Faebound

Endless war killed off humans and fae, and it’s still consuming the elves. Yeeran rises in the elven army’s ranks, but on the same day she’s promoted, she faces exile for failure. Hunting in the wilds outside of the elven capital, she’s ambushed—not by an opposing army, but by fae—for killing a fae prince. Brought to the fae court in an underground society, Yeeran is put on trial but saved when a fae beast bonds itself to her, giving her magic and the possibility to end both the war and the imprisonment of the fae. This ambitious series opener plays with genre, tone, gender, and expectations while delivering an intriguing series opener. The magic system is inventive and layered, and romance is slow to build and well paid off. Some story beats are predictable, especially given the heavy use of prophecy in the narrative, but others are twisty enough to surprise.