Bound By Dust

by Keela Jones, Jess Robling (illustrator)

“The only spaces in this world that matter are the ones we occupy together.”

With broken spirits and a million miles of sand, Jemma and Jo navigate the merciless conditions of the Arid.

After slipping through the claws of an anomalous cloaked nightmare, the girls fall into the hands of Megara’s King Amos. Thrust into the underground military quarters, Moria, they find themselves forced to face an unfamiliar enemy. Unfortunately, Jemma fights for more than victory against the cloaked Howlers of Groth. Backed into a corner, she fends off an army of hidden agendas, foreign indulgences, budding relationships, and the constant shift in who she feels she can trust.

Amidst the arduous trials of war, Jemma will have no choice but to uncover whether or not she possesses the power to protect the ones she loves most.

Genres: Fantasy

336 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 4, 2025

Reviews

[Ashley (andtheniwasbookish) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars! Hear me out.

Jemma is maybe one of the most annoying FMCs I have read in a long time (stay with me....). She makes wrong decision, after wrong decision. She is fueled by her emotions, and she doesn't want to be where she is and she openly sulks about it.

BUT ALSO.....!

She fought for her life in a desert for 8 years since she was 13 protecting an even smaller human the whole time. She has known nothing but hardship and survival for EIGHT YEARS. And then she is thrown into a situation where literally no one cares about her past experiences (tough life lesson there, Jemma) and they expect her to be up to speed of a trained soldier (spoiler alert, she's not). And shocker, she's not adjusting well.

Jemma Shayde is maybe one of the most relatable FMCs that I have ever read. She is conflicted, she is emotional, she doesn't know who she is, and she's trying and failing and then trying some more.

The overall storyline is also really well thought out. You get bits and pieces of where this story is headed, but I also firmly believe that not everything is as we are being told. That ending was the cherry on top, and the fallout is going to be spectacular.

In this book you'll get found family, conflict, deception, betrayal, and heartbreak. I want to say hope, buuuuut I'm not going to say it....yet. Jemma is looking for it, she just hasn't found it yet.

Overall: highly recommend
Spice: yes, but it's steamy not spicy.

[Blake Anthis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it. Hooked from the very beginning. Jemma is so relatable and everything you need in a fmc fighting for her life in a desert. Intriguing plot line that leaves you dying to know what happens next. Highly recommend!!

[Sheyenne Rambo-Cromer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5/5⭐️
Spice: 0.5/5 🌶️
Format: 📱

Themes:
⚔️ Found Family
⚔️ Military/Warrior Training Setting
⚔️ Forced Proximity
⚔️ Slow Burn
⚔️ Love Triangle

Jemma has been in survival mode for years and is constantly on high alert to protect Josephine, a 13 year old girl that she came across in the Arid 8 years ago. When things take a terrible turn they find themselves with nowhere else to go but to the underground civilization of Moria. Where Jemma is still a walking target and has to always be aware of her surroundings. Even with the obstacles Jemma faces she tries to find solace in the comfort of Reid who happens to be the Prince. However, this is not the only man that seems to capture her attention. Commander Garrith is a mystery that Jemma can’t help but feel drawn to.

This book was honestly amazing and I was hooked after the first couple chapters. The world building is so unique from anything I’ve read recently and even with its complexities it is still easy to follow along. I will say there were times that Jemma drove me crazy with her choices but after all she has been through I can understand them. As for the spice it is open door but things don’t go too far in this first book. The tension however will definitely raise the temperature in the room like you're in the Arid yourself.

I’m curious to find out more about Ray and where she has been since her and Jemma parted ways. Also with the ending we got I’m impatiently waiting for the next book to be released. I highly recommend this piece to anyone that is looking for a refreshing fantasy romance that will captivate you from the start.

Thank you so much Keela for allowing me the opportunity to ARC read your debut piece. It was truly an absolute pleasure to read. 🖤

[Kassandra Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey Cozy Readers🏜️🏜️

It’s time to take my page to the Arid (as promised) — with merciless dry and hot condition, danger is always lurking in the vast desert…..🏜️

BOUND BY DUST - By my talented friend @keelajoneswrites

OUT NOW‼️🏜️

I wanna start off by saying JEMMA is prob the fearless & dangerous FMC I have read about! and probably a “STAB FIRST” ask questions later kinda girl. And throughout this book you truly understand why. She’s reckless but again I feel like she HAD to be this way. She’s certainly fuled by her emotions but 8 years in the desert will do that to you!

