Shadow Bound

Well done Erin Kellison on a great novel. This story was nicely fast-pace. The story keeps you constantly riveted, wanting more. Great characterization and story. No matter how well I thought I had things figured out, I would get unexpected results.
This was recommended to me by a friend and would have otherwise most likely been forever overlooked by me. I am so grateful I was shown this book. I starteed reading it one morning and could not put it down. I even skipped lunch, so absorbed in the book as I was.
The story centers primarily around Talia. A woman in her mid-twenties who was simply trying to get a job after receiving her doctorate. However after her roommate is killed and she starts to be hunted by wraiths, everything changes. The other main character is Adam, a powerful man with a lot of money to back his work. His brother is a wraith and Adam starts an organization to stop and kill the wraiths. Researching information, he comes across a key word in Talia's work. "Shadowman." From there is searches for her and tries to get her to join his cause. This is when the real adventure begins.
There are fae, wraiths, private military men, and Death himself! Also, while this is romance, it is not strictly so and is a great read for men and women. In fact, the person who recommended this was a guy and I know of 2 others who have since read it and really liked it just for the story in and of itself. So, if you are looking for a constantly moving book, this is it. There is always something big happening in every chapter. It fits just right. Not too overwhelming and yet very fast.

Based on some reviews I fully expected Shadow Bound to be an UF and for about half of it I thought it was. The beginning was well constructed and the writing was good (though at times a bit too lyrical and wordy for this genre). The story started falling apart for me when it turned into PNR (it's also where I stared to grow bored). Like in most PNRs, the relationship goes from meeting to lust and finally to full on, mated life long partners instantaneously. The parts in the goth club seemed like the necessary filler to move the relationship forward, whats worse they didn't read true and were at times eye-roll inducing. Still at that point this book was still a 4 star book. What took this book down for me was the last quarter of the book. Both Adam and Talia make some stupid and over the top decisions. There is no planning, no strategy (after all, they are just trying to save the world). Each of them acts in a manner that is overly dramatic and frankly enters the TSTL territory. This makes my grade 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 as I did think this story had potential to be a great UF novel and ended up being an ok PNR.

This is one of the more original stories I have read and I enjoyed it immensely. The story is refreshing, the writing is clean and easy to read and the characters are likable. I just wish that Adam and Talia would be a little less bleak in their belief that everything is their fault. I am not a big fan of self pity and while the characters are portrayed as strong, reliable and resourceful, the recriminations are contradictory.

I will be reading the other books in the series.

Great paranormal romance! I couldn't put it down.

Talia O'Brien is not a normal human being. Half-human and half-fairy, she has a gift and has only begun to discover its power. This is good since the world is experiencing an influx of creatures that cannot be killed by normal human means.

Adam Thorne is a man with a mission: to put an end to the wraith problem that has been plaguing him since he discovered his brother had turned into one. When Talia's dissertation on near death experiences comes to his attention, he thinks perhaps he's finally found someone who can help him figure out the answers.

Filled with action and sexual tension (without too much graphic detail), this romance is fun and exciting. Unlike many romances, I rarely ever found myself thinking "why is this person being so stupid?" which was quite refreshing. I recommend this to anyone who likes paranormal romances.