Read-along & Giveaway: Bound by Benedict Jacka @BenedictJacka‏ @AceRocBooks @BerkleyPub @orbitbooks @TantorAudio ‏#Read-along #GIVEAWAY

Posted September 6, 2019 by Robin in Book Review, Giveaway, Read-along / 8 Comments

Read-along & Giveaway: Bound by Benedict Jacka

Read-along & Giveaway: Bound by Benedict Jacka @BenedictJacka‏ @AceRocBooks @BerkleyPub @orbitbooks @TantorAudio  ‏#Read-along #GIVEAWAY  Bound by Benedict Jacka
Narrator: Gildart Jackson
Series: Alex Verus #8
on April 25, 2017
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 304
Length: 11 hours, 46 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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zero-flames
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star

Alex Verus is still haunted by his time apprenticed to Richard Drakh. He's been free of him for many years, but now the only way to keep his friends from being harmed is to again work for Richard and his deadly ally. Even worse, he’s forced to bring the Light mage Anne into this servitude as well.

After weeks of being hunted and finally cornered into what he thought was his last stand, Alex never thought his life would be spared—and never anticipated at what price. This time, the diviner can see no way out..

Alex has learned how to make some great friends, but he is much better at making enemies.  And he has made some doozies. Richard and Mordan are at top of that list (a very long list at that) and they are by far the most dangerous.  They are educated, cunning, patient, mysterious and are playing a long game that even Alex can’t divine.  

Alex got caught up in a whirlwind situation in Burned where he well, for lack of a better word for it got burned.  In the aftermath, he and Anne are locked into Mordan’s service under threat of death and worse. Alex is reluctant to help Mordan or Richard in any way but for the moment he is a bit stuck, so better to be patient and pick your moment.  Dangerous times for Alex indeed.

With Light and Dark mages, it is really hard to tell who are the bad guys.  Right now, I’m thinking there are plenty of bad guys playing for both teams.  What I do know is that Richard is a mystery and I have no idea what his end game is but I do know he is playing the game better than anyone else including Alex right now.

Most of Bound is political posturing and Alex trying to figure a way out of his indentured servitude intact and with Anne.  Of course, Vari and Luna are there to help and Arachne always has some good advice for him. While it seems like Alex and Anne are getting closer and may one day have a romance, it is definitely tertiary to the story and moving very slowly.  Still, long term, I see it headed in that direction at least.

It was hard to watch Alex and Anne be shunned by most of the people they are supposed to be working with in the council/keepers/healers.  Even harder were some of the events that happened to Anne in this book. She has been through some struggles and I think that we might have hit her breaking point.  My only question now is, did Richard have his hand in it hoping to push Anne to the Dark side?  

I always enjoy Alex’s take on situations and while a lot of this book is political posturing there is still plenty of fighting as new and old enemies alike come after our favorite diviner.  A new magical object is put into play and it seems like a useful and dangerous tool.

At the climactic end of Bound, I again was left with that oh no feeling I got at the end of Burned.  These are dangerous times and Alex still seems to be in way over his head. I’m hoping he figures things out soon and if/when he goes up against Richard, I’m expecting it to be a chess match for the ages. 

“Align yourself with a greater power,” Arachne said. “Become a greater power. Or die.”

 

 “Have you really gone this long without an aide?”

“As a matter of fact, I’ve had two,” Morden said. “Unfortunately, they’ve had rather poor luck. The first disappeared in the summer and the second committed suicide.” 

“Suicide?” Anne asked. 

“Yes, it seems the stress of the position proved too much for him. He broke all his fingers, cut his own throat, then set himself on fire.”

 

Narration:

Gildart Jackson has another fantastic performance in this book.  He embodies all the characters so well it is all very seamless and he has become the voice of Alex for me.  I have enjoyed all of his performances of this series so far. I listened to this at my usually 1.5x speed.

Listen to a clip:  HERE


Anne’s  observations from Bound:

  • Alex does the best he can and while it is keeping them alive, their situation is just always difficult.
  • Are there any good guys?  Neither Light nor Dark is honorable. They are just all about their own power.
  • Alex’s enemies seem to be increasing in number and are some of the most dangerous.
  • Alex has some friends / allies but they continue to not be able to help him very much.
  • So… Alex and Anne?  And what will happen to Anne now?

