After all the rave reviews, I was expecting something really special here and to be fair, the premise is really interesting and has potential to go in so many directions. Binders are able to erase someone's memories, capturing them in a book so they can live without having to deal with the pain of whatever they've been through. There's so much that could be done with this concept.

Instead, Bridget Collins' background in YA novels shines through, as the main focus of this is the romance between two star crossed lovers with the odds stacked against them in multiple ways.

It took me ages to get into this. It didn't really pick up for me until around the 40% mark and I had keeping coming back to it, hoping it would get better because so many people said it was amazing. There were parts I liked and it is well written, but overall, I think the concept was wasted and the ending was a terrible let down, not resolved enough to give satisfaction but not open enough to justify a sequel.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

Interesting concept beautifully executed. I'm sure we would all like to obliterate memories from time to time, but to do it on a commercial basis was an intriguing idea. Found the quality of the writing, the attention to detail and period was excellent. At first this book may seem spooky, but don't be put off - persevere.

There is a lot wrong with The Binding. For all the luscious language, not much happens in the first third. It’s mainly the painstaking building of a skillset that’s never used, which feels a tad wasteful. And it commits a book sin I normally find unforgivable — it teases. It feels like hundreds of pages of circling and nudging and side-stepping the truth before we finally get to it.
Because the magical concept at the core of the novel is that people can tell their traumatic memories to a book binder and the stories are stored in the book, not their minds. Like a gothic Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And it’s narrated from the point of view of Emmet, who, it gradually becomes clear, has some crucial missing memories too. So the secret staying hidden does make sense, while frustrating.
But despite all its flaws, The Binding is a love story so pure that by the end I wanted to shout from the rooftops and share this book with whoever would read it. So, all is forgiven.

My Rating: 2.5 stars
I’m not even sure where to start. So, here goes

This book wasn’t what I was expecting. I had such high hopes for it. It sounded really interesting and I really liked the front cover. I really couldn’t wait to read it. But, having read it now I’m actually a little disappointed.

I really liked the concept of memory binding, and also liked the surprise of the queer romance that develops in the book. It made the book interesting especially to read about it in the time period that this book is set in.

Although the writing was really good I sadly found the plot to be a little too slow for my liking and I also got a little confused especially when the writing changes from third person to first person. Also, I was a little disappointed with the ending. I found it to be unsatisfying and it also ended abruptly.

When it comes to the characters I don’t know how I feel about them. I mean I found Emmett really interesting at the beginning but then as the book goes on I started to lose interest in him. The rest of the characters felt a little boring and dry.

All in all, a mediocre read from me. This book potentially had loads going for it but sadly it just didn’t deliver for me. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t hate it but at the same time I didn’t think it was outstanding as many other readers did. Thinking about it now, I think if this book hadn’t been so hyped I probably wouldn’t have picked it up and also I may have possibly DNF’ed if it wasn’t an eARC. This is not a book I will be re-reading again

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this book to my friends or family but if they wanted to read it I would definitely suggest they try borrowing a copy from the library.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers Borough Press for my eARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

I loved this book! The story was immersive and the ploy kept me guessing until the very end! I didn't want the tale to finish and I can't wait to read the next book by Bridget Collins.

Enjoyable historical magical realism with much believable detail and well-developed characters, although the change of narrator part-way through was jarring and made for a disappointing ending. Interested to see what Collins does next.

Imagine a world where you can have memories taken out of your head, bound into a book and no longer troubling you. Novels are merely cheap fakes, the real stories are people’s lives and will catch you up in their once-reality.

Emmett Farmer is recovering from a long, mysterious illness when he approached to be an apprentice to the local Binder. She teaches him how to make and cover books, each a work of art, but he still doesn’t understand what she does with the visitors who come asking for her help.

I really loved the idea of this world, the books that are so beautiful often housing very dark secrets. The sense of mystery in the opening chapters is just enough to hook you in, waiting to find out what’s going on.

