Review: Another captivating book in the Bound by Hades series!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 8, 2014
***3.5 stars***After meeting Theo’s brother in the first book of this series, I was excited to see what finding a mate would mean for this amusing playboy.  He’s a self-proclaimed commitment-phobe, determined to keep his single status and not be bogged down by the emotional baggage that comes with a mate.  But the day he felt the mark and knew there was someone out there that was destined to be his, everything started to change in his world.I liked the animosity as Justin denied the idea of having one person out there for him; as much as I loved Theo’s immediate acceptance of the situation, Justin fighting the urge was so much more like his personality.  He just wasn’t ready to accept it.  His mate wakes up, remembering only her name and nothing else, and comes to the brutal realization that her touch is lethal.  Yvonne is scared and alone and does the best she can to survive in a world she doesn’t recognize, and when Justin enters her life it was like suddenly there was something there.  The secret behind Yvonne’s identity was a really neat twist, I loved it even though it meant serious road blocks for these two.  Let’s just say she’s got a bad side that makes everyone question her loyalty, and this split personality angle made for some heart-wrenching and thrilling moments between this captivating cast of characters.I felt like this was a darker read than the first book; Justin’s mate in particular had to suffer through a lot, and even though we don’t see it directly, it was mentioned and definitely made me cringe a lot for her.  She’s not the only one who comes out unscathed, either, so there was definitely a dark cloud over a lot of this story. Whereas Theo’s story was more about his finally finding a mate and falling in love while dealing with some major demon action, Justin’s fate was completely entwined with the evil forces thanks to his mate’s past.  The enemies were more sinister than Aggie in the first installment, because they weren’t so abstract. We see them in their element, and it gave them just enough of a humanistic feel that made their actions that much more despicable.Justin, Theo, and Sadie were on the mission to thwart the demons by beating them to the punch this time around, and finding the artifacts that would hinder their plans was paramount.  There was a lot of action and plenty of painful suspense, but I felt like they’d take two steps forward and ten steps back sometimes.  I wanted some down time for character development, and it felt like there just wasn’t enough of that amidst all of the drama and fighting.  I have definitely enjoyed this series though, and paranormal romance fans will appreciate the thrills and chills that come with these books!