Wildbound is the anticipated sequel to Forestborn. Flung back into the world, I appreciated how Wildbound explores trauma and leadership. Within war, how do we ensure that we do not end up becoming the very enemies we despise? Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
With the assassination of Telyan’s king, the time for peace has passed.
Determined to make up for his failure to procure the stardust, Helos finds work as a healer at Fendolyn’s Keep, the military garrison to which Telyan’s exiled royals–and half its civilians–have fled. Racing against the Fallow Throes’ ticking clock, he endeavors to repair his relationship with Prince Finley and fight off the gathering shadows in his head, as the base around him prepares for war.
Half a continent away, his sister Rora is doing everything she can to reawaken the land and end Eradain’s slaughter of magical beings. Still reeling from the revelation that Eradain’s violent monarch is her half-brother, she journeys to the kingdom determined to infiltrate his court in disguise–and finds the seeds of rebellion are already stirring.
With a magical illness running rampant and the continent arming for battle, the three realms’ long-feared destruction seems inevitable. But the two shifters they believed would bring about Alemara’s ruin may in fact hold the key to its survival.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
What I appreciated the most about Wildbound is the ethical exploration Audrey Becker takes us on. With this multiple POV novel, Wildbound asks our favorite characters if we keep leaving a trail of bodies because it’s easier? Do we become that person? Or we do we rise to the challenge? Continuing the prejudice against magic users, Wildbound describes the intolerance, hatred, fear and ignorance. And while I wish that we had gotten just a bit more resolution on this front, overall Wildbound is a satisfying sequel about changing the future one step at a time.
Thematically, Wildbound explores my favorite ethical dilemmas in conflict. How do we stop ourselves from stooping as low as they did? Is there honor in revenge? In justice? It’s easy to talk about the necessary sacrifices and casualties in war – but does everyone have to pay it? Because often the kings, the rulers, those with gilded chairs, are removed from the front line. Were they all necessary? Our group of main characters are forced to examine themselves. Their own limitations and ambitions. While Rora is my favorite character, I gotta say that Finley’s ship is my favorite!
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Overall, Wildbound encourages balance and working through our past. To recognize a world out of balance and to see the revolutionary act of joy. If you’ve read Forestborn, then you have to read the sequel, but if you’re also looking for a series which gave me nostalgic fantasy vibes with characters who struggle with leadership and ethics, pick this one up! Find Wildbound on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.