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Chronicles of Azaria #1
The Binding
Cursed by the Goddess, a healer’s daughter must fight for her freedom. Even if it means unleashing a forbidden magic that could destroy her and the kingdom.
Seventeen-year-old Eliza dreams of becoming a healer. Yet over her shoulder looms the Binding; an ancient spell that can seize anyone’s heart against their will. It already claimed her sister, and she’ll do anything to avoid the same fate.
Her future hopes are shattered when an accident strands her with Ryan, a bounty hunter on the run. Now Eliza has no choice but to join his game of cat and mouse, abandoning everything she’s ever known.
As Ryan’s relentless tracker edges nearer, a blood-thirsty cult hungers for revenge, and her own feelings turn against her, Eliza is determined to stand against destiny and set herself free.
But gaining the power to overcome the will of the Goddess has a price.
And if Eliza’s to survive, it could mean sacrificing more than she bargained for.
Seventeen-year-old Eliza dreams of becoming a healer. Yet over her shoulder looms the Binding; an ancient spell that can seize anyone’s heart against their will. It already claimed her sister, and she’ll do anything to avoid the same fate.
Her future hopes are shattered when an accident strands her with Ryan, a bounty hunter on the run. Now Eliza has no choice but to join his game of cat and mouse, abandoning everything she’s ever known.
As Ryan’s relentless tracker edges nearer, a blood-thirsty cult hungers for revenge, and her own feelings turn against her, Eliza is determined to stand against destiny and set herself free.
But gaining the power to overcome the will of the Goddess has a price.
And if Eliza’s to survive, it could mean sacrificing more than she bargained for.
505 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2013
26 people are currently reading
994 people want to read
About the author
Sam Dogra
11 books30 followersSam Dogra is General Practitioner (family doctor) working in the UK. Between reviewing prescriptions and X-rays, taking blood pressures and referring to consultants, she also writes fantasy fiction and is a fantasy artist.
She has been writing since age 14, starting with a short story involving the invention of the vaccination, then dabbling a little in fan fiction for several years, before setting off on a journey to play with her own original characters!
Her artwork includes various fan art, original works and beautiful birds.
Sam also enjoys reading, baking cakes, extensive retail therapy, astrology, video games, and photography. It's a wonder she has time to see patients really!
She has been writing since age 14, starting with a short story involving the invention of the vaccination, then dabbling a little in fan fiction for several years, before setting off on a journey to play with her own original characters!
Her artwork includes various fan art, original works and beautiful birds.
Sam also enjoys reading, baking cakes, extensive retail therapy, astrology, video games, and photography. It's a wonder she has time to see patients really!
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
June 24, 2021
It was a great book and I enjoyed reading it. I loved everything about this book and I couldn’t put it down.
October 7, 2013
I received this book through the Goodreads first-reads giveaway.
Eliza is a lovely character, though her repeated clumsiness did become a bit tiresome after a while. Overall the story has a sweet quirkiness that keeps you interested. I am looking forward to the next installment.
Eliza is a lovely character, though her repeated clumsiness did become a bit tiresome after a while. Overall the story has a sweet quirkiness that keeps you interested. I am looking forward to the next installment.
June 15, 2013
4.5 Stars. This exciting tale for New Adult/Older YA crosses genres making it difficult to categorise in any one area. Set in another world it has elements of sci-fi, fantasy and a just touch of steampunk. The characters are magnetic and quickly draw you into this exciting world where curses and magic become real. This passionate tale becomes unstoppable leaving you devastated that the second instalment is yet to be published - not a cliff-hanger, just totally addictive writing.
July 19, 2021
Strangers when they met.
Eliza first meets Ryan in the forest. They are bound by the Goddesses Binding that can force even strangers together forever. How they solve this and all the trouble they have doing it leads to the first in an epic adventure. I really liked the way Sam Dogra created the characters and the situation.
