Author Rochelle Hassan delivers a pulse-pounding conclusion to her dangerous and alluring trilogy, The Buried and the Bound, inviting readers into the realm of witches that churns beneath the surface of the mundane—just as it threatens to boil over. . .
Rochelle Hassan is an author of middle grade and young adult fiction, including The Prince of Nowhere, The Buried and the Bound, and Nox Winters and the Midnight Wolf. She lives in New York.
Been sitting on it for a few hours and the more I unravel (heh) this book the more I love it. The Spell for Unraveling is quite an ambitious book—over 450 pages and it filled every one of them. The first two books left a lot of threads to tie up, which are all managed with an impressive amount of grace. It does feel a bit fragmented in places, but overall weaves an excellent narrative. Altough I wouldn't have minded a couple more pages. I'm just so impressed by Rochelle Hassan's storytelling. She expands the world in a way that falls naturally in line with the first two books. Her prose is beautifully descriptive and deftly handed to a teen audience. I choose not to, but I could go on. This is a really good book. Would recommend this series to anyone.
Damn bro, am I really going to be reading this book in less than 24 hours, after waiting for almost two years? It really does drive me crazy how fast the night changes.
2024 This is my most anticipated 2025 book and I’m not even joking.
2026 Correction, this is my most anticipated 2026 book and I’m not even joking.
I honestly probably should've reread book 1 and 2 before reading the final book in this series. There were a lot of references to previous books that just went over my head. There was also a character who end up being really important who I didn't remember at all. I know this character was at least introduced in previous books, but I cannot recall to what extent. To me, it felt like said character was just kind of thrown in to resolve the plot. However, I am not sure to what extent this happened as I did not reread the previous installments. The main thing I remembered about book 2 was that I didn't see how all the conflicts could be resolved in the final book. I would say that everything was resolved in a satisfying enough way, but it was also quite rushed. I think this series would've been much better had there been more books in the series. Since so much needed to be resolved in this book, a lot happened "off page." The majority of the Elphame storyline is resolved off page. Hazel is pretty much doing her own thing, and we just get brief updates from Tristain throughout the book. This was the case for most of the book. Since so much needed to happen, the characters would often learn new skills or information off page and then just relay the information later. We also are introduced to new characters who became quite important to the story. These characters felt more like plot devices than people. While I think it fine to introduce new characters and world building elements in the final book of a series, I felt like this book did a bit too much. This third book in itself felt like it could've been a trilogy with all the information it was trying to introduce and resolve. Even though I did overall like this series and the resolution, I think this book just had a little too much going on.
“He couldn’t say he was lonely. If he’d lost a lung, lonely wasn’t the word he’d use to describe the experience. He just knew he couldn’t breathe.”
☆ RATING: 5/5
☆ PLOT: Despite not having read the previous two books in this series for at least a year, the plot flowed so seamlessly that I had no questions other than who a few minor characters were (which was easy to look up; I likely should have done a bit more catching up before starting!). As always, the plot blends fluffy/happy/funny moments with ones that will unabashedly raise your blood pressure, and I would not have it any other way! I think this was my favorite plot of the three books, because it brought together everything that has happened throughout the series to a satisfying end. Every major plot point and subplot was brought full circle without it seeming self-indulgent. Loved loved loved!!!
☆ CHARACTERS: All the characters are so different but it is so so easy to fall in love with all of them! My personal favorite was Tristan, mainly because I loved the blend of him being an anxious little necromancer (same, minus the necromancer part) and a shamelessly self-confident silly when it came to stuff he was sure about. With all three main characters; Aziza, Leo, and Tristan; there was a lot of really lovely character development. They each made (or didn't make) decisions that made it very obvious they've grown throughout the series, in ways both good and bad. Despite the fact that this is a fantasy series, the characters were very realistic!
☆ RELATIONSHIPS: I literally cannot express any other sentiment to Treo than "UGH UGH UGH UGH UGH (complimentary)".
