Blood Bound (Unbound, #1)

Jun 17, 2012 Emily May rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-uf, 2011, boring

You should be aware that this review is only of the first 200 pages (approximately) because I didn't manage to get any further.

When I read other people's reviews of this I can't help but think that there was big, exciting plot twist just around the corner waiting for me because everyone seemed to love the story. I didn't care for it, personally. Some girls made an oath as kids that means they have to do anything the others ask of them or they will die slowly and painfully. After years of avoidi...more

You should be aware that this review is only of the first 200 pages (approximately) because I didn't manage to get any further.

When I read other people's reviews of this I can't help but think that there was big, exciting plot twist just around the corner waiting for me because everyone seemed to love the story. I didn't care for it, personally. Some girls made an oath as kids that means they have to do anything the others ask of them or they will die slowly and painfully. After years of avoiding one another, suddenly one of them turns up on our heroine's doorstep with the request that she uses her skills to hunt down a killer. The protagonist (Liv) is unable to refuse. And so begins the hunt...

Look, it's not terrible, it's just boring. Liv can find people using blood samples, so that's fairly original (no vampires, werewolves or zombies at least) but I felt the plot was somewhat lacking in just about everything except romance and sexyness. And that just isn't enough! That's why I kept reading a bit longer than I normally would have, I felt like it should hit me pretty soon what everyone loves about this book, but after about 200 pages and nothing really appealing I decided I didn't want to repeat my experience with Feed.

Liv is a decent protagonist, she's strong-willed and not pathetically sappy or anything like that. But isn't she just the perfect fit to the mold that is an urban-fantasy heroine? For me, she didn't stand out from the crowd and I won't remember her in any way, good or bad. I'm not sure if it's because I've been reading a string of Melina Marchetta novels that I'm harder to please when it comes to characters but I like them to be rich and interesting, I want unique personalities that take me inside their minds and their lives. But no, I felt distanced from Liv throughout all the first 200 pages.

And I also didn't like the switching of perspectives. It sometimes happened mid-chapter and it was really confusing, there was nothing to differentiate between the two POVs: no unique styles, no names at the beginning of the section and it didn't alternate equally. Sometimes Liv would get 3 chapters and then Cam would get 1 and then there'd be a bit of both in the next one. Mind-boggling stuff.

For hardcore UF fans this will probably tick all the right boxes for you. However, I've become extremely picky with this genre and I don't just want to read glorified paranormal romance. And let me tell you, I honestly thought the mystery came second to the romantic history and tension between Liv and Cam. Plenty of others disagree. It's like when I read Naked in Death I thought the romance subplot stayed on the sidelines and I was caught up in the murder mystery, whereas others thought the romance swamped the plot. I am in the latter group on Blood Bound and doubt I will read any more of this series.
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Sep 09, 2011 Rane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: urban-fantasy, keeper

It feels like you’ve been waiting in line forever! There it stands before you, the craziest rollercoster ride you’ve ever seen! You quickly climb into the seat and make sure your strapped in tightly just waiting for that sudden take-off, and off you go, you can’t seem to take a breathe as your mind is twisted, screaming out your lungs, fearing for your life on the next twist or sudden sharp turn, and when you open your eyes, take a good look ahead of you, you see that your just starting!

Blood B...more It feels like you’ve been waiting in line forever! There it stands before you, the craziest rollercoster ride you’ve ever seen! You quickly climb into the seat and make sure your strapped in tightly just waiting for that sudden take-off, and off you go, you can’t seem to take a breathe as your mind is twisted, screaming out your lungs, fearing for your life on the next twist or sudden sharp turn, and when you open your eyes, take a good look ahead of you, you see that your just starting!

Blood Bound pretty much felt that way for me, from start to finish, Rachel Vincent never gave the reader a chance to catch their breathe before she gave you another twist in the story that had you in a state permanent surprise. Oh, and don’t think you can just drop this book and walk away, oh no, like a rollercoster ride, your strapped in with the need to read one more page, one more page until the very end. Lack of sleep won’t be uncommon if you pick up this book and going through a range of emotions is a given.

Rachel Vincent create a world where people like Liv Warren are skilled, given gifts to track anyone around the world, to Seers who can see into the future to Binders whom can bind your tighter then any iron clad contact. Liv is pulled into a world of gang politics between worlds of those of power and those whom are skilled, that at times frustrated me but wondering how the character could wiggle themselves out of this binding or tight spot.

When our title tracker- Liv gets a call from her childhood friend, a binding made as children, Liv must answer to the call to save her friend daughter and the hitch, she must work with Cam who wants answers to why Liv left him so long ago, leaving him heartbroken. Things get even more troublesome when Liv runs into two of the biggest crime lords that rule the city...

Liv shares the stage with Cam but as the points of views switch between the two, your never left feeling disoriented or confused. Each are given great voices and many secrets that are slowly revealed throughout the story. Now don’t think each have a heart of gold, no, their very human with very human flaws, but you never hate them, but hate what happen to them and how things could have been different, but as events are shown, your thinking changes, perhaps events are playing out for a whole bigger reason.
Even character is given a lot of background and ever monster maybe lurking under a human shell.

Your left with a cliffhanger, a choice to be made and what would that choice be or lead to? The twisted ride that is Blood Bound is stunning and I can’t wait to continue of this crazy rollercoster ride! (less)

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Sep 13, 2011 Anzu The Great Destroyer rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: skip

Recommended to Anzu by: Dija

Shelves: buddy-or-group-read, lots-of-kisses-and-mushy-stuff, me-no-like-at-all, the-fantasy-of-urbans, fat-kitty-judges-you, dafuq-did-i-just-read, is-it-just-me-goddammit, whiny-bitches, kill-it-with-fire, reviewed-2011, a-bit-of-mush, masters-of-snoozeville, i-am-disappoint, facepalm

YES!!! I’m done!!!!

