Bound by Duty (Bound Series, #1)

I loved this book. The story is totally different and it pulled me in straight away. I couldn't stop. The book is told from POV of the main heroine, Amelia. She knows what she are, but she doesn't understand that. Everyone around her tells her that she can't show her real power, because they will find her. She knew about her power, but she knew nothing about her abilities, and what I loved, is the fact that we learn with her. All the truths, all her powers and all the lies are discovered and we are feeling the same emotions as she is. Hurt, betrayal, pain. But it's not only the negative emotions we have here. After she starts college, she made her first friend: Bethany, B., that she just adores and loves. Thanks to her, she can be for the first time a normal teenager. They talk boys, B. mostly talks about Micah, her crush. A blond handsome guy, that Amelia just doesn't trust. He gives her the creeps. Soon after the book starts she meets also Aidan. A buy that her heart beats faster whenever he is near her. They bantering and snarky comments are my favourite. I love the reason, why he calls her "Doll". I think it's sweet and shows how much he cares about her. But unfortunately, Amelia is not normal. She doesn't belong to a mortal world and soon her real life is catching up with her. And all the lies, all the hidden truth are revealed, together with her abilities and the things she can do. And friends she made? Either she can't be with them as they will be in danger because of that, or the are betraying her. I love the side characters: Cole, Bethany, Drew. The whole story is amazing and the ending? Broke my heart, caused so many emotions to raise in me. I wanted to punch some people. But also it made me excited for the next part! Amazing, well deserved 5 stars

My Thoughts - 3.5 out of 5 Unicorns - I more than liked it!!!  ***Received a copy of the audiobook for an honest review The cover is beautiful, but I have a thing for both purple and eyes, so putting them together makes it a win :) I read the blurb for this book and thought it sounded like it might be intriguing, so when the author asked me if I wanted to listen to the audio version, I totally jumped at the chance.  I must admit but until this year; I had never thought much about audiobooks, but it was a mistakes.  I’m definitely a book addict and love to read, but sometimes, you have other things to do like grade papers, drive somewhere, or mow the lawn.  So I wasn’t getting my book fixes enough due to having other things I had to do.  Audiobooks are the perfect solution for someone like me who is able to listen while doing other things to get my book fix :) This was my first time listening to the narrator Kristin James.  It took me a while to get into her style as a narrator.  I have found this is a usual thing for me at least….it is like getting to know narrator as you listen, but once you do, I find it is easier to get sucked into the narrator’s works as you listen to more and more from that narrator. This is the first book in the Bound series, and it is also the author’s first book too!  The story is definitely unique and not like anything I’ve ever read before.  I think the series is going to improve with each subsequent book, and I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye on this series.  There are so many questions I still have and want answers to that when the book ended; I was silently screaming Noooo in my head because I wanted more.  Amelia is being pushed, pulled, and dragged in every direction, but she is also mostly in the dark and cluelessly trying to find answers. Stormy’s story has so much going on that you are definitely not bored while you are trying to figure out who is what side and who you should cheer for.  I think I’m still not sure, so I definitely need book 2 in the future :) I recommend this book to anyone who wants some magic in their life mixed with lots of mystery and intrigue.  This is definitely a unique take on magic and the different kinds :)

She is immortal and expected to marry the son of the queen who murdered her mother. She has never been taught how to use her abilities. Somehow she is supposed to save her people from the evil queen. But you won't find out in this book.

This long drawn-out story was torture to read I finally said I can't take it anymore and flip back to the last two chapters and frankly that was really about all that needs to be read to some of the whole book and then for this horrid little story to be a cliffhanger adds insult to injury

This is one of those books that's going to grab you from the prologue and not let you go. I finished this book about an hour ago and I still can't get it out of my mind. I'm just dying to read the next book (which I do not have handy unfortunately!) We start with a prologue that gives us a hint into the past that the main character spends most of the book trying to figure out. Once into the main chapters, we meet the main character Amelia and follow her as she navigates college, a best friend, reconnecting with a brother she hadn't seen in about 8 years, a blooming romance of sorts, and her magical powers! What a lot for one girl to deal with right? But that's not all, most of her life she's been lied to about certain things and those things are just now coming to light. She must take all these things she's learning and decide what to do about it all, what she wants, or what people seem to need her to do. You're sure to get caught up in this side world of magic and powers and a tyrant queen who needs to be overthrown. I couldn't read fast enough, and at the same time, didn't want the story to end. If you enjoy YA Romance, especially that of the paranormal nature, you'll definitely enjoy this book. If you enjoy a good coming of age story, you'll also enjoy this book. If you love to read about witches or magical beings at all, you're gonna want to read this book. A special thanks and shout out to the librarian, Kayla, from my local library for recommending this book to me!

Had to force myself to split up the reading of this book into two days or I wouldn't have gotten a wink of sleep which would have made a long day at work. Great book full of characters in a constantly twisting plot. No one is quite who they seem. Read it, you'll like it.

Magical

Thumbs up

After growing up in a world filled with half-truths, Amelia is still confused and lost. She knows she is an “Elder” but what does that mean? It isn’t like the title came with an instruction manual or that anyone bothered to enlighten her. Yes, she has some magical powers, yes, they are a little out of control at times and yes, she seems to getting more coming online with each passing day. If you were at teen kept in the dark, what would you do? Amelia took the high road and went to college where she found her first best friend and a young man who loved her for herself, the person, not “The Elder.” She also discovers she is betrothed to the Prince of the Immortals, lovely, huh? No name, no picture, only the word “duty.” What if you love someone dearly and your heart knows he belongs with you? How do you choose between love and duty when you don’t know enough to make such a monumental decision? Would she be risking the safety of everyone she loves for the life she wants? Bound by Duty by Stormy Smith is a little jog off the normal path many fantasy tales take. Fabulous characters, brilliant dialogue and a writing style that brings each scene to life, I have to say, the fact that Amelia KNEW she was different was a nice change. Keeping her in the dark, wow, kind of brutal, but it does give a new layer to the plot! Fresh, fantastic and full of surprises, I say read it! I received this copy from Stormy Smith in exchange for my honest review.

This book was absolutely amazing I loved it!!

Loved the characters and the storyline

Bound by Duty seemed to take me forever to read. I have admitted before that audiobooks tend to take me awhile because of my short commute, but I think there was something more at play with this one than just my short commute. Bound by Duty felt too formulaic for me. The young girl with mysterious powers growing up in a single parent household goes off to school (college in this case) and is suddenly at the center of a love triangle and a huge power struggle where everyone is a knowledge hoarder. It’s obvious what the young girl needs to do and who she will end up with. I didn’t feel compelled to move forward with the story and I kept thinking, “I know how this ends. This is not a surprise.” I also think that the audio version of the book perhaps did the story some injustice. Right from the start Kristin James’s narration grated on me. Everyone had husky voices and talked in whispers or lower tones. The story is told from the first person point of view and there was this weird echo effect used when Amelia would have an internal monologue. As if there were not enough textual clues given so the reader/listener would know that Amelia was thinking these thoughts and not speaking them out loud. A few of the characters had British accents, and I was never sure why. Their ethnic origins were never explained and there were times where the accents seemed to slip a bit. In the end, I regretted taking advantage of the audiobook sale. While the story was formulaic and the narration didn’t jive with me, I did love Amelia’s best friend, Bethany. She was the picture perfect Southern Belle who infused a lot of life and confidence into Amelia’s life. Not much fazed Bethany, to Amelia’s benefit, and Bethany was a fighter. I wanted more Bethany. I think fans of urban fantasy might find this story intriguing especially if you are looking for straightforward read with few surprises. I would shy away from the audiobook version, no matter how good the deal is, as I feel, perhaps, it doesn’t do the story justice. In the end, Bound by Duty was not a good fit for me, but others might like this foray into the paranormal with a new adult bent.

OMG!!! This book was so good. I just could not put it down. Just when I thought I figured out things, BAMB!!! nope, here comes another twist. Can't wait to read Spells.

Great books . Can't wait for the 4th book

This book is awesome. Once I finished it I quickly brought the entire set. Can't wait to finish it this week. Finished this book in one night since I couldn't put it down once I started!

Teen fiction. Not my favorite genre. Tried to read it a couple times,but just couldnt get into it.

Surprised that i loved the story. Part of a cliffhanger. Cant wait to read part 2.

