#BookReview – “Soulbound” by Kristen Callihan

Blurb 

Once two souls are joined...

When Adam's soul mate rejected him, there was more at stake than his heart. After seven hundred years of searching, his true match would have ended the curse that keeps his spirit in chains. But beautiful, stubborn Eliza May fled—and now Adam is doomed to an eternity of anguish, his only hope for salvation gone...

Their hearts will beat together forever...

No matter how devilishly irresistible Adam was, Eliza couldn't stand the thought of relinquishing her freedom forever. So she escaped. But she soon discovers she is being hunted—by someone far more dangerous. The only man who can help is the one man she vowed never to see again. Now Adam's kindness is an unexpected refuge, and Eliza finds that some vows are made to be broken...

Review

In book six in the Darkest London series, Eliza May has been living a life of luxury with Mab, the fae queen and her grandmother. Though she trusts Mab, she isn’t happy and feels beholden to her supposedly kind benefactor. Her illusions are soon shattered when she finds a horribly beaten man in Mab’s dungeon.

Adam, King of the GIM, is living under a curse. He recognized Eliza as his long-awaited soul mate at first glance, so he chained her to his side, never caring about her feelings. Then he lost his one hope for redemption when Mab and a few others freed Eliza from him. Now, Adam is Mab’s prisoner, his powers gone. Though still charming and arrogant, he’s changed from the cold man Eliza knew. Working together to escape Mab and her cruel brother, Adam and Eliza have to trust one another out of necessity, but their unlikely friendship blooms into something more.

Eliza is a great character. She’s brave, mysterious, and strong enough to handle Adam, but her secret heritage was a little disconcerting.

Adam definitely redeemed himself in my eyes! After seven hundred years of complete numbness, he finally felt emotion when he met Eliza, so it’s no wonder he acted so terrible to her. After failing miserably with Eliza, he finally learned humility and how to put someone else’s needs above his own. Likewise, Eliza finally understood his desperation and why he did what he did. I love virgin heroes! They’re so rare in the romance genre, so I’m always happy to find a book featuring one.

Though I enjoyed this story, I found parts of it confusing due to inconsistencies with the previous book, Evernight. Eliza’s grandparents, Mab and Aiden, had a daughter, so Aiden is supposed to be Eliza’s maternal grandfather. Now, he is her paternal grandfather. If that’s the case and Eliza’s father was an Evernight, why is her surname May? Also, the previous book was set in 1886, this book was set in 1888, and yet the H/h claim they’ve only been apart for about a year and that Adam was only tortured for a few months. Maybe I missed something, but that timeline doesn’t make sense to me.

There are three different realms (Here, There, and Nowhere), and Adam can travel through them at will. Since Eliza’s and Adam’s souls are bound, and he can move about freely, why can’t she do the same at the end of the story?

There were a few grammar issues, but nothing major. Overall, I liked the story and will be reading the next one in the series.

3.5 Stars