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The Wolves of Ruin #1
Обвързана с опасността
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Romantasy (2025)Мерин Купър мрази Обвързаните.
Всички други ги смятат за герои. Вълчи ездачи, които изграждат телепатична връзка със зверовете си и защитават кралството от кръвопийците, които живеят в далечния север. Ала за Мерин Обвързаните са просто самовлюбени убийци, които тънат в охолство, докато обикновените хора гаснат в мизерия.
Когато сестра ѝ е отвлечена, младата жена знае, че няма смисъл да моли никого за помощ. Надеждата ѝ е, че ще успее да стигне до фронта, да проникне във владенията на кръвопийците и да я спаси. Вместо това се случва немислимото – Мерин е избрана от загадъчна сребърна вълчица да участва в Изпитанията за обвързване.
Предстоят ѝ четири месеца в крепост, пълна с психопати, които я презират заради бедняшкия ѝ произход и биха я убили, без да им мигне окото. Ако иска да оцелее, трябва да намери съюзници и да докаже, че е достойна да бъде истинска Обвързана. Да се превърне в онова, което винаги е ненавиждала.
Защото глутницата не прощава слабостта. И оцеляват единствено непоколебимите, които дръзват да погледнат опасността в очите.
„Обвързана с опасността“ - книга първа от „Вълци на разрухата“.
Всички други ги смятат за герои. Вълчи ездачи, които изграждат телепатична връзка със зверовете си и защитават кралството от кръвопийците, които живеят в далечния север. Ала за Мерин Обвързаните са просто самовлюбени убийци, които тънат в охолство, докато обикновените хора гаснат в мизерия.
Когато сестра ѝ е отвлечена, младата жена знае, че няма смисъл да моли никого за помощ. Надеждата ѝ е, че ще успее да стигне до фронта, да проникне във владенията на кръвопийците и да я спаси. Вместо това се случва немислимото – Мерин е избрана от загадъчна сребърна вълчица да участва в Изпитанията за обвързване.
Предстоят ѝ четири месеца в крепост, пълна с психопати, които я презират заради бедняшкия ѝ произход и биха я убили, без да им мигне окото. Ако иска да оцелее, трябва да намери съюзници и да докаже, че е достойна да бъде истинска Обвързана. Да се превърне в онова, което винаги е ненавиждала.
Защото глутницата не прощава слабостта. И оцеляват единствено непоколебимите, които дръзват да погледнат опасността в очите.
„Обвързана с опасността“ - книга първа от „Вълци на разрухата“.
736 pages, малък формат, меки корици, с цветни порезки
First published February 26, 2025
About the author
Sable Sorensen
10 books4,651 followersSable Sorensen writes spicy dark romantasy and is thrilled to be launching her debut novel DIREBOUND into the world this coming February. Sable is the pen name of two good friends and fantasy fangirls who teamed up to write books that feature strong heroines, spicy romances, and the never-ending fight between those in power and those who would defend the weak and vulnerable.
Follow Sable for an exclusive peek into the Wolves of Ruin series:
Instagram: @sablesorensen
Tiktok: @sable.sorensen
Mailing list: sablesorensen dot substack dot com/subscribe
Or drop us a line at sablesorensenauthor at gmail -- we'd love to hear from you!
Follow Sable for an exclusive peek into the Wolves of Ruin series:
Instagram: @sablesorensen
Tiktok: @sable.sorensen
Mailing list: sablesorensen dot substack dot com/subscribe
Or drop us a line at sablesorensenauthor at gmail -- we'd love to hear from you!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33,051 reviews
August 9, 2025
OH MY GOSH THIS WAS SO MUCH FUNNNNN
I'm beyond surprised by how a predictable book and plot twists that I was guessing on point still managed to completely reel me in and at the end blew me away. And yes, it does read like it was inspired by A LOT of popular romantasy books. But imo at the end of the day, it manages to stand on it's own. Like, talk about a masterful execution. *insert impressed whistling*
It has action, it has romance, spice and angst, betrayals, trials and training scenes. But mostly, it has an actual plot that is too immersive for its own good. I was hooked from chapter one to the end. All I wanted was to devour it and never wanting it to end. The writing and world building is pretty simplistic to understand and it starts to expand as the book progresses, especially adding more layers and depths. The direwolves and the siphons are an interesting addition ngl.
🐺 Meryn is fierce and badass. She has her moments of loyalty that bites her back but it shows a rare side of vulnerability and realism. She is a mix between Paedyn and Violet imo. I just know she's going to get even more better especially opening up with Anassa. That's something I look forward to exploring.
⚔️ Stark is someone I loved at first glance and the way I just knew he's a secret jealous, alpha ass man who is going to have me swooning, falling, gasping and yearning in the next one. Baby, I'm already there tho 😭🥵 I call dibs!! My man 👀🤤 I would like to picture him as if Robb Stark (from Game of Thrones) but only darker and more fierce.
🖤 Lee? Fucking knew it, the moment he was introduced. I've read too much romantasy to see right through. But oh gosh the mouth on the man and the spice 🤤 The authors did a really good job at his character arc and the way he is written, I cannot deny that.
The romance is a far more complex than a simple enemies to lovers but the slow burn and the banter was all so good and had me grasping for crumbs. The spice is deliciously well written but it's those moments of tender and air cracking tension that was making it even better and intense. I can't wait to see the fated mates trope play out in more depth in the next book.
The last 150 pages was an experience tho. Oof, loved it. I sort of already have an idea on how the next book is going to play out with that splendid ending. It's easy to predict but I hope it's still immersive as this one. It's worth a read, especially if you're looking for something fast paced and an easier sort of fantasy to dive into.
