If at any time an author can bring out emotions in a reader, they are a success. If they can draw in a reader to feel engaged in the journey of their new book friends, they earn more respect. If an author can leave a reader feeling intrigued, inspired, and even offer healing, they’ve gained a bibliophile fanatic for life. - Shani K. - The Chronicles of an Abibliophobiac.

Friday, May 6, 2016

Review: "Born to be Bound (Alpha's Claim, #1)" by Addison Cain




(Links after the review!)

Addison Cain has done something that i haven’t always seen authors do. That is in the beginning of the book there is a disclaimer(page 4 or location 17). It states that the book is intended for adults and some of the activities being represented are for mature audiences. I can very much appreciate that and thanks Addison!

As an Abibliophobiac, I seriously DO read anything! With that said, this was one of the few times I’ve read a book that leaned more towards a sci-fi maybe post apocalyptic theme. It was a little out of my comfort zone, I won’t lie. But I was determined to go with it and see what more I could learn.

Born to be Bound is a dark story of a young woman trying to survive under the dome. As she is one of the Omega’s ( the lowest level of hierarchy but also wanted the most due to their fertility. Alpha males impregnate them.) that have gone into hiding. Her kind are being hunted down by the Alpha population during the Shepherds reign of terror. Their choice to be with whom they want or to even go through the ‘heat’ (fertility cycle) is taken away from them the moment they are found out in the open. Some of them are even hunted down, kidnapped, raped and beaten. Claire has to do what she felt she never could, she must enter the Citadel and find their tyrannical leader and beg for help. Her people are dying of starvation and violence. She goes in hope of finding some type of compassion in the man.

What she doesn’t know that someone has stacked everything against her and then some. She has to go into the Citadel in disguise and wear clothing covered in the smells of a deceased person. Her natural smell as an Omega can be easily scented if she does not. On top of that she thinks she has taken a street manufactured pill to suppress her heat cycle. As she waits for her turn to get Shepherds attention, the cycle begins. She is at the mercy of the man now.

He senses her in the midst of all of the sudden chaos and finds her. Her nightmare has come true, she has been captured. And not just by anyone, but the tyrant she fears the most. He makes her his, against her will and her nature. He pair bonds her to him during those first few weeks. He keeps her locked away for both her own safety but for his own use. She begs for help for her fellow Omegas and for her own sanity. But Shepherd has his own views on how things work. They come from the same world so to speak outwardly, but one has been sheltered more than the other.

As the story continues, Claire makes a surprising escape and seeks out the help she needs to desperately to survive. She wants to find her friends and tell them she didn’t surrender or give up. She needs to explain to them what happened because she doesn’t want them to give up hope. She feels like she has failed them miserably. During her escaped time she meets someone who agrees to help her and keep her in seclusion. But is it truly going to be a success? The whole time she is separated from her mate (Shepherd, he forced the pair bonding) she is conflicted with a myriad of emotions. She feels his anger, his grief, his kindness through it all through their bond. I don't want to give too much away with that, as it’s quite interesting.I think during her escape, it explains so much more about both main characters and those who are supporting.

When the whole situation comes to a massive collision of sorts, more is introduced about both their pasts. I liked that the supporting characters had a part of sharing that. It gives more of an insight through the eyes so to speak of someone close to the characters, instead of just the author/narrator. As tidbits are revealed, it toys with your emotions quite a bit. I went from being angry/sad to warming up to their characters. It was the last few chapters that took me on a roller coaster ride!

In those last few chapters as well, Addison gives you more of an insight to just what happened over a course of time to not just the dome itself, but the inhabitants as well. The story spreads out and it’s really kind of fascinating the parallel there is to that world and ours. There is a lot of information to take in!

The book ends with a major cliffhanger and I didn’t expect it to be honest. I didn’t expect the whole last chapter to be what it was! Just when you think that maybe, just maybe it will even out and you can change how you feel about a character, something happens to make the flood of emotions spin quickly.

Positives:

It is vastly different from what I usually read, but it gave me something new to learn about.

Addison keeps you guessing in many parts of the book, making you question characters and their motives.

It opened up my mind to a genre that I had never expected. I actually took time to look up the whole Alpha/Beta/Omega fan lore. I wish I had done this to begin with to be honest. More made sense after I did. I learned quite a bit! That is always a positive.

The story line was a well thought out one and was written well. It will be interesting to see how it carries on.

Negatives:

Even with the disclaimer in the beginning of the book, some of the violence was a trigger for me. It is pretty graphic, so please keep that in mind.

There is a lot of information introduced into the first book, but I would have liked to have a little more clarification on some things would have been better. For example, a glossary of terms to reference in the beginning would be helpful.

Over all, I think it’s a well written book with interesting characters. I’m not sure if it’s a genre that would be part of the fore front of my shelf, but I would read more of them. I am curious to find out how their lives progress from where Addison ended it and if there is a HEA (Happily Ever After) moment for any of the significant characters.

Please, also let me make this clear: Yes, some of the situations in the book were a trigger for me and at times I had a hard time. At these moments I’d take a small break from reading and go back to it. This is not a reflection on Addison at all. This is a personal aspect, and something I deal with in my everyday life. As the reader, I made the choice to read the book, and regardless of that I did enjoy most of it. I was aware (the disclaimer - Thanks again Addison!) that it could cause issues with me and I wasn’t taken off guard. I throw this out there because too many times a reader will blame the author or drama is tossed.

If you love a good suspenseful book, check this one out!

I give it 4 out of 5 stars!

Authors Website: Addison Cain

Authors Amazon Page: Addison Cain

Authors GoodReads Page: Addison Cain

Authors Facebook Fan Page: Addison Cain

My GoodReads Review HERE

My Amazon Review HERE


1 comment:

  1. Awesome, insightful review! Definitely made me want to go check this book out. :)

    ReplyDelete