Navigating through harsh conditions of the Arid with the responsibility of Josephine, i’d say Jemma has her work cut out for her. Having to avoid dangerous such as slipping through the claws of dark cloaked figures they both in the hands of Megara’s King Amos & their underground military quarters.

Having no interest in what the King Amos wants, Jemma & Josephine finds themselves stuck in this place.

Despite them wanting her to be a trained soldier, which she wants no parts of. Jemma finds herself fighting and training a long side with a MYSTERIOUS MMC whose green eyes will have you SWOONINGG until the very end.

This was a beautiful story, and that ending with Garrith had me just kicking my feet!!! I really loved that this took place in the desert. I was a really nice change from all the forest vibes! I CANNOT wait for the next one!

If you love….

🏜️Found Family
🏜️Slow Burn
🏜️Enemies to Lovers
🏜️Forced Proximity
🏜️Secrecy & Betrayal
🏜️Mysterious MMC
🏜️Protective FMC
🏜️Kingdoms at War

#bookstagram #boundbydust #desert #arid #enemiestolovers #foundfamily #tropes #slowburn #indieauthors #indiebooks #arcreader #desertlife #betrayal #booktropes #forcedproximity #romance #fantasybooks

[El Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. AM. OBSESSED. If I rate it higher than 5 stars, I would.
This book was phenomenal. The characters were diverse, the plot was incredibly interesting, and the flow of the story was soft like silk.
This book drops you straight into the plot and the literal heat of the desert arid. We are immediately met with the incredibly distinct AND all-too-relatable FMCs POV who has survived life after a horrific blight, on her own, and caring for a young girl who she discovered on the brink of death 8 years prior. As the story progresses, we get a weaving of an intense and high stakes plot with snippets of the past as we come to better understand how our FMC got to this point in her story.
Our FMC incredibly relatable- courageous yet self-doubting, self-sacrificing but looking to claim something, anything, for herself, wanting to gain control but willing to give it up to protect those she loves most, and socially awkward but wanting comradery from those around her.
While this book is from a singular perspective, we also meet and come to know many other incredibly interesting characters. A puppydog prince MMC and a mysterious, deadly, and broody soldier 2nd MMC who you seek to understand just as much as our FMC.
This fantasy novel is filled with terrible creatures, deadly humans, love, manipulation, war, politics, and sisterhood.
I could not put this book down, and I was absolutely blown away by the ending. The cliffhanger was breathtaking, and the slowburn laced into this book leaves you begging for what may or may not come next.
I am SO excited to see where this storyline takes us. I will be waiting with bated breath for the second book in this sure to be phenomenal series.

[Mary-Anna Cassis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. Husband asked if I was reading Dune because of the tiny description I gave him haha. Jemma was a tad annoying, but she grew on me. I loved group dynamic and can't wait to read more about them all. Commander Garrith, he is just ugh. Reid on the other hand is just.. well you know what he is .

[Ashlyn Tickle · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Shatter Me were to happen in desert lands and the fight was against very creepy “howlers.” I had a love/hate relationship with this book because I LOVED that the FMC had so much room to grow and improve but my god did she make me mad sometimes. Jones did a wonderful job creating an enemy in the king and left me wondering what he would try to scheme next. The plot twists were unpredictable, and THAT ENDING. I’m truly distraught that I’ll have to wait on book 2.

[itsmekaylalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE how this gives a different world than we are used to when it comes to fantasy, love the characters, and especially love the certain someone (wink wink) in this book! That MMC… 😳🙌🏼

[Samantha Liffick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jemma is such a “do it myself” type of gal and that couldn’t be more relatable. One thing about me, I will EAT UP a love triangle plot. This was definitely a good glance at a new fantasy world, but I can tell by the way book #1 ended, there is plenty more to come. The storyline came and went so quickly, it has me immediately wanting to read the next book.
This is a shorter fantasy, so I did have a hard time connecting to the characters, to the point that I don’t fully understand why some choices were made. But this was overall a 3.75 ⭐️ read for me !!

[Lindsey (Bagel) · Rating 4 out of 5]

AHHHH! Such a fun debut!! I could NOT put it down!! Keela brings you into a world of dust, deception, and DIE-FOR-YOU LOVE!!! Her characters completely captivate you with their FIRE. Jemma is a hard character to love! She’s impulsive and indecisive and doesn’t always know the best move. But her loyalty to Jo redeems ALL of her chaotic choices.