☆ OTHER THOUGHTS: Immediately going to the favorites list, don't even WORRY. If she has other series, I need to try some other Rochelle Hassan books!
"It was only a brush of their lips together, almost a peck, like a hello or goodbye--casual, absent-minded, familiar."
i don’t have a solid opinion on this book. the first 50% was honestly awful. it was less like the cozy, creepy fantasy of the first two books and more like teens messing with the occult and boring, elongated fairy politics. however, after the first battle, it started feeling like the series i knew and loved. i adored the growth of coven blackthorn and the characters involved. seeing them act like regular, gen-z teens was so fun. even so, characters like anne and meryl still annoyed me so much. even dion felt…different. i don’t exactly know why these characters started annoying me, but they did. on top of all of this, the ending was so rushed. hassan mushed the entire final battle and resolution into 30-40 pages, and nothing felt truly resolved. we didn’t even get to see tristan find out that leo remembered him, which was what the entire series was building up to. i don’t know, this book just felt…off. i wish i liked it more, but something about it didn’t feel like it fit into the rest of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I am so disappointed. I was so excited to finally get the conclusion to this trilogy. There were several fantastic threads I wanted tied up: Leo and Tristan and Leo’s true love forgetting curse, Dion and Aziza and Aziza’s lying, Meryl’s disappearance, what will become of the Summer Courtney and Leo/Hazel’s roles in it. Technically all of these are addressed but they are all shunted to the side to make room for an extremely convoluted plot about witch institutions and one guy’s plot to make a new world.
The first 20% of the book was extremely info dumpy (the Half Moon markets, the Clattering, different types of witches, etc.) I had hoped it was just setting us up for more interesting stuff down the line. I was mistaken. The entire book kept focusing on totally new threads that all needed a ton of explanations. On top of that, both climaxes (the Fae realm battle and the witch battle) wrapped up quickly, easily, and with a lot of handwaving consequences. The final battle again the witch guy resolves by Tristan’s shadow traveling being able to snuff out all the power of the lanterns powering the spell and by Meryl appearing out of nowhere to kill him. It took about a chapter and left me feeling “that’s it?”
Speaking of, LEO TELLS TRISTAN HE REMEMBERS HIM OFF PAGE!!!! WE DON’T SEE THIS CONVERSATION AT ALL!!!!!! For me the first two books were about two things: Leo’s curse to forget his true love (Tristan) and Aziza’s borderland magic. We get a very small amount of both in this book. I truly couldn’t believe how much relationship development between Tristan and Leo was left off the page. There is maybe one or two chapters where we actually get scenes of them interacting and dive into all the emotional turmoil about their relationship. And those few scenes were amazing!!! But then we got whisked into an explanation about the power structure of weather witches.
My highlight plotwise was the death and resurrection of our three MCs. I loved the chapter with Tristan’s spirit trapped in Lucky and Dion working with him to bring them all back. We even have some great consequences to this display of power, with Tristan starting on the path to become a lich. We get a very quick period of angst where Tristan runs away because of What He Has Become. But then his other necromancer friends make him a face mask (off page), he comes back and everything is fine. Another instance (of many) in this book where the author writes a really interesting check she can’t cash.
This book was simply trying to do too much and strayed way too far from the origin of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I waited ages for this book. I had such issues getting it and I finnaly got it in my possession. It is one of my favourite series. I love the characters, world and writing so much truely. The friendships between Aziza, Leo and Tris honestly mean so much to me. Such a well written friendship/found family. I also love Dion so much and he is definitely now part of Blackthorn coven, even though there was no discussion over it he has to be because come on he has done so much. Him and Aziza definitely have a little romance going on there maybe?👀 It is left very opened ended but I didn’t mind it felt right for them.
Leo and Tristan were of course so sweet as always. They had a lot of good scenes together. Though I am a bit disappointed with how the curse got broken and how it was handled I wish we got to spend a little bit more time on it. And I wish we would have gotten Tris reaction to Leo being curse free but we didn’t get that and it kind of made me a little sad because I was waiting for it for so long. I think it got lost with the other big plot point with Castor which is a shame. But oh well I still love them very much.