This book was a very enjoyable fantasy full of romance. action, and magic. Not one single element in this book was over-done. There was just the right amount of everything in this story. It was fun to read and the story-line really drew me in. It was an original take on magical powers. The beginning of the story starts off in a way that sets up the rest of the story very well. It was exciting to read the whole way through and one of those books that kept me up late reading. I didn't want to put it down. I fell in love with the characters. Each and every one of them were interesting in their own way. It's not too often that I like all the characters of a book, especially the girls, sometimes they can be so whiney. I think that for the most part that what Amelia has learned about her life and what she has to deal with and go through that she was a trooper. She was pretty fearless as well. I loved Aidan! I think he would have been EXACTLY the type of guy I would have fallen for when I was in school. He just has that slick charm about him that pulls you in. All the characters just had a wonderful way of pulling me into the story and routing for each and every one of them. Ok, except the Queen of course. By the end of the book I felt compassion for some of these characters and what they had to deal with. I felt their pain. There were quite a few surprises and twists and turns in this book-with the characters and the plot line. An amazing plot line by the way. This book was wonderful first book to a series and a great set up for the second book. I am so extremely excited to see how this series progresses. I have high hopes. There is still so much of this story to be told and so many more magical and amazing moments to be had. This book was just the beginning of the adventure. There is so much more in store and I am dying to get my hands on the rest of this series and dive in. This was just getting good. The second book is going to be an adventure from the front to back. Warning: If you pick up the first book you will be hooked and need the next two books immediately. I don't want to wait to read the rest of this series but unfortunately I have to at the moment. You can be rest assured though that the second I have a spare moment to read what I want I will find every way in my power to get the next two books and sit down and binge-read then. They all just pulled me into the story even more. By the end of the book I felt compassion for some of the characters and what they had to deal with. The only pet peeve that I had with this book was the editing mistakes. There was quite a bit of them. I just don't understand how some of these mistakes were not caught or overlooked. Now, before you judge the book for this, I was given a copy to review in exchange for an honest review. I don't know if maybe the copy I was given was an unedited version. It could be possible. It didn't say that on the book but could be possible. I was willing to overlook these mistakes however, because of how wonderful the story was and in no way did I let this effect my review. I promise you that these mistakes don't take anything away from the story and you should still read it either way. If you don't you will totally be missing out on such a wonderful reading experience and miss out on a promising series that I know is only going to get better with each book. This first book was just the appetizer to the main course!

Nice storyline.

Amelia has been kept in the dark for most of her life, only getting glimpses of her Elder powers. When her father makes a deal with the "she devil", Amelia has until her 21st birthday to live a little. She is betrothed to the prince of the immortals and she doesn't even know what he loos like. Her power is taking a hold on her and it is hard to control, but her brother, who is also and immortal, helps keep her under control. Then, when she goes to college she becomes friends with B and meets a handsome human that will do anything to get to know her, even the worst parts of her. Immortals are forbidden to tell humans about themselves or others, so Amelia should just cut him loose. He isn't who he seems and neither is her friends. Someone she knows well will betray her and her love for this human makes more things confusing. He isn't what he seems, either. Will she be with the human? Is she really the Elder of all the Prophecies? This was a great book and I really want to read the next book. I was really mad that everyone was keeping secrets from her. She would have been more prepared if her dad and brother would have just told her about her powers. I was really surprised at multiple parts in the book. And I really felt like Amelia's emotions were perfect for what she was going through. Stormy Smith did a great job with this book.

I got this book because I was enamored by the cover. And also, this book started really interesting with the prologue going on like it did. I like the concept of the story and how it's a different look on magical people. However being not a fan of whirlwind romances and instant attractions Amelia kind of got on the wrong side of me. Also for someone who's suppose to be so powerful, I felt like the way she was described and how she was acting was pretty contradictory. Aiden didn't help to make me like her either. His character and how it developed, in the end was predictable for me. Then Amelia made this stupid decision in the end which made me actually hate her. I feel like coming inside the book and ask her, 'are you even thinking?' So, if the author's goal was to make me feel irritated with Amelia and her choices, I can say she succeeded. Micah, I don't know if I like him or not but I don't trust him. I mean, Amelia has this feeling of unease towards him at the start and then suddenly it took an 180 degrees turn and they are the new best friends. What was that? I thought heroines intuition play a part too and I was pretty sure Amelia's was right and I felt like she failed me once again. I like Cole, though. I like the big brother that he is. I like Julia because as an antagonist she played the part well. I want to know how the prologue will exactly play out for her in the end. So yeah, I'll probably still read the next one.

Amelia has magic but can’t control it and doesn’t understand it. Amelia’s brother is Cole who she completely trusts and depends on. But he does lie a lot. Micah comes to train, assist, and encourage Amelia. Micah has feelings for for Amelia’s best friend Bethany, Amelia is also an Elder and the last of her kind. Amelia wants some time to be normal and leaves her father to go to college. There she met Aidan at a party and flirts with him but it can’t go anywhere as Amelia has been engaged since birth to the evil queen of the Immortals son that she doesn’t even know. well this book was pretty good but there was to many lies that had been told and Amelia didn’t even know what or who she was that can’t be good. The characters were pretty good I felt for poor Aidan and how Amelia lead him on to some degree and Amelia took all her frustration out on Aidan. I also thought this dragged in places. I received an ARC of this story for an honest review.