Bonds by Kris Austen Radcliffe

By: Unknown on Sunday, August 17, 2014

Title:  Bonds
Series:  Fate~Fire~Shifter~Dragon #3.1/Silence Cycle #1
Author:  Kris Austen Radcliffe
Published:  Aug 14/14 by Six Talon Sign Fantasy & Futuristic Romance
Length:  112pgs
Format:   ARC ecopy
Genre:  Urban Fantasy
Shelf:  review
Rating:  ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Daisy Reynolds might be taller and more athletic than the average seventeen-year-old, but she doesn’t make waves. Hiding from her klepto mom’s terrifying Shifter ex-boss makes an invisible life necessary. But when a Burner—a chaos ghoul—gets a whiff of Daisy, hiding turns into running for her life.

Daisy soon realizes the conflicts around her run deeper than nasty ghouls and mean Shifters looking to beat up her mom. Future-seeing Fates want a piece of her, too.
But some fates cannot be escaped unless you have courage… and an unlikely ally.

Bonds, Episode One of The Silence Cycle, introduces Daisy Reynolds Pavlovich, an important new character to the Fate - Fire - Shifter - Dragon universe. Join Daisy as she navigates a landscape punctuated by unfamiliar creatures:

Fates with the ability to see past, present, and future.
Ghouls called Burners who devour with fire and acid.
Shifters who shape much more than their bodies.
And two dragons who speak with color and pattern.

My Review:

Radcliffe paints her scenes in tones and hues. You feel like you’re looking at an oil painting. Everything pops with a vivid sense of reality that draws you to it. By writing in short, poignant sentences Radcliffe adds an extra sense of urgency to an already suspenseful tale. Not only is this a fantastically magical story, this novel is also an in-your-face social commentary that really makes you stop and think. I appreciate the fact that this novella is complementary to the Activation trilogy of the series, while also standing alone. I found myself getting excited over each and every new detail revealed.

I really enjoyed getting to know Daisy so much better in this instalment. Her past, and the convergence of everyone’s path leads to a great story. Radcliffe’s development of her characters in this novella is spot on. She gives you a peek into many histories while developing certain characters in the present. It combines into a heady mix that will make you feel part of this world. You also come away with a much more intense understanding of the Fates & how they work. It was quite enlightening.

As a whole this was a brilliant segue into the Silence trilogy. Radcliffe melds reality and imagination together in a manner so seamless that you’ll find yourself walking through the pages alongside her characters. I couldn’t put it down for a second.

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