Bound

Deridia #10

by Catherine Miller

Bound Back CoverStubborn.Impossible.Half-blood.Wren had not been asked to be born outside a mating bond. She had not asked for wings too small to fly. To be used as a cautionary tale to growing fledglings not to succumb to human temptation, since she might be the unfortunate result.She only wanted a quiet life. On the small acreage she shared with her assortment of creatures. Some wild. Some not. To be allowed to sell her wares. To keep out of trouble—a threat to none.She hated the market. Where gossip ran rampant, where looks were rarely friendly. But it meant coin for her suppers, and grain for her animals, so she went at every moon.Until an accident leaves her bruised and bloody.And her rescuer seems to be determined to make amends for his part in it.Above all else, Wren never asked for a mate.But he did.-x-It all happened so quickly.She made it free of the stall, but the log itself was thick that she had no way to jump over it, only try to escape around. But it crashed into the stall beside hers and there was nowhere to go.Her wings moved of their own accord, the instinct strong even if it was impossible to accomplish. They were useful for quieting a fall, but she jumped as best she could, knowing it was not nearly enough.She felt the scrape of bark against her leg, cutting and rubbing and burning and she waited to be caught beneath, for it to break and shatter bone as she was pressed between the log and the cobbles.But something caught her around the middle, pulling her upward as she drew her legs up and over.“Worse than a fledgling,” came from behind her, the voice low and angry.It shouldn’t have hurt. Shouldn’t have stung. But it did.The last log settled and with it the chaos as merchants descended from the skies, furious at their losses.The man eased her down, but she could not bring herself to look at him. “Are you all right?” he asked at last, and she shrugged.Yes. No.Did it really matter?

Genres: Romance, Fantasy, Slow Burn, Science Fiction, Aliens, Romantasy, Science Fiction Romance

426 pages, Paperback

Published November 21, 2023

About the author

I am an American by birth and situation, whose heart forever remains in Great Britain. I derive much inspiration from my holidays abroad, and my writing is heavily influenced by the delights of the English and Scottish countryside. My author's journey began in several reimaginings of The Phantom of the Opera where I explore happier endings for our beloved Erik-- hopefully aided by my degrees in psychology. I have a love for fantasy and paranormal romance, as well as the pleasure of a thrilling murder mystery... each of which have begun to creep into my writerly pursuits. When I am not consumed with a novel, I enjoy lavishing affection on my two cats, and working in historical costume design.

Reviews

[Izzie d · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the author earlier books in this series.
This book is long winded and the characters give alot of inner monologue.
The heroine lives outside the city with her animals, her mother has died leaving her alone.
Her mother seems to be one of the humans who crashed on the planet, there is mention of an escape pod. Her mother formed a relationship with a local man who then met his 'mate' so their relationship ended even though they shared a daughter, the heroine.
Hence the heroine is an outsider, half-blood.
She has also been taken advantage of by someone claiming to be her mate so for 80%(?) of the book she rejects the Hero's advances.
HEA.

[Cc · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up. You know how you have your favorite authors? Well, Ms. Miller is one of mine. She's not famous, not yet anyway, but she's an amazing storyteller writing great stories. Stories are different than a romance novel. I wish that these would get classified as women's fiction, bc people going into this book are looking for a more simplistic format (nothing wrong with that, I love romance books, too) but it kinda dumbs this down. I want to read every detail, every thought bc it fills out who these people are and who they are in relation to the people around them. The relationships build making a whole story when it's all tied up at the end; giving a whole picture. It's not a sex book, lol.

This isn't an easy book to read, if fact, this was quite difficult to read but the payoff was so, so rewarding. It's not PNR, even if it's written in a world unlike the one I live in, it's not really any classification other than fiction. For me it's a love story (a thorny, irritating, sweet love story ~ I cried, I don't cry, although I did read this when I had a molar surgically removed. Major pain relievers, lol) between our two main MC's. A story of acceptance of her father, her mother and her father's other family, their choices that affected her life and her own pride. More importantly, an acceptance of herself, an acknowledgement of wrongs done to her that she forgave. Not for others, but so she could get on with her life. That's the best kind of forgiveness, when you do it for yourself, too. It was heartbreaking and I can't say I would have been so forgiving of the circumstances but that's where the storytelling part comes in. I don't have to be accepting, she was; it was so interesting it kept me reading. KU

[Felicitas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise is interesting, but the execution is lacking.

I was quite excited for this story, I haven't read the other books in this series, but I don't think it matters. Unfortunately this story is so boring and long-winded.

Nothing is happening, there's no conflict, no drama. It's a slice of life that could've been much shorter.

We are mostly presented with long inner monologues and there's not much of a dialog. One person asks something and then we have 1-3 pages of inner monologue after which we're finally getting a reply. At that point I don't even know what they're replying to since I had to read through all that word vomit. It feels very unnatural.

Wren's inner monologue is mostly repetitive and it gets old very quickly. She's stubborn and basically refuses to accept Braum for 90% of the book. She cries a lot and tugs her hair whenever she's anxious, which is always. She is whiny and not very likeable.

Braum is passive and although he tries to change Wren's mind, I think he could've been more proactive sooner than it happened.

I don't think I'll be reading more books from this author.

[Dr susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent sci fi romance

I love this series. Bound was a difficult read for me. Wren is the result of her mother's fears of an alien world, the inhabitants' fears of the human aliens marooned on their world, and the evilness of one of those non-human inhabitants. In other words, Wren has a lot of problems. Braum is incredibly patient and determined. The worldbuilding continues to be fascinating; Deridia is a world with many interesting non-human sapient species. Especially, I love Wren's animals, and I would have loved more thorough descriptions.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really a lovely book!! Miller left some of the story for you to fill in the gaps that felt emotional and well thought out.
I'm only rating low for myself because it is not the type of story that I usually enjoy but having the slow burn of wren and braum was intense and made me want to continue the book .... And pray to every god that they get together in the end. (AND THEY DO!) It was a little too slow for me personally but if you enjoy that slow (almost angsty) sloooow burn then you'll enjoy this.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and slow

This was a beautiful slow burn romance between a woman torn down by society and circumstance and a patient, hardworking man. It was less about the plot of people doing something and more about the building of relationships. It was sometimes frustratingly slow, but always moved forward before I gave it up as a bad deal. It needs another editing pass to catch the minor pronoun and forgotten word mistakes.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed

I've read most of the series and this is the one I wish I could return. The FMC Cried thru the entire story. I literally lost count after the 10th time...Yes her situation sucked but the whole story was poor pitiful me... I mean It was soooo depressing. I had a picture in my head of the author bent over a laptop boo hooing loudly and pecking the keys.😑 not up to par with the others I've read.

[Frederick Nunez · Rating 5 out of 5]

bound (deridia book 10)

I enjoyed reading this author’s novel. It involves a biracial Wren and Braun complicated and interesting relationship. Wren lives a lonely life with her farm animals. Her father is bonded with another woman and has children from that relationship. The storyline was written well and inspires the reader to explore other characters in the book.

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book wondering if I could tolerate the writing style, then I adjusted, then I was invested. Wren and her devotion to her own isolation (not without justification) was almost intolerable, but I really wanted to see what happened because I loved Braum. Things improve dramatically around 60%.

[Tiffany S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly slow burn and sweet. This was getting recommended to me a lot on kindle and I love the cover. Jumping in at book 10 in a series could really leave you lost, but I wasn’t even though it doesn’t spend much time on world building. Very character driven. I think this was on an alien planet? Or just fantasy world? Not sure and maybe I would if go back and start with book one lol

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to feel sad, you should read this book. While it ends with a HEA, the mother's story is sad and the main character is so lonely and isolated from the community. The character's loneliness and sadness resonated with me days after finishing the book.

This book isn't for everyone. It focuses more on emotions than fast-paced action.

[Breanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartbreakingly sweet!

Wren absolutely ripped my heart out. Braun helped put it back together. These two are my favorite characters. Their story has so many feels! All the emotions I experienced, it was cathartic.

You will very much enjoy reading this story!

[Julie Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best

This is the best so far for emotional hurts. A woman once a girl has kept everything at bay because of her past and others choices. A man found his true mate but she is broken afraid to trust and look to the future.
I look forward to more.

[Bethani Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing!!!

Oh my dear Wren. This story had me in a chokehold. I absolutely loved reading about Wren and her Trials, and Braum. The man you are. Absolutely one of my favorite reads this year!

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect as always.

I just love the way Catherine Miller writes! This is such a sweet book that I will enjoy reading again! The whole series has been great and well paced.

[Robin L · Rating 1 out of 5]

A book where nothing happens on page. No real conversation happens between them until 50% into the book. Mostly everyone acted too stupid to live and I found the whole read a chore to get through.

[Lani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I'm looking for when I want a cozy romance. It was simple and lovely and I enjoyed watching their relationship grow.

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Almost DNF. I get slow burn but this was all slow and almost no burn until last chapter. Even than it wasn’t much of a burn . FMC was very annoying.

[Pretzel Biscuit · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Callie Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I have no words for how beautiful and gut-wrenching this book was. I don't feel any of my words would do it justice. All I can say is keep tissue nearby and block out your entire day.

[Viola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love so much of this book, but it is almost painful at times in how emotional it is. Wren, the half-human FMC, is so angry and bitter but with such total justification that it is somewhat hard to believe her HEA when it arrives. I have reread this a couple of times and am always left feeling that I would have liked slightly more of the character of Braum, the MMC. Still, the reason I come back is because Wren is such a compelling character and (in typical Miller style) the worldbuilding is so clever. Probably my favourite of hers along with Trade.

[Phoenix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instant Buy

These books are full of angst, devastating longing, and achingly sweet companionship to love. I buy all of them immediately now.