I can’t believe how difficult it was for me to finish this!

Looking at all the good reviews this book has made me wonder why on earth I didn’t like it. Since I don’t want to be unfair or moody (or God knows what’s wrong with me these days) I said I’ll take a piece of paper and a pen, draw two columns, one with the things I liked and one with the things I didn’t like. So I did just that and placed my likes and dislikes there, drew the final line and compared results. Since I’m...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity by: Isamlq

Shelves: adult

3.5 stars. Huh. I think I just finished a Rachel Vincent book and had a moment of confusion in thinking that I had read something from another author completely.

Am I complaining? Kind of... Crap. I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen because I adore Ms. Vincent. However, I do have more positives than negatives to say about Blood Bound. Actually, I was somewhat impressed with Blood Bound. It just felt extremely odd that I didn't recognize Rachel Vincent in this book. At all. And I kind of mis...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Jeann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal-uf, dark-and-gritty, buddy-reads

Blood Bound holds an interesting premise about a powerful blood tracker called Liv, who is bound by one of the harshest syndicate bosses in history. There's people who are born with abilities, such as Tracking, Binding (contracts), Blinders, and Jammers. They are recruited into syndicates owned by two overarching gang bosses, Jake Tower and Ruben Cavazo.

While this story sounds like it'd be super action-packed with the focus on the abilities, much of the it was actually focused on world-building...more

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Mar 07, 2012 Dija rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, buddy-slash-group-read, uf-or-pnr, authors-i-stalk, second-chances, my-reviews, first-in-series

Cedo nulli. I yield to no one.

For the past few months, I've been feeling rather down because of my apathy regarding nearly all of the books I've read recently. I simply couldn't bring myself to care for or feel the characters.

At first, I blamed myself and tried extremely hard to lose myself in a book. When that didn't work, I blamed the books for being redundant and alternately read a CR, HR, PNR, and UF novel in hopes of the genre being the problem. When even that failed, I seriously considere...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Kayleigh {K-Books} rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Posted on K-Books
http://k-booksxo.blogspot.com/2011/07...

It's really hard to put my thoughts on this book into words. I recently read my first adult urban fantasy series and really loved this so when Mel offered to send me the ARC of this that she won I jumped at the chance.
I have Rachel Vincent's other series on my shelf but haven't read anything by her before so I didn't really know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprise and think her writing is amazing. I was completely sucked into the sto...more Posted on K-Books
http://k-booksxo.blogspot.com/2011/07...

It's really hard to put my thoughts on this book into words. I recently read my first adult urban fantasy series and really loved this so when Mel offered to send me the ARC of this that she won I jumped at the chance.
I have Rachel Vincent's other series on my shelf but haven't read anything by her before so I didn't really know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprise and think her writing is amazing. I was completely sucked into the story straight away and couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next with the characters.

Liv is one of the skilled, a very powerful blood tracker. When her childhood friend's daughter goes missing Liv can't do anything else but help find her. Even if that means working with her ex Cam, the person she loves more than anybody in the world but also the one person she cannot have. What she doesn't know is that Cam has ulterior motives. Liv left him long ago with no answers as to why and he wants to find out, no matter what the cost.

I think this book was just amazing. I really love Liv, she is such a strong lead character who will do anything to protect the ones she loves even if it means sacrificing herself. I think she's amazing. She is ruled by her emotions but that doesn't hinder her at all. She is so strong and will fight back no matter what the cost.
Cam, all I can say is Oh. My. God. I instantly fell for Cam, he is just an incredible character. He is definitely the bad boy of the book and is so strong, emotionally and physically and will also do anything to protect the ones he loves. Although he is the bad boy of the book you also see a vulnerable side to him and just want to hug him and tell him everything will be okay.

I felt so many emotions while reading this book. I was sad as times and then happy. Then I would be irritated at some things that happened and the pointless little arguments the characters get into but I loved every second of it. It is definitely an emotional rollercoaster and as the book began drawing to a close I just found myself going oh my god what's going to happen.
The ending was such a great ending for a first book in a series. It wasn't a really big cliffhanger so that you are left hanging thinking how am I possibly supposed to wait to find out what happens but it does leave you wanting to read the next book as soon as it is released.

I can't wait to read more of this trilogy. Rachel Vincent does an amazing job of drawing in your attantion and keeping your attention so focussed you can't possibly stop reading and really don't notice how much you have read. It's a definite page turner right until the last page. This has definitely got me motivated to read her other series. Definitely one of my favourite authors now and I really want to read more adult urban fantasy books.
I loved every moment of it and can't wait to read more of Liv and Cam's story.(less)

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Nov 01, 2011 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dark-and-gritty, favorites, kick-ass-heroines, magic, unbelievably-sexy-heros, multi-pov, books-i-obsess-over, series-i-can-t-wait-to-continue

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ****4.5 stars****

Rachel Vincent - where have you been my entire life? I've been told time and time again to read your Shifters series, but have neglected to. Once I heard that Blood Bound was out and was getting high praise, I knew I just had to read one of your books!

A great part of this book is the world building. Main character, Olivia Warren, lives in a dark and criminally controlled city. The city is described as a peace sign, with mafioso Ruben Cavazos controlling the eastern part of the c...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Cat Russell (Addicted2Heroines) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

http://addicted2heroines.blogspot.com...

"Skilled people have this much power over names, and blood, and oaths, and contracts, why aren't you ruling the world? I mean, why haven't you guys just kind of... taken over?"

Liv glanced at me, and when I shrugged, she returned Van's somber gaze with one of her own. "What makes you think we haven't?"

