** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine
Bind Me in Steel (Bind Me, Book 1) by BEAST
★★★★★
140 Pages
POV: 3rd person, dual POV
Themes: Omegaverse, post-apocalyptic, MPREG, Shifters
Content Warning: historical underage sex, sexual slavery and coerced mating (not on page); on page violence; knotting; and some hot sex between two sexy-as-sin characters (one cis male and one intersex) both in human form and half-shifted wolf form.
~
Wow! So, first off, I'm going to deviate from my usual reviews because...I'm speechless. I'm honestly so impressed with this novel and the talent of the author, for their debut book, that I barely know what to say. So I'm going to keep it short.
From page one, I was immediately sucked in. It has all the things I want in a novel – at least one MC that I care about and can relate to; well written world building; a clear storyline; and heart. That's all I ever want in a novel and I got it all, right here. With beautiful prose, sometimes almost lyrical writing when it came to attention to detail, description, the dryads and the romance, which I utterly loved. And an abundance of well written action scenes and even better written slow burn romance.
The romance was sweet and feisty in places. The sex was hot and heavy. The action was well crafted and suited to the characters. The MPREG storyline was handled perfectly. The bad guy was a real bad guy, and not someone redeemable or weak. The world was nicely explored, at relevant moments, split between Ero's recollections and his teachings to the sheltered Wren.
I loved the chemistry between Wren and Ero, right from Chpater 1 and throughout the story. The slow burn between them was nicely developed, with a steady pace that grew from understanding and spending more time together. I loved that Ero was willing to teach Wren about the world, about consent, and show him that life could be different and better. I love that he never pressed his advantage with Wren, that he wanted him willingly or not at all. It took 50% before the first sign of sexual contact and even then it fit perfectly into the story and didn't bring the characters any closer together than the plot deemed appropriate. It wasn't all sunshine and perfect after that, which was nice to see. They had stumbling blocks to get past, hesitations, and Ero was smart enough to realise the challenges ahead.
Overall, I loved every second of it. It is incredibly well written and presented for a debut novel. I will gladly read it again before delving eagerly into book 2, whenever it releases. And I'll be hoping that, at some point in the future, I can add it to my favourite reads on my bookshelf by getting the paperback. Because this is one book that I'd be willing to re-read again and again in the future. While remaining an original take on the Alpha/Omega genre, it reminded me in the best ways of TJ Klune's Immemorial Year, and I can't wait to see what else the author can do, and what else awaits me in the Bind Me world.
Rich. Haunting. Captivating. Dark. Enthralling. Call it what you will, Bind Me In Steel is a masterpiece!
~
Favourite Quotes
“Let me have just this moment.”
“Somehow – through fate, through happenstance, through the strangest of chance – he had found the one thing that could give a thousand years of life true meaning, and free him from his self-imposed purgatory. And he had almost been fool enough to let it go.”