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Bound by Fire
Bound by Fire follows two young South African women who meet as roommates at University. After a falling out, they end up on different sides of the world and communicate through email.
The unlikely pair are each looking for a connection to their families, one in a physical sense and the other in an emotional
sense.
While Jen, a free spirit with a heart for charity work tries to find independence from her wealthy overbearing parents, Zin, orphaned in infanthood, tries to locate her family.
Zin's search becomes even more important as she comes to terms with magical powers which can only be explained through her heritage.
Jen on the other hand finds herself bound to Zin through these powers, grappling with the question, 'Just how deeply are we Bound by Fire?'
Touching on love, self-discovery, mystery and magic, Bound by Fire is a light read for those looking for a little escapism.
The unlikely pair are each looking for a connection to their families, one in a physical sense and the other in an emotional
sense.
While Jen, a free spirit with a heart for charity work tries to find independence from her wealthy overbearing parents, Zin, orphaned in infanthood, tries to locate her family.
Zin's search becomes even more important as she comes to terms with magical powers which can only be explained through her heritage.
Jen on the other hand finds herself bound to Zin through these powers, grappling with the question, 'Just how deeply are we Bound by Fire?'
Touching on love, self-discovery, mystery and magic, Bound by Fire is a light read for those looking for a little escapism.
246 pages, Paperback
Published October 29, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 8, 2023
It's so refreshing to read a South African book even if the settings were in different countries, the characters and their mannerisms, expressions, and attitudes were. Load shedding and so many other South Africanisms made this debut so relatable.
Jen is wicked funny and sarcastic, and her sometimes 'off colour' humour had me snorting.
Zinnia and her powers were insanely intriguing and her tattoo kind of makes me want a moving, magical tattoo ( kind of like one of the characters in the the TV show heroes) I ached for her and her search, and my heart soared at her discoveries.
I can't share too much without giving spoilers, but family is more than blood.
One of my favourite lines of all was, "I saw all the red flags, and it looks like a carnival."🚩
The banter between Jen and Zin is something special, and I'm so glad they reconnected. Their bond definitely reached beyond the computer screens and connected them in a unique way, the twists and turns kept me reading and wanting more and the cliffhanger ending has me asking "are you done writing the sequel?" 😉🤪 meant in the kindest way possible, I'm not rushing you, but I am excited.
I did make the featured cocktail, and it's a firm favourite now 🍹
The writing flowed beautifully and seamlessly and 2 incredible stories were told.
Well done ladies! I'm so proud of you both! I cannot wait for the second in this series.
Jen is wicked funny and sarcastic, and her sometimes 'off colour' humour had me snorting.
Zinnia and her powers were insanely intriguing and her tattoo kind of makes me want a moving, magical tattoo ( kind of like one of the characters in the the TV show heroes) I ached for her and her search, and my heart soared at her discoveries.
I can't share too much without giving spoilers, but family is more than blood.
One of my favourite lines of all was, "I saw all the red flags, and it looks like a carnival."🚩
The banter between Jen and Zin is something special, and I'm so glad they reconnected. Their bond definitely reached beyond the computer screens and connected them in a unique way, the twists and turns kept me reading and wanting more and the cliffhanger ending has me asking "are you done writing the sequel?" 😉🤪 meant in the kindest way possible, I'm not rushing you, but I am excited.
I did make the featured cocktail, and it's a firm favourite now 🍹
The writing flowed beautifully and seamlessly and 2 incredible stories were told.
Well done ladies! I'm so proud of you both! I cannot wait for the second in this series.
February 1, 2023
Shout out to some amazingly talented local writers.
In between 2 extremely intense non fictional reads namely Ian Fuhr's "Get that feeling" and Michelle Obama's "The light we carry", I needed something to bring me back to earth in a way.
Something light-hearted, funny, magical and just a real escape to a comfortable, safe friendship.
Bound by fire was that book for me. Written by two exceptionally accomplished women in their own right- @thisellabella and @lilium.artistry
This book is in the style of email correspondence between two best friends: Jen and Zin. It was so captivating that I ended up reading it in one day. In hindsight I am dismayed at this as I should have savoured the story. But I'm told there are more instalments to the series, looking forward to that as well as the @netflixsa adaptation of this feel-good read 😀
In between 2 extremely intense non fictional reads namely Ian Fuhr's "Get that feeling" and Michelle Obama's "The light we carry", I needed something to bring me back to earth in a way.
Something light-hearted, funny, magical and just a real escape to a comfortable, safe friendship.
Bound by fire was that book for me. Written by two exceptionally accomplished women in their own right- @thisellabella and @lilium.artistry
This book is in the style of email correspondence between two best friends: Jen and Zin. It was so captivating that I ended up reading it in one day. In hindsight I am dismayed at this as I should have savoured the story. But I'm told there are more instalments to the series, looking forward to that as well as the @netflixsa adaptation of this feel-good read 😀
October 3, 2023
Such an enjoyable read!
Really enjoyed this read. Easy to read, conversational tone, and loved how everything came together neatly in the end. Fun idea of special abilities weaved in, and the heavy subject dealt with was dealt with easily!
