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The Binding

Bridget Collins (Goodreads Author)

3.88 · Rating details · 41,664 ratings · 6,789 reviews

Books are dangerous things in Collins's alternate universe, a place vaguely reminiscent of 19th-century England. It's a world in which people visit book binders to rid themselves of painful or treacherous memories. Once their stories have been told and are bound between the pages of a book, the slate is wiped clean and their memories lose the power to hurt or haunt them. A ...more

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Paperback, 438 pages

Published January 5th 2020 by HarperCollins (first published January 7th 2019)

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Feb 09, 2020 jessica rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

if i could bind my memories into a book, i would start with the time i spend reading this. not because i would want to forget, but so that i could always remember. to have something tangible, documenting how spellbound i became by this story. i guess this review will have to suffice.

while this story radiates pure magic and enchantment to captivate bookworms everywhere, this is also a stunning love story. its humble and unassuming and so very touching. while i would have loved more world-buildin ...more

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Dec 13, 2018 Will Byrnes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, lgbtq, literary-fiction, fantasy

We’ve been called witches since the beginning of time. Word-cunning, they used to call it—of a piece with invoking demons…We were burned for it too. The Crusade wasn’t new, we’ve always been scapegoats. Well, knowledge is always a kind of magic, I suppose.

Emmett Farmer is a young man with issues. He used to think that he would inherit his family’s farm. It was the life he was used to and the road he expected to follow to, and beyond, the horizon. But he has not been himself lately. His abil ...more

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Dec 09, 2018 Paromjit rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, netgalley, mystery, fantasy

Bridget Collins has written a beautifully imagined piece of fantasy historical fiction, a sumptuous love story, of poor farmer's son, Emmet Farmer, and the wealthy, privileged Lucian Darnay, doomed to be star crossed lovers. In this world, books are not what we would recognise them to be, books are for all those things that people feel destroyed by and cannot live with in their lives. They are extraordinary hand crafted, leather bound repositories of actual peoples memories, their secrets, grief Bridget Collins has written a beautifully imagined piece of fantasy historical fiction, a sumptuous love story, of poor farmer's son, Emmet Farmer, and the wealthy, privileged Lucian Darnay, doomed to be star crossed lovers. In this world, books are not what we would recognise them to be, books are for all those things that people feel destroyed by and cannot live with in their lives. They are extraordinary hand crafted, leather bound repositories of actual peoples memories, their secrets, grief, and pain, erased for good after being stored in a book. Books are feared and forbidden, as Emmet finds to his cost when he is drawn to buy one. An unwelcome letter arrives for Emmet, an apprenticeship he cannot refuse, he will train to be a bookbinder under Seredith's tutelage, a sacred calling. For a while, Emmet has been ill, unable to contribute to the farm as he once did, but he, like others is afraid of bookbinders, a profession surrounded with ignorance, prejudice and superstition. He travels to Seredith's remote home, and surprisingly finds solace in his daily tasks, surrounded by a silence that turns out to be what he needs to bear his illness.

The narrative goes back and forth in time, from the time Emmet and his sister, Alta, meet Lucian Darnay, to the development of their relationship, and to Emmet's experiences with other bookbinders and their clients. The reader comes to understand how Emmet came to develop his mystery illness, and the effects and repercussions of bookbinding on his and Lucian's lives. Seredith turns out to be a remarkably ethical and moral bookbinder, storing and safely locking away the books in her vault. This is in sharp contrast to others, some bookbinders are happy to practice a corrupt, horrifyingly venal form of bookbinding for the rich and powerful that uses and abuses people. These bookbinders illegally sell and trade the books for profit, often to those with a prurient interest in the secret lives of others, and for the purposes of blackmail. In a story of murder, magic, separation and ruthless powerful forces, do Emmet and Lucian's love stand any chance in a hostile world?

