Oath Bound

Unbound, Book 3

By: Rachel Vincent

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman

Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

The Tower Syndicate will fall...

The secret daughter of the head of an infamous Skilled crime family, Sera Brandt has hidden her past, her potential, and especially her powers. But when a tragedy strikes her other family, Sera needs justice. And the only way to get it is to reveal her heritage - including a rare Skill - and take the reins of the Tower Syndicate from her cunning and malicious aunt.

If he can figure out how...

Kristopher Daniels might have the answer. He's fought the syndicate to protect his sisters, but he'd never realized just how close to the new heir he needed to get....

And if they can survive...

Neither is used to trusting. But there's something between them that can't be ignored. And so Sera is on the run with a man she can't figure out, a target on her back and the new knowledge of just how powerful she really is....

©2012 Rachel Vincent (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Great ending to trilogy. I wish there was more!

I've really enjoyed this trilogy. I think this world is very interesting. I love the characters. I'm sad that this was only a trilogy. I think Ms. Vincent could've gone further with it. I love the Skills that people have and how it is a blessing and a curse. The end of this particular story has a big twist that I didn't see coming.

Once again, Rachel Vincent is great at world building. In this world, some people are born with Skills. There is a mafia of sorts (also called syndicates) that is always on the lookout for these Skilled people. Usually they are tricked into Binding contracts that they cannot get out of, but there are some people who are so Skilled at Binding that they they can Bind people against their will. This is why being a Skilled person is a blessing and a curse. In this trilogy, we meet many people who are part of either one of the two syndicates in town or are hiding from the syndicates. The books are told in first person by the two characters who will come together in that book. The author is kind enough to inform you which character is talking at the beginning.

I love this series. I've read the books and listened to them as well. I highly recommend this series. It was great to read some PNR that is set in a completely new type of world.

I love this series!!!

I love this series!!! I've had this book since it first came out but I wanted to wait until I could give it the attention it deserves. I can not express how good this series is. The characters are well written and developed. The world that Rachel Vincent created for her characters is solid and well built. The story is fast paced and well organized. This is truly one of the best series that I have read. I look forward to other books in this series.

✫✫ 4 Stars ✫✫

I wasn't sure when I finished book 2 who I wanted book 3 to be about and when it was Kristoper, I was a little disappointed... but that lasted about 5 minutes. I love how this book started and how it ended! Kris & Sera were both the unlikely hero's to this series but in the end they kicked butt. I love how the characters from book 1 & 2 play a large roll in this book 2. Each book in this series introduced new abilities and that had me sitting on the edge of my seat. I will say I think this book was a little slow at times but I still really enjoyed it.

Garbra Zackman does a great job playing everything from the sweet timid girl to the psychotic killer and that is great work to me!

So sad the series is over!

I did not want to stop reading this book. As with the first two books, I had a love/hate relationship with this one. It was very engaging, but there are some dark concepts that can be hard to swallow (chiefly the concept of binding). I think the darkness is the only downside for me. The story was well written and featured an intricate plot. Rachel Vincent kept me guessing all through the series. There were so many situations where there seemed to be no solution, yet the characters found one. They were not flawless and some of their plans backfired, but they kept trying. They were passionate about their cause, and that was great to see. So many of the characters seem to have such strong personalities and it makes for excellent interactions. Overall, I very much enjoyed both this book and the series as a whole. The book does not have a cliffhanger and has a HEA for Sera and Kristopher (if not the cast of characters as a whole).

Oath Bound

Ok I know it has been a while since I finished this series and I just haven’t had the time to write my review but I have to say it these books surprised me in the most awesome of ways.

Not only did all three books keep my attention but I looked forward to them. And I will be the first to tell you when book three started I was a little skeptical because we have a new character but also Kris was only briefly mentioned in the other books so I wasn’t expecting him to get his own book. But again I am so glad he did.

The introduction of Sera was interesting and done in such a way that I couldn’t stop listening. I loved her feistiness and her spirit. Kris’s grandma had that kind of spirit and I liked the introduction of her as well. It fits with everything going on that was different from the other two books but it worked.

I am sorry to see this series come to an end, I really thought there would be one more to bring it full circle, maybe one day.

And I have to say I loved the narration, can’t think if I have ever listened to this narrator before but she really brought the books to life in my ears.

Impressed

I really the whole series. Good story line that kept me hooked.

I must say that the narration of first book drove me batty, but through out the next two books, I realized how amazing Gabra's ability was. Each character was thier own and you knew who was "speaking" before being told. And you felt everything each character was feeling just by the tone of het voice. Wonderful job!

I think I'm in love with Rachel Vincent

I've bee binging on her books waiting on menagerie to come out and literally every series is better that the one before. I'm so sad that I'm almost done with all her books...

Bound series

These Rachel Vincent books were a great listen. Very enjoyable with great story lines for each novel

Interesting!

I am enjoying this new series and can't wait until the next one is finished! Thanks.

A must-read series for UF & PNR fans

Main characters: Sera Brandt and Kristopher Daniels

Genre: Fantasy, UF, PNR

Synopsis: Sera Brandt is the illegitimate daughter of Jake Tower, head of the Tower Syndicate, a ruthless, power-hungry organization. After the events of the last book, control of the empire has transferred to Tower's oldest living heir. Brutal events have left Sera without the only family she has ever known and she runs to her blood family to help her seek vengeance. Little does she know that her blood family would rather see her dead than help her.

Kristopher Daniels, older brother to Kori and Kenly (huge players in the second installment) has been working behind the scenes against the Tower syndicate. Certain events puts him into the reach of Sera Brandt and following a dead lover's prophecy, he takes Sera and plunges her head first into the dangerous world of power, greed, deception, and love.

What does this book have?
Like the other two installments, this book is action-packed, laced with a strong, albeit infuriating female and a strong, yet compassionate male. The setting of the story is an alternate universe to our own in that the characters have super-human abilities, some stronger than others, but they utilize cell-phone, the world wide web, and other modern little things that grace the story. As for the super-human powers, each person is born with their ability. To give you an idea, the abilities are:

-Travelers: the person can teleport(?) by means of the shadows and some have farther ranges than other.
-Binders: which is the ability to bind people by means of blood oath (the strongest) or a written oath. This is used as a means to ensure contracts.
-Jammers: people who are able to block trackers from finding them and those around them.
-Trackers: people who can track another person either through their blood or with their name.


Note: This is not an exact nomenclature of the people who have these powers. I just added it to give an idea.

The story is not complex in the paranormal aspect, yet it is not overly simplified as to create loopholes in the narration. It is just enough to not belabor the telling with each new installment and it is consistent and doesn't contradict while the story progresses. A must-read for any PNR and UF fan and a hopeful completion to the series.

Narration
Narrator: Gabra Zackman
Performance: 4/5
Speed: 1.25x
I like that all stories was narrated by the same performer as she is able to be consistent with the different character voices. Zackman does a superb job with pace and tone and character distinction. I just had trouble with how she read Kris' voice because the way she read some of his expressions made him sound like a kid. So often times, I had to remind myself that his character is actually older than Kori and Kenly. Overall, a great listen.