Faebound

El-Arifi’s (The Battle Drum) first installment in a new trilogy finds Yeeran, a colonel in the elven army, unexpectedly exiled amid the Forever War, which is being fought by elves over precious resources needed for survival. Yeeran’s younger sister Lettle, a diviner, runs away to join her sister, and the two discover that the fae (thought to have been destroyed generations ago) are still alive, yet hidden underground. Soon, Yeeran discovers that her family and friends will play major roles in reintroducing the fae to the elven world. El-Arifi creates an African-inspired fantasy world that includes drum magic and magical creatures, as well as slow-burn romances—both friends to lovers and sapphic enemies to lovers. Unfortunately, narrator Bahni Turpin voices younger sister Lettle a bit too childishly. Despite this, Turpin expertly voices the various military leaders (both women and men) and minor characters, giving the fae a different accent than the elves. The audiobook includes a downloadable PDF of the book’s front matter.