Collins engages in complex world building in this utterly beguiling novel, making this world come vibrantly alive with her detailed descriptions of time and place, whilst relating a moving and original love story that charms and captivates. This is Romeo and Romeo for the modern age, the characterisation is compelling, with Emmet and Lucian’s love crossing the social class divide, moreover a love story that crosses boundaries in so many other senses too. This is brilliant storytelling, that immerses the reader in a past where books are a dangerous and secret commodity, and a forbidden love that threatens to destroy Emmet and Lucian. Highly recommended. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC. ...more

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Jan 02, 2019 h o l l i s rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: abuse, assault, baa-baa-black-sheep, finished-in-january-2019, buddy-read-sorta, coverly-love, lgbtqia, romance, disappointing, fantasy

I'm starting to become a little disillusioned with upcoming releases by unknown or new-to-me authors. THE BINDING has an excellent marketing campaign, a gorgeous cover, and was a book I wanted to get into my hands, desperately, due to a (inaccurate) comparison to a book I love. However, for this reader, the insides don't match the outsides.

This book has three parts to it. The first act is slow, plodding, and mired in the familiar 'other characters know things but cannot tell the protagonist for I'm starting to become a little disillusioned with upcoming releases by unknown or new-to-me authors. THE BINDING has an excellent marketing campaign, a gorgeous cover, and was a book I wanted to get into my hands, desperately, due to a (inaccurate) comparison to a book I love. However, for this reader, the insides don't match the outsides.

This book has three parts to it. The first act is slow, plodding, and mired in the familiar 'other characters know things but cannot tell the protagonist for reasons' trope. Act two is a major reveal, a flashback, and the only part of the story I enjoyed. Act three is a new perspective, misery, and extra unpleasantness.. when there was already a lot of that to go around.

The concept of binding memories, locking away emotions, is fascinating. There was something of a cultural clash of the rural, old-world, respect for such an exchange, versus the more urbane and materialistic -- and not to mention vile and/or wicked -- reasons for doing so. But ultimately all it did was introduce more terrible characters into a book that wasn't filled with many good ones to begin with. Infact.. I struggle to think of more than one.

There is darkness to this story, unpleasantness, and any of the magic I was hoping for was really just limited to the strange practice of the binding and the few binders who could do it. This was a lot less fantastical than I thought it would be and the only surprise was that there is a queer romance within these pages.

If I rated this book by the parts of it, it would be a slow terribly paced two star for part one, a sweet blush of a three for the middle, and an awful one star for the final section. There is a HEA of sorts but.. yeah, I don't know. This was just a lot more depressing or maybe just.. stark? bleak?.. than I thought it would be.

Great premise. Some potential. And when I was reading it, it was a smooth read; though once put down it was hard to build up the desire to pick it back up. Overall, though, I wish I could bind my memories of THE BINDING and go back to when I still had stars in my eyes at the thought of reading something new and wonderful.

** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. ** ...more

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Jun 10, 2019 Beata rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Magical realism is never my first choice and it is the genre I hardly ever decide to read but I never refuse a novel that manages to incorporate it into a good story. And this is a splendid example of such combination that forced me to continue reading till late hours. The idea of binding your memories into books and leaving none left is both brilliant and terrifying.
The Binding cast a spell on me that I will take some time to reverse provided I want it …

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Nov 24, 2018 Umut Rados added it · review of another edition

2.5 stars. I had high hopes for this book, really loved the premise, but I think it’s one of those cases that it delivered something else than promised. The idea sounded very original; people’s bad memories binded in a book, so that they don’t remember them anymore. It sounded like it has fantasy elements, some magic with interesting characters. The book is divided in 3 parts. I loved the first part, but things went into a completely different direction starting from the second part. The rest of ...more

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Oct 06, 2019 Amalia Gkavea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, magical-realism, british-literature, gothic-fiction, mystery

‘’I laid my hand over the bruises on my arm, fitting my fingers into the marks. The wind murmured in the thatch and drove another gust of rain against the window-pane, but the house was thick-walled, solid, as old as rock. Binder’s fever, not madness or weakness.’’