~•~•~
Okay, I'm doing this. It sounds pretty much perfect already but really hope it delivers 🤞
I'm beyond surprised by how a predictable book and plot twists that I was guessing on point still managed to completely reel me in and at the end blew me away. And yes, it does read like it was inspired by A LOT of popular romantasy books. But imo at the end of the day, it manages to stand on it's own. Like, talk about a masterful execution. *insert impressed whistling*
It has action, it has romance, spice and angst, betrayals, trials and training scenes. But mostly, it has an actual plot that is too immersive for its own good. I was hooked from chapter one to the end. All I wanted was to devour it and never wanting it to end. The writing and world building is pretty simplistic to understand and it starts to expand as the book progresses, especially adding more layers and depths. The direwolves and the siphons are an interesting addition ngl.
🐺 Meryn is fierce and badass. She has her moments of loyalty that bites her back but it shows a rare side of vulnerability and realism. She is a mix between Paedyn and Violet imo. I just know she's going to get even more better especially opening up with Anassa. That's something I look forward to exploring.
⚔️ Stark is someone I loved at first glance and the way I just knew he's a secret jealous, alpha ass man who is going to have me swooning, falling, gasping and yearning in the next one. Baby, I'm already there tho 😭🥵 I call dibs!! My man 👀🤤 I would like to picture him as if Robb Stark (from Game of Thrones) but only darker and more fierce.
🖤 Lee? Fucking knew it, the moment he was introduced. I've read too much romantasy to see right through. But oh gosh the mouth on the man and the spice 🤤 The authors did a really good job at his character arc and the way he is written, I cannot deny that.
The romance is a far more complex than a simple enemies to lovers but the slow burn and the banter was all so good and had me grasping for crumbs. The spice is deliciously well written but it's those moments of tender and air cracking tension that was making it even better and intense. I can't wait to see the fated mates trope play out in more depth in the next book.
The last 150 pages was an experience tho. Oof, loved it. I sort of already have an idea on how the next book is going to play out with that splendid ending. It's easy to predict but I hope it's still immersive as this one. It's worth a read, especially if you're looking for something fast paced and an easier sort of fantasy to dive into.
~•~•~
Okay, I'm doing this. It sounds pretty much perfect already but really hope it delivers 🤞
March 21, 2026
Okay…. I’m gonna try my best to formulate thoughts but this book has my brain all over the place soooo I apologize in advance.
As a whole this book wasn’t anything super special to me, but I still liked a lot bits and pieces that I think my issues will be made up for in book 2! It took me a while to get into and the pacing was slow. But then there would be scenes that really sucked me in, then I would get bored again. This book was sitting at a solid 2.5 stars until the last 10%. Everything picked up so quickly and I needed to know what happened. Therefore I will be reading book 2, and I’m also OBSESSED with Stark.
MINOR SPOILERS!!!!
I also unfortunately found this to be predictable. If I didn’t predict the major plot twist from the beginning I think I would have liked this a lot more. I’m also sick of the whole “first love interest” trope when she’s not gonna end up with him. If you’re going to introduce a love interest in the beginning I’m begging you to make it believable! And maybe make him likable?! The whole time I was just waiting for them to break things off. I hated killian with a burning passion…. Plus he called her kitten.
Now my morally grey, quiet deadly man Stark…. Carried the whole book for me. I love him and am so obsessed with him just based on the crumbs we got. Sat. Seated. I NEED his POV in book two more than I need air. My god. Don’t even start with me.
SPOILERS END!!
Meryn our FMC annoyed me for sure… But I don’t hate her, she’s just there at the moment. She made so many dumb decisions and I think it grinded my gears so much because it was so slow in the beginning that I didn’t have much else do distract me. That being said, our girl has TRAUMA and her actions weren’t without reason. I do feel like she was set up for a really good character arc in book 2.
The dire wolves were also my second favorite part of the book. Specifically Anassa, I love her I love her. I am a sucker for when our characters bond to animals. It gets me every time.
There were definitely some specific jarring similarities to a very popular book I will not name, that had me raising an eyebrow…. But as a whole I thought the book stood on its own.
I also struggled to picture the world. The world building felt clunky and almost nonexistent. So it was hard for me to immerse myself in this book.
But THAT ENDING?!!!! Absolutely made me want to pick up book 2, take with that what you will!
As a whole this book wasn’t anything super special to me, but I still liked a lot bits and pieces that I think my issues will be made up for in book 2! It took me a while to get into and the pacing was slow. But then there would be scenes that really sucked me in, then I would get bored again. This book was sitting at a solid 2.5 stars until the last 10%. Everything picked up so quickly and I needed to know what happened. Therefore I will be reading book 2, and I’m also OBSESSED with Stark.
MINOR SPOILERS!!!!
I also unfortunately found this to be predictable. If I didn’t predict the major plot twist from the beginning I think I would have liked this a lot more. I’m also sick of the whole “first love interest” trope when she’s not gonna end up with him. If you’re going to introduce a love interest in the beginning I’m begging you to make it believable! And maybe make him likable?! The whole time I was just waiting for them to break things off. I hated killian with a burning passion…. Plus he called her kitten.
Now my morally grey, quiet deadly man Stark…. Carried the whole book for me. I love him and am so obsessed with him just based on the crumbs we got. Sat. Seated. I NEED his POV in book two more than I need air. My god. Don’t even start with me.
SPOILERS END!!
Meryn our FMC annoyed me for sure… But I don’t hate her, she’s just there at the moment. She made so many dumb decisions and I think it grinded my gears so much because it was so slow in the beginning that I didn’t have much else do distract me. That being said, our girl has TRAUMA and her actions weren’t without reason. I do feel like she was set up for a really good character arc in book 2.
The dire wolves were also my second favorite part of the book. Specifically Anassa, I love her I love her. I am a sucker for when our characters bond to animals. It gets me every time.
There were definitely some specific jarring similarities to a very popular book I will not name, that had me raising an eyebrow…. But as a whole I thought the book stood on its own.
I also struggled to picture the world. The world building felt clunky and almost nonexistent. So it was hard for me to immerse myself in this book.
But THAT ENDING?!!!! Absolutely made me want to pick up book 2, take with that what you will!
April 27, 2025
If someone asks me what my favourite type of book to read is: the answer is this one.