Eliza first meets Ryan in the forest. They are bound by the Goddesses Binding that can force even strangers together forever. How they solve this and all the trouble they have doing it leads to the first in an epic adventure. I really liked the way Sam Dogra created the characters and the situation.
January 8, 2021
This young adult fantasy has an intriguing premise. In this world a curse strikes at random, turning a chance encounter at the wrong time into an inescapable lifetime bond. This “binding” is one-way at first: the victim of the curse instantly becomes helplessly infatuated, albeit aware that these extreme emotions are fake and imposed by the curse, whilst the object of the infatuation is only ensnared slowly. The awkwardness of this situation in all its permutations is certainly story worthy. Neither party can escape: if they are separated by only a minor distance for only a short period of time, both may end up “unbound”, transformed into zombies, effectively. Quite a predicament.
The premise is well developed and provides clear logical plot points throughout. Our first person narrator and protagonist Eliza tried to evade the curse by way of self-imposed exile in the forest, and ended up bound by accident to the mysterious Ryan. This is not something she can admit to until she understands better what this turn of fate has in store for her. Whilst fighting the storm of emotions and the awkward reactions it causes, she retains her cleverness, independence, and snark in her desperate efforts to keep control of her life. This is a smart deconstruction and subversion of the instalove or instalust that plagues most YA fantasies I have come across, which normally turns the generally female protagonists to uninteresting emotional mush. Eliza definitely holds the reader’s attention and is someone whose adventures and thoughts are worth following.
The effects of Eliza’s “binding” are one-way for a major part of the story, which causes Ryan to come across as rather dim as he cannot recognise Eliza’s increasingly chaotic behaviour for that of someone trying to hide the binding. This does not sit well with his persona as a man of mystery and adventure. Eliza’s troubles become somewhat samey, and it becomes a bit of a struggle to maintain attention despite developments involving ancient temples of a goddess linked to the curse which are under attack from a mysterious organisation. But this lack of reciprocation becomes a significant plot point, as revealed in the last third of the tale, reinvigorating the narrative. This gives a simple concept layers of depth as more lore concerning the “binding” is revealed. In a way, the deconstruction mentioned above is deconstructed itself, and it’s much more than a device to introduce the wider world threat.
The final quarter is really engaging as the “binding” and the lore of the goddess fully entangle. The YA staple of a love triangle is cleverly skewed here into a four-way entanglement dependant on resolving a millennium old mystery. I’m definitely moving on to book two.
The premise is well developed and provides clear logical plot points throughout. Our first person narrator and protagonist Eliza tried to evade the curse by way of self-imposed exile in the forest, and ended up bound by accident to the mysterious Ryan. This is not something she can admit to until she understands better what this turn of fate has in store for her. Whilst fighting the storm of emotions and the awkward reactions it causes, she retains her cleverness, independence, and snark in her desperate efforts to keep control of her life. This is a smart deconstruction and subversion of the instalove or instalust that plagues most YA fantasies I have come across, which normally turns the generally female protagonists to uninteresting emotional mush. Eliza definitely holds the reader’s attention and is someone whose adventures and thoughts are worth following.
The effects of Eliza’s “binding” are one-way for a major part of the story, which causes Ryan to come across as rather dim as he cannot recognise Eliza’s increasingly chaotic behaviour for that of someone trying to hide the binding. This does not sit well with his persona as a man of mystery and adventure. Eliza’s troubles become somewhat samey, and it becomes a bit of a struggle to maintain attention despite developments involving ancient temples of a goddess linked to the curse which are under attack from a mysterious organisation. But this lack of reciprocation becomes a significant plot point, as revealed in the last third of the tale, reinvigorating the narrative. This gives a simple concept layers of depth as more lore concerning the “binding” is revealed. In a way, the deconstruction mentioned above is deconstructed itself, and it’s much more than a device to introduce the wider world threat.
