**See this full review and more at http://bookbriefs.net**

Bound is the first book in the Guardians Series by M.J. Stevens. The first half of my book had me flip flopping my ideas on characters and my interest level in the plot, but by the time we hit around the half way point I was so invested in the story and the action and intensity was still on the rise. So much happens in the second half of this book, it was tough for me to put it down. Sometime that I loved from the start of the Bound was the futuristic setting. It is fantasy/science fiction and the book had cool helo pads and the main hub of the city/guardian tower was well described. I imagined it all as very stark and imposing with clean lines and harsh edges. It fit well for the tone of the story.

Mellea is just a girl from a not so well off family just trying to save enough money to go to university after secondary school. Her parents hit some tough times, but it was only ever alluded to in the beginning of the book what actually happened to them. We know that their father had some sort of "run-in" with the guardians of the city and now he hates them. The towns people and city people are all on edge because citizen after citizen are dissapearing. I felt like tension and conflict were only a moment away. Something bad could have happened at any point during the book. I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. And when it did..oh boy things got intense very quickly. It was fast paced plot action, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time.

I enjoyed how honest Mellea was. I think it was because she didn't grow up in this world of politics and scheming openly so she just tells it like it is. It was refreshing. I also liked how much of a hard time she gave Leo. He just met her and scooped her up and claimed her as his own. Rude much? As you can tell, I was not a huge fan of Leo. My opinion of him eventually changed, but it took a while. In fact, it wasn't even the claiming part that made me dislike him. It was his interaction with Mellea in her room the first time they met after the claiming that made me narrow my eyes in anger a bit. But as the story progresses we get to know him more and I liked the real Leo much better.

Bound is a good start to what looks to be a really interesting and fast paced action fantasy series. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? What just is going on with the Guardians and the disappearances. The answers might surprise you. Beware of a cliffhanger ending and some unanswered questions though. This was a solid start to the series and it has made me interested in continuing with book 2. A great job for M.J. Stevens debut novel.