Emmett is suffering from a strange affliction. His parents are of little help, engrossed in how to find a wealthy husband for his sister, absorbed by their wish for money without even trying. When a strange call arrives, Emmett has to ‘’I laid my hand over the bruises on my arm, fitting my fingers into the marks. The wind murmured in the thatch and drove another gust of rain against the window-pane, but the house was thick-walled, solid, as old as rock. Binder’s fever, not madness or weakness.’’

Emmett is suffering from a strange affliction. His parents are of little help, engrossed in how to find a wealthy husband for his sister, absorbed by their wish for money without even trying. When a strange call arrives, Emmett has to answer. And so it happens and his path is crossed with a fascinating woman, a binder who specializes in unique books. Emmett has to fight. He has to understand his vocation, he has to learn how to stand up to the ones who want to use him as a tool, against a world that doesn't understand.

What if we could erase every negative memory from our minds? What if we could capture all those incidents that made our lives a struggle into a book, bind them and store them away, out of sight and out of mind? What if this gift fell into the wrong hands? What if vile men forced their victims to have their memories erased so that they could come clean and unpunished?

Bridget Collins has written one of the most interesting novels you’ll ever read and has presented the readers with a number of complex moral questions. Everyone’s mind is full of moments that we wish had never happened. They have hurt us, they still hurt and will go on hurting us. We all have wished for them to disappear and leave us be. However, aren’t these exact moments a part of who we are? They have shaped our course, our principles, our future choices. That embarrassing moment has taught us to be wiser, that pain, seemingly unbearable, has made us stronger, that failure has made us more cautious and determined. And how do we erase the memory of someone who entered our lives and vanished, along with all the moments we spent together?

Don’t you just love it when a book provokes endless discussions with yourself and with others? Collins depicts the dilemmas within an alternative 19th century England, through the eyes of a young man who tries to untangle the knots in his difficult life. Despised and scorned because of his low social status, recognized by a wise old woman for his gift and courage, burdened with an emotional load that has dire consequences. Collins creates a very approachable character in the face of Emmett. His insecurities and doubts, the naive choices he may make are a token of a human disposition, a youth standing on a crossroads. Even though he likes to think he is unimportant, he is courageous and honest. The evil lies with the people who surround him, the ones who oppress and terrify him. They are the problem.

I had high hopes for this beautiful book and I wasn’t disappointed. The only issues I faced had to do with the romance plotline which was tiresome and not to my personal taste but this is my approach to every romance included within a story so it was to be expected. The dialogue was lacking in quality when compared to the prose and all the hullabaloo concerning Alta and everyone’s love troubles left me cold.

Collins created a world where moral dilemmas clash with social norms, where gifted people are used to the benefit of the aristocracy, where books can be a salvation or a tyranny. A perfect novel for dark autumn nights…

''An owl called, distant and then closer; something scuttled in the corner of the yard. I imagined the owl circling, silent now, waiting for the glint of tiny eyes, the twitch of a tail. A death like that you wouldn't hear it coming.''

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.word... ...more

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Feb 10, 2019 ~Bookishly~ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: to-throw-from-a-high-building, i-believe-in-magic, historical-fiction, fantasy

I had such high hopes for this book, and I'm left feeling dreadfully disappointed. This book was overhyped, and that I'm positive of. I really couldn't wait to get my hands on this. The plot sounded intriguing and I adored the cover. Lets be honest, it is quite something, and I was kind of lured in by it.

This book consists of three parts. The first part was slow, and it really, really dragged. The second was better, as I think it is the only part of the entire book that I liked and was tolerabl ...more

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Mar 07, 2020 Mayim de Vries rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: avoid-lifes-too-short-for-bad-books

“Liber vos liberabit - The book shall set you free”

If good marketing and stunning art cover lured you here under the pretence that you are going to read some genre-bending fantasy, you need to know that you have been deceived. This is essentially a romance (view spoiler) “Liber vos liberabit - The book shall set you free”

If good marketing and stunning art cover lured you here under the pretence that you are going to read some genre-bending fantasy, you need to know that you have been deceived. This is essentially a romance (view spoiler) set in a 19th century UK with such tiny dash of magic that an English tea has more milk in it, and as much plot and suspense as a shepherd’s pie recipe offers.