Such a well written indie fantasy romance that is unlike anything else I’ve read. Completely in its own league. Absolutely OBSESSED with the plot line, characters and setting. The pacing is perfect, it was so hard to put this down.
Constantly building up to really fun plot reveals and twists. There is just so much about this book that I love and I never want to shut up about it!
The ending of the book had me on my knees (I was so unwell) it was absolutely everything. I am soooo excited for book 2!
Such a well written indie fantasy romance that is unlike anything else I’ve read. Completely in its own league. Absolutely OBSESSED with the plot line, characters and setting. The pacing is perfect, it was so hard to put this down.
Constantly building up to really fun plot reveals and twists. There is just so much about this book that I love and I never want to shut up about it!
The ending of the book had me on my knees (I was so unwell) it was absolutely everything. I am soooo excited for book 2!
March 13, 2025
Oh my God. Fourth Wing, but Temu. I just can't. (Neither with all the 5 star ARC reviews.)
March 29, 2025
5 STARS!!!!
"Make me your instrument of vengeance. Let my hands act out your every savage depraved thought. Use me. I'm yours."
Oh my god this was amazing then it got EVEN BETTER??? I need an exorcism my head is going to explode.
If you want a quick "what's this about" basically our FMC is a street fighter and when her sister gets taken by the opposing kingdom she realizes the only way to get her sister back is to join the army and go to the front lines so that she can find her. Problem is, whenever she joins, its time for "the Bonding". The bonding being a tradition that happens every so often where every new recruit has to participate in scaling up the side of an enormous mountain, some dying along the way, all to make it to the top and bond with one of the multiple direwolves that are waiting for them there. Meryn doesn't want to bond, and typically the human has a choice to bond or not. Not this time. She's chosen, then has to immediately start training to be a Bonded.
DIREWOLVES. DID YOU HEAR ME. DIREWOLVES. This was so much fun. I was sat from beginning to end, no slow parts for me AT ALL. And don't even get me started on the ending. The MULTIPLE TWISTS??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I need book two NOW!!!!!!
Anassa, Meryn's direwolf, I'm obsessed with her. Stark? I love him. He's so growly. Her friends? I'm loving the beginnings of this found family we're getting. The pack dynamics? The magic system? The strategy, world, foreshadowing????? I LOVE THIS BOOK!!
I need people to read this ASAP because this deserves SO much hype. And the fact that it's a debut novel? I bow. Fabulous job. Anxiously waiting for book two!!
"Make me your instrument of vengeance. Let my hands act out your every savage depraved thought. Use me. I'm yours."
Oh my god this was amazing then it got EVEN BETTER??? I need an exorcism my head is going to explode.
If you want a quick "what's this about" basically our FMC is a street fighter and when her sister gets taken by the opposing kingdom she realizes the only way to get her sister back is to join the army and go to the front lines so that she can find her. Problem is, whenever she joins, its time for "the Bonding". The bonding being a tradition that happens every so often where every new recruit has to participate in scaling up the side of an enormous mountain, some dying along the way, all to make it to the top and bond with one of the multiple direwolves that are waiting for them there. Meryn doesn't want to bond, and typically the human has a choice to bond or not. Not this time. She's chosen, then has to immediately start training to be a Bonded.
DIREWOLVES. DID YOU HEAR ME. DIREWOLVES. This was so much fun. I was sat from beginning to end, no slow parts for me AT ALL. And don't even get me started on the ending. The MULTIPLE TWISTS??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I need book two NOW!!!!!!
Anassa, Meryn's direwolf, I'm obsessed with her. Stark? I love him. He's so growly. Her friends? I'm loving the beginnings of this found family we're getting. The pack dynamics? The magic system? The strategy, world, foreshadowing????? I LOVE THIS BOOK!!
I need people to read this ASAP because this deserves SO much hype. And the fact that it's a debut novel? I bow. Fabulous job. Anxiously waiting for book two!!
September 9, 2025
4.25⭐️ i can defo see why some people feel this emulates a lot of other popular romantasy books BUT i did have the time of my life reading this teehee
October 8, 2025
2.5 ⭐️
So listen, everyone who loves this book, I’m so sorry (look away) - I’m so happy for you and genuinely so sad for me 😭
Where to start.
Firstly, the pacing was so off, in the sense that at the start there were times where I would feel really engaged and be having fun, but then suddenly it would be really rather dull and boring, then it never picked back up until right at the very end.
Overall I think this book is really underwhelming and overhyped. It is also very predictable and unoriginal, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I can see how people would vibe with this and have fun but at the same time, I wasn't hooked enough to not be bothered by it. If that makes sense? This is constantly sold as fourth wing with wolves and honestly, the idea of this was fun, but the execution just didn't work out for me. It is very trope heavy but with no real delivery on a lot of them - eventually the boring times just lost me so much that I checked out.
The FMC, Meryn, started out as such an interesting character to me. She is tough, a street fighter and has a lot of responsibilities to take care of her family... but as we went on I just found her so irritating. I understand her disdain towards her upbringing vs how the nobles live, like I get it but I just wanted to be like 'girl stop going on about it'. Eventually, she was just so annoying the whole time.
As for Stark, YES. I am so on board with this man! Mysterious, morally grey and broody. No notes, love him. I feel like we were given crumbs and I am begging for more!! Kudos to him because he carried this book, based on not a lot.
However, let's talk about the slow burn. Why did Stark get barely any air time? I do not care about the other love interest, like I DON'T CARE. I feel it was obvious they aren't end game so I struggled to connect to this part of the story and they spent so much time together. Also the nickname kitten makes me want to put my head through a wall, hahah sorry but ick.
I needed Meryn and Stark to have more time to really build up on that tension and slow burn. The odd times they interacted I was eating it up! But I feel like I waited over 70% to really get much from them that wasn’t told to us. I am hanging on by a thread that their development will ramp up in the next book because currently that is all I really care about.
In general, I do think this book could have been way shorter and have much less filler throughout. So much of the book felt a bit pointless, being told so many things that added nothing to the story. Honestly there were times I skimmed parts because I truly just wanted to be done with it.
