The Bloodbound was a different kind of read for me. It's fantasy with a bit of romance but the characters are the draw.

What I liked: The Bloodbound feels like a historical fantasy and maybe it is but is struck me as much more. There are a few magics involved but with this first book, the magic is being able to forge a blood bond with a particular weapon. The weapon is more an extension of the individual using it. There are not that many blood binders left in the Kingdom of Alden.

The main characters are Lady Alix from the Black Banner house, who is a scout under the King's forces, LIam, a fellow scout for whom Lady Alix has feelings but he's bastard born and cannot hope to become involved with her; and finally the King of Alden, Erik White. Lady Alix has saved his life and feels drawn to him.

I found The Bloodbound to be very well written. The pacing was good and it seemed as if the action never stopped. The characters are on their way to being very well developed and I sincerely enjoyed the setting. I used to love historical romance mainly because of the settings but over the years got away from them. This is by no mean a historical romance as the women in this setting are as smart, cunning and lethal as the men. The good thing, the women are treated as pretty much equals.

The heroine, Lady Alix Black is involved in just about everything happening in the story. She's smart, knows her way around the politics of court and she's lethal. The only fault I could find with her was her waffling on which male she sincerely cared for. There is a reason for that but....spoiler.

What I didn't like: There was nothing not to like but the reader will need to hang in there with the world building. There are a lot of different Banner Families to keep track of and the politics to learn. 

As I said The Bloodbound would not normally have caught my attention but I found the second book in the series, The Bloodforged, on NetGalley and wanted to read the first in the series before trying it. Now I can't wait to get started!!

Recommended!!!!