In fact, a book-burning scene is the unequivocal highlight of this novel.

The book comprises of three parts and two distinct POVs. It offers a first person narrative which is prone to ruminations and slowing down the pace of plot advancement (luckily there is nothing to advance here so that’s not a big problem). Nonetheless, this type of narrative is entirely character-dependent and that proves to be a bit of an obstacle because the main protagonist, one Emmet Farmer, is unbearable.

I wasn’t convinced that Emmet has anything substantial to offer because he knows nothing, is insecure and not that smart. He is a kind of “the ground lifted off its anchor and rocked on a sea of darkness” protagonist. Imagine someone wobbly, fainting and unsteady on his feet for the first part and then just an ordinary push-around. There is no character development (no, whining does not count) and at no point does Emmet show some other, surprising side to his personality. The scene when the antagonist (?) (I am really in a quandary here, as for me every single person in this book - save Seredith perhaps - was an antagonist) is introduced, the scene that is meant to show how insensitive and callous this individual is, in fact only shows the complete spinelessness of the MC. Being bossed around your own territory is not a thing that will make you my friend. I can accept a couple of paragraphs for the sake of character development, but not the 300+ pages of it.

OK, so here we are: the novel is overtalked, there is nothing pro- about the ‘tagonist’ and thus the interesting setting and original idea is the last hope. Especially that the description promises a whole lot of things riding on the bookbinding concept. This whole bookbinding business is half-confession and half-lobotomy (with divine forgetting instead of divine forgiving); a process that erases part of the person and transfers it into a book. It is a fiendishly clever idea! I wanted to know more: where does this power come from? how does it work? why is it that Emmet is a powerful binder (what makes the person a powerful binder and what is the difference between a mediocre one? what is exactly his strength?) how does the binding happen? None of the above is answered and the last problem is dealt with ONE SENTENCE and it reads: “how it works is a mystery boy.”

~~Jolly good!~~

Which basically means that at some point, the author had this vague idea and instead of working out the details that could be used as building blocks for the story, she just uses it as a premise without further consideration because who cares (I do!) and she is writing a gay romance first and foremost so other things are more important. In my book, this is unforgivable. Why? Because there is an infinite WEALTH of possible PLOTS abandoned just like that and blanks the author has not bothered to fill:

We are told that bookbinding a sacred calling, but there are just random people doing things in vastly different ways with no organised guild, and no laws (the whole world is rather lawless) outside of the invisible supply and demand hand of the market. There are ruthless upper-class miscreants but no king that would be in a position to create a veritable dystopian autocracy of bookbound citizens. There are private vaults, but there are no libraries. There are snippets from history (oh there were crusades, ages ago like 50 years back, so everybody forgot already and it’s business as usual) but it is not properly explained why bookbinding is kept secret (bizarre as secrecy jeopardises the whole idea!) and then how is it that some people know and are totally indifferent about it.

None of these elements have been thought through and the consequences are only alluded to which frustrated me to no end. Even worse: the blurb insinuated that books are dangerous things. But books are not dangerous in this novel. People are. It is not a book about books (and I love those) as they have no agency whatsoever. It is a story how power corrupts and how humans abuse it: how bindings are being sold without consent, how people become prostitutes selling memories and therefore their selves, bit by bit ceasing to be, how memories are taken without explicit consent in order to perpetuate abuse and exploitation, how you can be blackmailed with a book or outright destroyed.