Really enjoyed this read. Easy to read, conversational tone, and loved how everything came together neatly in the end. Fun idea of special abilities weaved in, and the heavy subject dealt with was dealt with easily!
December 3, 2023
what to expect:
- dual pov
- diverse cast
- 🇿🇦 protagonists
- second chance friendship
- told through email exchanges
- light urban fantasy/supernatural
- a treasure trove for Stray Kids fans 🤩🤩🤩
Zin and Jen are best friends who meet as university roommates in South Africa. However, a fall out leaves them to separate to different sides of the world. Orphaned Zin is drawn to South Korea where she gets a job as an art teacher and begins to learn more about her ancestry. Emotionally estranged from her rich parents, Jen joins a charity group working in underprivileged parts of Africa. They reconnect via emails which join to create a narrative of love, reconciliation, and parallel adventures that end up being more connected than expected.
This book was such a fun read! There's the heartwarming (and heartbreaking) drama of family and friendship. There's the hurting and healing of all relationships. There's themes of travel, exploration, identity and discovery. There's music, magic, mystery, lots of humour to make you giggle and even a side of romance to look forward to 👩❤️💋👨 !
Zin and Jen are such loveable characters, but gosh they can be so oblivious at times 😂 I don't blame them though, I would not have been able to connect the dots if I was in their shoes 🙈 The email narrative makes for an addictive and easily consumable read. The story is mostly character-driven with understated components of fantasy. This makes the perfect book for when you don't want anything too heavy in fantasy themes, jargon or storyline, but still want all the fun aspects of discovering magic and the supernatural!
Overall, a warm and delightful escape with characters I found to be highly relatable and worth keeping in my heart forever 💘 My favourite part? All the kpop references of course!!!! 😋🎶
- dual pov
- diverse cast
- 🇿🇦 protagonists
- second chance friendship
- told through email exchanges
- light urban fantasy/supernatural
- a treasure trove for Stray Kids fans 🤩🤩🤩
Zin and Jen are best friends who meet as university roommates in South Africa. However, a fall out leaves them to separate to different sides of the world. Orphaned Zin is drawn to South Korea where she gets a job as an art teacher and begins to learn more about her ancestry. Emotionally estranged from her rich parents, Jen joins a charity group working in underprivileged parts of Africa. They reconnect via emails which join to create a narrative of love, reconciliation, and parallel adventures that end up being more connected than expected.
This book was such a fun read! There's the heartwarming (and heartbreaking) drama of family and friendship. There's the hurting and healing of all relationships. There's themes of travel, exploration, identity and discovery. There's music, magic, mystery, lots of humour to make you giggle and even a side of romance to look forward to 👩❤️💋👨 !
Zin and Jen are such loveable characters, but gosh they can be so oblivious at times 😂 I don't blame them though, I would not have been able to connect the dots if I was in their shoes 🙈 The email narrative makes for an addictive and easily consumable read. The story is mostly character-driven with understated components of fantasy. This makes the perfect book for when you don't want anything too heavy in fantasy themes, jargon or storyline, but still want all the fun aspects of discovering magic and the supernatural!
Overall, a warm and delightful escape with characters I found to be highly relatable and worth keeping in my heart forever 💘 My favourite part? All the kpop references of course!!!! 😋🎶
April 25, 2023
Magical story about friendship spanning continents
January 31, 2025
Oh man.....these girls are everything 🥹
I love the depth of their friendship. The jokes be joking 😃 enjoyed all the humour and banter
I finished it in two days, and it had me hooked.
The story is told in a series of emails between two best friends Zin and Jen. This is the kind of female friendship I want to see more of in books. Each email reveals more about the characters and the mystery around Zin's family, and powers are revealed to us slowly. Zin's backstory was incredibly sad, and I loved how they did the exposition for that.
Their respective romances are such couple goals ❤️❤️❤️ and these guys are swoon-worthy
Both romances are so frigging cute and sweet
The switch from emails to POV was a bit unexpected but gave me more insight into the character's thoughts and feelings
I love the depth of their friendship. The jokes be joking 😃 enjoyed all the humour and banter
I finished it in two days, and it had me hooked.
The story is told in a series of emails between two best friends Zin and Jen. This is the kind of female friendship I want to see more of in books. Each email reveals more about the characters and the mystery around Zin's family, and powers are revealed to us slowly. Zin's backstory was incredibly sad, and I loved how they did the exposition for that.
Their respective romances are such couple goals ❤️❤️❤️ and these guys are swoon-worthy
Both romances are so frigging cute and sweet
The switch from emails to POV was a bit unexpected but gave me more insight into the character's thoughts and feelings
June 18, 2023
Bound by fire had me captivated from the first page.. it's quirky, fun, easy to read and has a fantastic storyline.. the references to BTS and Stray Kids were on point.. not to mention the romantic bits had me giggling like a school girl wishing I was in my own K-drama..
I've been waiting for book 2 ever since I completed book 1 (in a day)..
I've been waiting for book 2 ever since I completed book 1 (in a day)..
February 1, 2023
Great light and entertaining read cannot wait for the follow up
February 1, 2023
A light read. Easy to follow story line, pieced together through email conversations. Mystery and a little light romance, perfect holiday read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews