Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/01/2009 Fallen angels sure seem poised to become the new vampires, with a similarly ideal blend of brooding mystery and sexy rebellion. After a fiery accident kills a boy she is crushing on, Luce gets sent to a reform school populated, most notably, by two gorgeous fellas, Daniel and Cam. Cam is safe and charming and eager to win Luce’s affections, while Daniel operates somewhere between aloof and downright hostile toward her. Readers will figure out Luce and Daniel’s star-crossed-lovers angle early on, making the hints dropped throughout about past lives and dangerous fates more obvious than compelling. Although there’s not enough story to justify the length of this series opener, readers who stick with it get rewarded with a climactic payoff that far exceeds the buildup. The final pages’ flurry of delicious information about what’s really going on with the cadre of angels and demons will likely leave readers more intrigued by what’s next than invested in what just happened. Perhaps the sequel will contain an explanation of what these immortal types are doing at a reform school in the first place. - Copyright 2009 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 01/01/2010 Gr 8 Up— Luce must spend her senior year at reform school after her boyfriend dies in a mysterious fire. She suspects that the dark shadows that have tormented her all her life had something to do with it. When she meets supernaturally gorgeous Daniel, she feels a familiar longing, making her believe they have met before. Although Cam is clearly interested in her, Luce only wants Daniel, who runs both hot and cold. He tries to keep Luce at a distance, telling her that the truth would kill her as it has many times before. The first chapter is gripping and foreshadows the supernatural elements to come. The plot revolves around lovers who find one another, only to lose one another over and over again in a story that spans centuries. Instead of vampires, though, these are fallen angels. Many elements are not resolved, such as the cause of the fire and why angels are at this school. Still, fans of supernatural romance will be lining up for this book despite its flaws, and begging for a sequel.—Kris Hickey, Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH - Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 02/01/2010 Since she was a little girl, Luce (short for Lucinda) has been haunted by shadowy figures that have made both her and her parents question her sanity. After a mysterious accident at her posh New England academy leaves one boy dead and Luce seemingly at fault, her parents decide to ship her off to a reform school where she can be properly monitored and medicated. Unfortunately, the shadows only become more agitated the longer she stays at the ominously named Sword & Cross School, particularly when Luce becomes the love interest of not one but two of the school’s hottest bad boys, both of whom seem strangely familiar. Move over, vampires and werewolves-fallen angels are now the preferred objects of obsession in teenage supernatural love triangles. Daniel and Cameron are not only stunningly beautiful, but they also carry the emotional (and in this case, spiritual) baggage required to complete their potent allure. As such, they’re pretty formulaic, offering the usual mysterious aloofness and moody angst; the characters are also inclined toward whining, a tendency not only somewhat tedious but also at odds with the lofty pretensions of the novel’s epistemology. Fortunately, Luce is a bit of a firecracker, and the relationships she develops with several of the other female residents are quite fascinating in their dynamics, making her more than just a girl falling in forbidden love. Kate also manages to craft an interesting backstory replete with divine creatures, heavenly battles, and reincarnated souls. Though the angels’ interest in Luce remains somewhat perplexing, readers taken with the additional scene-setting details may nonetheless find this a serviceably enjoyable supernatural romance. KQG - Copyright 2010 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.