3.5☆
Faebound to start with has an absolutely beautiful cover, and that’s what lures you into this title. And the world building in this story is equally as beautiful, my only issues happen to be with pacing & characters.
The characters felt super lackluster, and I couldn’t feel myself connecting with any of them, and honestly they almost felt annoying in their actions at time. The most interesting character was the Obeah to me and truly the world building and my curiosity for how the story would continue is what kept me reading.
The issue with the pacing was, it felt fine at the start, a little slow but was fine and by the end got super fast and almost felt like it was rushed. And that sucked for me because it throws you off a ton.
I’m sure with the second book the characters will develop more, and I’ll be more interested in them because not always are characters intriguing in first books and that’s okay!
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have so many editions of this book because they were pretty and I was like "everyone is hyping this I am sure I will love it!"

But here I am.

I think if I didn't have the expectations I went in with and just read it as like a quirky fantasy, I might have really enjoyed it, but it was like it was supposed to be serious, but it's just weird. The romance was not it for me, and the world building wasn't enough (or there too much) to salvage it for me. There's so many questions I have and none of them were answered despite seeing this to the end to try and find them out.

The prose is also both flowery but doesn't always make sense or sound coherent.

I REALLY wanted to love this, I just don't think it's for me.

I ended up DNFing this story for no particular reason other than I lost interest. The plot had a lot of potential and I may try coming back to this title in the future depending on how the second book performs.

as I received this arc I had seen other people talking about what they thought about this book and it turned me off from wanting to read it as well, because they were people I trusted for book recommendations.

I loved this fresh new take on fae with an African twist! This reminded me of Avatar in a lot of ways—one of my favorite movies—so I was enchanted and swept away by this magical world. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment!

Faebound had such a great premise. It unfortunately fell a little short on world building and plot for me. It read slightly more ya then adult. I know this was just the first book and I look forward to more from the author. I hope to see more development and emotion in the next!

I was really excited for this one. The hype had really built it up for me. But, it fell a bit flat for me. The romance was too cringe for me to enjoy, and I think my expectations for the fantasy storyline were too high. Not bad...just not one I will be continuing.

I wish I could’ve finished it before the ARC license expired. I wanted to enjoy it more, but I’ll give the sequel a go!

Saara El-Arifi is becoming a quick favorite of mine and Faebound is no exception. Excellent characters, development. magic and lore, but I will say the plot was a little all over the place for my attention span. I enjoyed the Fae lore and world-building, El-Arifi did an amazing job as usual in those regards. I'll definitely read the follow up to see where the story goes!

a book with an excellent premise, well developed characters, an intriguing storyline, and enough intrigue to captivate nearly any audience. saara el-arifi is quickly becoming a must read author for myself. thank you so much netgalley — 4/5 stars!

El-Arifi's world-building is commendable, introducing readers to a queer-norm environment rich with unique magical lore and mythologies. The dynamic between the two sisters adds depth to the narrative, highlighting their contrasting paths and the strength of their bond. The novel leans heavily into the romantic fantasy genre, which may not align with all readers' expectations, especially those anticipating a more epic or dark fantasy experience. Additionally, while the world-building is intricate, the pacing and character development at times feel uneven, potentially affecting overall engagement.

This was a fun read. I loved the world-building, but I didn't really connect with the characters. I'm not sure if I will continue with the series.

Ah I wanted to love this book so much it hurts. I mean the afro/arab world and the drum magic both sound so intriguing but sadly the plot was a mess, the characters thought process, especially when it came to the romantic relationships we completely devoid of logic, which made it hard to believe in their abilities to make any good decisions at all. Who is lusting over someone else surrounded by corpses and on the brink of being brutally killed by said someone?!

Frankly the plot could have been saved if the romance was completely taken out because it made up for too many eye rolls and frustration so root for anyone. Ah maybe not because the world building was also severely lacking -- felt stuck in a blurry fishbowl unable to get much clarity around.

I hold hope that maybe the next book will focus and emphasize the good part of the story,.. it's still possible to redeem the story and this world.

The story was definitely an adventure. I really enjoyed seeing the relationship between Yeeran and Lettle, and watching them work through all of the challenges together. You could definitely see the difference between them. Yeeran had a need for battle, Lettle had a need for understanding.

