Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Bound Vol. 2 
SERIES: Little Goddess #3
AUTHOR: Amy Lane
PUBLISHER: DSP Publications
LENGTH: 260 pages
BLURB:
Cory’s newly bound family is starting to find its footing, which is a good thing because danger after danger threatens, and Green can’t be there nearly as often as he’s needed. As Cory learns to face the challenges of ruling the hill alone, she’s also juggling a menage relationship with three lovers-with mixed results.
But with each new challenge, one lesson becomes crystal clear: she can’t be queen without each of the men who look to her, and the people she loves aren’t safe unless she takes on that queendom with all of the intelligence and courage in her formidable heart.
But sometimes even intelligence, courage, and steadily increasing magic aren’t enough to do the job, and suddenly the role of Cory’s lovers becomes more crucial than ever. Nobody is strong enough to succeed in every task, and Cory finds that the most painful lesson she and her lovers can learn is not just how to deal with failure. Cory needs to learn that one woman is only so powerful, and she needs to choose wisely who sits outside her circle of family, and who is bound eternally in her heart.
REVIEW:
Wow. I swear I get why these long books are split, I really do, but this one had all of the action and payoff that volume 1 was missing! That is not to say that volume 1 was bad, I think I gave it 4.5 hearts, but damn, this one just has it all. The same thing happened with Wounded volume 1. It was great, but the good stuff happens in volume 2. The same thing happens here!
So I said it with the last book, these are not gay romance novels and really don’t fit with the same-sex romance theme of Love Bytes Reviews. But in a way, they really do. One of the things I love about this series is the openness of the love. No, there isn’t EXACTLY gay romance or gay sex in each book, but they are an example of no boundary love. At the center of this story is Cory, who is bound and mated with three men. Green and Bracken are sidhe, Nicky is a bird shifter. They all play different roles and provide different things that Cory specifically needs, but as the four become more bonded they begin to provide for each other as well. Nicky has always been the outsider of the group, Bracken and Green have lived together, not as lovers, but in the same home for years, and they bonded with Cory first. Nicky was an accident and Bracken has been a little…. cold? Not mean to him, but just not welcoming. By the end of this book, poor Nicky is right there too. Cory also gets her shit together more in this one, she gets beat to shit as usual, and vomits multiple times, but she has figured out her power more. And how to use the three men better as well. There is less fumbling around in this one, they still don’t know what they are doing exactly, but they seem to function better.
I got off track a bit there! This is a continuation of the story started in Bound volume 1, where we have a new bad guy for Cory and company to deal with. Volume 1 sets the stage, introduces some new characters, and sets us up for the big fight. Volume 2 gives us the payoff. There are a couple of confrontations between the Green’s Hill folks and the Hollow Man, one nearly costing Bracken and Nicky’s lives, and one ending…. well. I won’t say! It’s a good example of good versus evil, but a lesson that evil doesn’t always start that way.
More interpersonal issues are dealt with as well, smaller issues in the grand scheme of things, but still important to the lives of the Green’s Hill folks. Grace, our resident vampire mother has been recently discovered by her living daughter and grandchildren, all of which have been coming to the hill to visit. The kids are awesome, their mother not so much. This comes to a head in this book with a very dramatic ending. We see more of the internal functions of the hill, meals, some of the smaller folks and such, and the acceptance of a new vampire to their mix. Some progress is made with Renny and Max as well. Cory’s mom pops in to be a pain in the ass. Poor Cory and her band of misfits are still trying to go to school, with very mixed results. They meet a new friend that doesn’t end well, and continue with their mutual counseling sessions with Hallow, who I quite like. This book really made me wish I could knit, but my hands and wrists are too fucked up to do it. Knitting plays a role in a rescue that was very cool, as well as seeing Cory knit for her men. Wish I could do that! For my man, that is, not men!
One of the many things I like about this series is that it is a long series, big books, and the characters continue from book to book so we get deeply in to their lives. It feels soap opera-ish at times, but so not in a bad way. This is like a big commune, there is fighting and fussing, but they all come together and kick ass when it counts. All led by Green and Cory, with a lot of back up.
It’s an amazing series, I don’t know what else to say. It’s Amy Lane, I love her, I love this series, I love these books. I’m so enjoying visiting them again, it’s been years since I first read them. I downloaded the handful of short stories that go with them, I think I just need to reread them right now as well, while we wait for Rampant, the next book to be re-released. Then the BIG payout, a new Cory book!
If you are a fan of epic urban fantasy, start with Vulnerable and work your way through these books. They are so worth it!
Here are my reviews of the previous books:
RATING:
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