And what do these two fine male specimens do in this slightly dystopian, and unjust world? Do they fix or break the system? Do they try to alter the processes? Perhaps they attempt to straight some individual wrongs? The correct answer is: Nothing. They do nothing that transcends their personal entanglement. They can prevent a murder but they don’t bother in the end. They also terrorise an innocent maid threatening her with an abuse of the binding powers, but all for a good cause so don’t pay heed. This good cause is their own happiness (view spoiler) and this is all the Binding is about.

This book is nothing but a soft-paranormal romance and I am sure some readers will be fine with it. Cool, there is nothing wrong with romances, I read them too provided that they have acceptable premises and likeable protagonists. The Binding does not have those. The only thing you can desperately clutch here is the fact that the romance happens between two boys and across the societal strata so if those things excite you, you might give this plotless, dreary tale a go. ...more

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Aug 24, 2020 ELLIAS (elliasreads) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-books, i-own

Finishes book.

*Blinks.*

*Blinks again.*

SLAMS book fucking shut.

S E E T H I N G: AGAHSKAKPZKWOAOVJWOAPWLFYCIAOWKZ— (unintelligible garble insert here). WHAT!!!!!?!?!?!,??? WAS !!!!!?!?!?!,??? THAT !!!!!?!?!?!,???

I AM SO ANNOYED NOW WTF. NO ONE TALK TO ME RIGHT NOW.

I want to give this book ONE STAR AFTER THAT ENDING. So pointless....

Stupid, stupid, s t u p i d.

RTC.

1.5 STARS

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Nov 14, 2019 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads-giveaways

I don’t care. Not for me. Won it in a goodreads giveaway. Skim read because it bored me. Yay for everyone that loved it 😘

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

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Jul 26, 2020 Charlotte May rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: magical-realism, romance

This was a magical and incredibly well written novel.

Emmett is sent away by his parents to work as a Binder’s apprentice. If people want certain bad memories to be taken away they can visit a Binder and be ‘bound’. The resulting book is then kept safe so that the person will never have to relive the memories again.

But there are certain Binders who sell books, who treat the trade or its patients with zero respect. When Emmett sees a book with his name on, he wonders what secrets it holds. But t ...more

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Feb 26, 2019 Lucy Langford rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4****

This book was spellbinding and included an original concept (about books!) that I had never read before; it completely ensnared me into its pages.

The tale starts of with Emmett, a farmer from a small house in the country, plagued by nightmares which in turn effect his work. Suddenly one afternoon, he receives a letter, telling him that he must go to be a binder, a job that promotes fear, prejudice and superstition among communities.

Emmett goes to be an apprentice as a binder so that one day ...more

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Apr 21, 2019 Jillian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

If this was a recipe it would be 1 cup romance with a teaspoon of fantasy and a sprinkling of fun . It’s a male to male romance in 1800s I’m guessing though it never specifically says, in a world where all bad memories or anything you want to forget can be binded in a book and stored safely away, or so it is supposed to be. Dun dun dunnn. I liked it I got it as an arc on a giveaways here on goodreads . I started it as soon as it came in the mail.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Feb 09, 2019 Emer (A Little Haze) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction, read2019, all-the-pretty-covers, reviewed, magical-realism, challenge-atoz2019, cried-me-a-river, books-owned-all-formats, 5stars, historical-fiction

I FREAKING LOVED THIS!

Historical fiction mixed with folklore and magical realism, and a love story that gave me all of the feels!!!!!!!! YASSSSSS. Do yourself a favour and read it.

Perfect for people who liked The Thirteenth Tale or The Shadow of the Wind

ONE FAULT THOUGH
The freaking blurb on the back cover gave away a plot line that didn't occur until page 161.... Like I get that I probs would have figured it out anyway BUT STILL! Robbed me of some of my fun so bah humbug to you blurb writing t ...more

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Jan 25, 2020 Dannii Elle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantastic-fabrications, magical-realism-mastery, historical-highness

Book binding is an art. A very real one. Collins infused her fictional binders with the additional ability to weave secrets and memories into their end papers, which freed individuals from the burdens of their guilt and fears. But with these life-altering abilities comes the fear of the other and the lurking allure of abusing this bestowed gift.

