Book Review: The Bound (The Ascension #2) by K.A. Linde

Title: The Bound (The Ascension #2)
Author: K.A. Linde
Publisher: EverAfter Romance
Release Date: October 25, 2016
Pages: 410
Source: Author
Format: eBook
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Fantasy

               

Cyrene Strohm is a Queen’s Affiliate, a high-ranking official of the court of Byern, with power and privilege to spare. But she’s also a keeper of dangerous secrets: like the fact that she holds the heart of the King, and that she possesses magic in a world where magic no longer exists.
Determined to discover what this means and how to use her newfound abilities, Cyrene sets off for the distant land of Eleysia. An island nation where Affiliates are strictly forbidden from entering.
But the journey is perilous, and the destination may mean utter ruin, as Cyrene comes to learn that everything she’s been told her whole life – about her court, her homeland, and even herself—are bound in a beautiful lie.

I am always worried when I read the middle book(s) in a series. I worry that they will suffer from that "second book syndrome". Though there was a small chunk of the book that lost my interest, overall this book did not disappoint. In a lot of ways it was even better than the first book.

With this being the second book in a series, I don't want to give too much away, but here are the basics.

The Bound opens with one hell of a bang, and picks up a few weeks after Cyrene flees Byern with a motley crew of companions.

On her journey to Eleysia, Cyrene's group continues to grow, she meets creatures and beings thought to be fairy tales, you get to know secondary characters more deeply, complete with the secrets they hold, and plot twist after plot twist is thrown in your face, making your head spin with endless possibilities.

What I especially love is Cyrene's strength of character. In The Affiliate, Cyrene was a very strong female from the start. In The Bound, Cyrene is able to maintain her strength of character through all that she faces. She keeps a positive attitude no matter what. Her loyalty to her friends, and her willingness to keep them safe no matter what, even at the cost of her own freedom and life, is to be commended and admired.

What's more, Cyrene's character development in The Bound is, in a word, simply fabulous. Leaving the only world that she has ever known, to travel in the harshest of conditions, dealing with her magical powers, and navigating new countries and customs, Cyrene becomes even more confidant and becomes a true leader in every sense of the word.

Quit honestly, she reminds me a lot of Clark Kent, in the sense of the way his moral compass always swings.

"With great power comes great responsibility." I know, I know, that's a Spider-Man quote.

I highly recommend this series. The first two books in the Ascension series are phenomenal reads and I am looking forward to the next installments.