* A Reader Obsessed *'s Reviews > The Binding

2.5 Stars

This is a world where if wanted, one could willingly bind away their worst memories into a book, forgetting and leaving them there for safe keeping for all eternity. In its best light, such an event is looked upon as a type of medical treatment, allowing a person to move on from horrors they’ve experienced like it never occurred in the first place. However, in this alternate universe, what happens most often, mainly in the upper echelons of society, depravity and evil is hidden so that tormentors and abusers can go on forever in their wicked ways. In the lower realms of society, the business of binding is looked upon with superstition and fear.

In and amongst this dark and grim setting is Emmett, a newly discovered Binder who is slowly learning the trade. Emmett’s world is turned upside down because being a Binder isn’t something you choose, it chooses the person and one can’t ignore such a calling. Despite planning a life as a farmer, Emmett is forced to leave all he’s ever known to become an apprentice to a mysterious old lady. When she dies suddenly, Emmett’s life is further upended as he’s dragged to the city to continue his training and there, he quickly learns that bound memories are a hot commodity among the rich. When Emmett sees a book with his name on it, he’s understandably shocked and is rashly forced to burn it to release its truth. What he learns is awful, wonderful, and heartbreaking as it’s all tied to the elusive Lord Lucian.

This was not a fun book to read. The main characters for me were hostile, angry, often with a huge chip on their shoulder. There was a tragic love story here, forbidden because MM isn’t accepted, and the obvious stark divide between classes is also a huge barrier. It doesn’t help that the world both Emmett and Lucian live in is nothing bright or happy or special and I too would want to be bound to live in a cloud of ignorance than to face the awful machinations of this created society that loves to see others miserable, being able to lock up their dreadful secrets in private despicable libraries of their own making.

Overall, I never warmed up to Emmett, Lucian, or any of the other characters who had way too many faults that impeded my liking this story and impeded my ability to root for the MC’s to get their happy ending. Points for originality, points for well written detailed prose that definitely immersed the reader in the gloomy world Collins created, but this took me forever to finish. Despite all the descriptive minutiae, there were still so many unanswered questions and ultimately, an unsatisfying win that frustrated me with its abrupt ending that should’ve been so much more.