Alas, once we’ve got the world building out of the way, the story takes a turn and I really wasn’t impressed. You have Binding and memory removal – and you turn it into a love story? Urgh. I am not a fan of romances, to be honest. And I’m increasingly not a fan of fantasy that picks up real-world prejudices. I’d rather read about worlds where it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, gay or straight, black or white. To have the whole story hinge on at least one of those being a Huge Bad Thing just soured it all for me.

That said, the writing is good, and the story is very well presented – although I did get confused, repeatedly, by the switch of first person point of view for the third part. Somehow that never quite clicked in my brain. Still, that it wasn’t the fantasy wonder I was hoping for didn’t stop me reading and enjoying what was there.

I really wanted to like this more than I did. I like the concept, the cover is gorgeous and the blurb is great, but although the way the story is executed is a clever idea in reality I didn't think it quite pulled it all off. The first section takes ages to get going, the second section is so completely different and then the third leaves you with so many questions.

This took me ages to read, because the first section drags and takes ages to get going so I was picking it up and putting it down in favour of other books and then once I made myself sit down and get into the it, the second section was much more engaging, but then the third doesn't answer or resolve everything that you want it too.

Promising, but falls down in the execution/reality.

Emmett thought his life was all planned out - that he'd stay in the village where he was born, be a farmer like his father, marry one of the local girls. Then a letter arrives announcing that he's to be taken on as an apprentice Binder. Working with books is a dubious profession. There's a lot of superstition and fear surrounding them, as they aren't books as we know them. Instead they're repositories for people's unwanted memories. Lost someone you've loved? Done something dreadful that you want to keep hidden from the world? A Binder will erase your memories and store them in a book.
Emmett apparently has a talent for the work, but it also transpires that he has memories bound into a book - and when chance leads him to re-awaken those memories, his world changes completely.



If you've ever seen The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you'll immediately spot similarities; central to both stories is the ability to erase memories, specifically those relating to an unfortunate love affair. But, whereas Eternal Sunshine has a contemporary setting, and some computer thingamajig erases memories, The Binding is set in an alternative world with an early Victorian factories feel to it, and the act of 'binding' is more like a magical skill.
In this alternative world, there are no novels. Practical textbooks are considered acceptable, but fiction doesn't exist. Books are lifted whole from a person's memories, wiping away sorrow or pleasure, and should then be safely stored away, never to be read by anyone, but there are always the unscrupulous practitioners willing to corrupt the art of Binding in various ways, to profit from hiding dark secrets through Binding, or to sell the subsequent book for others' enjoyment.

The world building is brilliant, the story-telling wonderful, and, although when I'd reached the end I began to think that maybe some of the ideas don't quite add up, it doesn't matter, because while reading I was swept along by the story.

In short, i loved it, and it will probably end up in my picks of the year!

What an absolutely beautiful cover a must read for that alone. An incredibly well-thought out and well-written book. Different in that the language and the imagery that conjures up is quite amazing. A mix of historical and romance sprinkled with fantasy and intrigue. A fascinating read. Recommended.

5 million stars. What a Book!! And such a breath of fresh air. No wonder this novel has been No. 1 in the charts since its release!

The Binding by Bridgit Collins is a book I am so glad that I picked up. Published beautifully this book is a book that celebrates books. Set in an alternative world where books are places where people bind memories, Emmet is sent to become a Binder apprentice. Binding is seen as a dark act but as Emmet learns how to bind he realises that there is a beauty to it and also that somehow his own memories have been bound and lost. The world is full of magic and heartbreak and I could not put it down it had me hooked from page 1.

I can't believe it is over I just wish there had been an epilogue so that we could have seen the happy ever after which I am so glad that there was.
So brilliant and I will write more when I have had time to digest this wonderful novel.

I really enjoyed this book. A most original idea and beautifully written. Bridget Collins is a wonderful storyteller, drawing the reader into the book and allowing us to find out the mystery behind the story along with the characters themselves.

This has to be one of the best books I've read this year. Collin's created a fantastic world that was obvious in how it was based in history but it was n't part of it. The two leads were well rounded and believable and I really enjoyed the story and how it flowed. This is one book I can't wait to re-read in the future as it was written and explored so well.

I absolutely loved this book. I've read most of the author's young adult titles so was confident in her storytelling skill and quality writing and I really wasn't disappointed. The beginning was so bleak with a setting so cold and grim that I felt it got into my bones but I gradually thawed as the romance at the heart of this wonderful story built and built and swept me away. A truly original concept that is beautifully executed. A really outstanding read, I'll be recommending it widely.

I think this was my own fault…I don’t think I read the blurb clearly enough because I didn’t realise it would be a sort of supernatural thing about magic books! I thought it was going to be a story about a binding apprentice in Medieval times.
I tried to power through and try something new but I wasn’t a fan of the writing style and I was bored. I guess if historical fantasy is your jam then this book would be great!

The Binding is an inventive and dark fantasy of a world where books hold people's real memories and become items of even more power and secrecy. This is not an uplifting read - it is gothic, unsettling, and the central character faces immense hardship and heartbreak - but there are moments of lightness and joy to provide relief for the reader. Bridget Collins has built a fascinating fantasy world, rich with magic, that addresses real world themes of discrimination, loss, and power.

Emmett has been chosen to be the apprentice to the binder. He leaves home when he is still recovering from an illness that has laid him up unable to work for a while. Once at his new position he finds out more about binding and that it is not just books that get bound. This is one of those reads that somehow captivates you form the start without really knowing why- there is just that something about it that keeps the pages turning. Emmett is a likeable young man albeit naive in the ways of he world and most certainly of the world of binding that he has entered. Perhaps it is that unknown quality that we want to know more about , that suspicion that all is not quite as it first appears that keeps us there. There has been much publicity and talk about this book and I can see why, even the cover is captivating and beautiful. A very clever plot- I won’t give anything away other than to say ingenious! How stories are made and the “false” ones are called novels. I saw Joanna Cannon (Three Things about Elsie/The Trouble With Goats and Sheep said that” This is more of an experience than a book” which I wholeheartedly agree with. A brilliant premise. a wonderful story well told, a captivating read.
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Totally unique fiction. I love stories like this because they bend the rules. In this historical and beautifully written tale books are things to be wary of. They leave the protagonist open to crime because you can have the memories you don't want erased made into a book, thus taking the memory from you. This leaves those whose stories are within the books open to blackmail and bookbinders and readers with criminal intent can hold you to ransom.
Emmet has been told he must train as a bookbinder with Seredith, but when he finds a book with his own name his world is turned upside down. This is also a forbidden love story, a superb novel with wonderful characters, sensitively written. Recommended!

This book started really well for me with mysterious, gothic undertones. The first part of the story is told in the first person by Emmett Farmer, a young man who is recovering from a severe illness and, no longer fit enough to work on his father’s land, is sent to a work as an apprentice for a bookbinder called Seredith. This is at a time when books and the stories contained within their pages have a mysterious and threatening hold over the suspicious townsfolk, and as Emmett learns more about the bookbinding craft from Seredith, a darker story begins to emerge.

The central premise is that bookbinders don’t just produce books, they have a magical sideline in ‘binding’ people’s memories into books and helping them forget traumatic incidents. The books are then locked away securely, the theory being that if the book is ever destroyed the person’s bad memories will come flooding back to them. Against this backdrop there is also a coming of age love story involving Emmett and a mysterious and privileged young man called Lucian. This aspect of the book was touching and promising but the timeframe moved around quite a bit which spoiled the flow of the book for me (I sometimes struggled to keep up with who had been ‘bound’ in this part of the book and whether it was before or after they lost their memories). To be honest I didn’t really buy into the whole ‘binding’ premise which made most of the book difficult for me to believe in and engage with.

It wasn’t until I finished the book and read the author biog that I learned that Bridget Collins is quite a prolific author of Young Adult books, and this made a lot of sense to me. Although this is billed as her first ‘adult’ book it definitely felt like a YA book to me. I love historical fiction but I’m not over-keen on fantasy and unfortunately the balance wasn’t right for me.

I recieved a digital edition of this as a wish from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've heard so many good things about this book, so I was ready to dive right in.

I found the first part of the book really slow, I had a hard time getting through it but once it picked up it was really good.