THE BOUNDLESS By Anna Bright
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Boundless by Anna BrightSeries: The Beholder #2
Published by HarperTeen on 6/9/20
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 511
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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When Selah found true love with Prince Torden of Norway, she never imagined she’d have to leave him behind. All because the Beholder’s true mission was a secret Selah’s crew didn’t trust her to keep: transporting weapons to the rebels fighting against the brutal tsarytsya, whose shadow looms over their next port of Shvartsval’d. A place Selah hoped she’d never go.
But gone is the girl who departed Potomac filled with fear. With a stockpile of weapons belowdecks and her heart hanging in the balance, Selah is determined to see the Beholder’s quest to its end.
Short and Sweet
After finding out that the Beholder was storing weapons that she didn’t know about, Selah has to do the hardest thing ever and leave Torden behind. Now Selah is aboard the beholder transporting the weapons to rebels who are fighting Baba Yaga. Selah never wanted to go into Baba Yaga’s territory but now that she’s there she’ll have to learn how to be as cunning as Grandmother Wolf if she wants to see her home of Potomac again.
Characters
Selah: Selah grew so much, she became a lot stronger and realized sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to for the greater good. Selah had to go through a lot in this book, she had to leave her fiancé, she got captured and had to deal with the cruel conditions of being in Baba Yaga’s territory, she had to learn to be as cunning as the generals to win her freedom.
Anya and Cobie: Anya and Cobie made the decision to stay with Selah when she was being taken to Baba Yaga’s territory. I ended up loving these two girls more than I thought I would, the friendship between all three of them blossomed into something beautiful. They were strong and always stood by each others sides, when one had a weakness the other would provide strength, they were smart and just resilient.
Romance
Selah and Lang: Selah and Lang had a lot of tension between them one that could seem like it would blossom into a romance. There were a lot of moments when they would try to make each other jealous or just have a lot of arguments. I think these two were better off as friends but I wouldn’t have been upset if they did end up as a couple.
Selah and Torden: These two were so cute together I loved them! When they were apart Selah would think about how to get back to him and she kept his engagement ring and looked back to it for strength. Torden was amazing he was always looking out for Selah and he was just so caring and understanding! My favorite couple!
Quotes
~ “I would be a wolf so she could be a lamb.”
My Thoughts
~ The Boundless takes place right after the end of the first book, Selah is on her way with the crew to deliver weapons to the rebels. Unfortunately Selah ends up being captured after she does something risky and is taken away to Baba Yaga’s territory. The Boundless is very different from The Beholder, Selah is no longer looking for someone to marry now she’s helping the Beholder crew carry out their mission delivering the weapons. Selah ends up meeting Fritz who is a potential candidate to be her husband but instead he’s more of an ally and also one of the rebels. After helping Fritz and his sisters do something dangerous Selah is caught along with Cobie and Anya and taken away. I thought the book started off a little slow and I didn’t think it picked up until the halfway point. It was interesting to see Selah’s interactions with Baba Yaga mainly because she was always walking on eggshells around her. Selah, Cobie, and Anya were brave and smart and they did what most people wouldn’t do, they plotted against the Baba Yaga. The ending was more fast paced and I liked how all of the characters that we’ve seen before come together to complete a common goal. The ending was great and I loved that Selah took care of business back at home.
Overall
The Boundless shows us that we are always the author of our own fairytale. I loved seeing how much Selah grew as a character she was smarter and more ruthless than she was in the first book. I loved the characters and the interactions and the plot was great! This was truly an amazing end to the series!