Bind the Soul

~Check out my blog over at The Bent Bookworm!~If you haven't read the first in the series, I highly recommend it and you can check out my review right here. That review is spoiler free, but THIS review may contain spoilers for the first book! Bind the Soul picks up right where Chase the Dark (Steel & Stone #1) left off. Piper is back home at the consulate, and Ash is gone. Lyle has spent weeks searching for him and only has the barest of information. Piper knows that Ash is a big boy and can take care of himself...but she also knows he sacrificed a lot for her, and that despite his own power seemed genuinely afraid of whoever - whatever - holds sway over him. To help him would mean defying her father AGAIN, risking her own safety (since she still has no idea how she managed to use the Sahar), and plunging into Hades itself...and the choice may not be hers to make. “Death is easy. Living is difficult.”Phew! This book took a really dark turn. There are some torture scenes that left my heart racing. I was so very emotionally invested in these characters. I'm also Team Ash ALL THE WAY, I don't care what anyone says. I love anti-heroes in general, and as a love interest he is just so swoonworthy (is that a word? it should be).There is SO MUCH going on here. The upper and lower daemons are still trying to get their hands on the Sahar, which has so very inconveniently become attached to Piper. Piper just wants to prevent world destruction, and get Ash back. And become a consul, which means never becoming involved with Ash, or Lyre, or any other daemon.Riiiiight. How's that working out for ya, my girl? The pace of this book is fast and furious as our lovelies escape and re-escape and try to stay one step ahead of the Father of All Nasties, a.k.a. the very sadistic Samael. Every time I thought they might get a breather - whoops, just kidding! Here's another nasty punch to brighten your day. It just kept going and going and I absolutely loved it. There are also a couple of new characters introduced that I really hope will be in the rest of the books, as their stories seem like they would be absolutely fascinating. Also, ahem, can someone please introduce a love interest for Lyle so that I can stop fretting over it? There are some absolutely heart-melting scenes spaced in between all the action. Ash and Piper have such incredible chemistry and yet they both seem convinced they can't be together (trope-y, yes, but it works). Rational thought never keeps sparks from flying though, and it doesn't keep traitorous hearts from caring when the mind would rather not. She lifted her face, met his eyes - and saw his soul beneath the black. “Kill that bastard,” she whispered.One thing that really bothered me throughout the first half of this book was how Piper seemed to have regressed in maturity. This series is marketed as YA, I understand that. However, the first book was really not very YA in tone or content, at all. Piper is supposed to be seventeen, but she acts more like someone in their early twenties. So, I expected this one to be the same and it wasn't quite. The last half it was back to the old Piper. It was rather frustrating, but oh well. It was only mildly distracting.Piper's parentage and inherited (or not) magic still isn't explained and I am absolutely dying of curiosity. I feel like there must be SOMETHING there or else she wouldn't have been able to connect with the Sahar the way she did, but that part wasn't delved into much at all in this book. Overall 4/5 stars, highly, HIGHLY recommend! This is an awesome futuristic fantasy series with characters you can really get behind. I am SO READY to dive into the third book!Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+

Oh no. With this series, it's a THING. A TREND. A TENDENCY. To do what, you think? To LEAVE ME HANGING, THAT'S WHAT. Always leaving me unsatisfied TT^TT. Why? Yes, Annette Marie, you'd want readers to get your next books too. But-but-but this is too CRUELLLLLLL.
I think a fair warning should be put out there right now: this book was a little more agonizing than its predecessor. There was more suffering, hopelessness, despair, all that good stuff. HOWEVER, it wasn't so bad that I couldn't push through to the ending. I just HAD to find out how Piper would get her and her friends out of these seemingly one-sided (and not in their favor) situations. Annette Marie writes yet another novel that captures your attention and forces you to put all your other priorities (i.e. working) second. So, if you're all right with a lot of agony assaulting the main characters; endings that leave you scrambling around screaming, “WHY, ANNETTE MARIE, WHY?! WHERE'S THE NEXT BOOK, DANGIT;” and heaps of misery weighing down on you and the main characters; I recommend you read this book.

I absolutely love this series. Such a fun heroine with a great romance and cool characters. Everything you want in a quick fantasy read.