Review: Bound by Flames

Bound by Flames by Jeaniene Frost

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This was a very difficult book to get through. The first half of the book is very different from the last half, but they both have a distinctly dark flavor. There is torture, near-rape, and a lot of abusive scenes. I found it hard to believe in this very broken couple. Vlad and Leila are certainly a confusing pair.

The start of this book shows Vlad and Leila sort of working together to track down the big bad from the previous 2 books. Leila wants to take risks to help, Vlad wants to protect her at all costs, and these two can't seem to find a way to work together. These two have a near abusive relationship that somehow ends in them having steamy sex. Through some colossally bad planning and misplaced trust, Leila ends up kidnapped (again). This storyline is starting to get old. The torture was a horrible new addition to the scene, though. It was really hard to read and even more horrible in that it took almost half the book to resolve itself.

Lucky for us, the torture ends and Vlad seems to finally become the guy I wanted him to be. Is it worth reading all the darkness from the first half of the book? Maybe. If you can stomach reading that kind of stuff, you are rewarded with some final resolution to our big bad story (but don't worry, there are more bad guys lurking to keep this series going). We also get rewarded with some cameos from our favorites from other books. There are some big spoilers if you are not caught up with Cat and Bones, so beware! Overall, I was torn between 3 and 4 stars, weighing the character growth we see versus the darkness we are subjected to. I think as long as you're warned ahead of time, it would be easier to swallow.



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