What an intriguing world Vincent has created! It's the equivalent to an underground supernatural mafia, which is all kinds of fun for me.
...Why?
Because three...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Amy or "Ames" added it

Shelves: paranormal, 1st-in-series, kindle, did-not-finish, series-abandoned

New Adult Series. First excerpt released 16th Feb here: http://www.deadlinedames.com/?p=5850

Details from RV's blog (announced 10th Jan 2011):

Series name: The name of the new series is “Unbound.” As in, “An Unbound novel, by Rachel Vincent.” Or something like that.

Title: The first book, currently scheduled for September 1, 2011, will be called BLOOD BOUND.

I know, I know, there's already a Patricia Briggs novel of that name. (I read it years ago. It was awesome.) But because my novel is coming out...more New Adult Series. First excerpt released 16th Feb here: http://www.deadlinedames.com/?p=5850

Details from RV's blog (announced 10th Jan 2011):

Series name: The name of the new series is “Unbound.” As in, “An Unbound novel, by Rachel Vincent.” Or something like that.

Title: The first book, currently scheduled for September 1, 2011, will be called BLOOD BOUND.

I know, I know, there's already a Patricia Briggs novel of that name. (I read it years ago. It was awesome.) But because my novel is coming out years after hers did and because the subject matter of my book is NOTHING like hers, I’m not anticipating much title confusion. My original working title for the book was “Bound In Blood,” and we went through literally a dozen or more title possibilities with the awesome people at Mira before finally deciding (unanimously, as far as I know) that nothing else captures the feel and subject matter of this book better than BLOOD BOUND. So, BLOOD BOUND it is.

Genre: The Unbound series is paranormal. It’s a little more romance-heavy than the early Shifters books are, and about in line with romance/relationship content of the last couple of Shifters books.

Audience: The Unbound books are intended for adults. As my editor said, BLOOD BOUND is “twisted.” (Is it wrong that her quote makes me smile? ;)) If this first book is any indication, these books will be very dark and gritty, violent, and tense, but with some humor (mostly dialogue) to take the edge off.

The world: The idea behind the Unbound world-building is simple. The execution is a little more complicated. For me, it all started with the cliché “a man’s word is his bond,” then grew to include, “the pen is mightier than the sword” and the concept of “word of mouth.”

“What…” I thought, as I was brainstorming, “…if those clichés could be taken literally?”

What if a person’s word really was his or her bond? What if, once given, a promise could never be taken back? Would you be more careful what you say? Wouldn’t we all, if we were bound to our words?

Then I took it a step further. If the spoken word carries that much power, how much more would the written word carry? What about words written in (or sealed in) blood? What about words written in (and sealed in) flesh? Tattoos and graffiti take on a whole new meaning, huh?

Needless to say, once I headed down that thought-path, the world-building exploded—there’s much more to it now (but I’m not going to give you any more just yet). The story lines grew from the world-building possibilities and conflicts. The characters developed based on the experiences they would've had, growing up in this world.

The bad guys are bad (twisted, according to some…), but they have very human motivations.

The good guys are…not exactly wearing white hats. But the innocent are still innocent, and someone has to fight for them. (This may, in fact, be the only thing Shifters has in common with Unbound.)

The characters:

Olivia Warren owes her friend Anne a favor. Anne needs someone found and brought to a very quick, private justice.

The catch? Olivia must work with Cam Caballero to complete this favor. The problem? Cam is Olivia’s ex—the man prophesied to either kill her or die by her hand. It's a tense reunion, at best.

As Olivia and Cam chase their target through public streets, private lives, and a dangerous criminal underworld, everything they thought they knew comes into question. In the end, they can only be sure of three things…

No one can be trusted.
Everyone’s lying.
And someone’s going to pay.

Announced 11th January 2011:

What POV is the book in? Right now, it's dual 1st person POV, alternating irregularly from Olivia to Cam. That could change. I've never done more than on POV on a novel, and if my editor thinks it would be better to change it, I'll change it during the edits.

What are the characters (re: paranormal abilities/species)? They are human+. But not anything you'd know from other books or movies. That's all I can say right now.
Will BLOOD BOUND be available in electronic/audio formats? I can't swear to it, but based on the fact that all my other books have been and the Unbound books are with the same publisher, I would guess that yes, they'll be available in those formats. Though I couldn't say when.

What do you mean by "twisted?" Will it be too gory for me? Regarding physical violence and gore, Unbound is no more "twisted" than the Shifters series. Maybe less. IMO, BLOOD BOUND is more emotionally/psychologically twisted.

When can we see the cover? Some time after I see it. If it's done yet, I haven't heard. So we're in for a bit of a wait on that.

Questions I'm not prepared to answer yet:

Will sequels be written from the same POV(s) or from different characters' POV(s)?
How many books will there be in this series?
When will they be out in the UK (France, Italy, etc...)?

I can't answer any of those yet because it's simply too early. I haven't even truly plotted out the second book yet. My editor hasn't finished reading the first book yet. To my knowledge, no one else at Mira has even seen the manuscript yet. So it's a little early to talk about sequels and foreign sales, at least in this particular case.

What I can say is that if sequels do take different POV(s), which is a possibility, the main characters from BLOOD BOUND will have much more than cameo roles.(less)

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Sep 18, 2011 Sabrina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The main concept: there are some people with particular skills living in a world where they are not officially acknowledged, but they are nonetheless coerced into using said skills to perform particular jobs for the mafia-lords that rule the city.
There is too little world-building to call this a dystopia, but we can fairly say that the world in which Blood Bound is set is somewhat slightly dystopical-flavoured.