I will miss these characters so much. Maybe another book please Rochelle Hassan👀 Just a cozy one where Coven Blackthorn are just doing little borderland missions and being all found family and in love.🙏 Pretty please.
I probably wouldn't rate this five stars if it wasn't part of this series. Plot wise it's kinda meh and not necessarily special. But it is the last book in this series and this series with these characters matter a lot to me.
I think this really excels at the "fluff" of it all. The character interactions are great and I think it's what carries this book and maybe also the series (though the world and magic are amazing to). They are just so easy to get attached to and care about.
The character development really stands out to me too. I find that there are plenty of books that have interesting characters but they don't go anywhere interesting. The characters in this series do though. Not just the main characters either but the side characters too. It's just awesome to see that change over the course of three books (maybe it's just because I don't read a lot of series though).
Admittedly, this didn't feel like a five star after first finishing it. It just lacked that giddy, mind-blown feeling that I usually feel when a book reaches those heights for me. But when I thought about it, I couldn't justify any other ranking. So, yeah, it deserves those five stars. The whole series does.
This was a fine end to this series, though I still can’t tell if I liked the series as a whole or not. On the plus side, the characters, world-building, and magic system were all unique, and the author took big risks in the storytelling that made the plot itself unique. This was all very refreshing given the cookie-cutter trope-fest that is most YA fantasy these days.
That said, the pacing was off in all three books, and might actually have gotten worse in the final installment. So much of the fairy subplot took place off-page, and I never really understood how or why it was tied to the main story. And the Big Thing the series has been building toward since the beginning of book one *also* took place off-page, which was an absolutely bonkers choice. The uneven pacing and weird emphasis on plot points that didn’t end up mattering at all really detracted from the story and kept me from enjoying an otherwise interesting series as much as I could have.
Also, this was the first book I listened to as an audiobook and the male narrators—especially Tristan’s narrator—were terrible. There’s a good chance I would have liked book three a bit more if I’d skipped the audiobook.
This was a great conclusion to a great series! Hassan made decisions here that I haven't seen a lot of authors do - mainly around plot points and character arcs. She's never been afraid of consequences for her main characters either and that shines in this third book.
I love how focused on friendship her characters are too. Aziza's defining arcs are still about finding a lost friend and supporting her coven. The coven itself is the core of the story, and Dion and Nelle were great additions.
Tristan and Leo man. All the cozy moments between them were so well earned. Their relationship has grown so much over the series and I'm so glad to see them happy together in this finale!
This was a long read, but it had so much to wrap up from the series! I do think the ending was too rushed even with the length though. It needed more time to breathe and settle. A big moment I've been waiting for since book 1 also happened partially off page - which felt so odd after everything!!!
But overall happy for the wonderful conclusion! I'll certainly come back to this series now that it's finished.
I love how many character moments we get in such an action-packed book. I love the main trio and all their friends and family so, so much. I cried so hard several times while reading this book because of how emotionally attached I am to these characters and their story. The emotional damage is real. The plot is a little all over the place this time. But in the end we get to tie all loose ends in a satisfying way. (Only the moment I was waiting for for 3 books felt very anticlimactic. Bold choice to do it like this... on the other hand, I love the conclusion a lot, so I won't complain too much. But I do feel robbed.) A part of me is sad that trilogies need to expand their world and plot with every book because I loved the intimate and isolated vibes of book one. But it's still so cool how Rochelle Hassan managed to create such a rich, fantastical world with so many wonderful and diverse characters. It would be a shame to waste the potential for more stories in this world.