I will say the ending was actually good and the only reason I pushed through - but also didn’t really hit that hard because I was so disconnected from it.
Potentially I’d want to read book 2, but honestly, if I read, it will mostly be for Stark!
I am interested to see how it will play out but realistically the majority of this book was so predictable and boring, I’m worried it could flop again. Although this didn’t work for me, I can see how this would be enjoyable for people so I hope if you’ve got this far and plan to read this book, that you fall into that category and have a fun time! Because it’s never fun not enjoying a book. Sigh.
Thank you so much to my beautiful friend Luiza for gifting me this book, I’m sorry I didn’t love it as much as you but I’m so grateful for you and so grateful for this gift - you are such a angel of a friend 🥹💖
_________________
Pre-read: Oh the romantasy era is so back baby!! Heard this is fourth wing vibes with warewolves & honestly that sound great to me 🤭
So listen, everyone who loves this book, I’m so sorry (look away) - I’m so happy for you and genuinely so sad for me 😭
Where to start.
Firstly, the pacing was so off, in the sense that at the start there were times where I would feel really engaged and be having fun, but then suddenly it would be really rather dull and boring, then it never picked back up until right at the very end.
Overall I think this book is really underwhelming and overhyped. It is also very predictable and unoriginal, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I can see how people would vibe with this and have fun but at the same time, I wasn't hooked enough to not be bothered by it. If that makes sense? This is constantly sold as fourth wing with wolves and honestly, the idea of this was fun, but the execution just didn't work out for me. It is very trope heavy but with no real delivery on a lot of them - eventually the boring times just lost me so much that I checked out.
The FMC, Meryn, started out as such an interesting character to me. She is tough, a street fighter and has a lot of responsibilities to take care of her family... but as we went on I just found her so irritating. I understand her disdain towards her upbringing vs how the nobles live, like I get it but I just wanted to be like 'girl stop going on about it'. Eventually, she was just so annoying the whole time.
As for Stark, YES. I am so on board with this man! Mysterious, morally grey and broody. No notes, love him. I feel like we were given crumbs and I am begging for more!! Kudos to him because he carried this book, based on not a lot.
However, let's talk about the slow burn. Why did Stark get barely any air time? I do not care about the other love interest, like I DON'T CARE. I feel it was obvious they aren't end game so I struggled to connect to this part of the story and they spent so much time together. Also the nickname kitten makes me want to put my head through a wall, hahah sorry but ick.
I needed Meryn and Stark to have more time to really build up on that tension and slow burn. The odd times they interacted I was eating it up! But I feel like I waited over 70% to really get much from them that wasn’t told to us. I am hanging on by a thread that their development will ramp up in the next book because currently that is all I really care about.
In general, I do think this book could have been way shorter and have much less filler throughout. So much of the book felt a bit pointless, being told so many things that added nothing to the story. Honestly there were times I skimmed parts because I truly just wanted to be done with it.
I will say the ending was actually good and the only reason I pushed through - but also didn’t really hit that hard because I was so disconnected from it.
Potentially I’d want to read book 2, but honestly, if I read, it will mostly be for Stark!
I am interested to see how it will play out but realistically the majority of this book was so predictable and boring, I’m worried it could flop again. Although this didn’t work for me, I can see how this would be enjoyable for people so I hope if you’ve got this far and plan to read this book, that you fall into that category and have a fun time! Because it’s never fun not enjoying a book. Sigh.
Thank you so much to my beautiful friend Luiza for gifting me this book, I’m sorry I didn’t love it as much as you but I’m so grateful for you and so grateful for this gift - you are such a angel of a friend 🥹💖
_________________
Pre-read: Oh the romantasy era is so back baby!! Heard this is fourth wing vibes with warewolves & honestly that sound great to me 🤭
August 11, 2025
okay so this was Fourth Wing but make it fun
(also i fucking hate dragons lmao)
(also i fucking hate dragons lmao)
May 9, 2025
You know what?
hell yeah.
hell yeah.
May 25, 2025
FIVE STARS 🌟 wow i don’t even know where to start?! this is definitely going down as one of my absolute favourite reads of the year! so many points in this book gave me in full body goosebumps. DIRE WOLVES? BONDING TRIAL? MATE BONDS? FORCED PROXIMITY? DARK/GRUMPY/MEAN MMC?? no honestly what more could i want?
the world building was so good and i feel like you were given the perfect amount of information throughout to make it digestible and interesting. i am absolutely obsessed with Anassa, she is a big baddie wolf and i LOVE her. Meryn our FMC was so badass and although i wanted to give her a swift punch in the throat at one point (i just know Anassa would agree with me there) she has such huge potential for growth over the rest of the series and i cannot wait to see it!
the world building was so good and i feel like you were given the perfect amount of information throughout to make it digestible and interesting. i am absolutely obsessed with Anassa, she is a big baddie wolf and i LOVE her. Meryn our FMC was so badass and although i wanted to give her a swift punch in the throat at one point (i just know Anassa would agree with me there) she has such huge potential for growth over the rest of the series and i cannot wait to see it!
May 10, 2026
this is fourth wing from temu. which is impressive because fourth wing is shein quality.
May 5, 2026
This ate down
October 19, 2025
tiktok ass book
September 21, 2025
✩ 5 stars ✩
What to Expect:
➼ Strong FMC
➼ Deadly Trials
➼ Only One Bed
➼ Fated Mates
➼ Forced Proximity
➼ Found Family
➼ Hidden Identities
➼ Secrets & Betrayal
➼ Plot Twists
➼ Narrated by Avery Caris & Gabriel Michael
➼ First Person POV
Hell yea! I loved this! This was like Silver Elite with dire wolves, a better plot, and a much more enticing romance! I want to compare the romance aspect to another book series, but I fear it would be a spoiler, so I’ll just say that it was a very happy correlation for me!