The final quarter is really engaging as the “binding” and the lore of the goddess fully entangle. The YA staple of a love triangle is cleverly skewed here into a four-way entanglement dependant on resolving a millennium old mystery. I’m definitely moving on to book two.
December 3, 2014
First of all the entire book is well written with a clear plot line and brilliant literary techniques. There is suspense and mystery and as a reader it is very difficult to put down!
Eliza is a 17 year old girl and we follow her on her journey out of her quiet little town on a quest to avoid becoming an 'unbound'. Dogra explores the ups and downs of a 'forced' relationship through a mysterious curse called 'the binding'. It is explained that a person that is cursed with this will fall hopelessly in love with the first person they see on the full moon. This involves the curse implanting 'false' feelings and affecting each person strongly if denied.
Eliza wants to escape this fate as she watched it happen to her sister and found out first hand that the curse changes the people involved. However, as she is saved by a mysterious bounty-hunter, Ryan their fates become entwined. Eliza knows that she must stay with her bound partner or face becoming an 'unbound', losing her mind and becoming a fraction of who she was before. Therefore she must follow Ryan on his dangerous journey without giving away that they are bound and attempting to find a way to undo it.
The journey is made more difficult when major plot twists reveal themselves about Ryan and when ELiza's best friend, Adam, shows up thinking Eliza has been abducted.
The book is an interesting take on a romance novel. As the caption 'What do you do when you can't trust your heart?' suggests, the entire concept of falling in love is being questioned.
This is a must read and I can't wait to get my hands on its sequel!
Eliza is a 17 year old girl and we follow her on her journey out of her quiet little town on a quest to avoid becoming an 'unbound'. Dogra explores the ups and downs of a 'forced' relationship through a mysterious curse called 'the binding'. It is explained that a person that is cursed with this will fall hopelessly in love with the first person they see on the full moon. This involves the curse implanting 'false' feelings and affecting each person strongly if denied.
Eliza wants to escape this fate as she watched it happen to her sister and found out first hand that the curse changes the people involved. However, as she is saved by a mysterious bounty-hunter, Ryan their fates become entwined. Eliza knows that she must stay with her bound partner or face becoming an 'unbound', losing her mind and becoming a fraction of who she was before. Therefore she must follow Ryan on his dangerous journey without giving away that they are bound and attempting to find a way to undo it.
The journey is made more difficult when major plot twists reveal themselves about Ryan and when ELiza's best friend, Adam, shows up thinking Eliza has been abducted.
The book is an interesting take on a romance novel. As the caption 'What do you do when you can't trust your heart?' suggests, the entire concept of falling in love is being questioned.
This is a must read and I can't wait to get my hands on its sequel!
June 24, 2013
What an interesting concept, just seeing someone by chance and then provided the timing is right, you find yourself bound to them forever. Sounds a bit like a "love at first sight" only the two people have no choice in the matter due to a "Binding Curse." Eliza hoping to outwit the curse escaped into the forest only to be thwarted by a wild bear so was it fate or circumstance? I liked Eliza though I sometimes felt that honesty would have been the best policy. I did understand why she was reluctant to own up to the binding as she barely knew Ryan. Ryan was actually a good guy and he seemed genuine though he was on the run himself and had secrets of his own that he was keeping from her. Desperate to hide the truth from her family, she flees her home with Ryan making up a sordid past for herself. A love triangle of sorts ensues when her childhood friend Adam finds out about the binding as he yearns for something more and sets out to find her.
When all the secrets have been revealed, will Eliza be able to distinguish how she really feels. If there is a chance that the curse can be reversed, who would Eliza pick if she was free to choose? Her childhood friend Adam that she shares a history with or Ryan who claims to love her now despite his binding to another. I can't wait to read the next book to find out more about this triangle and will true love eventually prevail.
When all the secrets have been revealed, will Eliza be able to distinguish how she really feels. If there is a chance that the curse can be reversed, who would Eliza pick if she was free to choose? Her childhood friend Adam that she shares a history with or Ryan who claims to love her now despite his binding to another. I can't wait to read the next book to find out more about this triangle and will true love eventually prevail.
