The fourth installment in the Spellslinger series, this one takes a step away from previous books, and Kellen is very much on his own. Out in the desert with Reichis, by a very early point in the narrative, Kellen is faced with new dilemmas, new choices, and nobody to bounce his ideas off. The development of his character up to this point is really something I admire, as he's becoming a person he never thought he would be, but also accepting who he is and what he wants to do in his life.
I have very few complaints about this book. We saw more of the world that Kellen lives in, and met a host of new characters who were massively interesting. Kellen learned more about the Shadowblack, and what it can eventually do to you (spoiler alert... it's not pretty), and makes new friends and experiences new betrayals. There is not a lot of Reichis in this book, which is sad, but also mandated by the narrative. The one good thing I can say is that there is eyeball eating - after three books of threats, we finally do see a scene, which is gruesome and gross, but so Reichis.
Soulbinder is the fourth in a series of five, but the stakes at the end of this book don't really feel like they've been ramped up enough to build to a massive climax, which is interesting. It's not disappointing, because the ending of this book was very satisfying, but I'm hugely interested to see how the tension is ratcheted up in Queenslayer to give us a sufficiently satisfying ending.
Although I don't recommend reading this book without having read its predecessors, I do heartily recommend it as a wonderful instalment of the series, and am impatiently awaiting the finale.

The fourth book in the Spellslinger series has a somewhat different feel to it as Kellen is essentially on his own. I knew I was going to miss Ferius and I definitely did but it was nice to see Kellen's development and how much influence those around him have had even when they are no longer around.

Once again we learn a little more about the overall world and state of things, and Kellen learns more about his family and their involvement in it all. There are a number of new characters introduced and my favourite of those has to be Butelios, I love his quiet confidence and gentleness. I cannot wait to read the next book.

This is such a great series and this episode is the best so far. I'd been a bit indifferent to Kellen as an MC but here we see him without the support of the rest of the gang and it really works. At times poignant and at others laugh out loud funny, this series is not to be missed.

I really love this series. The two annual publications of de Castell's brilliant series has fast become one of the highlights of my reading year.

Kellen is really growing as a lead character. This book was the first in the series where he had to stand alone, without his supporting cast of Reichis and Ferris. He really is such an enjoyable character to read. It also shows how much i enjoy reading the angry squirrel cat as well, as i missed his little quips throughout the majority of the book. The fact theat i was still able to enjoy every page, even without Reichis, shows just how strong the writing is.

Added to all this, the story was thoroughly enjoyable. The overall story arc it begining to deepen and open up, which just keaves me wanting more already. Cracking stuff.

This series just keeps getting better. This instalment had me running the full gambit of emotions from balling my eyes out to rolling in laughter, seething with anger to tears of joy and then back again. De Castell had me on tenterhooks from the start of the book to the very last chapters when I could finally breath a sigh of relief.

This time we get Kellen without his companions and while this left me heartbroken as Reichis and Ferius are my favourite characters, there presence is very much still felt as Kellen explores the Ebony Abbey, sanctuary to Shadowblacks. We learn so much about the shadowblacks in this one meeting some interesting characters both lovable and detestable along the way. In particular we get to explore what having the shadowblack actually means and how this effects Kellen. We also return to the scheming of Kellen's family and how Kellen has to navigate the clash between his feelings of loyalty to his family and his found family of outlaws, Argosi, Spellslingers and Shadowblacks. Kellen is still faced with the decision of what he identifies as and who's side he is on.

I have to say my affection for Kellen really grew in this journey, I felt for him as he had to ride the waves of emotion he was hit with. The plot was great, tugging the reader in all directions making it really hard to put this book down. Filled with the same moments of humour interspersed between fight scenes and displays of many different magic systems that have been strong in the previous books. Oh, the ending is both wild and heartbreaking and smile inducing all at the same time. De Castell really does know how to write an epic adventure that keeps you turning the pages. I can't wait for the next book in the series to see how the journey continues!

Thank you to Netgalley, Bonnier Zafre and Sebastian De Castell for my ARC of Soulbinder.
This has fast become one of my all time favourite series and from the ending I'm sure it's not a spoiler for me to say that it looks like we still have more to come!