The novel is written in first-person, from the POV of alternatively the female and the...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Tasnim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Older Teens, UF fans

Shelves: arc, favorites, uf, age-adult, fave-series, part-of-series

Before I start on the review let me set the scene for you. I've been trying to win ARC of this book on Rachel Vincent's blog for 5-6 months, so you can imagine my excitement when I finally won a copy, you could even go as far as to say I nearly peed my pants because I was that excited. The reason why I was so excited was because I've read all of her Shifter books, and her Soul Screamers books, and I LOVE her writing. HUGE thanks to Rachel Vincent for giving me the opportunity to win this book! I...more Before I start on the review let me set the scene for you. I've been trying to win ARC of this book on Rachel Vincent's blog for 5-6 months, so you can imagine my excitement when I finally won a copy, you could even go as far as to say I nearly peed my pants because I was that excited. The reason why I was so excited was because I've read all of her Shifter books, and her Soul Screamers books, and I LOVE her writing. HUGE thanks to Rachel Vincent for giving me the opportunity to win this book! I received this book yesterday, the ARC has 445 pages and I finished it yesterday, that should give you some indication as to how I feel about this book..I just couldn't seem to put it down.

Anyway enough rambling...

If you haven't already guessed, I devoured this book. The two MC's complimented each other perfectly. They both made silly mistakes but their hearts are always in the right places. Some of you may be glad to know that there was no love triangle in this book, I personally LOVE love triangles, but I can't even put into words how much I adored Cam and Liv.

"What's wrong with you?" Cam demanded, sinking onto the couch with his elbows on his knees.
"I had a rough morning, and based on your presence in my office, my afternoon isn't looking much better."

Another thing you should probably know about this book, is that it's narrated by both Cam and Liv, which I think is extremely clever. I enjoyed the fact that I knew what both characters were thinking, and how they both felt. There were also so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming AT ALL, that I was actaully staring at the book in shock on more than one occasion.

The only little flaw I found, is that when I first started reading it, I felt like there was too much information to take in too soon. Other than that this book was perfect, even though i have an ARC, I will most definitely be buying this when it comes out in the UK. To those of you who haven't already pre-ordered it, DO IT, because I can promise you two things..
1. You will not have read another book like this.
2. You will love it!

This book has been added to my favourites, and I'd even go as far as to say that it was one of the best books I've EVER read! I'm already counting down the days until Shadow Bound!(less)

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May 02, 2013 Kate rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: supernatural

Wow. This was an amazing start to a new series for Rachel Vincent. I couldn't put this thrilling story down. (Fortunately I was reading it on a three hour plane ride so that was not really a problem.)

The world of Unbound is dark and fascinating - the Skilled, legally nonexistent, are in high demand in crime syndicates, who are willing to do just about anything to get their hands on the strongest and most unique of the lot. There's not much chance of a Mary Sue here; each Skill is a single very s...more

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Oct 02, 2011 Christen *Goldilox And The Three Weres* rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

" 'I don't care what you've heard. I do not kill people for money!' Much. Anymore." (Liv)

Well, Rachel Vincent, that's three series you've got me hooked on now. What else do you have up your sleeve?

Blood Bound is an amazing and unique story that grew on me more and more until the very last page. I immediately liked the heroine, Liv Warren. She was strong, independent, and totally screwed up. Her secrets unfolded slowly throughout the story and just when I thought I knew everything about her some...more " 'I don't care what you've heard. I do not kill people for money!' Much. Anymore." (Liv)

Well, Rachel Vincent, that's three series you've got me hooked on now. What else do you have up your sleeve?

Blood Bound is an amazing and unique story that grew on me more and more until the very last page. I immediately liked the heroine, Liv Warren. She was strong, independent, and totally screwed up. Her secrets unfolded slowly throughout the story and just when I thought I knew everything about her something else would come to light. Both Liv and Cam are messed up from not only what happened in their past, but the line of work they both are in. They are both equally gritty and unafraid to get their hands dirty. Even though they are the good guys, they are not always the good guys. Cam took a little longer to grow on me. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because we don't read from his point of view quite as much as from Liv's.

Yes, the POV changes in this book. Don't cringe and run away, it's okay! I was not a big fan of the switching, however I appreciated the reasons for it and I liked the opportunity to see Liv through Cam's eyes sometimes. Cam has his own secrets and those surface just as slowly as Liv's. Liv and Cam were once a couple in love, but Liv made a run for it and never explained to Cam why she left. He has kept himself close to her, but with a mutual friend asking for both of their help in finding her husband's murderer they are forced to actually work together. Of course, tension and angsty questions ensue.

“Her mouth was open, as if she wanted to say something, and I wanted to kiss her to show her that sometimes you don't need words. Sometimes they only get in the way, and you end up talking yourself out of things you need. People you want.” (Cam)

Of course a major part of the book is the feisty relationship between Liv and Cam and as the story continued I liked them together more and more and wanted them to get over whatever the heck was going on that was keeping them apart!

The world Vincent has created is really the biggest star here. Once again, she has taken some elements that may have been used elsewhere and twisted and turned them until they were her own. The paranormal element here is the Skilled. Some people are born with special talents and abilities and these can be passed on hereditarily. It is known that these abilities exist, but the government has chosen not to recognize them. Liv and Cam are both Trackers. They can track a person down based on a blood sample or a name. The fresher the sample or the more parts of the name, the better. Other Skills include being a Traveler (able to travel through shadows), a Reader (able to tell if someone is telling the truth), a Seer (able to see visions of the future), and many others that I will leave for you to discover as you read. I love love love how Vincent takes these elements and winds them together. She doesn't try to explain the Skills with another paranormal or fantasy element, she is content to just let them be.

Read this one!
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Aug 03, 2011 Nina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First of all, let me just say that I absolutely loved this book. LOVED it. As in "top 3 books I've read this year" loved it. There, now I can get on with my review.