September 30, 2013
(I received this book for free as part of Goodreads First Reads giveaways).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I think this book was quite a good young adult fantasy one. The concept of Binding was an interesting one, though I'm still not quite sure I understand who it affects. There seems to be the implication that it can happen to everyone.
I could really empathise with Eliza and the way she struggles to ignore the Binding and its effects. I thought the author did a really good job of depicting her thoughts and emotions compared to the false ones triggered by the Binding. It comes across almost as slavery to me.
I liked a lot of the characters in the book and even the ones I didn't particularly like, I found quite interesting. I also really liked Cielo. (I think animals tend to have their own personalities).
I found the book to be quite well written, but I'm not too keen on there being a love triangle. I rarely see them dealt with well in fiction.
The world created in this book was a fairly interesting and detailed one. I could see a lot of the events happening in my mind.
All in all, I did enjoy this book. I think it's worth reading and I would definitely be interesting in reading the rest of this trilogy.
(This review may contain spoilers).
I think this book was quite a good young adult fantasy one. The concept of Binding was an interesting one, though I'm still not quite sure I understand who it affects. There seems to be the implication that it can happen to everyone.
I could really empathise with Eliza and the way she struggles to ignore the Binding and its effects. I thought the author did a really good job of depicting her thoughts and emotions compared to the false ones triggered by the Binding. It comes across almost as slavery to me.
I liked a lot of the characters in the book and even the ones I didn't particularly like, I found quite interesting. I also really liked Cielo. (I think animals tend to have their own personalities).
I found the book to be quite well written, but I'm not too keen on there being a love triangle. I rarely see them dealt with well in fiction.
The world created in this book was a fairly interesting and detailed one. I could see a lot of the events happening in my mind.
All in all, I did enjoy this book. I think it's worth reading and I would definitely be interesting in reading the rest of this trilogy.
May 22, 2014
What can I say but "wow". Once again Sam has shown talent in telling a tale with wit and witty comments that bring a smile to my face. I love Eliza's sassy attitude, and yet the realization of what is taking place and how she choses to fight through it with determination and courage.
Sam's created a MC's voice that is strong and lovable and the characters around her only add to the depth of the story.
I love it, will continue to love it and will demand more!
Sam's created a MC's voice that is strong and lovable and the characters around her only add to the depth of the story.
I love it, will continue to love it and will demand more!
October 30, 2014
I loved this book. you get so caught up in who Ryan is and the curse on Eliza that you just keep turning the pages to find out more, then your hoping that Eliza ends up with Ryan only to have her best friend pop into the picture causing a strange love triangle that keeps you wondering and hoping all at once. For a definite page turner that keeps you in suspense of what next i'd pick this and you won't regret it. P.S. i need the parting sent to me asap please :)
July 10, 2013
Awesome! Can't wait for the next one!!!
October 19, 2014
I loved it! It's been so long since I've last liked a book so much that I ran out to buy the next one in the series.
July 21, 2021
The Goddess's Binding is the first book of the Chronicles of Azaria by Sam Dogra. The first thing I want to say is that this book has a lot going on. Not only is there magic and fantasy themes but there's also hints of steampunk and sci-fi, which I thought was not only interesting but made it hard to place into one type of category. The characters are well developed and quite likeable, though I did get irritated at points with the level of clumsiness Eliza had. This book is fun, imaginative and quite magical!
March 7, 2014
Good fantasy novel. Character development and scenes were don well. Aside from wanting to dope slap the leading lady Eliza. At times I didn't think I'd make it through her injuries (always getting hurt)and emotions.
August 14, 2015
For most people this book would be 5 stars and I agree , it's just not my kind of book but well written and nice easy read
May 29, 2015
Interesting and uncommon magical love story.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews