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Shackled Kingdom
Destiny or Choice?
Gareth, Brye, and Tara escaped the complete annihilation of Avalon, but not without cost. After Brye falls ill with a sudden illness, the three get separated, and destiny and choice collide.
Reader of Souls –Brye awakens with her abilities strangely bound, and thrust into a world of political intrigues, sentient books, and mysterious illness. Yet it is the king, whose strange resemblance to Gareth, that forces her to reconsider everything she knows.
Prince without a crown – Separated from Brye, Gareth is shackled to a world of expensive flesh, underground fights, and harrowing nightmares. He is forced to team up with Tara and a mysterious Wind Charmer to find the source of their freedom. With each step away from Brye, he starts to wonder if he will have a home to come back to.
Breaker of Bones - Haunted by vivid dreams of Aiden and an inner urge for bloodshed, Tara must face the truth that her life after Avalon is tearing her apart. As she struggles to hold herself together, Tara fears she might truly be more than just wild, she might be going mad.
Can the Avalon survivors find a means to break free and establish a new life, or are they fated to remain shackled forever? Shackled Kingdom is the second book of the Bound Island Series, an epic romantic fantasy with secret identities, found family, royal intrigues, and hard choices, tied together by a magical system that expands with each turn of the page.
Shackled Kingdom is the second book of the Bound Island Series, an epic romantic fantasy with secret identities, found family, royal intrigues, and hard choices, tied together by a magical system that expands with each turn of the page.
464 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 20, 2024
About the author
G.D. Roman
2 books16 followersJoin G.D. mailing list never to miss a giveaway, release, sale, and more: Sign-up here.
G.D. has loved fantasy and romance since she was young. She would sneak romance books into her backpack and spend hours with her notebooks brainstorming stories. Now, older and wiser, she is sharing her stories with the world.
When she isn't writing, she teaches elementary school students, finding passion and patience in every moment. She enjoys spending time with her husband and dog.
A lover of coffee, anime soundtracks, and romantic movies, she always wishes for a HEA, especially when it has been earned.
Social Media
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK
G.D. has loved fantasy and romance since she was young. She would sneak romance books into her backpack and spend hours with her notebooks brainstorming stories. Now, older and wiser, she is sharing her stories with the world.
When she isn't writing, she teaches elementary school students, finding passion and patience in every moment. She enjoys spending time with her husband and dog.
A lover of coffee, anime soundtracks, and romantic movies, she always wishes for a HEA, especially when it has been earned.
Social Media
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 18, 2024
CW: violence, gore, attempted/referenced SA/r@pe, slavery, loss/grief/trauma, some others
Thank you to the author for allowing me to be a part of the ARC team! “Shackled Kingdom” releases November 20, 2024!
Sibling adoration and romantic love and magic and found family and…
Avalon has been destroyed, Lenna lost to the mists, and Brye, Tara, and Gareth are the only survivors. As Beltran leads them to the hope of safety, all three are confronted with the truth of their lives. When the group becomes separated, each will have to determine who they are in this new land, and how best to survive it.
Don’t mind me, I’m just going to be over here screaming about this book forever because oh my GOD, what?! Normally a sequel has to work to be as good as the first, but this one blew its predecessor out of the water and made it look *easy*.
Listen, we started this series with incredibly interesting magical world building, and things only got insanely better as this book progressed. Where the setting in Avalon felt almost muted and subdued, the continent is vibrant and bursting with life. It makes sense, given Avalon’s remoteness and limited population, but the contrast is a solid 180. I could spend *ages* talking about the magic alone. We’ve got two main categories here—shifters and elementals. Unless, of course, you want to discuss our FMCs, because naturally they’re insanely gifted. Obviously I won’t be going into details because spoilers, but y’all I could have read a cozy slice of life focused on just Brye’s skills alone and I would have been perfectly content. The magic here is easy to understand while still feeling multifaceted, and it plays beautifully into the layers of the story.
Speaking of the story, this one is so, so good. It grabs hold right on page one and hangs on tight until the very end. Despite having about a year’s gap between reading books 1 and 2, I was able to jump back into things relatively quickly, and there were enough changes and discoveries along the way to make the backstory become less critical for the page-to-page interactions. What was needed was covered well and without feeling redundant or info-dump-ish. And the new parts of the story? Stellar. Delightful. I was immediately sucked into things every time I picked the book back up, and it was nearly impossible to put down to start. We get to switch focus points between all three of our Avalonian survivors, which means we get to see what’s going on for each of them and how the bigger picture plays out for them as individuals. It was exceedingly well-executed, and I could easily see myself re-reading this one in the future.
Don’t forget that character growth! Watching Brye especially, but also Tara and Gareth to lesser extents, really find their footing and determine how they’re going to interact with this new world was phenomenal. Where book 1 focused more on Lenna, this is Brye’s story, and she owns it with a cool precision. How she treats the people around her and her circumstances was really enjoyable to read about, and it was a fun reminder that you don’t have to be physically imposing to wield incredible amounts of power.
If I had the time, I could and would immediately start this book over. It was just ridiculously good, and it was a delight to read from page one. I’m already eagerly anticipating book 3, and waiting for it is going to drive me up the wall. If you like stories about magic, about finding strength in yourself and your family (no matter who you’ve chosen to include in that designation), and about long-forgotten choices surfacing to change everything the world thought they knew, then this is the series for you.
Thank you to the author for allowing me to be a part of the ARC team! “Shackled Kingdom” releases November 20, 2024!
Sibling adoration and romantic love and magic and found family and…
Avalon has been destroyed, Lenna lost to the mists, and Brye, Tara, and Gareth are the only survivors. As Beltran leads them to the hope of safety, all three are confronted with the truth of their lives. When the group becomes separated, each will have to determine who they are in this new land, and how best to survive it.
Don’t mind me, I’m just going to be over here screaming about this book forever because oh my GOD, what?! Normally a sequel has to work to be as good as the first, but this one blew its predecessor out of the water and made it look *easy*.
Listen, we started this series with incredibly interesting magical world building, and things only got insanely better as this book progressed. Where the setting in Avalon felt almost muted and subdued, the continent is vibrant and bursting with life. It makes sense, given Avalon’s remoteness and limited population, but the contrast is a solid 180. I could spend *ages* talking about the magic alone. We’ve got two main categories here—shifters and elementals. Unless, of course, you want to discuss our FMCs, because naturally they’re insanely gifted. Obviously I won’t be going into details because spoilers, but y’all I could have read a cozy slice of life focused on just Brye’s skills alone and I would have been perfectly content. The magic here is easy to understand while still feeling multifaceted, and it plays beautifully into the layers of the story.
Speaking of the story, this one is so, so good. It grabs hold right on page one and hangs on tight until the very end. Despite having about a year’s gap between reading books 1 and 2, I was able to jump back into things relatively quickly, and there were enough changes and discoveries along the way to make the backstory become less critical for the page-to-page interactions. What was needed was covered well and without feeling redundant or info-dump-ish. And the new parts of the story? Stellar. Delightful. I was immediately sucked into things every time I picked the book back up, and it was nearly impossible to put down to start. We get to switch focus points between all three of our Avalonian survivors, which means we get to see what’s going on for each of them and how the bigger picture plays out for them as individuals. It was exceedingly well-executed, and I could easily see myself re-reading this one in the future.
Don’t forget that character growth! Watching Brye especially, but also Tara and Gareth to lesser extents, really find their footing and determine how they’re going to interact with this new world was phenomenal. Where book 1 focused more on Lenna, this is Brye’s story, and she owns it with a cool precision. How she treats the people around her and her circumstances was really enjoyable to read about, and it was a fun reminder that you don’t have to be physically imposing to wield incredible amounts of power.
If I had the time, I could and would immediately start this book over. It was just ridiculously good, and it was a delight to read from page one. I’m already eagerly anticipating book 3, and waiting for it is going to drive me up the wall. If you like stories about magic, about finding strength in yourself and your family (no matter who you’ve chosen to include in that designation), and about long-forgotten choices surfacing to change everything the world thought they knew, then this is the series for you.
July 25, 2024
Wow. The second installment to the Bound Island series does not disappoint.
Some triggers:
- Strong language
- Mild spice
- Elements of grief and loss
- Kidnapping
- Abuse, torture, and mentions of sexual assault (no actual sexual assault)
- Mental health
- Gaslighting
I was in love with Brye and Gareth in the first book, and this second book follows their story a little more closely. Despite the fact that they are separated for a huge chunk of this book, I found myself absolutely swooning over their connection, affection, and deep love for each other.
I also loved watching Brye come into her own a little more in this story. She's regal and elegant and yet so strong. Very different than your typical "strong female character".
The concept of this book is so unique. As I was reading, I would often have to put the book down and just... think that these concepts and ideas came out of someone's head. Lenna's magic, the threaded books, the bonds, the organization of the continent, the world-building... like. The author created all this in her brain and put it onto paper. Fascinating and amazing.
The middle of the book was a slow journey, but as with the first book, the third act of the book was fast, exciting, and heart-pounding.
This book ends on a cliffhanger, but Brye and Gareth have their happy-for-now. I'm very excited to see where the rest of the series goes!
Some triggers:
- Strong language
- Mild spice
- Elements of grief and loss
- Kidnapping
- Abuse, torture, and mentions of sexual assault (no actual sexual assault)
- Mental health
- Gaslighting
I was in love with Brye and Gareth in the first book, and this second book follows their story a little more closely. Despite the fact that they are separated for a huge chunk of this book, I found myself absolutely swooning over their connection, affection, and deep love for each other.
I also loved watching Brye come into her own a little more in this story. She's regal and elegant and yet so strong. Very different than your typical "strong female character".
The concept of this book is so unique. As I was reading, I would often have to put the book down and just... think that these concepts and ideas came out of someone's head. Lenna's magic, the threaded books, the bonds, the organization of the continent, the world-building... like. The author created all this in her brain and put it onto paper. Fascinating and amazing.
The middle of the book was a slow journey, but as with the first book, the third act of the book was fast, exciting, and heart-pounding.
This book ends on a cliffhanger, but Brye and Gareth have their happy-for-now. I'm very excited to see where the rest of the series goes!
November 20, 2024
Holy freaking cliffhanger, I need the next book like five minutes ago! I had such a great time reading Shackled Kingdom and following Brye, Tara, and Gareth in a new land. There's a fun little twist in this one that proved to be extremely entertaining. I love G.D. Roman's writing style and The Bound Island series are easily in my top five favorites and one of my first go-to's when giving out book recs.
November 20, 2024
I love this book and this series so much. It has the nostalgic feel of sinking into a Tamora Pierce novel but with all the depth and romance of adult fantasy. I especially love how the world expanded with this sequel, not just into a new kingdom, but the characters grew and some of the new ones we were introduced to became my absolute favorites! I can't wait to see what will become of the sweet trio of sisters in the next book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews