The leader of the Consortium, Pyrus, knows all about Rayne’s Nano capsules that can be triggered if she refuses to act and do exactly what they ask of her. So, basically, it’s either Sunny’s life or her own. Not an easy choice to have to make. It's because of the Nano Capsules that Rayne is a vampire slayer in the first place!
If you’re not familiar with this series then you missed out on the fact that these books normally alternative POV’s between Sunny and Rayne. Rayne, in my humblest of opinions, is the better story teller and a lot less annoying than Sunny. With Rayne, however, you do get some less than thrilling pop culture references since she’s also a game geek and a Goth extraordinaire.
Rayne realizes that she can’t do this alone and knows that the only other person who can help her is her vampire boyfriend Jareth, the current leader of the Blood Coven. The problem is that Jareth would be signing his own death warrant and that of the Blood Coven vampires if he goes against Pyrus’s orders. If that weren’t enough stress for one person to handle, former and now current Vampire Slayer Bertha is back from her vacation and looking like a cover model thanks to her new found boyfriend Pyrus.
Rayne and Jareth eventually find themselves deep underneath NYC where rats and Chupacabra’s make their homes. It’s also a sanctuary of sorts for wayward vampires who are tired of the Consortium’s brutal ways and live a lot like the former human dwellers of the underground on rats and whatever else they can find.
When Rayne experiences a devastating loss after the Consortium catches up to her and Jareth, she finds that the only choice she has now is to travel to the Underworld and request an audience with Hades himself. This leads to several really interesting reunions and revelations. I will have to say that I did enjoy the travel to the Underground and the way that Mancusi builds it up.
Now the WTF part of my review! Okay, I know that this is the NEXT to last book in the series. I know this because I have read all the previous books and have either laughed or been pained by the silliness of the characters like Sunny. In my opinion, this SHOULD have been the last book of the series and not the slam down that we experience at the end. I would have been totally fine with losing one or several of the main characters instead of having a total LOST moment in the end. Now, I have to painfully request the next book from the library in order to see how Mancusi wraps up this series.
Soul Bound, overall, is a pretty good story right up until the ending. It’s filled with angst, and mystery, and suspense as well as an informative trip to the Underground. Sunny has really grown over the course of this series. She’s gone from a wannabe vampire, to a vampire-vampire slayer. She’s found her mate and love in Jareth who is more EMO than any character you will find. She’s also found her backbone and makes choices that are difficult. Her final choice in this book leads us straight into the final book of the series called Blood Forever. Of course, that also means that we are stuck with Sunny’s POV! :::head desk::
Title - Soul Bound (Blood Vampire # &)
Author - Mari Mancusi
Publisher - Berkley
Released - March 6, 2012
Genre - YA Paranormal
This is the first time I've heard of this series. I am not a fan of prolonged endings, I feel like the author is selling out or something.
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