I’m so excited to see where Keela takes this story because I NEED to know more about these mysterious “Howlers” that roam the lands!

ALSO….there is a love triangle (kinda?) *GASP* SO I AM READY FOR JEMMA TO GET IT TOGETHER AND COMMIT TO THE RIGHT CHOICE!!!

This was the perfect beginning to a hopefully epic journey! There were a few bumps and things that did confuse me for a second…but overall this is a PERFECT read if you want to experience a desert wasteland filled with fiery characters!

Details!!!

🐪Desert setting
🐪Forced proximity
🐪Slow burn
🐪Found family
🐪Strong sisterly bonds
🐪Combat/military training
🐪Death, gore, and war

Spice: Steamy descriptions. Ends before anything really happens. Will definitely be setting up for more explicit spice in future books! (maybe?)

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this! A unique world and two girls (like sisters) just trying to survive long enough to see each other again.

There was never a dull moment, and the tension between characters kept getting better.

Highly recommend this read!

[Daphne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this so much!!

I always love a strong FMC, but I didn't know just how much I would like a relatable FMC. Jemma is just so normal....in the best way! It's a breath of fresh air! She's always looked out for someone else, so when it comes time to look out for herself she doesn't always know how to take action. But I think we're only starting to get a Glimpse of how strong she will really be.

Can we also have a moment of appreciation for our new book boyfriends? You want charming, golden retriever prince? You got it! You want dark, mysterious, broody soldier? You got that, too!

The apocalyptic desert world, mysterious creatures, and death around every corner sets up such a tense and unique world.

I cannot wait to see Jemma's evolution! I just know we're going to be in for a ride in book 2 😭

[Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Bound by Dust" is a fantasy-romance novel set in the "Arid", a harsh and unforgiving desert landscape. It follows Jemma, the main character and narrator, and her charge Jo. After an attack by the enigmatic "Howlers", Jemma and Jo are forced to leave their oasis and set out into the Arid. Injured and on the verge of death, the girls are suddenly "rescued" by whom they discover to be the soldiers of Moria. Jemma is forced to train as a solider in Moria for a war she does not understand. At the same time, she must navigate an evil and manipulative king and learn the difference between friend and foe.

Plot: The plot seemed to either flow too quickly or too slowly. There were climatic moments that I felt deserved more reflection. The narrator herself moved on quite quickly, which, in my opinion, did not allow for the reader to fully digest the content. (Ex. The assassination attempt on Jemma which she completely disregards and doesn't think about again until the end of the novel. Even her friends are more worried about it than her). Conversely, what felt like half the book was Jemma in training and gaining no progress. I am glad the author didn't make her immediately good at hand to hand combat because it would make no sense that she would surpass trained soldiers with absolutely no prior training. However, the chapters that involved training felt repetitive as Jemma would spar, fail, and learn nothing (another qualm - "training" was just sparring and not actually learning any helpful).

Characters: I either despised or felt completely indifferent about almost every character. Jemma is insufferable; however, I had to remind myself that she is young and inexperienced and I, as the reader, have the benefit of hindsight that she does not. While it is difficult to watch her make almost any decision, I actually think her character is quite realistic (even if annoying) and is written well for a lot of future character growth (hopefully)! I will also add here that a lot of characters seem to have been written in order to fit within specific tropes. The author obviously wanted an enemies to lovers trope. Jemma is written to be the stubborn and sassy FMC, while Garrith is the dark and brooding love interest. Their banter, at times, seems forced to fit within this trope and therefore, can be irritating. Garrith is incredibly mean to Jemma in almost all of their interactions. His few moments of amiability and the introduction of his traumatic background are meant to make the readers disregard his continuous cruelty; I, however, could not. Reid's character was quite predictable. I can't say that was the authors intention, but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. I felt indifferent towards Jo. We weren't given much time to learn who she really is beyond what Jemma tells us to think. Spending more time on Jo's character would have made the emotional moments with her character much more impactful. I did like Tatum, Cynrad, and Enon. I think they were fun characters and good friends to Jemma. I would love to spend more time with them in future books.

World-Building: I think this section could be improved upon the most. So much time is spent in preparation for a war readers don't fully learn the purpose of until almost the end of the book. Plot with no apparent purpose is quite difficult to read. I also wish there had been more discussion of the politics within Moria/Megara as well as its interactions with other kingdoms (specifically Groth).