In Blood Bound, Rachel Vincent has created an original setting, filled with the Skilled and Un-Skilled, and complicated by some serious crime syndicates. It takes a little time getting all the facts straight, but I love how everything is revealed bit by bit as it becomes vital to the plot, instead of getting it all in one long explana...more First of all, let me just say that I absolutely loved this book. LOVED it. As in "top 3 books I've read this year" loved it. There, now I can get on with my review.

In Blood Bound, Rachel Vincent has created an original setting, filled with the Skilled and Un-Skilled, and complicated by some serious crime syndicates. It takes a little time getting all the facts straight, but I love how everything is revealed bit by bit as it becomes vital to the plot, instead of getting it all in one long explanation. The binding contracts, blood tracking and rivaling syndicates all makes a great setting for the characters.

Blood Bound is told in first person, alternating from the main character Liv to her ex boyfriend Cam. This was a little confusing at first before I learned to recognize their voices, but it definitely added to the story to get both points of view. Liv is every bit the strong female character I was expecting from Vincent (if you've read her Shifters series, you know what I mean). She will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves, even if that means repeatedly putting herself in danger. You can tell she's been through a lot as there's not one bit of naivete left in her, and I love how she's a fighter - you're never going to see Liv give up hope, or let anyone take away her dreams. Cam shares many of the same traits as Liv; he's both strong and protective, and he seems to never give up, but he doesn't seem as hardened by his experiences as Liv does.

The chemistry between Cam and Liv is amazing. They share a history together, and even after years apart the sparks are still there, so when they're forced to work together it gets hard for Liv to keep her resolve to stay away from Cam. And why would she want to? Cam is a genuine good guy, which I find refreshing since most male characters these days seem to be complete d*cks who treat the female character badly until she for some reason falls for him. Of course the fact that just reading about him shirtless had me drooling doesn't hurt my opinion of him either.

When I had read the final page of Blood Bound, I had that "oh my God, I need the next book NOW!" feeling that I'm sure many of you recognize. The ending is a great cliffhanger, and it leaves plenty of room for speculations about what will happen in Shadow Bound, which is coming out in 2012. This is a novel I will recommend to all my friends, and I can't wait for it to be released so I can discuss it with people. (less)

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Aug 27, 2011 Marissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, first-in-series, paranormal, magic

This book just blew me away. I love when an author can create an entirely new world and enthrall you from beginning to end. The introduction of Liv and the Powers of the Skilled was the perfect way to grab you and make sure you held on for dear life. You wanted to tag along and learn all her secrets, as well as be her friend and help stand by her through thick and thin. And let me tell you, it got thick! Then there’s Cam, who I was immediately drawn to and heartbroken for. Together they made spa...more This book just blew me away. I love when an author can create an entirely new world and enthrall you from beginning to end. The introduction of Liv and the Powers of the Skilled was the perfect way to grab you and make sure you held on for dear life. You wanted to tag along and learn all her secrets, as well as be her friend and help stand by her through thick and thin. And let me tell you, it got thick! Then there’s Cam, who I was immediately drawn to and heartbroken for. Together they made sparks fly off the page, which were not always of the romantic sort.
I love the ease and flawless way the story unfolds; just enough secrets and lies to keep you intrigued and guessing while slowly releasing the facts that turn out to be your worst fears for the characters…and a few well placed sighs of contentment, for a few moments, at least.
I loved each and every character we were introduced to, and not because they were all great people that you would want to hang out with. A good handful of them you probably would love to gut and happily watch bleed out until the light died from their eyes. Yes, morbid, but so true. However, this is just the brilliance of Rachel Vincent’s ideas and storytelling, the fleshing out of every detail and nuance that make you feel like you’re walking along the pages with them. You KNOW and love them, or love to hate them. But again, I say it is all in the way it’s presented to you. And this was one hell of a presentation.
The ending was a sort of cliffhanger, I won’t lie to you. But to me it felt more like a stasis or holding pattern. Something big could happen, or something else could happen that would totally change what we assume might happen. Vague, I know, but I hate to give out spoilers and I refuse to put people off by letting them believe this is some huge cliffhanger that will piss everyone off. Not the case at all. I do however have a ton of new questions & worries for some of my new favorite characters and will be biting my nails in anticipation for the next year or so until Shadow Bound comes out.
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Sep 08, 2011 Sarah ~Slow reader, or slowly reading? ;) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, meh, badass-alert, assassins, urban-fantasy, paranormal

2.5 stars. At first I didn't know how I felt about this book. Now that I've had time to mull it over, I can say with certainty that I didn't like it. It wasn't a letdown, but it was definitely disappointing. It started out amazing, the concept new and original (imo). But by the middle of the book, I felt like it was just being dragged out. I found myself longing for it to be over, and by the last 50 pages, I pretty much just skimmed it until it was over.

Things I liked:
1. The "magic" system. It w...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: exhausting-read, 4-star, epilogue-needed, second-chances, strong-willed-heroine, urban-fantasy, action-packed

4 stars

Wow! What an emotional adrenalin rush and exhausting read this book turned out to be!

Blood Boundis a fast-paced, well written, creative, action packed, emotional, and highly engrossing book. I had a hard time putting it down.

I'm not going to recap the story'splot, since the synopsis of the book does a decent job; however,I will tell you what worked and didn't work for me.

What I loved about Blood Bound was the paranormalworld Rachel Vincent created. It was well developed, fast-paced, intri...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, better-than-i-expected, great-world-building, make-room-for-that-sequel, mystery, romance, thieves

Occasionally I trade books with a friend and we force each other to read things we believe the other person will like but wouldn't give a chance on her own. I gave my friend A Monster Calls on top of a stack of books more in line with her standard tastes. She gave me Blood Bound and a whole list of rehearsed reasons, one of which actually piqued my curiosity. "It's like Holly Black's White Cat but with an adult slanted." If she hadn't said that I probably would have shamelessly hidden this book...more

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May 07, 2011 Lexie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-romance-paranormal, book-type-arc, review-romance-reader-at-heart

Prelim Review: THE ONLY REASONs THIS IS FOUR STARS INSTEAD OF FIVE for two reasons 1) you can't do 4.5 and 2) is because the ending leaves you hanging. If this was a stand alone, which thank the book gods its not, it would be a 'Will she or won't she?' scenario that would have me begging Rachel to tell me the answer. As it stands however we should find out in the second book her decision.

And that is all I'm saying on the subject until at least July.

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Nov 30, 2012 Booknut rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bodies-bones-and-psychopaths, elemental-powers, heartbreaking-betrayal, mystery-and-sherlocking

Remarkably different from her Soul Screamers series, Rachel Vincent's 'Blood Bound' brings readers a story of one kick-ass heroine whose bravery knows no bounds...even the ones branded into her own skin and signed in blood.

Liv can track people using their blood, but that isn't the least of her worries. Bound by a childhood blood promise - which at the time seemed like simple childlike friendship and a promise to be there for one another - she's forced to fulfil the terms of the oath, whether she...more

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Oct 08, 2011 Chelesbells rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“By blood, by word, by magic…”

I was torn between starting the Soul Screamers series or Blood Bound. Then I saw this hilarious quote from Blood Bound: “Cam laughed. ‘You know, my grandmother always said no woman with a decent vocabulary would resort to profanity.’ Kori huffed. ‘My grandmother said, ‘Get the hell out of my house, bitch, before I throw you out on your ass.’”

Fascinating and captivating; these are two words that first come to mind when describing Blood Bound. I loved the concept of...more “By blood, by word, by magic…”

I was torn between starting the Soul Screamers series or Blood Bound. Then I saw this hilarious quote from Blood Bound: “Cam laughed. ‘You know, my grandmother always said no woman with a decent vocabulary would resort to profanity.’ Kori huffed. ‘My grandmother said, ‘Get the hell out of my house, bitch, before I throw you out on your ass.’”

Fascinating and captivating; these are two words that first come to mind when describing Blood Bound. I loved the concept of the story. Four friends made a pact when they were kids, not knowing that one of them was a Binder. Now they are bound to each other, and one of them only has to ask and the others are rendered helpless to deny them. Helpless as in their bodies begin systemically shutting down organ by organ until they either fulfill their oath or they die. Some choice …and that’s only a fraction of the story. The town is basically divided into two territories. One side is controlled by Jake Tower and the other by Ruben Cavazos. Both are powerful adversaries and they hire the best binders, trackers, seers, shadow travelers and jammers money can buy.

I can’t imagine living in a world where I should never tell anyone my full name, or avoiding hospitals in order to never leave behind a drop of my blood for fear of being tracked and bound.

I struggled a bit in the beginning trying to learn some of the terms in the magical world Rachel Vincent created, but once I got the hang of it, I was sucked in.

The POV changes every chapter, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that at first, but I really loved hearing the inner monologue of both lead characters. I do love a male POV and Cam does not disappoint. He is so charming and appealing. He and Liv have perfect chemistry:

“I realized that I'd rather die with you than live with someone else.”

The ending came entirely too soon and left me hanging in a way that has me pining for Shadow Bound (Unbound #2). I look forward to reading more of Rachel Vincent’s work! (less)

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Jan 18, 2012 Shiran rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Shiran by: Kathryn

Shelves: paranormal-romance, series, favorites

Holy sweet mother of greatness, I have no words for the magnificence that is this book!!!

This book was recommend to me as part of a group challenge and I have to say I will be forever grateful that I decided to join in that challenge. Blood Bound is the story of Olivia Warren, a bloodtracker - someone who can track anyone with a sample of their blood - in a world where Skilled people are not acknowledged by the government, making it easy for crime syndicates to rule the streets. Liv is very good...more Holy sweet mother of greatness, I have no words for the magnificence that is this book!!!

This book was recommend to me as part of a group challenge and I have to say I will be forever grateful that I decided to join in that challenge. Blood Bound is the story of Olivia Warren, a bloodtracker - someone who can track anyone with a sample of their blood - in a world where Skilled people are not acknowledged by the government, making it easy for crime syndicates to rule the streets. Liv is very good at her job but refuses to permanently bind herself to anyone, especially either of the leaders of the top syndicates in the city. When Liv's old childhood friend asks her to do something she cannot refuse, Liv is throw into the world she hates and has to work with the man she loves but has to stay away from. Both Cam and Liv have secrets that neither want the other to know but when lives are at stake, secrets come tumbling out.

This book was so full of action packed, suspenseful moments I could hardly stand it. At times I was so eager to find out what was going to happen next, I read so fast I started seeing stars. There are plenty of 'holy crap' moments in this book and just when I thought I knew what was going to happen I was thrown in the deep end and shocked right out of my socks.

Liv is one of the greatest women I have ever read about and I had a very interesting imagine in my head of who would win in a fight between her and Cat from Night Huntress. She kicks ass like no other and is willing to sacrifice her life and body for the ones she loves. I loved Liv's constant defines of Cavazos, even when she physically couldn't resist his orders. I also loved that she happily kicked his ass back.

Cam is so hot I want to pull my hair out when I think about him. There are moments in the book where you want to smack him, I had times where I grabbed a hold of my poor Kindle and had to physically restrain myself from bunching it cause if him. He is strong and is so in love with Liv it hurt to read from his POV. I would do anything to have a man like him - strong, sweet, funny - defying his bindings to be with me.

