Title: A Bond of Briars
Author: Erin Phillips
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5 stars
This was such an interesting concept for a novel—a dark fantasy retelling of the book of Ruth. Needless to say, I’d never read anything comparable before, but I was excited to try it out. And I’m so glad I did.
Characters: Caitrin is an excellent heroine, human but not annoyingly so. She’s one of the first insecure protagonists I’ve come across whose constant self-demeaning didn’t make me want to chuck my Kindle across the room. Her doubts about herself are so real and sad. She’s easy to root for!
Callen is sweet, a great foil to Caitrin. I wish we could have gotten to know him a little better, though. Some of his motivations feel a bit forced. But he and Caitrin are so cute together!
Content: There are a couple of mostly undetailed kisses. A character is instructed to seduce a man, which makes her highly uncomfortable. A character used to be a prostitute. Several characters were born out of wedlock.
Caitrin is a cairline, which is basically a witch. She’s bonded to a spirit who requires her blood in return for a favor (the greater the favor, the more blood demanded). She frequently summons her spirit throughout the story, but it’s clearly portrayed as wrong.
Several people are cursed with a mysterious illness. A character has used cairline magic in the past to speak with her dead husband.
Characters are cruel to Caitrin because of her status as a cairline. A few characters meet tragic, somewhat violent ends.
Writing: The story flows so well, weaving in elements of the biblical story while also remaining its own tale. Phillips has done an amazing job illustrating how the biblical characters would have viewed one another, placing her own characters in roles easily understood by a modern audience.
Summary: This was an intriguing premise that absolutely made good on its promise. It’s an unusual story that’s given me a new perspective on the book of Ruth and how incredible it is that she became part of God’s redemption plan. I highly recommend this to readers aged 16+!
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