Sophie has been seeing strange things since she was a little kid. And those things have been scaring her and haunting her forever. Determined to never see the creatures again, she runs to the ends of the world. Or literally the pub "End of the World" where she starts working. Soon she finds out that coming here was a mistake as more creatures are haunting her and new creatures find their way to her. Above that, two strange boys she feels oddly connected to start acting extremely weird. There is more to the ends of the world than she had first thought...Wow, to this book. I remember scanning the rows of Young Adult on the Book Feast and being really happy because FINALLY there were English YA books this time. My eyes had scanned this one, picked it up, read the back and felt over it, but I wasn't entirely convinced and put it back. But sometimes, your little reader's heart tells you to go back and take it before you regret it. And boy oh boy am I one lucky girl to have picked it up and taken it with me because this book was a surprise!
First and foremost our main character: Sophie. She's what the mystery is all around, when she was a very small kid she saw one of the Revenants. Strange creatures that came towards her, were drawn to her and absolutely scared the living crap out of her. So Sophie decides to run to the ends of the world and hope to outrun them there. When she arrives on a little island somewhere near Scotland, we finally get glimpses of her personality. She's very determined and composed, very witty with comments and also very curious of nature. Although her curiosity seems to be suppressed by her anxiety of these creatures.
What I also really loved about this character next to her curiosity and determination, and her witty comments because they were funny, were her feelings towards her being seen as a mad person. People she told about the creatures thought she was just crazy and stupid while she's actually a very wise character. She picks up on all tricks by other characters, she picks up on the slightest details and this wise side of her will come in handy when the time comes. I really enjoyed seeing a girl being very wise in a story and she really shows us that part in Bound. She'll never forget anything, even if it has sunken to her deepest state of consciousness...
As for other characters in the book first of all I want to talk about the two guys that are actually pretty strange! Sam and Lucas, when our main character Sophie finds out about them there this weird vibe about them. They're both rich, they're both very isolated from the other townspeople which makes them rather weird youngsters. Soon Sophie also finds out they're very weird and feels a very odd connection to them but she doesn't know what it is exactly.
I like Sam because well, he's all that I had expected: he's the hot guy in town. Yet Sam has this very mysterious side that makes you really want to get to know him but also not get to know him. He'll really have a strange vibe which makes us doubt if we should actually trust him or not. As for Lucas, he's the introverted one, the opposite of Sam which I thought was a nice addition to the characters because it gave a lot of diversity.
Then there is Michael, I really adore this old man. He was a bit strange maybe but he was very friendly towards Sophie and open. He's also very wise and knows when to come to rescue in awkward situations so I really liked this character although I had hoped to know him a bit better than we do now. I feel like he'd also have a very unique background which I wished to see more of.
Lastly, there's Ailsa! I really loved this character as well because she was very open and also very girly! She's all you'd expect from a character that becomes friends with Sophie: more eccentric than Sophie; who's more composed. Ailsa made sure that the book had a very outgoing taste and really helps to build up the story!
Now the plot! The first few things you'll notice is the big mystery. Sophie decides to hold back on us in the beginning and we don't really know who or what she's talking about until she comes forward with it. When she does though, not all mystery is resolved because this book is just one big mystery read! Characters will have weird conversations where Sophie and the reader eavesdrop, weird circumstances, strange dreams. This book is one mystery for both reader and main character which I found a very great thing in Bound. Both the reader and Sophie are out on a very deep secret and we'll have to discover it together which makes Sophie a very relatable character because you will connect with her through it all.
But it's not only weird circumstances or conversations, it's also the townspeople. As I already said before, the characters will show a wide diversity of personalities and the author will make use of that. Some characters are holding something back and you'll notice but what is it exactly is still part of the bigger plot. You might think it lies in their diversity but what if that isn't true? This really made it a nice read as well because all the little things are connected to something big but you can't put your finger onto it because you need to know everything in order to discover.
And of course there're also the mysterious creatures that are following Sophie everywhere that we know nothing about. First there were only the Revenants, but as soon as Sophie sets foot on the little island a lot more creatures will come her way. I was really pleased with this because these creatures opened up a very wide world of diversity in the paranormal aspect but will still surprise you with what's actually roaming around!
The paranormal activity does give the reader a very nice opportunity to guess what they are and rule it out during the plot. I for instance first thought there were ghosts but then something happens and I'd say they weren't ghosts but reincarnations maybe or mythological creatures. It's a great asset to the book because you'll be searching for the answers and those answers lie in those creatures as well!
Lastly there are the dreams Sophie has. I must say I was very surprised by these dreams because I had never expected dreams to have any part in this. Yet I was very pleased with them because there's a girl in those dreams and she only talks in riddles and cryptic messages. It did add more to the mystery as well as the thrill and suspense to what is actually going on.
Once we finally find out what this is all about, I was really surprised. I thought the book wouldn't be able to surprise me this much because it already gave so much to be surprised about. Yet this was something I hadn't even thought about, even though if I had paid closer attention I could have guessed it! Some more clever ones will get it a lot faster but I did really enjoy the fact that I could really search for the answers in my own imagination while checking in with the main character if she thought about this as well.
Lastly I'd like to point out that the plot doesn't really tell us everything at once, I felt like there were part of the truths we got to know along the way by circumstances and things that happened. Although you felt like you'd finally knew, the characters who influence the plot still hold back. They stayed quiet because they were bound to and this causes us to wait a little bit longer in suspense. But when you find out the truth a new world of mystery, secrets and people who want to harm them opens in front of you and it just gives so much tension to it all that I absolutely devoured the book. And then that ending!
I do want to say that I sometimes was a bit confused because we didn't really have any truth to hold on to since our character was just dropped in all of this just like us. However I did still really enjoy it and can't wait for the sequel or well, next part, in the series: Riven.
To conclude this review I'd really like to point out how underrated this book is and how much I want it to change! This book was such a great one to read and I absolutely devoured it. At the start we're already confronted with the mystery around the main character and what she's exactly seeing. The fact that both reader and character didn't know what these creatures actually were made it a very pleasant read, because we get the possibility think for ourselves and come up with theories and rule them out along the way. Also the townspeople are a great asset to the book as they are also very strange and add to the mystery alongside the weird dreams Sophie has been having. The book really is one big mystery where everyone is bound to keep silent and this makes the reader frustrated as well as eager to find out what everything is about. When we finally realize what's going on and who we're dealing with, we're in for such a surprise and close to the ending that will leave you shivering in disbelieve!"There are no such things as monsters, Sophie told herself. No demons, no witches, no ghosts..."
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