Cover Image: The Binding

The Binding

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Member Reviews

I was instantly drawn in by the cover of this book which reminded me of a favourite Laura Purcell novel - can't beat a good gothic novel! This had a lovely twist on the usual historical fiction with a fantasty element. It is a slow burner, but the world building and descriptions give it plenty enough to keep you reading. It's one I would recommend to people who enjoy similar books to me!

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This book seems to have all the hallmarks of being similar to Laura Purcell and while that is kind of accurate, it is also far from the truth. I was left wishing the book had delivered more than it did.

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Although I'm not often drawn to books with a fantasy element, the inventive premise that unpleasant memories can be erased by being bound within the pages of a book kept me captivated for the first section of the story. The book is set in an undisclosed period that at times, with its talk of persecution of bookbinders, conjures up the feel of 17th century England and at other times seems set much later, perhaps in the 19th century. It didn't really matter because both had a great sense of atmosphere.

I liked the way, in this imagined world, books are a not just a repository of memories but also become manifestations of power - as a means to erase evidence of abuse or crime, for example - or as a way to exercise control. They are also items of value, collected or traded by wealthy individuals. Playfully, in this world novels are regarded as 'fake'. As one character observes, 'They're not real books. They're written, like magazines. They're not actual people, or actual memories. They're invented.' Another character wonders who would write a novel: 'People who enjoy imagining misery, I suppose. People who have no scruples about dishonesty. People who can spend days writing a long sad lie without going insane.' Ironically, for some people bound books have become a source of titillation with readers meeting in secret to consume the dreadful experiences of others. Some are even copied and openly traded.

All this was brilliant but I confess as the plot became more of a romance - and a young adult romance at that - with a bit of mystery thrown in, I began to lose interest especially as this is a long book and events move quite slowly.

The Binding is a dark story in places with scenes that may be upsetting for some readers. I liked that it ended on a hopeful note even if I wasn't completely engaged by the romantic storyline. However, the author is clearly a great storyteller and there are some brilliantly eccentric secondary characters who introduce elements of menace, magic or humour to the storyline.

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Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I found the descriptions ponderous and the plot slow moving. The great thing about books is that there's a book out there for everyone, but in this case, this book and I didn't match. It happens. (I know plenty of people who loved it).

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Received an arc from Netgalley to review.


I was really excited to read this book , a historical fantasy based, with a dash of realism …sign me right up !

I did enjoy reading the book I found the first part of the book very slow paced and drawn out, however it did improve from the second part and onwards, which is why I kept reading.

Overall, I really liked the concept of the book but in the end I found that I didn’t quite warm to the main characters and found it a bit predicable.

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Stunning. Captivating. Unputdownable.

I am note sure anyone needs any more of an opinion than that really - it is one of those books I still take off my shelf and stroke wildly wishing I could read again with fresh eyes. A once in a genre read in my opinion.

An EASY 5 star

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What an interesting concept!! Didn’t like the execution though. The book dragged a bit and things takes ages to happen. But overall was a good book, not my favorite. I’ll definitely read other books by this author

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Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy. This doesn't affect my opinions though, those are my own.

Trigger warnings: *suicide, *rape, *murder, *killing, *worst relationships, *fire

It's difficult to summarize this book but I'll try. It's a tough book really.
It's about binding your memories which doesn't let you wake up the next morning and letting them being stored in your book, a true binder never lets those books be touched by others, if it comes to the worst, they die with it but never leave the books alone, never share the darkest parts of people because they are true binders. It's a fantasy tale of 19th century parallel universe where we see two men amidst these times, where gayness is not taken well in view and shunned over, not too far away from the real world of 19th century. It's a romantic story after 1/2 of the book and keeps one on their toes.

It's a slow paced read initially, in the second part it gets rolling and the story flows and gets energizes and it's full of life because our main character was bound as well at a time and he was missing a part of his life after what all happened to him.

The first time I started I stopped after reading about the first worst relationship, I was like how? why? no, it's not possible, I was a teenager then, I'm not now and since I had read it before, I just passed by it, not letting it affect me, I stood at the shoreline, not diving in deeper in my mind to feel disgusted but I did feel it, I wanted to murder the father, that bastard, how dare he? A piece of shit he was.

This time around, I read worse things than that and I can just say, things only gets worse after what we see here and there's no way one can read a word next and not feel disgusted or have an urge to punch the shit of of the men in the story as you progress, but it just isn't them, you may want to ask why the women don't do something about it? Some of them do actually and it's twisted the way they do it.

The main characters are not the best ones you will see or have an admiration for, they are flawed, they do somethings which you may agree or not agree with. I don't agree with somethings they do myself, I wish things were different then and they didn't have to do that but the way they talked about what they will do, didn't put me in ease, made me disgusted, it's how they thought but the way the story ends left a huge grin on my face and made this world brighter and shinier. It ends on sweet note and everything crashing but clarifies things for us and somehow leaves us with hope.

