The Binding is the first book which I will rate with 3 stars. I was so excited when I saw the beautiful cover and the interesting summary but it didn’t live up to the expectations. I almost stopped reading when I reached half of the book but eventually, I finished it. Even though the second half is more eventful it still didn’t change my opinion. This book made me depressed, the plot was confusing and the characters were annoying to me. 

Plot

The main idea is that there are people who can take away, erase your memories, and bind them into books. It is a fascinating thought and I liked how the topic was approached morally. The question of right or wrong is well developed and we can see the viewpoints of both sides. Those who are in favor and support this “job” believe that by taking away the bad memories the pain is also taken. I think the other viewpoint is better supported. Opponents say that they take a piece of the soul when erasing a memory and these people become confused and empty. The other strong argument is that you can use binding for the wrong purposes. If you would like to hide your sins it is also possible. 

Characters

Besides the above, unfortunately, I cannot write anything positive about the book. Let’s see the characters. It should be a love story between our two protagonists, Emmett who is a farmer, and Lucian Darnay who is the son of a wealthy lord, but I didn’t feel like it was one. They meet in the countryside where Emmett lives with his family. Lucian is sent there by his father as a punishment but thanks to the Farmer family, he enjoys his time there. However, Emmett and Lucian’s relationship is full of hatred and rejection almost throughout the whole book. I didn’t sense where romance was in it. They had moments of course when they let go of their fears and finally showed their real emotions but it was just not that significant. Later on, these moments were also all ruined by their uncertainty and self-denial. 

On top of this, there was a love triangle with Emmett’s little sister who fell in love with Lucian. He even courted the poor girl and planned to marry her when he longed for Emmett the whole time. It made me angry at them for the way they handled the whole situation. 

I have to admit that the book takes place in the 19th Century however the exact date is not specified. Homosexuality was not accepted for a long time and in that era in some places, it was still a criminal, punishable act. I can understand their self-denial and that they fought against their true feelings. Still, I feel as if their relationship had been empty, they had no real conversations and Emmett didn’t know anything about Lucian’s life until the end. To me, it seemed as if it was only just physical attraction. 

My review

All in all, their very long fights and arguing made me stressed out and tired. I felt the same at the beginning of the book when Emmett was fighting with his memory loss and mental issues. This part was just too long I think. It became monotonous that he fainted several times and felt sick most of the time. 

I’m sorry to say this but the end was also very weak. I really wished that there would be a change for the better but it was even worse. At least some action happened near the end which made reading a bit easier but the events at the end made Emmett’s character look selfish and undisciplined.  

I would like to emphasize that these are my feelings about the book. We are all different and I know that many love this book and I can understand why. It had a great idea, the bookbinding was a real curiosity. I think this book was too slow for my taste and there was too much pain in it which I couldn’t enjoy. Still, if you feel like you would give it a chance I won’t discourage you. ☺ 

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