Please note this review is spoiler free but may contain spoilers from the first three books where relevant to the story.
Kellen and Reichis are on a journey to find a temple which supposedly holds a cure for Shadowblack. That is until they're attacked first by a Jan'Tep mage and then Kellen is kidnapped by a bunch of the temple's monks. Just a standard day for these guys then!

This story was a lot more focused on Kellen. Although of course he is the main character in all the books, this one saw less of the stories of the the other characters. Although I missed Ferius a lot, I really liked the insight this one gave us into Kellen as a person on his own.
There's a lot more information about the Shadowblack in this one too and it's very much a story of self discovery for Kellen with the usual witticisms, hilarious moments and awesome fights or should I say *dances*. It's easy to forget sometimes that Kellen is only 17 and having to grow up fast as people try and assassinate him left right and centre.

I really enjoyed this one as much as the last and can't wait for the next instalment!

This was a fantastic continuation of this series. I've enjoyed the previous three books so I had high hopes for this one and it didn't disappoint. Castell did a wonderful job of building on what we already know about the world and the magic system. The development of the characters continues to be really well done and I loved the direction of the plot. Overall loved this book and can't wait for the next instalment to this entertaining series.

More of a 4.5/5

This is by far my favourite book in the series. I really feel that we see Kellen grow in this book and learn more about himself than in the previous instalments. I also feel that this is finally the start of the story. Whereas the previous books have been fun and we've discovered new things about the world, this book felt like we were finally going on that journey that we set out on from book one, and I'm excited to see where it takes us.

I loved the new characters we meet in this book and although one character is absent through all of this, I liked that we still got reminders of them and they were mentioned on numerous occasions.

This book broke my heart so many times that I'm not sure I trust de Castell with my heart with the next two books, but I'm eager to see the outcome of this journey.

I have to say, this was the book that had all of the potential to make me cross. Essentially, it took away all of my favourite characters and forced me to pay attention to Kellen, a character who I have never disliked, but who is all too often too much of a teenage boy for me to like him. Page by page I got more nervous that I was actually going to have to pay attention to Kellen's plot, I was understandably nervous. 

But you know what? He pulled it off! In a book series so known for its side characters, this book pulled me around to not only tolerating the main character but actually liking him. If you'd told me, before reading Soulbinder, that I would ever type that I would have laughed at you. But Kellen has a whole lot of growth in this book and has lost some of that gormlessness that made me dislike him previously. 

It helps that there are the additions of many new characters who fill the gaps left behind by others, bringing new life to the story, so those who, like me, enjoy the fast-paced, quippy dialogue will not be disappointed. 

I enjoyed the fact that the metaphysic of the world starts to be explored in more detail. Kellen is finding himself at the heart of a lot of major incidents but because it's taken four books to get there it doesn't have that whole 'chosen one' vibe that is incredibly annoying. It makes sense for these events to happen, despite them being quite far-fetched when you think about them too hard. 

The hook of these books is that they're about being a trickster in a world of very powerful people. This necessitates a lot of problem-solving, of talking your way out of a situation and generally outsmarting people. This is possibly one of my favourite things a book can do. I loved it in Name of the Wind, I loved it in Red Sister and I loved it in Soulbinder. 

If you haven't picked these books up yet, I highly recommend that you do, they are huge amounts of fun but they do have some serious ideas at their heart. The way this book plays with the idea of friendship and family and the idea of belonging is actually very powerful. I know I cry at everything but I did shed a tear or two towards the end. I highly recommend starting at the very beginning, but this book was a lesson in how characters can grow if given the chance, so if you hate Kellen in book one then stick it out - he gets much better.

My rating: 5/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I've never read a single Sebastian de Castell book i haven enjoyed and this book was no exception.
Sebastian has a way of writing characters you just fall head over heels for and this book series is so vivid and evocative i just want to live in this universe.
I am loathe to say too much about the plot as this is book four in the series, but i will say the plot kept me gripped most of the way through.
Also, the cover of all of these books are absolutely stunning.

Great book in a great series - highly recommend.