The Binding was a very different story to the one I had anticipated. The synopsis conjured a whimsical and fantastical alternate history. The book, howev ...more

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Aug 06, 2019 Beverly rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tale

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

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Apr 22, 2019 Donna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gothic, coming-of-age, fantasy, romance

I was excited to begin this book with its interesting premise and the promise of a blend of fantasy and reality. And I was not disappointed at first. I was intrigued by the Victorian style world the author created, one in which books aren’t filled with fictional stories that are for purchase, but rather, ones that are filled with memories of people who chose to have them removed from their minds by book binders. Those memories would then be kept safe in beautiful books the binders fashioned for I was excited to begin this book with its interesting premise and the promise of a blend of fantasy and reality. And I was not disappointed at first. I was intrigued by the Victorian style world the author created, one in which books aren’t filled with fictional stories that are for purchase, but rather, ones that are filled with memories of people who chose to have them removed from their minds by book binders. Those memories would then be kept safe in beautiful books the binders fashioned for their clients, which meant they’d be locked away, never to be seen or read. This also kept the books safe from physical harm, since if a book were ever to be destroyed, the memories in it would return to the person. Bindings could only be done for those giving their permission. However, this rule did not take into account those being coerced into giving their permission. And it didn’t account for unscrupulous binders who might discreetly sell such books to collectors. And then, there were those people desperate enough to sell their memories, even the good ones, to those same unscrupulous binders. Such books were often indistinguishable from those labeled novels. Novels, unlike books, were clearly filled with fictitious contents and were permissible to be sold.

All these elements of binding were a rich field in which to grow an abundant story. But this is where my disappointment came in. The author never did explore many of these elements in any depth beyond how they connected to her main characters. She hardly explored that world at large or the act of binding itself and the morality involved. Instead, the book focused on the relationship between the two main male characters, to the exclusion of all else, in the second and third parts, comprising the bulk of this story.

By far, section one was my favorite when focusing on its Dickens-like character, Emmett Farmer, a young man suffering from some emotional strain and physical ailment that left him unable to work on his family’s farm and kept his parents and sister at an emotional distance from him. He doesn’t even know why any of this is so.

I couldn’t remember getting sick; if I tried, all I saw was a mess of nightmare-scorched fragments. Even my memories of my life before that—last spring, last winter—were tinged with the same gangrenous shadow, as if nothing was healthy anymore.

How he came to be in this state and why his family acted toward him as they did and why a wealthy young man named Lucian Darnay, visiting his uncle on a neighboring farm, disquiets him so much—all these elements were teeming with gothic mystery which added to the tension and suspense and made me feel for Emmett Farmer. Eventually, Emmett is sent away to train as a book binder, something he feels is a punishment. This is where the story really took off for me as Emmett trains with an old woman named Seredith who lives out in the marshes and whom people think of as a witch.

So what happened after this point that had me feeling disappointed in this book? In parts two and three, the relationship between Emmett and Lucian dominated the story. I felt this was detrimental to the story at large and to the premise it was built on. I enjoyed their relationship, but the details of it became repetitive and drawn out, and very little about bookbinding was explored outside of their lives. The morality and philosophy of bookbinding would have made for an interesting discussion among the characters who might question their world a little more and get the reader thinking along with them. Instead, I was a bystander in the story, able to sympathize with the characters, but not able to fully immerse myself in all that was happening after part one. I wanted to see more of that world and have the peripheral characters better developed such as Emmett’s sister who only had one thing on her mind. Villainous characters, likewise, were one dimensional. It was as if the author had used all her energy on Emmett and Lucian and had little left over for much else besides describing the environment around them. In this, the writing is highly descriptive and often poetic, which is both a compliment and a complaint. On the positive side, the author is an expressive and extremely observant person who details her story in beautiful and surprising ways.

