Category: Romance Publisher: Tarrant Smith
ISBN-10: B0041OSG66
Type: Fiction
Pages: 364
Copyright: September 21, 2010
ISBN-13: 9781453713815
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
The entire Darkly Series rests heavily on Celtic mythology and the rules of magick. Written from a pagan sensibility, Bound Darkly (book 2) takes the reader for the first time into both courts of the fey, seelie and unseelie.
Bound Darkly was awarded Literary Titan's Gold Book Award for June 2019.
Sinnie has lived a secure, uniquely privileged life in the Seelie Court of Tir na n-Og. For as long as she can remember, her doting father, Sel, son of Selgi, has been the Captain of the Queen’s Guard. She cannot imagine the dark warrior prophesied for her future by the meddling goddess Blodeuwedd. Nevertheless, Sinnie’s fate is forever sealed the day the goddess whispers the riddle into her child’s ear. He would be a warrior born of the dark, raised by the despised, and tempered by the unlikely – and he would be Sinnie’s only chance at true love.
After spending nearly a thousand years exiled in the world of men, Hueil, son of Caw, has returned to the Dark Court of the unseelie to find much has changed in his homeland. The restoration of his name and his new duties at court should have brought him satisfaction, but the many years of banishment and Jennifer Mackell have changed him. Unable to name the yearning that now plagues him, Hueil travels back to Jen’s cottage to seek answers. What he finds is Sinnie, a seelie warrior who is both fire and flame, and a woman who might very well be the death of him – if he is lucky.
Added Bonus: Forbidden, a Darkly Short Story Cian, a seasoned seelie guardsman, has lost his heart to a human. There’s a reason contact between humans and fey is forbidden; more often than not, enchantment is the result. He may have lost his heart, but Elizabeth could lose her self if he isn’t vigilant. To give himself strength, Cian recites the rules he has sworn to follow. He must never touch her or let her know that he is real. He must remain invisible to her eyes – an unspoken shadow in her world. And above all, he must keep her safe – safe even from himself. But Cian longs to see the warmth of recognition shining from her eyes; to pass the time conversing with her, to touch her heart and hear her sigh in his arms. He must be careful. He has already broken one rule. Can he keep himself from breaking all the others?
Professional Reviews
Delightfully Detailed
Wow! Tarrant Smith does a great job immersing the reader in Celtic mythology. Well researched, the plot sings along at a rapid pace with political intrigues and courtly suspense. The rivalry of the brothers and the Seelie vs Unseelie adds to the drama. And to mix things up, the author transports her fey characters into a charming small Southern town, Madison, Georgia.
The attention to detail is amazing. Virtually every line has interesting and strangely appealing names. I adored the heroine, Sinnie, who must choose between love and her devotion to her majestic court.
Literary Titan Review
Bound Darkly, the second in the Darkly series by Tarrant Smith, primarily follows Sinnie, a strong woman and fairy-one of the seelie clan. Sinnie, though a fairy, is battling many of the same feelings as any mortal when it comes to love. She knows what she wants, but is leery of pursuing it for fear of the reactions of others. Like many a mortal woman, Sinnie is attracted to the rebel-the bad boy-and Hueil is, without a doubt, one of the worst. Their story more than makes the book a worthwhile read. The chemistry between the two and the true feelings of love experienced by Hueil are raw and relatable.
Hueil is a well-developed character and appealing in all the wrong ways. Readers will love to hate him and likely grow to understand very quickly Sinnie's attraction to him as the bad boy. Smith goes to great lengths to make Hueil as colorful as possible and details everything from his exploits to his determination to have Sinnie and to do the job with which he has been tasked.
Jen, another fairy but not Smith's main focus in this installment, possesses a unique ability that I found to be quite captivating. The emotional shielding Jen is able to demonstrate is an amazing facet of her personality and life as a fairy. Though it is draining and taxing, watching her put it into play is fascinating.
In my opinion, Bound Darkly easily fits into two genres. It is clearly a beautifully crafted work of fantasy with the fairy realm as its primary focus. Warriors and fairies alike have the most unique and stunning powers. Their abilities keep the pace of the book moving and the amount of action in the book is perfect when compared with some books that seem to be overfilled with such scenes. In addition, Smith gives her characters a fair amount of romantic encounters and is especially explicit in detailing their escapades.
Smith has succeeded in offering readers a sequel to Book 1 that is easy to follow for those new to the series. I highly recommend Smith's second book in the Darkly series to any reader who seeks books with a combination of fantasy and romance.