Writing: At times the writing could be repetitive. Words and phrases were used regularly with no need for emphasis. Overall though, I thought the writing was well done, especially for a debut novel.

I know this review is quite critical, however, I think this author has a lot of potential and I am excited to see how this series and the author progress! Keep going Keela :)

[Alex Kant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5 rounded up!

First off- thank you to the author for an ARC of this book and opportunity to read and review it!

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, the overarching plot and the setting. I thought it was unique and held a lot of potential. There was lovely banter between the characters and I enjoyed that the protagonist was finding herself along the way.

I was intrigued from the beginning, with the FMC, Jemma, navigating a desert and running out of supplies while caring for her charge, Jo. I thought the conflict was great, with the creatures, Howlers, an interesting and creepy enemy reminiscent of the Raz’ac from Eragon! The main antagonists were hatable and layered with intrigue and mysterious motives that unraveled nicely throughout the book.

I did struggle with a few aspects, including some pieces of world building. It may be a personal preference, but when reading a fantasy that isn’t clearly set in our world, I’m used to world building including unique, world-specific theology if that’s important to the plot, so it through me for a loop to see modern terms/religion here as it pulled me out of their world and back into mine.

At times, the transitions felt disjointed and left me confused at to where the story has jumped to (dreams, flashbacks, small time jumps). They were all great aspects, just felt abrupt or unclear in their delineations.

The world was really interesting to me, being an arid, desert setting. I would have loved for certain aspects, like their backstory, to have been fleshed out more, to give a more thorough understanding of the world and how the current dynamics came to be. Hopefully there’s more of that to come!

Overall, this was a decent debut and some of the aspects that weren’t my favorite might not bother someone else! I think it really found its footing in the second half and there was a plot twist that I didn’t see coming at all, which I love when a book can catch me off guard like that! I look forward to seeing what’s next from Keela!

[Kristen’s Literary Lair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jemma and Jo have wandered the arid, dust filled land for days. After losing her entire family to a mysterious illness known as the Blight, Jemma has been alone, save for Jo, her young travelling companion.

One night, they are attacked by mysterious cloaked beings, and manage to escape, only to fall into the world of King Amos of Megara. There, Jemma is deemed old enough to be taken to Moria, where she is thrust into military training in order to help the kingdom defend itself against the threat of the devious Howlers.

When Jo is taken away to a nearby town, Jemma’s resolve is tested, as it is the first time she has been alone since her family died. She spends her days training, aided by the son of the king, Reid, and the commander of her squadron, Garrith.

While in the mysterious underground of Moria, Jemma is unsure of who she can trust. When her training is complete and war breaks out, Jemma must find the strength within herself to protect herself and the ones she loves.

I did enjoy this book quite a bit, it was an interesting twist on a fantasy novel. I enjoyed that it was more plot heavy than romance heavy (although there is a good dose of that too) as it allowed us to really get to know Jemma, Jo, and the other characters. I was intrigued by the Blight and the Howlers, as well as the war that is threatening. I look forward to reading more of Jemma’s story soon!

Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for a review!

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AMAZING. I finished it earlier today and cannot stop thinking about it and am so excited for the next book! I love how readers are immediately thrown into action and the concept as well as the setting are so unique. I love Jemma and believe she has such a story to tell and can’t wait to see her step into her full potential and love the fire in her heart. And also I’m team Garrith! I will never say no to a masked commander who is loyal and protective like him. I can’t wait to be back in this world when the time comes and look forward to them doing all they can to defeat the cloaked howlers of groth. I was beyond sad when I finished this one!

[Modern Miss Granger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author for the arc!


A solid debut with only a few small things that tripped me up- I definitely want to read read the next book

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book filled with suspense, tragedy, strength, and love- always kept me on my toes and couldn’t put it down!!! Can’t wait for book two!

[Julia Åberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars!

An interesting debut with a lot of potential

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! While this had your typical romantasy tropes, I found the setting to be unique. Jemma was not my favorite FMC but I can tell she is going to have great character development through the series, and I can't wait to see how her character grows. I found the magic system and world to be unique and I'm excited to see how the author expands on it.

Read if you love:
-Desert setting
-Slow burn (we don't see his face until 80% in)
-Found family
-Love triangle with forced proximity
-Stabby FMC
-Strong sisterly bonds
-Warrior/combat/military training

Thank you so much to the author for sending me a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion! I'm excited to see how she expands this world in the next book!