Shadow Bound (Unbound) [Mass Market Paperback]

Rachel Vincent (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 22, 2012 | Series: Unbound

If you live in the dark long enough, 

you begin to forget the light... 

Kori Daniels is a shadow-walker, able to travel instantly from one shadow to another. After weeks of confinement for betraying her boss, she's ready to break free of the Tower syndicate for good. But Jake Tower has one final job for Kori, one chance to secure freedom for herself and her sister, Kenley, even if it means taking it from someone else.... 

The job? Recruit Ian Holt-or kill him. 

Ian's ability to manipulate the dark has drawn interest from every syndicate in the world, most notably an invitation from Jake Tower. Though he has no interest in organized crime, Ian accepts the invite, because he's on a mission of his own. Ian has come to kill Tower's top Binder: Kori's little sister. 

Amid the tangle of lies, an unexpected thread of truth connecting Ian and Kori comes to light. But with opposing goals, they'll have to choose between love and liberty....

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent loves good chocolate, comfortable jeans, and serial commas. She\u2019s older than she looks and younger than she feels, but is convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan. Now absorbed in the dark, tangled loyalties of her UNBOUND world, as well as the travails of a teenage banshee in her SOUL SCREAMERS world, Rachel can be found online at www.rachelvincent.com or urbanfantasy.blogspot.com.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Mira (May 22, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780778313434
• ISBN-13: 978-0778313434
• ASIN: 0778313433
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #627,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rachel Vincent is the author of the Shifters series, about a werecat named Faythe Sanders, who is learning to define her own role in her family and fighting to claim a place in her Pride.

Rachel's young adult series, Soul Screamers, debuted on August 1, 2009. My SOUL TO TAKE is the first in the series, about a teenage bean sidhe (banshee) trying to balance a normal high school experience with the terrifying, hidden world she's just discovered. Soul Screamers Book 5, IF I DIE, will be available on October 1, 2011.

BLOOD BOUND (Unbound, book 1), the first in Rachel's new adult paranormal series, will debut September 1, 2011.

A new resident of San Antonio, Rachel Vincent has a BA in English and an overactive imagination, and she consistently finds the latter to be more practical. She shares her workspace with two black cats (Kaci and Nyx) and her # 1 fan. Rachel is older than she looks-seriously-and younger than she feels, but remains convinced that for every day she spends writing, one more day will be added to her lifespan.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars The worldbuilding is truly excellent & Rachel does write well, but neither the characters nor the storyline lived up to it May 22, 2012

By Abigail TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Paranormal fiction by definition isn't normal. It's other, it's different. But what makes paranormal fiction so good is how it plays with all sorts of supernatural things and makes them feel real and relatable. Even in cases like the Unbound series, where words and oaths are power, where Skilled people can travel through shadows or blot out the sun. There is no question that Rachel Vincent's worldbuilding captures that perfect blend between paranormal and plausible, but unlike the previous book in this series, nothing else does.

I'm not used to having to be critical of anything Rachel Vincent writes, so bear with me.

If only the characters had been half as good as the worldbuilding, this would be a much more favorable review. But they weren't. Kori was grating from the start. I didn't believe anything about her. SHADOW BOUND begins with Kori being released from weeks of hellish torture where she was starved and brutalized in everyway possible. A couple weeks later she tops the scales at one hundred pounds and yet she knocks out massive skilled body guards and attackers left and right. Didn't buy it. Nor did I buy how quickly she started having romantic/lust filled emotions for Ian hours after meeting him (considering her rape and torture only two weeks ago). Worse still was the complete lack of chemistry between these two. Kori was over the top hard with temper issues, endless clichéd gripes, and one stupid move after the next (every time they go outside they get attacked...the solution is to obviously keep going outside and act surprised when an attack happens). Ian wasn't much brighter. He has an endgame that will 100% make Kori loathe him forever, but he wonders constantly about making sure her feelings for him are genuine.

Beyond Kori and Ian's lack of intelligence, everything else felt ridiculously contrived. Why exactly is Kori picked for this crazy important assignment? Why is she allowed to stay on this assignment when she tries to sabotage it the first time she opens her mouth? Why do Kori and Ian conveniently forget that their loved ones will die if they don't get the other to do something horrible and instead go on dates and share flirtatious backstories? Why does no one think to look for them at Kori's house when they run off? I can't count how many times I wondered why the easy, obvious action/answer wasn't picked. I just didn't get it.

I'm a huge Rachel Vincent fan. I gave the first book in the Unbound series a 5/5 rating so I was more than ready to love SHADOW BOUND just as much, but even though the worldbuilding is truly excellent and Rachel does write well, this time neither the characters nor the storyline lived up to it. Fortunately there will be two new characters leading the story in OATH BOUND when it comes out in 2013. I have to hope this installment was a fluke and that the next book will be just as killer as the first.

Sexual Content:
References to rape and torture. One sex scene.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great series May 31, 2012

By Melissa Mason

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Kori is a Traveler, she is able to walk into any shadow and go where ever she wants that is within her range. The skills in this series vary and are much sought after by syndicates. There are Blinders who are able to draw shadows (darkness). Healers, which are pretty much self explanatory, they are able to heal. And there are also binders, who are able to make contracts between people that if broken can lead to pain/death.

Kori is recovering after being tortured and asked to prove herself by recruiting someone into the syndicate. With little choice she meets Ian, a Blinder with significant power. The syndicate's leader, Jake Tower, tells her to do anything to recruit him. Being the rebel that Kori is, this means she shows Ian all the negative things about being part of a syndicate so he will make an informed decision. Little does she know that Ian has an ulterior motive.

The book legitimately made me pissed off for Kori. She was tortured, and treated like crap and I felt really bad for her. I found Kori to be an interesting character and made me want to read more. The writing is amazing, as usual for a Rachel Vincent novel. If you have enjoyed any of her previous work I highly suggest you read this series. If you haven't read a Rachel Vincent book, do yourself a favor and go buy one now!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it! July 12, 2012

By PrincessPixistixx(WonderlandReviews)

Format:Mass Market Paperback

So, the big surprise that came my way was found as I eagerly ripped open this month's book club selections and found pulled out the first book. Shadow Bound, a book I have been searching for since learning of the release date. I was even more excited to see that this book featured my favorite character Kori. I love that spunky kicking butt gal.

I think the best part of this book was that unlike any other love story, love didn't make you weak or stupid, in fact I would say that in this book the character's actually became stronger people while in love.

Kori was my favorite from the get go, and to learn that after she was forced to help Liv and Cam in the last book she was punished so severely it made me want to jump into the pages and throttle these so called friends who abandoned her.

I love the way the author describes shadows to a shadow walker, she really brought them to life and made me think twice about the dark which haunts my fears.

I am eagerly awaiting the next installment as more characters were introduced and given a back line and relationships grew. This is a book full of the steamy romance to fog the glasses as you turn the page, heart pounding action that leaves you on the edge of your seat and a love worth fighting for that is the things dreams are made of.