I fully understand that this story was planned to be a trilogy, but I don’t think it should have been. All of my problems with this book stem from pacing and editing, which would have been resolved if the story was split into two parts and given time to breathe. This book didn’t really become tolerable to read until chapters 22-26, which is exactly where I think the third book should have ended. This would have given the opportunity to build out the first section significantly, giving actual page time to a character that becomes semi-important in the second half of the book who only appears twice in the first half. The plot was good and had real potential, but I didn’t enjoy the execution very much. I hate to say that considering how long I waited for the conclusion, but it’s true.
TLDR: all my problems with this book could have been solved by splitting it into two books.
book 3 and conclusion to series Picking up right where book two ended, this 450 page book is the conclusion to the series. There is a lot that needs to happen to wrap things up, however, and even with this many pages a lot of the action takes place off page and is just reported to the reader -especially concerning Hazel, as she is in another kingdom. A few things feel very drawn out, such as the situation with how to rescue Meryl, the selkie, but they do all come to satisfying conclusions eventually. The world building is rather unique and I truly enjoyed the characters with their well thought out, diverse, and queer representation. (Lost a star because it dragged on for me - too much telling, not enough showing)
THIS WAS SO GOOD!!!! Oh my god. I loved this. I know the series ended, but I want more.
Why did I like it so much? Well. Here’s an (incomplete, not in order) list. 1) The trio being awesome 2) Nelle 3) Open flirting between Tristan and Leo 4) Tied up loose ends 5) A whole freaking resurrection 6) Snark. From everyone 7) Fairy courts 8) Leo being awesome 9) Do I ship Aziza and Dion? You know it. 10) Aziza really learning her craft. (She tames freaking KELPIES. Come on. Tell me that’s not awesome.) 11) Secret magic meetings And… 12) 🎉 🥳 WE FINALLY GOT RID OF THAT DANG CURSE!!!!🎉🥳
I would also like to say; the current song that I feel is appropriate for Leo and Tristan is “Would You Fall In Love With Me Again” from EPIC: The Musical. Tristan is Odysseus, Leo is Penelope
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I'd give my left pinky for the (probably cut) scene in which Leo tells Tristan about the broken curse only complaint I have about this book. please give it to me. I am willing to do any bargain.
(honest review is that I truly love this series, this book was well done, but a bit rushed and it could've probably been 2 books, but with the state of publishing as it is we got this instead) (Which I am thankful for either way) (but please upload the cut scenes. I need them.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was all very refreshing given the cookie cutter trope fest that is most YA fantasy these days.Also, this was the first book I listened to as an audiobook and the male narrators especially Tristan’s narrator were terrible. There’s a good chance I would have liked book three a bit more if I’d skipped the audiobook.
I loved, loved, loved the stories in this one and that she never shied away from sending the characters through hell. The only thing that threw me off was how rushed the whole Castor plot and the end of the romance was. In general there was so much going on yet all events barely had time to breath and develop compared to the first two books. (Especially the last 10 chapters.)
4.5, probably. I'm just a little confused why a new plot point would be introduced 60% through the last book in a trilogy. It was a very interesting plot point, but there wasn't enough time to actually explore it so I don't know what the point of having it was other than slightly more drama. Other than that, this was a satisfying conclusion to a very good series.
Wow just wow. This book blew me away. When they all died I was so blindsided I love this series and will definitely buy all 3 books. I just love my lovly characters. My only complaint is the fade to black when Leo tells Tristen that the curse broke and they didn’t tell their family’s they died but other than that I was enthralled and am about to reread the entire book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This was a solid trilogy. I had a little bit of trouble placing people and activities when I first started to read each book, but eventually I would just find my bearings. I did drift off a little again in the middle of this one, but the ending was exciting and the loose ends I was concerned about were all tied off.
I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect ending to this beautiful trilogy. My heart is so full, and I am nowhere near ready enough to say goodbye to these characters.
Even though it’s been a while since I read the first two books, I was still invested in the characters, the story, enjoyed the humour and, appreciated the nod backs to the previous books.
everything got wrapped up beautifully and it felt like a very satisfying ending to the series. definitely going to pick up every rochelle hassan i possibly can now