I might read too many Romantasies because I very accurately guessed the twists and general plot progression, but in no way was I disappointed! There were things that bugged me throughout the story, but by the end I felt like all of those annoyances were by design.
This was NOT a why choose romance despite my confusion, and just to be clear, I was VERY happy about that. 😅 To each their own, but I’m into epic love stories, not having a man for every day of the week. 😋 I’m honestly still a little bit confused about some of the information that was revealed about the FMC near the end. I probably should have reread a few parts, but they were significant enough details that I feel confident they’ll be discussed in more detail in the next book.
The cliffhanger ending set her on a path to right a very specific wrong. It honestly sounds like an impossible task to me, but I’m looking forward to seeing how she tackles it! Seriously such a fun action packed read! Can’t wait to continue this series!
Thank you to the author, Hachette Audio, & Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Pre-read: Hold up… is this not why choose? Did I just read the words “bonded wolves” and “multiple alphas” and jump to conclusions? 😅
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
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What to Expect:
➼ Strong FMC
➼ Deadly Trials
➼ Only One Bed
➼ Fated Mates
➼ Forced Proximity
➼ Found Family
➼ Hidden Identities
➼ Secrets & Betrayal
➼ Plot Twists
➼ Narrated by Avery Caris & Gabriel Michael
➼ First Person POV
Hell yea! I loved this! This was like Silver Elite with dire wolves, a better plot, and a much more enticing romance! I want to compare the romance aspect to another book series, but I fear it would be a spoiler, so I’ll just say that it was a very happy correlation for me!
I might read too many Romantasies because I very accurately guessed the twists and general plot progression, but in no way was I disappointed! There were things that bugged me throughout the story, but by the end I felt like all of those annoyances were by design.
This was NOT a why choose romance despite my confusion, and just to be clear, I was VERY happy about that. 😅 To each their own, but I’m into epic love stories, not having a man for every day of the week. 😋 I’m honestly still a little bit confused about some of the information that was revealed about the FMC near the end. I probably should have reread a few parts, but they were significant enough details that I feel confident they’ll be discussed in more detail in the next book.
The cliffhanger ending set her on a path to right a very specific wrong. It honestly sounds like an impossible task to me, but I’m looking forward to seeing how she tackles it! Seriously such a fun action packed read! Can’t wait to continue this series!
Thank you to the author, Hachette Audio, & Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Pre-read: Hold up… is this not why choose? Did I just read the words “bonded wolves” and “multiple alphas” and jump to conclusions? 😅
≪ ◦ ❖ ◦ ≫
Connect with me on Instagram
April 24, 2025
i have never written a review before but upon finishing this book i feel compelled to speak my truth. there are so many things i could say about this book but in the spirit of not giving away spoilers all i will say is reading this made me want to throw my kindle off a cliff. it is as if the author was like “hey what if i copy and pasted fourth wing, replaced dragons with dire wolves, and then made it WAY worse/borderline unreadable for literally 70% of the book??” and someone should have told her no imo. the only reason this even got 1 star from me was for the last few chapters and honestly thats being generous. the fact this is so highly rated on here makes me weep and question humanity.
October 23, 2025
4.5 stars ⭐
⤷ spoiler-free unless stated otherwise!! ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ my thoughts
I’M CRYING TEARS OF JOY RN BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONE—I FINALLY FOUND A ROMANTASY I LOVE THIS YEAR!!! 😭🤸🏻♀️💃🥳
this book gave major Fourth Wing vibes—except instead of dragons, we’ve got direwolves—and since i loved Fourth Wing, you already knowww i ate this tf up! sure, the plot twists were pretty predictable, but honestly? i didn’t really care because i was having such a great time.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ characters
♡.ᐟ meryn
now this is what i call a badass 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️ meryn reminded me a lot of violet (one of my favourite romantasy FMCs ever). she’s strong, independent, and determined, but she isn’t perfect (because nobody is)—she has moments of vulnerability that make her feel real and relatable. i also loved how she stayed focused on her purpose and didn’t constantly get sidetracked like so many other romantasy FMCs do 🫢
♡.ᐟ stark
yes, you probably guessed it—stark reminded me so much of xaden. dark, dangerous, and devastatingly hot, but secretly jealous and yearning. i knew i’d love him from the moment he showed up 🫦 i’ll admit, at one point i had to check the blurb just to make sure he was actually the MMC because he had so little screen time which is crazy 😭 but whenever he appeared… 😮💨🪭
“[…] you touch her again and I’ll cull you myself.”
“Who did this to you?”
🧎🏻♀️🧎🏻♀️🧎🏻♀️
🚨 MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD (skip to “romance”) 🚨
♡.ᐟ lee
i feel so betrayed 😭 i genuinely loved lee, and knowing he wasn’t the MMC broke my heart. i thought we were heading towards a love triangle (or maybe i was just in denial) so i didn’t suspect him at first. but after a while, he started feeling too good to be true and their relationship felt like it was dragging on for way too long so i knew something was definitely off 🫠
END OF SPOILERS
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ romance
i can’t say too much about the romance itself because it was complicated, but what i can say is that the tension and slow burn between meryn and stark was 😚🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ overall
this book wasn’t groundbreaking or anything, but it was so good and it restored a bit of my hope in romantasy 🥲 if you loved Fourth Wing, i’m pretty sure you’ll love this too ~ my updates and review might not make total sense right now, but trust me—you’ll get it once you’ve read the book 🤭
────────── ⋆⋅end⋅⋆ ──────────
pre-read 🐺
it’s already mid-october but i still haven’t found a romantasy i love this year 😭 could this finally be the one? 🥲
⤷ spoiler-free unless stated otherwise!! ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ my thoughts
I’M CRYING TEARS OF JOY RN BECAUSE THIS IS THE ONE—I FINALLY FOUND A ROMANTASY I LOVE THIS YEAR!!! 😭🤸🏻♀️💃🥳
this book gave major Fourth Wing vibes—except instead of dragons, we’ve got direwolves—and since i loved Fourth Wing, you already knowww i ate this tf up! sure, the plot twists were pretty predictable, but honestly? i didn’t really care because i was having such a great time.