Here the clock in the hall dredged up seconds like stones and dropped them again into the pool of the day, letting each ripple widen before the next one fell.

I settled myself again, and after a while I felt my body loosen, as if the silence was undoing knots I hadn’t known were there. The fire had nearly gone out; ash had grown over the embers like moss. I ought to tend to it, but I couldn’t bring myself to get up. I moved my fingers through the focused ellipse of lamplight, letting it sit above my knuckle like a ring. When I sat back, it shone on the patchwork quilt, picking out the curl of a printed fern.

But on the negative side, those same details sometimes got out of hand and overpowered the scenes in which more dialogue or action would have been welcome, rather than the moment by moment observations she stuffed into the characters’ heads and onto the page. It teetered on the edge of ridiculousness at one point when one character spat a huge wad of phlegm and another character watched it land on the ground in the shape of a leaf. Uh...no. This is not an observation that anyone would probably have in this instance or one a reader would care to have thrown their way.

So this book has many good things to recommend it—a fascinating premise, sympathetic main characters, plus one very good supporting character, many instances of beautiful and atmospheric writing, a gothic style setting, and plenty of mystery. But the relationship between the two main characters took center stage after part one, which I feel took something away from the general story and left no room for the author to explore the act of binding or its effect on that society, especially with a change in viewpoint. The ending was also a bit too tidy for me and didn’t answer some lingering questions.

I do think this would make a nice first book in a series if, in later books, the art of bookbinding was actually the focus and practiced in numerous circumstances beyond the few times portrayed in this book. I’d read another book by the author if she decided to go that route and to broaden her scope to include some examination of the conflicts inherent to binding. As it stands, I’m glad I read this book, but I can’t help feeling it could have been better. ...more

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Sep 01, 2020 Lauren Lanz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, historical-fiction, 4-stars

A slow start, but I'm so glad to have continued The Binding, as I ended up really enjoying the rest of the story!

“May your darkness be quiet and the light come sooner than you need,”

~★~ What is this book about? ~★~

Emmett Farmer is plagued by an illness that renders him nearly useless to his family’s livelihood. When he is requested to be a binder’s apprentice, his family believes this is a chance for Emmett to be of use somewhere. Except binders make books of people’s memories they wish to f ...more

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Jun 26, 2019 Jenna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, lgbtqia

Stephen King Wael GIF - StephenKing Wael Alomari GIFs

"Which was worse? To feel nothing, or to grieve for something you no longer remembered? Surely when you forgot, you’d forget to be sad, or what was the point? And yet that numbness would take part of your self away..."

There are times in life we all go through painful things, things we wish hadn't happened, and which make us sad and anxious, or worse, to remember. What if you could have those memories removed? What if you could choose what you remember, to keep the good and get rid of the bad?

In The Binding, we enter a world where such things are possible. Binders are those with the gift to be able to extract peoples' memories and place them within a book. It is impossible for the person to ever again remember these things; indeed, they cannot even hear someone talk about them. The only way in which to remember is if the book is destroyed. As you can imagine, there are people who will pay a lot of money to read someone's dirty secrets, to dive into their darkest memories, to immerse themselves into someone else's pain and heartache. Thus, it is illegal to sell or give away books whilst a person is living, though it does happen. There are also trade books which are made up stories, and educational books where a scholar, at the end of her/his life, will impart their knowledge into a book.

Emmett Farmer is a binder's apprentice, and this is his story. It is also the story of a rich young man whose path crosses Emmett's several times, though neither of them remember. To say more I would need a spoiler alert and so, rather than trying to entice you to read the book by giving away the story, I will suggest you pick up the book instead. This is a fantastic story, imagining the depths we will go to escape our pain, and what the results would be if we removed all the negative memories from our minds. Would you still be you without your memories? Would you feel as though a part of you was missing? Would you be less of a person because part of your life has disappeared?

