Shadowbound (Book 1 in The Dark Moon Series) by Nicole Holland, eBook, 444 pages
Synopsis from GoodReads: CAN LIGHT EVER BANISH THE DARKNESS ENTIRELY? As a witch, Orelia uses her powers to heal the pleasure girls working in her village’s brothel. With violent men as patrons, her job is never finished, until one night when she’s abruptly released from her position. Left with little money, food, or hope of other employment, she makes a desperate decision. Orelia tries a spell on her garden to help it produce anything edible, only to accidentally bind herself to the king’s executioner in the process. With her life now tethered to the cold, murderous fae’s, the two must journey across the continent to find the druid who can reverse the spell. For if one of them dies, so does the other.
Having always wanted to see the world, Orelia can’t wait to explore. Vade wants nothing more than to be left alone, so being bound to a happy-go-lucky witch is his nightmare. Along the way, they encounter dangerous creatures and twisted people, with their opposing personalities putting the two at constant odds. Orelia tries to believe the fae isn’t as monstrous as he seems, but even her kind-spirited nature finds it difficult to see the light within him. When their plans are thwarted, and an even larger threat looms over them, the intensifying struggle for survival brings the two closer. Their hearts soften toward one another, but the battle continues as Orelia’s optimism clashes with Vade’s pessimism, forcing her to ask the question: Is our outlook merely formed by the sum of our experiences? Or can we choose how we view the world?
BOOK REVIEW: Holy mother forking shirt balls! I was hooked on this story before the author even had a final draft to her editor! I don't know squat about Dungeons & Dragons except what I've seen on Stranger Things and the movie with Chris Pine but I have found myself drawn into these fantasy worlds more and more over the last year and I am here for it! The author has built a word in this first book that she plans to build on through other characters and I cannot wait to see who she focuses on next. I hope it's Teegan! There is a few times that Orelia mentions her first love Tommen and it brought out a lot of feelings in me that I wasn't expecting. While I generally don't share the quotes I highlight in the books I read but this one not only hit too close to home, it made me cry.
"I think maybe we were only meant to love each other at that point in time and no more." Love was a blessing, but not all blessings were meant to last. ~Orelia, Chapter 25
There are some graphic scenes. I had my Kindle app opened on my computer and had the automated text-to-speech going while I was picking up and she describes Vade's...manhood...just as my husband walks in the room. I quickly looked at him as shocked as he was and I immediately said, "It's a fantasy book...it's not smut! I swear!" There is violence of different types along with some spicy scenes that get kind of hot but if you need to, check out the trigger warnings prior to reading.
This was a 5 star read for me from beginning. Like I said, the author has built a world that she can continue to share within with different characters. She includes a map of her world including the regions and towns, the different types of currency, gemstones, and a table listing the different types of characters in the world, their abilities (if they have them), how long they live, special characteristics, etc. It's a great bit of detail that I very much appreciate it. She also has some character art in the book too. I definitely need this in physical form at some point!
5/5 Stars
2025 Reading Challenge: 2/50 complete
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