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ characters
♡.ᐟ meryn
now this is what i call a badass 🙂↕️🙂↕️🙂↕️ meryn reminded me a lot of violet (one of my favourite romantasy FMCs ever). she’s strong, independent, and determined, but she isn’t perfect (because nobody is)—she has moments of vulnerability that make her feel real and relatable. i also loved how she stayed focused on her purpose and didn’t constantly get sidetracked like so many other romantasy FMCs do 🫢
♡.ᐟ stark
yes, you probably guessed it—stark reminded me so much of xaden. dark, dangerous, and devastatingly hot, but secretly jealous and yearning. i knew i’d love him from the moment he showed up 🫦 i’ll admit, at one point i had to check the blurb just to make sure he was actually the MMC because he had so little screen time which is crazy 😭 but whenever he appeared… 😮💨🪭
“[…] you touch her again and I’ll cull you myself.”
“Who did this to you?”
🧎🏻♀️🧎🏻♀️🧎🏻♀️
🚨 MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD (skip to “romance”) 🚨
♡.ᐟ lee
i feel so betrayed 😭 i genuinely loved lee, and knowing he wasn’t the MMC broke my heart. i thought we were heading towards a love triangle (or maybe i was just in denial) so i didn’t suspect him at first. but after a while, he started feeling too good to be true and their relationship felt like it was dragging on for way too long so i knew something was definitely off 🫠
END OF SPOILERS
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ romance
i can’t say too much about the romance itself because it was complicated, but what i can say is that the tension and slow burn between meryn and stark was 😚🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ overall
this book wasn’t groundbreaking or anything, but it was so good and it restored a bit of my hope in romantasy 🥲 if you loved Fourth Wing, i’m pretty sure you’ll love this too ~ my updates and review might not make total sense right now, but trust me—you’ll get it once you’ve read the book 🤭
────────── ⋆⋅end⋅⋆ ──────────
pre-read 🐺
it’s already mid-october but i still haven’t found a romantasy i love this year 😭 could this finally be the one? 🥲
July 6, 2025
i should have known as soon as the term kitten came up that it wouldn’t be good
October 29, 2025
Onyx Storm called, They want Xaden back
February 12, 2026
If you could include every romantasy cliche that’s been viral recently, changed the names but made it slightly different you would get this book.
Now listen I am all for whatever gives you that rush and if reading the same stuff in different font is what does it for you then you’re going to love this. But if you’re tired of the constant sameness in recent releases then this is gna do nothing but waste your time. Me personally? I fell somewhere in between. I didn’t hate it but it wasn’t mind blowing, alter my world type shit and neither did I go in expecting this tbvh.
But I will say the chemistry between the real main characters had me salivating the entire time. And the storyline wasn’t why I was reading it was actually because the love triangle had me tied up in knots and I was genuinely so surprised with the way it was being presented. Best part about the book for sure.
The fmc and her progression of responsibilities in this was THE most unserious shit ever like I cannot. It was high key Pmo. This should’ve been handled way better imo.
The ending was hella rushed as if the authors were like when is this book gonna be over already but I was also glad bc I needed the book to be over already too 🙏
We started off boring for the first 90 pages then it got interesting and then we tapered off towards the middle and then I was just hanging on to see if the guy I was rooting for would stay the main lead or not lmao.
So I would say keep your expectations very realistic. It’s more of a fun read, not a unique experience.
Side note:
I fucking knew it that RAT 🔪🔪🔪🔪
Now listen I am all for whatever gives you that rush and if reading the same stuff in different font is what does it for you then you’re going to love this. But if you’re tired of the constant sameness in recent releases then this is gna do nothing but waste your time. Me personally? I fell somewhere in between. I didn’t hate it but it wasn’t mind blowing, alter my world type shit and neither did I go in expecting this tbvh.
But I will say the chemistry between the real main characters had me salivating the entire time. And the storyline wasn’t why I was reading it was actually because the love triangle had me tied up in knots and I was genuinely so surprised with the way it was being presented. Best part about the book for sure.
The fmc and her progression of responsibilities in this was THE most unserious shit ever like I cannot. It was high key Pmo. This should’ve been handled way better imo.
The ending was hella rushed as if the authors were like when is this book gonna be over already but I was also glad bc I needed the book to be over already too 🙏
We started off boring for the first 90 pages then it got interesting and then we tapered off towards the middle and then I was just hanging on to see if the guy I was rooting for would stay the main lead or not lmao.
So I would say keep your expectations very realistic. It’s more of a fun read, not a unique experience.
Side note:
I fucking knew it that RAT 🔪🔪🔪🔪
Read
June 19, 2026Pre read
Saw an edit of this book on instagram with a frank ocean song and here we are, jumping in with zero expectations 😭🙏🏻
Saw an edit of this book on instagram with a frank ocean song and here we are, jumping in with zero expectations 😭🙏🏻
May 14, 2026
ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ㅤ ✦ . ⁺ . 2.2 - 2.4 ☆ . ⁺ . ✦
ㅤ ㅤ ˋ°•*⁀➷ㅤmight contain spoilers ❗
ㅤ This could have been a respectable three-star read, had the FMC not tested my patience to such an extent that I have, for now, lowered my rating to only two stars. Perhaps, in a moment of rare generosity, I might actually change my rating for this; but as of now, I am too pissed off to even consider that.
ㅤ Now then...shall we begin?
ㅤ I must confess, I feel utterly deceived. This book had been attacking me, jumping on me, slapping me in the face everywhere I looked, and I was honestly so excited for this. BUT THIS WAS SO BAD. At least I can take solace in the fact that I cancelled my physical copy in time, because I must ask: why did everybody lie to me about this book??????
ㅤ I picked this up expecting a masterful display of plot, compelling characters, and intricate world-building. What I received instead was… blandness. Utter, unseasoned blandness, accompanied by a rather aggressive side of annoyance, courtesy of characters so profoundly unlikeable they seemed almost determined to kill my last living brain cell.
ㅤ ㅤ Trigger warning [❗]
ㅤ ㅤ “Kitten.”
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ honest thoughts
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ This felt like such an unhinged Fourth Wing imitation IN MANY INSTANCES that I’m genuinely surprised more people aren’t talking about it. Please tell me I wasn’t the only one clocking this every five minutes. I mean, that man??? Basically Xaden, but as if Garrick woke up one day feeling a little funny and decided to dye a strip of his hair red while he slept. The wolves? Just furry dragons. Let’s be honest.
ㅤ To be fair, there were quite a few original elements as well, and the plot does eventually decide to go somewhere...roughly in the last 20% of the book. But for a solid half of it, I was just sitting there like, “huh, now this feels very familiar.”
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ This book could have easily been at least 200 pages shorter, and I am convinced both the pacing and the characters would have been significantly better for it. If you cut out half the scenes where the FMC is either victimising herself over absolutely everything or being unnecessarily vile to people who did nothing to deserve it, you’d probably be left with, what, 350 pages at most?
ㅤ And honestly, at least then we would have been spared around 200 pages of her proudly embodying the very definition of stupidity. A win, if you ask me.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Because of all this, the pacing was an absolute mess. There were moments where I felt genuine hope blooming, where I thought that we were finally going somewhere, only for that excitement to be immediately extinguished by yet another painfully long, cringe-inducing smut scene or a chapter filled with utter nonsense I could not bring myself to care about; or just the FMC being annoying.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ This book still got those 2 stars only because ✨IT HAS A GLOSSARY✨and you all know that is my biggest weakness.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Romance....right. Let me take a deep breath before I even begin.
ㅤ First of all, let me just say this: if you had anything nice to say about Lee, we can absolutely be friends forever; because we will NEVER fight over men. Our tastes are so fundamentally, astronomically different that the distance between them might as well rival that between Earth and Andromeda, which is about 2.5 million light-years.
ㅤ And as I mentioned before, the cold shiver down my left arm when I read about this man? Never wrong. A reliable system. Should be studied, honestly. At this point, I think it’s quite obvious I don’t actually have much to say about the romance itself. It sucked.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ At one point, I genuinely started wondering if people rated this book solely based on the ending, because everything else WAS JUST THAT BAD. And even the ending wasn’t anything groundbreaking, let’s be honest, but at least it tried to do something. And you know what? At that point, I found myself appreciating the effort. I actually found myself even enjoying that ending a bit. It was fascinating for me to finally find something good.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ characters
ㅤ These characters possess the emotional depth and intellectual capacity of a five-year-old, and even that might be a generous assessment. Their reactions felt consistently forced, illogical, and so painfully unnatural that it was almost impressive in its own way.
ㅤ ⊹ Meryn — I hate her guts; if this girl has no haters then both me and Jonah are dead. She was so deeply unlikeable and constantly self-victimising over the smallest things, as if she needed to paint everyone else in a bad light just to prove some sort of moral superiority. Stubborn in all the wrong moments, painfully oblivious, and just… so incredibly blind.
ㅤ At this point, I would like to formally apologise to every FMC I have ever called dumb, because clearly, I did not know what true levels of frustration looked like.
ㅤ And I honestly don’t even know if this was intentional. Was she written to be this insufferable so the plot would feel more intense through sheer frustration? If so….it did not work. I wasn’t intrigued, I wasn’t invested in her story. I was just bored and deeply, profoundly annoyed.
ㅤ ⊹ Lee — A man that calls you "kitten". That's it. That is all you need to know about him. Cold shivers down my left arm, I told you all. After his first smut scene, I realised I am not, in fact, ovulating nor desperate enough to find this remotely compelling and just proceeded to skip the rest.
ㅤ ⊹ Stark — I genuimely appreciate your service and all your efforts, sir. I cannot wait to see more of you in the next book.
ㅤ ⊹ Izabel and Venna — my sweet little baby princesses, I truly liked them. I enjoyed their dynamic so, so much and they genuinely made things better for me at times.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ should you read this?
ㅤ Look, I do think this book is insanely overhyped, especially given how blatantly similar it feels to Fourth Wing in so many ways. That said, I can also see how it might still be entertaining, or at the very least something you pick up out of pure FOMO just to see what the hype is about.
ㅤ So my honest take would be this: if you feel like you don’t want to miss out, especially considering how popular it is right now, then sure, go ahead and read it. Just go in knowing exactly what you’re getting into.
ㅤ As for me, I’ll be continuing the series, mostly because I apparently enjoy being mildly annoyed and occasionally disappointed, but also because I’m still holding onto a small, stubborn hope that things will actually develop and improve somewhere along the way.
⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍendㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ📖‧ ˚ ₊⊹ The Wolves of Ruin series reviews:
⋆˚࿔ ⋆˚࿔ Fury Bound (3.4 - 3.6⭐)
⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍㆍ✿ㆍㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹
ㅤ ᯓ ✿ pre-reading ⪼ ㅤ started ┆04-May-2026┆
ㅤ ㅤ ⤿ please don't let this be overhyped please don't let this be overhyped please don't let this be overhyped please don't let this be overhyped
ㅤ ㅤ ˋ°•*⁀➷ㅤmight contain spoilers ❗
ㅤ This could have been a respectable three-star read, had the FMC not tested my patience to such an extent that I have, for now, lowered my rating to only two stars. Perhaps, in a moment of rare generosity, I might actually change my rating for this; but as of now, I am too pissed off to even consider that.
ㅤ Now then...shall we begin?
ㅤ I must confess, I feel utterly deceived. This book had been attacking me, jumping on me, slapping me in the face everywhere I looked, and I was honestly so excited for this. BUT THIS WAS SO BAD. At least I can take solace in the fact that I cancelled my physical copy in time, because I must ask: why did everybody lie to me about this book??????
