Bound (Alex Caine)

By: Alan Baxter

Narrated by: Jonathan Waters

Alex Caine is a martial artist fighting in illegal cage matches. His powerful secret weapon is an unnatural vision that allows him to see his opponents’ moves before they know their intentions themselves.

An enigmatic Englishman, Patrick Welby, approaches Alex after a fight and reveals, "I know your secret." Welby shows Alex how to unleash a breathtaking realm of magic and power, drawing him into a mind-bending adventure beyond his control.

And control is something Alex values above all else....

A cursed grimoire binds Alex to Uthentia, a chaotic Fey godling, who leads him towards chaos and murder, an urge Alex finds harder and harder to resist. Befriended by Silhouette, a monstrous Kin beauty, Alex sets out to recover the only things that will free him - the shards of the Darak. But that powerful stone also has the potential to unleash a catastrophe which could mean the end of the world as we know it.

©2017 Alan Baxter (P)2019 Gryphonwood Press

Martial Arts, Magic, Sex and Monsters!

This book was a pretty fun read that had a lot of different elements mixed together. It follows the main character Alex Caine who is an MMA fighter who is almost impossibly good because of his training and his special ability of being able to read his opponents 'Shades' and predict their next moves. This turns out to be a magical ability that he was unaware of which drags him somewhat against his will into a magical world he never knew existed when Patrick Welby a Mage who knows that Alex has special magical powers and needs his help to be able to read a magical Grimoire. Welby drags Alex into his world as Alex has to get out of town anyway as he is having issues with the local gangsters. From there he learns of his magical abilities and learns some skills as he becomes entangled in Welby's world and while helping him becomes cursed himself. He also meets a Kin(a half Fey/Fairy and Human) Silhouette who helps him on his quest to break the Curse and save himself from the situation he has found himself in.

I found this magical world and the creatures in it fairly interesting and the action and fighting were all pretty enjoyable. There is quite a bit of sex involved and some of it isn't all that romantic or tame so if that is an issue for you I would give this a pass. I didn't find the character of Alex all that original and he seemed a bit one dimensional but he was still pretty cool and enjoyable nonetheless. The narration by Jonathan Waters was well done and I enjoyed his accent.

"Please note I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

3.5 stars

Narration: The Narrator, Jonathan Waters, was wonderful. He made the accents come alive and the characters feel like they were right there. I’ll be checking his list later to see what else of his I can pick up for a listen!

Story: This was my first book by Alan Baxter. I loved the premise and the characters. As an editor though, the POV changes were distracting and the main reason for the lower rating. But don’t let that stop you from this book or audio. The storyline and characters make it worth it and I’ll be picking up the rest of the series in ebook format so its easier for me to follow.

I think there’s a little bit of everything in this book to make everyone happy. You have the action, the fantasy, the gore, and the sexiness. The world-building was amazing and detailed. So overall, it’s a recommendation from me if you like those in your novels!

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Somewhat different take

Very good narration and decent story. Characters overall are pretty good. The main character is sort of predictable. Classic tough on the outside, trained by master sensei, well read, difficult loss of parents, but has a strict moral compass dude. The characters around him are very interesting and so is the magic world. Not a bad start.

“I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.”

Excellent start to this intense series!!

Bound: Alex Caine, an Audiobook by Alan Baxter is the completely compelling story of Alex and Silhouette. He’s a cage fighter with unusual abilities who finds himself bound to a book…and aided by a beautiful Kin, Silhouette.
This story is so incredibly complex, engrossing, compelling, dangerous, exciting, and takes you to a mesmerizing world that is oh…so….real!!!!

This story was FABULOUSLY narrated by Jonathan Waters!!! What an incredible performance of this phenomenal story!!! His depictions of each character are spot on and distinct….allowing easy following of the complex story because of the clear voices of each!!!

I am volunteering to leave a review for an Advance Reader Copy of this Audiobook.

Alex Caine

Alex has had a rough life and is a fighter. He learns of a world that has always been there but not many know about it and now he’s in the center of it and people want something he has. He needs to find out more to try to stay alive and stay ahead of it all. The magical world was pretty interesting and I enjoyed the plot. At times it was rather predictable but still pretty good.