The Binding by Bridget Collins releases today and I am thrilled to be able to bring you my review. I actually have the hardcover of this book on pre-order because the cover is stunning. So is the story by the way. Below you will find the cover and the book description followed by my review. This is a book that is going to be talked about quite a lot this year and after reading it, you’ll understand why.
The Binding By Bridget Collins
Imagine you could erase your grief.
Imagine you could forget your pain.
Imagine you could hide a secret.
Forever.
Emmett Farmer is working in the fields when a letter arrives summoning him to begin an apprenticeship. He will work for a Bookbinder, a vocation that arouses fear, superstition and prejudice – but one neither he nor his parents can afford to refuse.
He will learn to hand-craft beautiful volumes, and within each, he will capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget, he can help. If there’s something you need to erase, he can assist. Your past will be stored safely in a book and you will never remember your secret, however terrible.
In a vault under his mentor’s workshop, row upon row of books – and memories – are meticulously stored and recorded.
Then one day Emmett makes an astonishing discovery: one of them has his name on it.
THE BINDING is an unforgettable, magical novel: a boundary-defying love story and a unique literary event.
The Binding by Bridget Collins – My Review
There are so many words I can use to describe this book; memorising; stunning; beautiful, but I don’t think any of them would do it justice. This is storytelling at its best and I can’t describe how much I loved it. I first saw the cover of this book and fell in love with it and when I saw it on NetGalley, I crossed my fingers and clicked the request button. The blurb had me intrigued, a story about books and memories and being able to erase grief and pain. It called to me and I knew it was a book I had to read.
The story revolves around Emmett and the book is broken up into three parts. In part one Emmett finds out that he is to be an apprentice bookbinder. He is sent to live with his master, to learn the craft, and so much more. The story is beautifully told and the prose is stunning. I became Emmett, felt his every emotion, confusion, and the conflict that tormented him and when he learns that he too has been bound, my heart stopped. I held my breath as his book was burned and his memories returned. This led to part 2 of the book and the most heartwrenching story of love and loss. It was beautifully told and each word held a magic that as I writer I can only wish I had written myself.
The Binding is a unique story filled with intrigue and discovery and the truth about how powerful memories are and how the judgement and fear of others can destroy lives. It is a story that will stay with me for a very long time and I’m sure this is a book that will hold a place in many hearts in 2019. A stunning debut adult novel from a very talented author and I am so grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to discover this story and live in the world between its pages before it hits the shelves.
If I could give this book more than five stars I would. It’s a masterpiece that deserves to be on everyone’s reading list in 2019. Powerful, evocative, and emotionally compelling. It’s a story that will have you reading way past bedtime and one that you won’t want to end.
The Binding is available now on Kindle and Hardcover, as well as audiobook and is sure to be a massive hit.
I hope you’ll give this book a read and if you do be sure to come back and tell me what you thought.
Until next time,
Keep reading and writing,
Amanda
Amanda J Evans is an award-winning Irish author and writing coach. Amanda writes adult romance that often crosses into paranormal and fantasy. Growing up with heroes like Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones, her stories centre on good versus evil with a splice of love and magic thrown in too. Her books have all won awards and her novella, Hear Me Cry, won the Book of the Year Award at the Dublin Writers Conference 2018. Amanda is also the author of Surviving Suicide: A Memoir from Those Death Left Behind, published in 2012.