Anne’s questions from Burned:

  1. What other strategies will Alex develop to protect himself and his friends?  Will he ever manage independence for himself and others again?
  2. Luna relocked the force barrier with the cube but then where did the cube go?  It’s mentioned here as being in the Vault.
  3. Will Alex ever be able to do anything about the cruel practices of dark mages?
  4. Will there be a romance for Alex?   It’s looking more like he will get together with Anne?
  5. Will Alex ever be able to contact Starbreeze again, or find her?
  6. (KC)Will vampires be a future subject since it is hard to know if they are really all gone?
  7. (KC) Is Alex destined for a council position?   Well he is an aide to a council position so he is learning how it works. It looks like he is going to be able to learn more soon.
  8. (KC) Will humans become a bigger threat, particularly to monsters and dark mages?

Anne’s questions from Bound:

  1. What other strategies will Alex develop to protect himself and his friends?  Will he ever manage independence for himself and others again?
  2. Will Alex ever be able to do anything about the cruel practices of dark mages?
  3. Will there be a romance for Alex?  (Robin) When will Alex and Anne get together?
  4. Will Alex ever be able to contact Starbreeze again, or find her?
  5. (KC)Will vampires be a future subject since it is hard to know if they are really all gone?
  6. (KC) Will humans become a bigger threat, particularly to monsters and dark mages?
  7.  (Robin)Did Richard have anything to do with what happened to Anne with the Lightmages in this book?
  8.  (Robin)Can Alex get better at the long Game?
  9.  (Robin)What the heck is Richard’s Magic?
  10.  (Robin)Can the Adepts and Sensitives ever get some respect/voice in the magical community and will Alex play a part in that?
  11.  (Robin)How will Anne change after what happened in the Vault?

Games:

1. Who said (enter the answer in the Rafflecopter, don’t put in the comments)

“The notices went out, but right now you’re kind of the mage equivalent of O. J. Simpson. Might want to keep your head down.”

2.  Who is the villain in Bound? (Enter in the rafflecopter)


Schedule:   

We are doing one book every month, posting on Fridays. We should have a review for most of the books with the team here at Books of My Heart plus some of our blogging friends.

Sep 6:    Bound

Oct 4:    Marked

Nov 1:    Fallen


Miss a post?

Feb 1:    Fated

Mar 1:    Cursed

Apr 5:   Taken

May 3:  Chosen

Jun 7:    Hidden

Jul 5:    Veiled

Aug 2:   Burned


Be sure to enter the giveaways!!!

 

Giveaway:

Ace Roc is sponsoring the giveaway this month.  It is a full set of the 10 current books in the series, print copies with autographs. US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Read-along Giveaway:

This giveaway is for the entire event, with things to enter each month. Tantor is also supporting me by giving away digital codes for all 10 audiobooks in the series!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About Gildart Jackson

With acting credits that span stage and screen, Gildart Jackson is most often recognized for his role as Gideon on Charmed. Other notable TV roles include Jackson Palmer on Providence and Simon Prentiss on General Hospital, as well as guest appearances on Stargate: Atlantis, Las Vegas, and CSI. Theater roles include Trigorin in The Seagull, Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, and Adrian in Private Eyes at the Old Globe.

About Benedict Jacka

Benedict Jacka became a writer almost by accident, when at nineteen he sat in his school library and started a story in the back of an exercise book. Since then he’s studied philosophy at Cambridge, lived in China, and worked as everything from civil servant to bouncer to teacher before returning to London to take up law.

Rating Breakdown
Plot
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Writing
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Characters
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Dialogue
One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Narration (Audio)
One StarOne StarOne StarOne StarHalf a Star
Overall: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Robin
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

  • 2019 Library-Love
  • BTB 2019

Posted September 6, 2019 by Robin in Book Review, Giveaway, Read-along / 8 Comments


8 responses to “Read-along & Giveaway: Bound by Benedict Jacka

  1. Excellent review Robin! I’m glad you are enjoying this series and have come along for this read-along. This one felt like try, try, try without a lot of success or change and then BAM that ending. Nothing seems to be good for our team these days. But this might give Alex some new options? We will see.