. So many non-binary characters and one of the main characters has a physical disability. El-Arifi has always been great when it came to these topics, it’s one of my favorite things about her writing.

I’m being quite critical, but I think it’s die to the fact that her first series was SO strong that this left me feeling disappointed.

I’m still digesting my feelings about this book. Overall, it was an easy read, although long. The lore developed at the start of each part was interesting, but I wanted more of that. I thought with all the lore being shared that we would get more culture/myth vibes but it fell a little flat for me. I had questions, were the gods going to come in to play? Were they already involved? How could armies cross through barriers, but the rest of the fae could not? There were definitely some plot holes that left me questioning how things were working.

Tons of diverse characters, and heavy representation of LGBTQIA+. At times, characters felt a bit formulaic, and I called the “twist” probably 1/3 into the book, so the climax didn’t seem as big to me.

There is an enemies to lovers plot line. I do wish there had been a bit more tension, particularly with the length of the novel. There was also a bit of an insta romance that to me, felt a bit inauthentic and there was tons of room to really draw out the build up.

Overall, I think the concept was strong and I liked the idea of the three gods, but there were too many easy answers, twists, and moments that characters carelessly ignored even though they were on a specific mission. I’m tentative about going for book 2, so we’ll see what the reviews say.

Let's start with the positives. The premise of the story had potential and contained several unique/thoughtful elements that kept me engaged in the narrative. Also, I can appreciate the important social commentary this book is making.

But there were times that I felt like I wasn't trusted (as a reader) to do my job - and, as a result, it was all "tell" and no "show."

I think there would have been an easy fix here for an editing team that wanted to publish this story: (1) remove the spicy/explicit scenes (of which there were only a couple) and (2) bill this read as a YA novel.

But as a book for adult readers (with very adult characters - another plus in my book!!) it didn’t quite translate..

I suspect most adult readers will, like me, be thrown off by the writing/storytelling choices here. Throughout this read, I found myself thinking, "Wait, that was way too easy," or "You're telling me we're just supposed to accept that and move on?" Characters that should be bitter, healing from trauma, or untrusting at the very least -- quickly put their faith in strangers that so clearly didn't deserve it. Those who should want to resist a turn of events almost immediately accepted their fate without the fight we're used to in a fantasy novel. Those characters who should have been met with suspicion were easily trusted and accepted, perhaps with a brief pause. Riddles featured heavily in this work, but were stated and immediately solved on behalf of a reader. Even forgiveness--during a war and with lives lost-- was effortless. The potential love interests were outlined from the first few pages, and relationships were entered into without hesitation (when, based on the narrative detail and plot structure, there should have been).

As always, I appreciated the opportunity to review an ARC copy of this work.

A solid follow-up to El-Arifi’s Ending Fire trilogy, this world is one of fae and sacrificial magic. This series focuses on two sisters, Yeeran and Lettle, who find themselves caught up with the fae long believed to be dead and gone when Yeeran accidentally interferes in their lives in a deadly way. This trilogy looks to take place in both a lush world of magic and royalty, and also in the brutal and unforgiving land of war the sisters were born into.

While not initially as immediately gripping as the Ending Fire trilogy, the writing in this book was such that I never lost interest in seeing the story develop. The magical world feels both unique and familiar, with the grit I’ve come to expect from El-Arifi and the overwhelming beauty associated with the fae of mainstream novels. We get alternating perspectives from Yeeran and Lettle, and while I definitely preferred one POV over the other, each had their reasons for being included. The two romances at play were interesting, if not entirely captivating; I would have preferred more lead up and tension with each before the inevitable joining.

Honestly, my biggest qualm is also one of the things I appreciated about this story: it is incredibly predictable. The romantic pairings, the twists, the identities of hidden villains – all of them can be seen by a mile away. But that also lends a sense of comfort within its formula. I expected who was who and doing what but I was also proven in tune with the story for guessing so.

I’m intrigued by both the breadth of the world and what the ending of this first installment means for the trilogy’s future. Saara El-Arifi continues to prove herself to be an auto-read author for me and I will always recommend her stories to fellow fantasy readers.

In short, I found it difficult to go above three stars. I think there's a lot of great potential here and I'm excited to see where book 2 will go. I found the characters to be relatable, fierce, strong, and likeable, The tension between the main characters was a great slow burn, the plot twists and betrayals were a bit predictable, but I expect that in romantasy. I appreciated the level of diversity in this book and the way the author seemed to thread some of the history through the worldbuilding, however, I would like to see more depth to the world building. Overall, I enjoyed the story.

3 stars for me. I will say in the beginning, the story is very slow and it took me a long time to get hooked. Worlbuilding is great but the pacing was off unfortunately

This was so good and a great start of a series. I loved the characters.
Intringuing magic system
Not sure about the romance

The story didn't follow the format that I expected. While I liked the premise that was offered in the story, the world building was a little sluggish. The story could have used a little more tension.

I really tried with this one, just because there were so many who hyped this book up. I tried to see what it was that they loved. I just couldn't. It's been a year of me picking it up and putting it down. So I'm calling it with that. DNF @20%. It's just too boring. It wasn't keeping my attention at all and just couldn't get invested in the characters

Good start to a fantasy series. I will definitely be reading the next one. Absolutely loved these characters!!

The premise had potential, but the story just didn’t pull me in. No matter how many times I tried to pick it up again, I couldn’t stay engaged. The plot didn’t have enough grip to keep me interested, and the characters didn’t leave much of an impression. In the end, I found myself bored and unable to finish it. Maybe I’ll give it another try in the future, but for now, it simply didn’t work for me.

I only just started this book but I’m not going to continue. I’m very much a romantasy reader and this feels like a regular fiction. It just isn’t for me.
I appreciate getting the arc. Thank you.

I agree with most of the reviews on this book. Defiantly had promise but just wasn’t executed well. Felt a bit rushed for all that needed to be accomplished in the world building.

i loved the permise of this book so much but i think some things had personally fell flat for me. i thought the pacing was odd and i couldn't personally connect with any of the characters