The First Binding

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, possibly The most anticipated. It even exceeded my expectations. This book is phenomenal!
I absolutely love books in which the main character is telling his life story and how he came to be the way he is.
This follows Ari The Storyteller. Not a storyteller, The Storyteller.
He meets a singer he calls Eloine in a tavern where he's telling stories. She finds him so intriguing that she wants to hear his story. Not just parts of it, but the whole story from the beginning. And what a story it is!
Ari is now one of my favorite characters of all time. I cannot wait to continue his story, especially after that ending!
The binding magic is quite complex and can have some serious repercussions without proper training and discipline. I am fascinated by it.
I can't say enough great things about this book. It's over 800 pages and it still isn't enough. I would have been quite happy to read another 800 pages of Ari!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-arc.