Like Lucian says in the end, "even those memories (the ones he chose to run away from) are bearable, now. I breathe. It still hurts but it’s getting easier." I think people should live with those memories which haunt them, even if they break their heart and doesn't let them get up the next day, those are the memories that make us, us and I'm glad those things happened for me to realize that even though I'd have given anything to be bound in this way then, I'm glad to be the person I'm today and this is what is making be myself more and more, shaping me and making me stronger. It hurts but it gets easier, this is something I really felt when Lucian said this.

If I just concentrate on their romance part, it's very good, not flawless, not something I can forgive for the way they did it but brilliant and their attraction which left me clueless sometimes was something I also cherish. It's beautifully written their parts but tragic is the entire tale is what it is but it'd make you smile by the end of it for sure.

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The first time I picked up this book I found it difficult to get into and put it aside. But I went back for another try, and I'm so glad I did, because it's wonderful.

In this historical fantasy world, books are things to be feared and bookbinders have the magical power to lock away people's painful memories between beautiful covers. What a great idea, you might think. Well...

Emmet Farmer, whose name is a clue to his supposed destiny, is apprenticed to Seredith, a binder, in the forbidding marshes. He comes to appreciate the skill of his new trade and respect Seredith. But not all binders are as ethical as she is; there are rogues who sell people's memories for others' enjoyment.

Then Emmett finds a book with his name on the cover. He's been bound, too. What are the memories he's lost? And who is the man who seems to know him, but who he can't remember?

Bridget Collins creates a believable alternative world with its own rules, and her exploration of love lost and regained is deep and convincing. This is a book to get lost in, and I felt lost again when it ended.

In a word: spellbinding.

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An imaginative and stunning read about memories being bound up into books, and an apprentice discovering that one of the books holds his own memory that he lost. A forbidden love.
This is gorgeously written book. Beautifully written in a timeless victorian-inspired world. Ultimately a stunning love story.

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The synopsis of this book really piqued my interest; a book about hiding memories in books. The idea of losing bad memories so you could enjoy the rest of your life sounded good, but what I got wasn’t quite that. Yes, memories were lost but not because the people wanted to, they were forced to, and one reason was quite unpleasant. There were parts of the book I did really enjoy but in the end it was just a triangle of forbidden love with the usual outcome. I so wanted more from the binding side of things. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK/The Borough Press for letting me read and review this book.

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This book was something of a disappointment to me and a wasted opportunity to be something special. The basic premise is wonderful - that books can contain people's memories - but it falls down on the details and the world building is patchy at best. The writing veers towards the histrionic and is jarringly anachronistic at times. The plot moves in fits and starts and occasionally loses all momentum. The pace is a huge issue for me - the whole thing should have been 50-100 pages shorter. It all got just a little bit drawn out (specifically the romance) to the point of frustration. The endless delayed gratification of the result that was obvious from the get go reminded me of middle of the road YA, the tension over-worked and tiresome. The dialogue wasn't great - it was repetitive and a lot of the time didn't do anything to move the plot forward.

I wasn't put off (like some, for goodness sake) by the same sex romance, in fact I applaud the representation. But - and I think this was my biggest objection to this book, a trope that I'm beginning to loathe - why did there have to be the element of violence to the 2 main characters' attraction? I find it so toxic. They were on the verge of punching one another right up until the point of getting it on! I also feel this is an unhelpful representation of latent or emerging homosexuality.

On a positive note I did enjoy the moral ambiguity of binding and the vaguely sinister atmosphere surrounding it. But the book really wasn't what I thought it was going to be - the magic of the first section gives way to a bog standard YA romance with a vague, unsatisfying ending. If the latter is what you're looking for then this book will probably engage and entertain at that level.

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The Binding by Bridget Collins is a magical story within the historical fiction and fantasy genre. Difficult to review without giving away the story, but is a compelling and beautifully story.

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An intriguing, fantastical love story, this book was nothing like what I expected but everything I hoped for. Well drawn characters, some brilliantly done reveals, I loved this book from start to finish.

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I had such a great time reading this book. I loved the writing, the story, how the stories intertwine and the heartbreak within the writing itself towards the latter half of the book. I would massively recommend this book to anyone and everyone!

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I really liked the first half of the book, interesting fantasy concept about how binders can capture more than the words on the pages of a book. I don't often read male protagonist stories, but I do dabble in some since some of the best fantasy novels have male main characters. The second half of the book turned into a sordid romance, which really wouldn't have been bad if that was its original intention. It was a bit of a let down to discover that this was basically a romance story with the coating of a good fantasy novel of world building, adventure, intrigue, magic, etc.

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I found the concept of this book extremely interesting. I think from that I expected a certain focus that was lacking, a bit more magic would have made this fantastic.

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I was drawn to this book from the interesting concept of books being memories that are bound into books through magic. I was so intrigued and hopeful for an incredibly magical story. I felt slightly let down as the magical element seemed less of a focus than the debauchery and horrible things people were either involved in or had done to them. Still an interesting read, but lost a bit of the 'magic' that I expected.

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This wasn’t the book for me. It wasn’t what I hoped. Not what I expected. I couldn’t give it a chance. It’s not something I would read

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I liked the fantasy part of this book - the binding, the books, the world and background. I was disappointed with the majority of the book then seeming to be about a gay awakening story. I wish there had been more of the first and less of the second.

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