The lore behind the Fae, Elves, and Humans was fascinating. Between the magic systems, and the cultures, it was very immersive.

I am interested to see what comes from the ending of the story. So many questions were answered, but they just invited new questions.

Faebound offers a unique twist on fae, elves, and humans. The story follows Yeeran, an exiled elf who, after accidentally killing someone, finds her life spiraling into chaos. The novel’s take on elves, who believe they're the last of their kind and are embroiled in a resource-driven war, is fresh and intriguing.

Though the beginning was a bit slow for me, once I got into it, the story became a thrilling, unpredictable adventure. The world-building is rich and immersive, and Yeeran’s character growth kept me hooked. El-Arifi has crafted a fascinating, detailed world that offers a compelling blend of magic, politics, and action. Overall, Faebound is a fantastic read for fans of unique fantasy worlds.

This was a mixed read for me. I loved a lot of the world-building and the idea of bonding with the Obeah. The characters and romances fell a bit short, but I'm rounding up my rating for the parts that captivated me.

Yeeran is an Elven warrior who has known nothing but struggle and conflict her entire life. Her younger sister Lettle is pursuing life as a diviner, telling prophecies in hopes of making a better world. When Yeeran makes a mistake that leads to her exile, Lettle tries to save her; unfortunately they are captured by Fae and held captive in their underground kingdom. Yeeran is saved from her sentence of execution when a magical creature known as an Obeah binds to her soul at the last moment; she cannot be killed lest the Obeah perish with her. The sisters focus on escaping the Elven realm, but both find themselves unwillingly drawn into seemingly ill-fated romances.

I really wasn't rooting for most of the characters in this. They seemed so oblivious to the dangers around them, and to the faults of their love interests.

I absolutely loved the Obeah, and the way they telepathically communicate with their other halves. The descriptions of the underground kingdom were lovely; I found myself wishing i could see it in film. I will absolutely read the next book, just out of curiosity for where the story is going!

Thank you so much to Del Rey and Netgalley for this book!

I enjoyed this book and was in no rush to finish it!

There is so much to draw you in to the story that I don’t know where to start. There’s elves, faeries, and humans. A backstory, a war, and prophecies. It’s every fantasy lovers dream!!!

Another thing I loved about this story is I couldn’t really tell where it was headed because there were so many possibilities. I think it was clear that the origin stories would come into play and that obeah were more than just animals, but the resulting discoveries were not always easy to predict.

There is so much to this world and I feel like this book told such a small piece of it. Of course fantasy always needs good world building and set up but I wanted to know more as soon as finished this book. I think that would be only critique, you get such a small piece of a larger picture that it can feel like the story progresses slowly.

I think this was an amazing book but I seriously cannot wait for the next part of the story to be released!

What an interesting fantasy! I will admit it took me a good minunite to get into this novel but i am SO GLAD I stuck with it becuase it turned out to be really phenomenal. I really loved this take on fantasy characters and worldbuilding.

Took a while to get into this one. I'll admit I was initially drawn into the cover. I read the other series by this author and, unfortunately, didn't like that one very much. The books were long and well thought out, but I also struggled getting into them fully. It's weird because I felt like those had such interesting plots, but that there wasn't really anything going on in them for a long time. And I felt the same thing in this story as well. I feel like Faebound had such interesting lore and magic and the world building was so cool, but it took awhile for me to really get into it. I'm not sure if it was the characters or just the pace of the story, but it was definitely slow moving for me. However, I did like it more towards the end and I am curious about the sequel and if I'll like that one, so I'll definitely read!

This book was an interesting take on fae, elves and humans. The elves think they are the only ones left and are stuck in a war between elven tribes. They fight for resources. Yeeran gets exiled and dropped in the middle of no where. While hunting she kills someone she didn't mean to and her whole life gets turned upside down.

This book gives very much acotar vibes. The whole book feels very much off. It goes fast in some places and slow in others. They way they talk and the narration are very different and can be jarring. And lettle (the sister) is not my favorite. She's 28 and reads like she's 16 at the oldest.
It was OK. I'm interested to see where the story goes from here