I loved the way this story played out, the forethought of Elle was fantastic and even though you kinda want to kill her for it, you understand why she does it all. There were so many surprises in the book and with every one you just want more. I CANNOT WAIT for the next one!!!! (less)

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Aug 17, 2012 Liv rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy

2.5 stars.

This book could have been much more. It was good enough to keep me reading, but wasn’t good enough to wow me.

The idea behind this fantasy novel was fairly intriguing and unique. People were either Skilled or Unskilled. Ordinary people like you and I would be the Unskilled. Conversely, those with supernatural powers would be Skilled. There were many different categories of Skills:

- Tracker – one with the ability to track the location of an individual, given his/her blood and/or true nam...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Judith (Judith'sChoiceReads) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: un-finishables, paranormal-perfection, dystopian, adult-and-mature

Goodreads Summary

Bound by blood, condemned by fate

As a bloodtracker, Liv is extremely powerful. And in a world where power is a commodity that can get you killed, Liv's learnt to survive by her own rules.

Rule number one? Trust no one.

But when a friend's daughter goes missing, Liv is bound by a potent magical oath. She can't rest until the child is safe.
And that means trusting her dangerous ex, Cam.

A sinister prophecy tells that she and Cam will be the death of each other, yet Liv's tired of bein

...more

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Nov 10, 2011 April rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To Start out, I want to thank Andrea so much for lending me this book. Blood Bound is the first I have ever read from Rachel Vincent. I am sometimes a little reluctant to purchase a book if I haven't read anything from the Author yet. I can assure you that after reading this, I will be buying all of Vincent's material in due time. I'd purchase it all right this instant, but alas... I'm not rich.

I first heard of Rachel Vincent's work when I started reading YA. Her Soul Screamers series is quite p...more To Start out, I want to thank Andrea so much for lending me this book. Blood Bound is the first I have ever read from Rachel Vincent. I am sometimes a little reluctant to purchase a book if I haven't read anything from the Author yet. I can assure you that after reading this, I will be buying all of Vincent's material in due time. I'd purchase it all right this instant, but alas... I'm not rich.

I first heard of Rachel Vincent's work when I started reading YA. Her Soul Screamers series is quite popular with my fellow blogger and personal friends. So it's kinda funny to me, that I would pick up one of her adult books first.. but it's how the cookie crumbled and I'm so glad it fell that way.

This is such a great story. When I first started this, I was thinking that Liv was bound to help her friend based on morals alone. Not so much, there was so much more to this story then I could have imagined. It had me guessing at every turn. Blood Bound was fast paced, full of action, and filled with just the right amount of romance. I find I read YA mostly these days, because I have trouble finding that perfect balance in the adult selections I pick up. I'm so thrilled that I have found an Author who knows how to do it right!

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm just going to insist you all read this, whether you have read her stuff yet or not. I am now dying to know what happens in Shadow Bound and by the time you finish it, you will be too!

So it took me a little while to review this.. because I was working on a Sims Trailer for it. I had a hard time coming up with how I wanted to do it... so I decided to take a different approach with this one. I focused on the bond.. because that is what fascinated me the most about this book. I also did some voice over.. “I'm so sorry” lol. I was trying to sound more adult... but in reality it came off more like a child-like phone sex operator. Which is great, because I am an adult. Now I wonder what my customers say about me when they get me on the phone. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy it! And go get this book! Now!

http://www.youtube.com/waTo Start out, I want to thank Andrea so much for lending me this book. Blood Bound is the first I have ever read from Rachel Vincent. I am sometimes a little reluctant to purchase a book if I haven't read anything from the Author yet. I can assure you that after reading this, I will be buying all of Vincent's material in due time. I'd purchase it all right this instant, but alas... I'm not rich. I first heard of Rachel Vincent's work when I started reading YA. Her Soul Screamers series is quite popular with my fellow blogger and personal friends. So it's kinda funny to me, that I would pick up one of her adult books first.. but it's how the cookie crumbled and I'm so glad it fell that way. This is such a great story. When I first started this, I was thinking that Liv was bound to help her friend based on morals alone. Not so much, there was so much more to this story then I could have imagined. It had me guessing at every turn. Blood Bound was fast paced, full of action, and filled with just the right amount of romance. I find I read YA mostly these days, because I have trouble finding that perfect balance in the adult selections I pick up. I'm so thrilled that I have found an Author who knows how to do it right! I don't want to spoil anything, so I'm just going to insist you all read this, whether you have read her stuff yet or not. I am now dying to know what happens in Shadow Bound and by the time you finish it, you will be too! So it took me a little while to review this.. because I was working on a Sims Trailer for it. I had a hard time coming up with how I wanted to do it... so I decided to take a different approach with this one. I focused on the bond.. because that is what fascinated me the most about this book. I also did some voice over.. “I'm so sorry” lol. I was trying to sound more adult... but in reality it came off more like a child-like phone sex operator. Which is great, because I am an adult. Now I wonder what my customers say about me when they get me on the phone. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy it! And go get this book!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiP0kN (less)

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Sep 19, 2011 AH rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, first-in-series, paranormal, zzread-sept-2011, sos-bookshelf-bingo, urban-fantasy, babr-reviews

Really cool. 4.5 stars

Finally, a paranormal book without a single vampire, were, or other paranormal creature. Yes, it can be done. I loved the concept of this book.

Blood Bound has a rich and extensive world. This is a world where a single drop of blood holds the power to expose one’s whereabouts, and where a full name allows a person to be tracked. In Blood Bound, people with specialized Skills are highly sought after commodities. Many different Skills exist: Trackers, Binders, Seers, Readers,...more Really cool. 4.5 stars

Finally, a paranormal book without a single vampire, were, or other paranormal creature. Yes, it can be done. I loved the concept of this book.

