Book: The Boundless by Anna Bright

Published June 2020 by HarperTeen|512 pages

Where I Got It: I own the hardcover

Series: The Beholder #2

Genre: YA Fantasy

This breathtaking sequel to The Beholder will take you on a journey into a darkly sparkling fairy tale, perfect for fans of The Selection and Caraval.

When Selah found true love with Prince Torden of Norway, she never imagined she’d have to leave him behind. All because the Beholder’s true mission was a secret Selah’s crew didn’t trust her to keep: transporting weapons to the rebels fighting against the brutal tsarytsya, whose shadow looms over their next port of Shvartsval’d. A place Selah hoped she’d never go.

But gone is the girl who departed Potomac filled with fear. With a stockpile of weapons belowdecks and her heart hanging in the balance, Selah is determined to see the Beholder’s quest to its end.

I LOVED The Boundless!  It’s such a great sequel, and I didn’t think I’d like it as much as the first book.  I ended up liking it more!

I just loved the story, and in this book, we see Selah go into the heart of Baba Yaga’s home.  It’s definitely not a warm and welcoming place.  In fact, it’s probably the worst place Selah, or anyone else, could be.  What the tsarytysa does to hold onto her power…it’s horrible and not good at all.  Making her happy isn’t possible, and even the slightest wrong move can mean death.  I mean, you want her favor, but it seems like its so easy to lose.

I’m glad things worked out for Selah.  She found love, things are back to normal in Potomac, and people who do horrible things get punished for it.  I’m glad Selah’s stepmother is no longer in the picture, and I’m not at all surprised at what she did.  I can understand why she did it, which doesn’t mean that what she did was okay.  It’s not at all okay.  But I am glad that everyone knew what she did, and that Selah didn’t lose her father because of it.

Selah is such a different character in this book.  She’s grown and changed so much, and she has the strength and capability to do what she needed to do to get back home to her family.  She not the quiet, unsure girl we see in The Beholder, that’s for sure.  Though I hated how she treated Lang- I felt like she led him on, and I think he deserved better.  With Torden, though, it’s not like anyone else had a chance, but I still felt bad for Lang, who seemed to have feelings for someone who didn’t return those same feelings.

I just really loved this story.  I never knew what was going to happen next, and I really liked how we saw different stories woven in.  We don’t see nearly as many as The Beholder, but the one that stands out is one that reminded me of the 12 dancing princesses.  I really like how Bright incorporated that into the story and I think she did a great job at incorporating a lot of different stories into these books.  It was fun to see the variety of stories in the book, and you saw it right down to the names of the characters.

I’m really glad I read this one!  It was what I needed, and it’s totally worth reading.

5 stars.  I loved The Boundless, and it’s even better than the first book in the series!