Bridget Collins has created a mesmerizing story; I found myself immediately drawn into it. The characters are so real. There is hope and dreams, avarice and pain, drama and mystery, and characters who wish to do good and ones who delight in harming others. I loved this book and highly recommend it. ...more

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Dec 20, 2020 Claude's Bookzone rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: well-written, new-adult, enemies-to-lovers, content-warning-see-text, fantasy, audiobook, romance, lgbtqia, disturbing, anti-lgbtqia-content

3.5 Stars - This was a hard decision but I am not convinced we needed the horrific descriptions of the painful memories as it was essentially a romance. For me it would have been enough to hint at the horror and then move on.

CW: There are some significant triggers in this book with some particularly distressing content.(view spoiler) ...more

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Jan 14, 2021 Katie Lumsden rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Well that was incredibly brilliant in every conceivable way. It has genuinely been years since I read a book I enjoyed that much. I highly, highly recommend this one.

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Aug 29, 2019 Darce rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: best-of-the-best, romance, fantasy-adventure, lgbtq-etc, mystery, featured-favourites

H O L Y
S H I R T B A L L S

This book is my life. I am stunned by how incredible the writing was, how incredible the characters were, how incredible the storyline is. The Binding is such a unique and interesting book, and as are the ideas that fuelled this book. A book about books, and what amazing books they are. Memories, captured and preserved and taken from a person forever. To be used for good or used for evil, this idea is stunning and I loved reading about it.

And then there were the chara ...more

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Jan 15, 2019 Katie.dorny rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, lgbtq

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

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Jul 12, 2018 karen marked it as to-read · review of another edition

ugh - tell me this technology is available and sign me up, please.

also, sign me up for the book, double please.

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May 07, 2019 Ingrid rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Brilliant story, very cleverly written. I liked the first 100 pages best, after that it became grim. The ending was satisfactory, but the book was completely different from what I expected and I'm still not sure if that is a good thing or not. ...more

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May 19, 2019 Marialyce (absltmom, yaya) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: library, books-of-2019

Some books entice you with their details , their wonderfully alluring premise, and work their way so very well into your imagination, that you are ever so sad to see them end. This was such a book.

Emmett Farmer is to become a book binder. This is no wonderful thing for him since this is a profession that is feared, filled with suspicion and ill omens, and one he is loath to consider, and yet here he is apprenticed to Seredith. She is an old binder and although Emmett has been drawn to books, he ...more

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Aug 24, 2018 Caroline rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, literary-fiction, memorable-characters, historical-setting, took-way-too-long-to-read, arc-or-advance-freebie, page-turner, fantasy, she-wrote-it

***NO SPOILERS***

In this surprisingly emotional fantasy–literary fiction blend, books are sordid things, definitely not read, and locked away in vaults at reputable companies with names such as Lyon & Sons. Each book in this world contains the wiped memories, most often horrible, of one person. Destroy that book by fire, and restore the horrible memory. Or, in rarer instances, destroy that book and restore destroyed lives.

On the simplest level, The Binding is about same-age characters Emmett Fa ...more

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Jan 31, 2020 Dark River rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

I meant to write an actual review a couple days ago already, but I'm still lacking the words for the time being.
All I know is that this is one of these rare, magical books that pulled me in to take a piece of my heart and never give it back again.

It's almost impossible for most readers, me included, to name just one book when asked about a favorite title. But this one has definitely made it onto the short list I usually give people. ...more

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Jul 03, 2018 Christie«SHBBblogger» rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: dark, advanced-copy, fantasy, historical-romance, jan2019, lgbt

Title: The Binding
Series: Standalone
Author: Bridget Collins
Release date: January 7, 2019
Genre: historical fiction, fantasy

I had such high hopes for this book and I'm so disappointed that I didn't love it. When I read the synopsis it sounded like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind which is a favorite film of mine. It's about a couple who have broken up and erase each other from their memories to forget the heartbreak they suffer from. The twist on that concept is that the memories being erase ...more

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