Blood Bound has a rich and extensive world. This is a world where a single drop of blood holds the power to expose one’s whereabouts, and where a full name allows a person to be tracked. In Blood Bound, people with specialized Skills are highly sought after commodities. Many different Skills exist: Trackers, Binders, Seers, Readers, Travelers, Blinders, Jammers, etc. Some Skills are more desired than others.

The crime syndicates stepped in collecting people with these Skills. Most Skilled people are affiliated either with Ruben Cavazos’ or Jake Towers syndicate. These syndicates play dirty and their recruiting methods are cruel but effective. The Skilled often find themselves bound to years of service to these syndicates. They are bound with tattoos that signify their rank and length of service. These bindings ensure that no one disobeys direct orders. A clever Skilled person always finds the loopholes in their binding and quickly learns how to be creative.

I loved the main characters Liv and Cam. Both are Trackers and they have a history together, even though they had been apart for a while. They are very much attracted to each other but they find themselves in opposing syndicates.

Cam was wonderful. I loved how devoted he was to Liv. Liv was such a contrast to Faythe in the Shifters series. Liv behaves like a mature young woman, carefully weighing all of her options. She is smart, resourceful, and stands up for herself against Cavazos’ abuse.

While there is a romance between the main characters, I did not find it first and foremost to the plot. Yes, I was rooting for the main characters. Who doesn’t love sexy times? The focus of this story was not the romance, but finding the missing child.

The secondary characters were interesting. Ruben Cavazos made a ruthless crime lord, but by the end of the book I was quite impressed with his character. Michaela was Ruben’s unbalanced and vindictive wife. Quite scary! Liv’s friend Anne was a Reader, a human lie detector, while her other friend Kori was a Traveler, a person able to travel from one place to another through shadows.

The book is written in first person point of view. I did find the change in point of view a little confusing at first, but I did enjoy the book. I was surprised to learn that the book only spanned a few days. It is jammed packed with action, flashbacks, and information. I really could not put the book down.

This is a great start to the Unbound series and I highly recommend it. The next book in the series is Shadow Bound. Can’t wait to get my hands on that book!

Review posted at Badass Book Reviews. Check it out!(less)

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Sep 26, 2011 Mariya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: urban-fantasy, books-i-own

BLOOD BOUND was so amazing in every way imaginable that there is no way I could possibly write a review that does it justice. Part of me honestly wasn't expecting to be so into this book that I may have forgot to in for work for a few days.

Liv is our heroine and she is a tracker who is able to track people by their blood. She has the attitude of a bad ass which is why I loved her so much. I liked my leading ladies to take control and not take shit from anyone which is why Liv is so awesome.

“I l
...more BLOOD BOUND was so amazing in every way imaginable that there is no way I could possibly write a review that does it justice. Part of me honestly wasn't expecting to be so into this book that I may have forgot to in for work for a few days.

Liv is our heroine and she is a tracker who is able to track people by their blood. She has the attitude of a bad ass which is why I loved her so much. I liked my leading ladies to take control and not take shit from anyone which is why Liv is so awesome.

“I love you, Olivia," he whispered, and my heart ached as if it would break in half. "You think we'll die if we stay together, but I've been dying slowly for the last six years. I'm taking my life back, Liv. Our life together. And this time, I'm not going to let you go.”

We also have Liv's ex-boyfriend, Cam. I loved him. There was a huge misunderstanding between the break up and Cam's mission in the book was to try and win Liv back at any means possible. He will not let it go, let Liv go. The book is also in Cam's point of view and I just loved getting things from both sides. He made my heart pound like crazy and by the end you will most definitely know that Cam will do absolutely anything for Liv.

“I have choices," I insisted, refusing to break eye contact. "We both do. I may have to make mine carefully, and make a few compromises along the way, but I have a choice. I choose you.”

I won't go too much into BLOOD BOUND except to say that Rachel Vincent has created quite a different world where it is a little hard for me to explain. I found the world of blood tracking result in ultimate power and watching out for those who get that power.

There was times I didn't even know which side to choose because it seemed like all the players in this game were bad to the bone. And there is more to the story than I am giving away so you'll just have to read BLOOD BOUND to find out what you're missing. I am looking forward to the next installment in the Unbound Series which will be about a different heroine's point of view.

More of my reviews at Mystifying Paranormal Reviews(less)

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Nov 22, 2011 Patricia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: form-physical-copy, available-for-swapping, 2011, _adult, genre-paranormal-romance, genre-urban-contemporary-fantasy, paranormal-psychics, setting-alternate-universe, review-on-old-blog

As a full-time reader I often am bored, annoyed, frustrated, you name it.. because books don't live up to my expectations. Or because they're simply really bad. Or full of potential and horribly executed.

But, and I don't say that lightly, this novel was so close to perfect, it's scary. Rachel Vincent is the go-to author, creating worlds that are mindblowing with complex characters and an extremely well written plot/idea behind them.

I have a tendency to bookmark good (and bad, for that matter) s...more

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Sep 07, 2011 Mateja rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own

Blood Bound is a great beginning of a new trilogy from one of my favorite authors.

The world the author created is completely original, unique. I’ve never read anything even remotely similar. This new world is dark, twisted and the author managed to explain it in detail and at the same time not make all the new information overwhelming, as it is spread out all throughout the book. It made the read incredibly exciting as I kept finding out something new and that kept my interest going ‘till the e...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What do you think of this trilogy?	3	8	Apr 25, 2013 12:37pm
SOS: Serious Over...: July Buddy Read: Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent	32	19	Jul 15, 2012 02:20pm
Paranormal Addict...: Unbound Sereis - Rachel Vincent	28	163	Dec 30, 2011 12:09pm
★Five Star Series★: Unbound by Rachel Vincent	3	17	Aug 30, 2011 04:55pm

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