A guide to the things you actually care about in pop culture... or we do at least.
College Pop Culture collegepopculture.com
Bound by Duty: Stormy Smith
By Maggie Martin July 22, 2014
Hi guys. It’s been a while. How has the summer been treating you? Good? Now that this awkwardly long radio-silence thing is out of the way, I wanted to talk to you about an awesome book that I just finished.
It’s called Bound by Duty by Des Moines Area author, Stormy Smith! You know how much I love to feature Des Moines authors on College Pop Culture and this book happened to be pretty stinking good, so I have no qualms recommending it to anyone and everyone.
Bound by Duty follows college student Amelia Bradbury who just happens to have magical abilities. While this is sort of an “I didn’t realize my full potential until now” novel, I really appreciated the fact that Amelia isn’t completely blindsided by some of her abilities. She is aware (though not to the full extent) that she is special and has been treated so her entire life.
When she finally decides to move away from her seemingly crazy father who pushed both she and her older brother, Cole, away, things start to get a little weird. She is having too much fun flirting with a very hunky human boy, gets a strange feeling about her best friend’s new boyfriend whenever he is around, and she can’t seem to manage the magical energy pulsing inside of her which she has been able to control up to this point.
In the next few weeks things escalate quickly on all counts and Amelia is forced to make some tough decisions: Normalcy or earth-shattering power? Love or duty?
I don’t want to give too much away, so I will leave the description at that. Let’s just say, when I tell you that things escalate, things escalate. I could not put this book away once I hit page 100. I was sneaking pages in all of my free time at work until I finished.
I love magic, and I love novels that represent magic that comes with a price. Not only did Amelia have to face personal obstacles when it came to using her magic, but her decisions and actions affected everyone around her. I felt like the connections forged between each of the characters were genuine, especially loving the scenes between Amelia and that same hunky human, Aidan. Their parts sizzled with passion and romance and I could not get enough from those two.
I also felt like everyone had a super developed backstory. Even some of the side characters were complex and added so much to the story. But most importantly to Amelia’s understanding of everything that was going on around her and the history of how their race of Mages (they are called Elders) have become virtually extinct. Some of my favorite parts of the novel were the flashbacks. Whether it was a description of Amelia’s mother and father or a horror story from the perspective of an exiled AniMage, they were all captivating.
Again, in an effort to save you from spoilers, I will just say that this novel comes highly recommended for lovers of paranormal romance with a side of ass-kicking girl power. Be sure to check out all of Stormy’s information and purchase Bound by Duty on Amazon Thursday, July 24!
Stormy Smith calls Iowa’s capital home now, but was raised in a tiny town in the Southeast corner of the state. She grew to love books honestly, having a mom that read voraciously and instilled that same love in her. She knew quickly that stories of fantasy were her favorite, and even as an adult gravitates toward paranormal stories in any form.
Writing a book had never been an aspiration, but suddenly the story was there and couldn’t be stopped. When she isn’t working on, or thinking about, her books, Stormy’s favorite places include bar patios, live music shows, her yoga mat or anywhere she can relax with her husband or girlfriends.
