Name: Otherbound
ISBN: 9781419709289

Corinne Duyvis

Possessing an ability to transport into the mind of a girl from a magical world, Nolan helps the mute Amara protect a renegade princess only to discover a startling truth about their connection. A first novel.

Otherbound

Otherbound has a really interesting and unique concept. When I first heard of it, it reminded me of the movie Your Name. After reading it myself, I would say that it has a very different take on a similar phenomenon. Both are great stories, though and I would recommend anyone who likes one to check out the other. Just know that Your Name's focus is heavy on the romance while Otherbound's is more about figuring out what exactly is going on and how ethical it is.

Nolan inhabits Amara's mind whenever he closes his eyes, including his every blink. Amara doesn't know this and is stuck being a servant protecting a cursed princess. Amara's life is very difficult and full of pain and Nolan wants it to stop interrupting his own life.

The plot was really interesting and I enjoyed the reveals. I really felt for each protagonist and wanted what was best for them, even if they were at odds at times. For side characters, Cilla, the cursed princess, was the one that stood out to me the most. I was very worried about her, especially during some events towards the end.

I thought the romance was sweet but it clearly wasn't the main focus. This book was very plot-heavy and it made you think about the effects and ethics of the whole situation. I really enjoyed the discussion of agency and dynamics between people with different levels of freedom. Amara coming to terms with her own value was very powerful.

The book has seamless LGBT and disability representation. The cast was also racially diverse. All of this representation felt natural and reflective of our world. Both protagonists had disabilities that affected them, but didn't define them.

One complaint I had was that the characters in Amara's world were often described by having features of a fantasy race, without going into details about what those features were. It made it a bit of a struggle for me to piece together what some characters looked like. That may have been exasperated by my taking a while to finish the book. I may have forgotten some descriptions of the different features towards the beginning of the story.

The ending felt sad to me, even if it ended exactly how it should have. It felt a little bittersweet, although I don't think I would change a thing.

Kayla

Otherbound has a really interesting and unique concept. When I first heard of it, it reminded me of the movie Your Name. After reading it myself, I would say that it has a very different take on a similar phenomenon. Both are great stories, though and I would recommend anyone who likes one to check out the other. Just know that Your Name's focus is heavy on the romance while Otherbound's is more about figuring out what exactly is going on and how ethical it is.

Nolan inhabits Amara's mind whenever he closes his eyes, including his every blink. Amara doesn't know this and is stuck being a servant protecting a cursed princess. Amara's life is very difficult and full of pain and Nolan wants it to stop interrupting his own life.

The plot was really interesting and I enjoyed the reveals. I really felt for each protagonist and wanted what was best for them, even if they were at odds at times. For side characters, Cilla, the cursed princess, was the one that stood out to me the most. I was very worried about her, especially during some events towards the end.

I thought the romance was sweet but it clearly wasn't the main focus. This book was very plot-heavy and it made you think about the effects and ethics of the whole situation. I really enjoyed the discussion of agency and dynamics between people with different levels of freedom. Amara coming to terms with her own value was very powerful.

The book has seamless LGBT and disability representation. The cast was also racially diverse. All of this representation felt natural and reflective of our world. Both protagonists had disabilities that affected them, but didn't define them.

One complaint I had was that the characters in Amara's world were often described by having features of a fantasy race, without going into details about what those features were. It made it a bit of a struggle for me to piece together what some characters looked like. That may have been exasperated by my taking a while to finish the book. I may have forgotten some descriptions of the different features towards the beginning of the story.

The ending felt sad to me, even if it ended exactly how it should have. It felt a little bittersweet, although I don't think I would change a thing.