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Faebound by Saara El-Arifi
4.0

Two sisters, trapped in the fae world, unlikely romances, court politics, and defying destinies. Yeeran is a warrior in the elvan army and has known bloodshed and violence all her life. Lettle is her sisteer, a diviner who wants nothing more than to find a better future within the prophecies. Yet when a mistake from one of Lettle's prophecies leads to Yeeran's exile from the Elan lands they both end up entering into the most impossible place... the fae court. The faes had not been seen for millenniums and now both Yeeran and Lettle are both trapped in their, along with Yeeran's general Rayan who went with Lettle to search for Yeeran when she was exiled. Once all three of them had made it into the fae court, they are told they are no longer allowed to leave. Yeeran will have to test into the fae guards in exchange for Lettle and Rayan to be allowed to live a peaceful life in the fae court... despite the faes being prejudiced and hating the all elves. Yeeran is caught up in the elf court politics, with the elf princess Furi who also is a warrior...meanwhile Lettle is learning how to read prophecies.. except her own prophecy states that she will kill her beloved... who just happens to be Rayan. The closer they get the harder it becomes for Lettle to push him away. Meanwhile something is going on, someone is vying for the throne and Lettle discovers a prophecy that states two elves will be killed.... but when they discover which two elves.. it might be too late for them. This is the first book in a trilogy and it definitely was an interesting read, the pacing is a bit slow and it does feel at times like you are getting info dumped, however the overall journey of the plot was interesting and I am interested in where the next book goes. The romances in the book were good in some aspects, not so much in other. I did enjoy the romance between Lettle and Rayan but couldn't believe the romance between Yeeran and Furi. Then there was the mystery and the way that wrapped up, and it kind of was an obvious one and didn't really feel carefully laid out or surprisingly really. I was interested in the world of the Fae court and how Yeeran and co had to integrate and navigate it but for some moments it just didn't really expand on it all that well. Overall, it's a fun start to a fantasy series and if you enjoy court politics, a bit of romance with prophecies, then give this a go.

*Spoiler: Yeeran and Furi get together, Lettle and Rayan get together, Furi's younger brother poisoned his mothers to give Furi the throne (without her knowing). Rayan turns out to be the long lost son and chosen king (he's essentially Furi's cousin) and is chosen as king. Lettle is the diviner's prophesized apprentice and begins learning how to divine. Yeeran can talk to Pila, her animal familiar essentially.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*