REVIEW: Bound by C.K. Bryant

Title: Bound (The Crystor #1)
Author: C.K. Bryant
Publisher: Dragonfly Press
Published: 17 October 2011
Format: E-book (Kindle)

When a photo shoot ends in tragedy, Kira discovers her best friend, Lydia, has been keeping a secret. Knowing the truth, and accepting it, will change Kira’s life forever and thrust her into a world of ancient curses, magical objects, and savage enemies. What happens next will challenge everything Kira knows about her world, herself and the shape-shifting warrior she’s falling in love with. No longer the timid mouse her mother accused her of being, but a woman who finds the mental and physical strength to endure and survive. BOUND is a heroic tale of true friendship, infinite sacrifice and untamed love.

My Review:
In the beginning of Bound, we meet average teenager Kira. Everything seems pretty normal in her life. She’s trying to survive high school and trying to live with a mother who constantly reminds her how weak she is. Then one day, Kira and her best friend, Lydia, go on a photo shoot for a school project. As innocent as this sounds, this is the mere moment where everything in Kira’s like is turned upside down. Everything thing she thought she knew and believed in the world is turned inside out. On that fateful day, Kira finds out the truth about Lydia: she is not from this world and she may not be entirely human. Kira must accept Lydia’s secrets and join her and her brother, Octavion, in fighting for their lives from the evil Shandira. As Kira is thrusted into Lydia and Octavion’s world, she must face the reality of the sacrifices she must make. Even if this means losing her best friend, losing the one she loves or possibly her own life.



This book was most appealing because of C.K. Bryant’s unique writing and the story she brought to life within Bound. I’ve read many books that deal with vampires, werewolves, angels and demons, but Bound is different. The whole paranormal aspect of this book cannot be found in many books. The originality of this was very refreshing. She builds a world that is literally not of this Earth. It is magically mysterious with complexity, but not hard to understand. It’s a beautiful world filled with unknown enemies, kingdoms far and wide and curses that can never be lifted. It is a place even I would love to go. Some aspects of the story are reminiscent to vampires and werewolves, such as the cravings for raw flesh and the shape-shifting, but in no way are they related. The powers of some of the characters in the book will have you amazed! I most enjoyed the fact that Kira is not the one with super natural powers, but her best friend. She is given normalcy from the start and then suddenly this gets ripped right out. She learns of Lydia’s and Octavion’s world throughout the book, as much as they are willing to share with Kira. C.K. Bryant does a great job of bringing Lydia and Octavion’s world to life and bringing their identities to full circle, gradually trickling information within the story. I found this most intriguing because each trickle of information is another added layer of the world. I never found one single boring moment in the book. Each page mentioned about Lydia and Octavion’s world captivated me, especially Lydia’s kindred spirit and Octavion’s shape-shifting curse. All that and more took my interest from the very start. C.K. Bryant wrote such an exciting paranormal, that I couldn’t help be invested in the lives of Kira, Lydia and Octavion. I got sucked in so easily with the perfect pacing of the story and the smooth writing. I had no trouble breezing through this book without hesitation. I must say that I just fell in love with this book. I enjoyed this book so much, I didn’t want it to end. Bound had me gripped from start to finish.



My favorite character is Kira. At first, I had my doubts about her. I thought of her to be weak too, not because of the way she acted. It was the way she talked about herself. Kira believed her mother when she said she was a mouse, an underfoot, and I believed her as well. Kira couldn’t help think of herself this way and it made me want to take her by the shoulders and shake her from this way of thinking. Kira had almost convinced herself that she was a weakling and if she continued on this path, I would have been convinced too. What made me change my mind that Kira was the polar opposite of weak and what made her my favorite character was the courage she showed when Lydia needed her. The more she spent time with Lydia and Octavion, her strength shined through. Kira is brave and selfless, sacrificing herself over and over throughout the book. Kira’s tolerance of pain made be bow down to her. I have never seen someone so willing to do everything to save the people she cared about. Her strength and courage had me rooting for her page after page. Kira had changed from the beginning and her transformation from the first page to the last took my breath away. By the end of book, I had tears in my eyes. I kept questioning myself, how much can one person take? I was so deathly afraid that Kira’s fire would burn out and her life would falter. 


I loved Kira and Lydia’s friendship. Their bond was unbelievably amazing physically, mentally and emotionally. Their friendship literally knew no bounds. Both were ready to sacrifice their lives for one another. Both were ready and willing to fight through the end. I found their friendship touching and heartbreaking too. The strength of their bond is something I have never ever read before.

Then there was Octavion. I will admit that sometimes he is overbearing, over protective, rough and has the worst temper known to man. But honestly, this makes him much more appealing and that much sexier and down right yummy. He doesn’t choose to be this way, he just is and he cannot help how he is. He cares so much about Lydia and Kira, he had me awed at his fight for them. Although he is those things I mentioned, Octavion is completely selfless, loving and tough to the bones. Although I did find Octavion and Kira’s love to be quite fast forward than I would like, I still enjoyed them together. They’re not your normal couple. They are funny, quirky and sweet with each other. Each is stubborn and set on keep one another safe. I think they are both perfect for each other in that Kira brings out the best in Octavion and he brings out the strength and courage Kira thought she never had. Octavion has my heart in his clutches (or should I say claws) and I’d be glad for my heart to happily stay there right where Octavion is. :]



Overall, this book was mesmerizing and thrilling. It’s filled with newfound identities, discovery, up-roaring excitement, unwavering friendship and love that is beyond this world. C.K. Bryant will have you right where she wants you the minute you finish reading the last page.



I cannot wait for book two. I’ll be ready to dive back into this world any day. I say pick this one up! It’s a must read <3



I have to warn you, the ending of the book really has you pulling your hair for more, more, more!

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars



*Many thanks to C.K. Bryant for sending me an ebook copy of Bound. 
She has no influence over my opinion/review of this book. It is solely my own.