This review contains spoilers.

I think I expected this book to be more fantasy than it currently is. It started very slow for my liking, and I think if it wasn't all the PR campaign and the interest that's built on Social media, if this was a book I've myself picked, I'd probably give up around 20%. But I continued reading because I was really intrigued, also the reviews are really good for this book. Sadly I will not join the fan base, this time.

The idea of "Binding" is really creative but I didn't like the way it unfolded. At one point the text was being sarcastic, I think it said something like novels being other people's sorrows, overlooking the concept of fiction. But then, what is this book? The writing is good but., in the end it's people's sorrows and an LGBT romance.

Settling on 3 stars as I think the quality of writing was really well, however sadly the plot wasn't for me.

THE BINDING felt to be a unique read, within a historical/magically-orientated world. THE BINDING is about my favourite subject, books. It is about the making of them and what is behind the whole need to make a book; it wasn't at all what it seemed to be. More than anything, THE BINDING was about the binder, a young man, an apprentice, Emmett Farmer.

This is a book that started slow, and for me, it had pacing issues right through the first half. There were periods of confusion in the first few hours of reading this book. It definitely picked up pace from the mid-way mark and I found myself much more drawn in then. There is a slight past and present narrative that subtly enhanced the reader's understanding of the story line.

At the heart of the this story is a tale of forbidden love. A coming of age story that was beautiful and tragic. It was this element that I enjoyed the most when reading and that kept me needing to read in the latter half.

There are strong side characters, Emmett's family, the people Emmett is apprenticed to and of course, Lucian. The class divide was a key element to story and I appreciated the further barriers this brought to the tale.

Overall, this was an unusual fantastical tale of historical life. It was a solid and sometimes fascinating read with pacing and trudging feelings for periods of time. I would definitely like to read Bridget Collins again.

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book.

Bridget Collins has written a beautifully imagined piece of fantasy historical fiction, a sumptuous love story, of poor farmer's son, Emmet Farmer, and the wealthy, privileged Lucian Darnay, doomed to be star crossed lovers. In this world, books are not what we would recognise them to be, books are for all those things that people feel destroyed by and cannot live with in their lives. They are extraordinary hand crafted, leather bound repositories of actual peoples memories, their secrets, grief, and pain, erased for good after being stored in a book. Books are feared and forbidden, as Emmet finds to his cost when he is drawn to buy one. An unwelcome letter arrives for Emmet, an apprenticeship he cannot refuse, he will train to be a bookbinder under Seredith's tutelage, a sacred calling. For a while, Emmet has been ill, unable to contribute to the farm as he once did, but he, like others is afraid of bookbinders, a profession surrounded with ignorance, prejudice and superstition. He travels to Seredith's remote home, and surprisingly finds solace in his daily tasks, surrounded by a silence that turns out to be what he needs to bear his illness.

The narrative goes back and forth in time, from the time Emmet and his sister, Alta, meet Lucian Darnay, to the development of their relationship, and to Emmet's experiences with other bookbinders and their clients. The reader comes to understand how Emmet came to develop his mystery illness, and the effects and repercussions of bookbinding on his and Lucian's lives. Seredith turns out to be a remarkably ethical and moral bookbinder, storing and safely locking away the books in her vault. This is in sharp contrast to others, some bookbinders are happy to practice a corrupt, horrifyingly venal form of bookbinding for the rich and powerful that uses and abuses people. These bookbinders illegally sell and trade the books for profit, often to those with a prurient interest in the secret lives of others, and for the purposes of blackmail. In a story of murder, magic, separation and ruthless powerful forces, do Emmet and Lucian's love stand any chance in a hostile world?

Collins engages in complex world building in this utterly beguiling novel, making this world come vibrantly alive with her detailed descriptions of time and place, whilst relating a moving and original love story that charms and captivates. This is Romeo and Romeo for the modern age, the characterisation is compelling, with Emmet and Lucas's love crossing the social class divide, moreover a love story that crosses boundaries in so many other senses too. This is brilliant storytelling, that immerses the reader in a past where books are a dangerous and secret commodity, and a forbidden love that threatens to destroy Emmet and Lucian. Highly recommended. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins & Bridget Collins for my ARC of The Binding. 
First off, can I just express how beautiful this book is to look at? This is one of the most gorgeous covers I've ever seen! And thankfully it's not all on the outside! The story within is beautiful too.
The Binding is a truly unique story. It begins with Emmett Farmer, a farm boy recently apprenticed to the binder out in the marshes. He knows nothing about Binding, or books for that matter, other than that they are dangerous and his parents were furious the one and only time he read one.

With Seredith's help Emmett begins to learn about Binding. Every person can have their memories turned into a book. The price, is that they forget. And for most this is what they want to achieve, every terrible memory, every bad thing they've done or experienced can be taken away. Seredith is an artist and hopes to raise Emmett in the same way, but some out there are not, there's an increase in the fraudulent selling of people's memories for others to read.

But then Emmett finds a book with his own name on it and his world is turned upside down.

This book was an absolute delight to read, it's ability to completely capture human emotion, it's pace despite not being fast was perfect, it never felt like it was dragging or too slow. The characters were wonderful, the story was immersive and the language and writing was stunning.

I'm definitely going to go ahead and order the gorgeous Goldsboro edition now!

What a cracking idea,that you can choose to put some memories into a bound book.
Also a clever idea that books are essentially people's memories,some sold just for the money and some taken to forget something.
Throw in a love story,and characters that do or do not know each other... a isolated house with a witch... this was quite the read from page one.
Definitely one I'll be buying a few times.

This beautiful looking book definitely takes the spot on the list of my favourite reads of 2018. Breathtakingly magical story that makes you think. What if you could have all bad memories taken away from you, would you do it? Would you want to remember what you have forgotten? This book won't be out until 2019 but definitely worth pre-ordering.

This book is utterly wonderful. I highly recommend it. Even having received a free copy for review, I'm highly tempted to buy a beautiful hardback one when it comes out as well.
It's one of those lush, instantly transportive books that immediately takes you away from the world.
I loved the idea of 'Binding' - in fact, I won't mention any of it, so as not to spoiler the story, but every page was beautifully written, and the feelings of the characters leapt of the page and into me. My heart pounder, I cried, I fell in love. I would love more of this world, but the book does reach a beautiful conclusion and feels complete in itself.
The protags are two men, and it's wonderful to read literary fiction that features m/m relationships.
If you're a fan of richly imagined worlds that take something mundane, like a book, and turning the idea on its head, moving love stories and gorgeous descriptions, please buy it.

The Binding is a book with beautiful writing and original idea. I really loved the characters, the plot and lots of surprises that came with it. The book is separated into 3 parts. I thought the second part could be shorter and also I saw the turn of events coming from way before.
However, the writing was very charming and it kept me going wondering what will happen with the story.
So, all in all, I enjoyed this book with its characters, the world building, its story and writing. I'd definitely pick up another book from Bridget Collins.
If you're looking for a slow burning literary fiction with some magical elements, character building and original idea, here it is :)

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To be able to lock away your deepest darkest secrets for ever is the basis for the storyline throughout this amazing book. It gripped me from the first few pages and continued to keep me truly absorbed right until the last page.
There are not many characters however each one is a piece of work!
The book is set in 1800' s (my guess) and as you read you can picture every detail, smell and colour. I wish I could have taken this away on a holiday and was able to read it in one sitting. It is a fantastic novel, very absorbing and I loved every word. I've never read anything by Bridget Collins before but my goodness I cannot wait for her next book.
Amazing

I was looking forward to this book. It didn’t disappoint but I felt that it did ramble on a bit but I didn’t want to put it down which is always a good thing. I would definitely recommend it if you like magic and romance. I would have liked to know the era as you get no dates but I guess it was set in the early part of the 19th century maybe late 18th. All in all a magical book. #netgalley #thebinding