ㅤ I picked this up expecting a masterful display of plot, compelling characters, and intricate world-building. What I received instead was… blandness. Utter, unseasoned blandness, accompanied by a rather aggressive side of annoyance, courtesy of characters so profoundly unlikeable they seemed almost determined to kill my last living brain cell.
ㅤ ㅤ Trigger warning [❗]
ㅤ ㅤ “Kitten.”
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ honest thoughts
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ This felt like such an unhinged Fourth Wing imitation IN MANY INSTANCES that I’m genuinely surprised more people aren’t talking about it. Please tell me I wasn’t the only one clocking this every five minutes. I mean, that man??? Basically Xaden, but as if Garrick woke up one day feeling a little funny and decided to dye a strip of his hair red while he slept. The wolves? Just furry dragons. Let’s be honest.
ㅤ To be fair, there were quite a few original elements as well, and the plot does eventually decide to go somewhere...roughly in the last 20% of the book. But for a solid half of it, I was just sitting there like, “huh, now this feels very familiar.”
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ This book could have easily been at least 200 pages shorter, and I am convinced both the pacing and the characters would have been significantly better for it. If you cut out half the scenes where the FMC is either victimising herself over absolutely everything or being unnecessarily vile to people who did nothing to deserve it, you’d probably be left with, what, 350 pages at most?
ㅤ And honestly, at least then we would have been spared around 200 pages of her proudly embodying the very definition of stupidity. A win, if you ask me.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Because of all this, the pacing was an absolute mess. There were moments where I felt genuine hope blooming, where I thought that we were finally going somewhere, only for that excitement to be immediately extinguished by yet another painfully long, cringe-inducing smut scene or a chapter filled with utter nonsense I could not bring myself to care about; or just the FMC being annoying.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ This book still got those 2 stars only because ✨IT HAS A GLOSSARY✨and you all know that is my biggest weakness.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ Romance....right. Let me take a deep breath before I even begin.
ㅤ First of all, let me just say this: if you had anything nice to say about Lee, we can absolutely be friends forever; because we will NEVER fight over men. Our tastes are so fundamentally, astronomically different that the distance between them might as well rival that between Earth and Andromeda, which is about 2.5 million light-years.
ㅤ And as I mentioned before, the cold shiver down my left arm when I read about this man? Never wrong. A reliable system. Should be studied, honestly. At this point, I think it’s quite obvious I don’t actually have much to say about the romance itself. It sucked.
ㅤ ⋅ ☾ At one point, I genuinely started wondering if people rated this book solely based on the ending, because everything else WAS JUST THAT BAD. And even the ending wasn’t anything groundbreaking, let’s be honest, but at least it tried to do something. And you know what? At that point, I found myself appreciating the effort. I actually found myself even enjoying that ending a bit. It was fascinating for me to finally find something good.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ characters
ㅤ These characters possess the emotional depth and intellectual capacity of a five-year-old, and even that might be a generous assessment. Their reactions felt consistently forced, illogical, and so painfully unnatural that it was almost impressive in its own way.
ㅤ ⊹ Meryn — I hate her guts; if this girl has no haters then both me and Jonah are dead. She was so deeply unlikeable and constantly self-victimising over the smallest things, as if she needed to paint everyone else in a bad light just to prove some sort of moral superiority. Stubborn in all the wrong moments, painfully oblivious, and just… so incredibly blind.
ㅤ At this point, I would like to formally apologise to every FMC I have ever called dumb, because clearly, I did not know what true levels of frustration looked like.
ㅤ And I honestly don’t even know if this was intentional. Was she written to be this insufferable so the plot would feel more intense through sheer frustration? If so….it did not work. I wasn’t intrigued, I wasn’t invested in her story. I was just bored and deeply, profoundly annoyed.
ㅤ ⊹ Lee — A man that calls you "kitten". That's it. That is all you need to know about him. Cold shivers down my left arm, I told you all. After his first smut scene, I realised I am not, in fact, ovulating nor desperate enough to find this remotely compelling and just proceeded to skip the rest.
ㅤ ⊹ Stark — I genuimely appreciate your service and all your efforts, sir. I cannot wait to see more of you in the next book.
ㅤ ⊹ Izabel and Venna — my sweet little baby princesses, I truly liked them. I enjoyed their dynamic so, so much and they genuinely made things better for me at times.
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ★‿︵‧ ˚ ₊⊹ should you read this?
ㅤ Look, I do think this book is insanely overhyped, especially given how blatantly similar it feels to Fourth Wing in so many ways. That said, I can also see how it might still be entertaining, or at the very least something you pick up out of pure FOMO just to see what the hype is about.
ㅤ So my honest take would be this: if you feel like you don’t want to miss out, especially considering how popular it is right now, then sure, go ahead and read it. Just go in knowing exactly what you’re getting into.
ㅤ As for me, I’ll be continuing the series, mostly because I apparently enjoy being mildly annoyed and occasionally disappointed, but also because I’m still holding onto a small, stubborn hope that things will actually develop and improve somewhere along the way.
⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍendㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹
ㅤ ˗ˏˋ📖‧ ˚ ₊⊹ The Wolves of Ruin series reviews:
⋆˚࿔ ⋆˚࿔ Fury Bound (3.4 - 3.6⭐)
⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍㆍ✿ㆍㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹
ㅤ ᯓ ✿ pre-reading ⪼ ㅤ started ┆04-May-2026┆
ㅤ ㅤ ⤿ please don't let this be overhyped please don't let this be overhyped please don't let this be overhyped please don't let this be overhyped
March 12, 2025
As a debut novel, these co-authors did a commendable job. While the overall story didn’t work for me, I think there are readers who will love it.
If you enjoyed Fourth Wing, The Hunger Games, ACOTAR, or Throne of Glass, this book might be for you. However, it leans heavily on familiar tropes, making it more predictable than fresh.
"Wolves die. Riders die. We move on."
Meryn (23) never wanted to be one of the Bonded, warriors linked to massive direwolves. But when her sister is kidnapped across enemy lines, she has no choice. Enlisting in the army, she’s forced into the deadly Bonding Trials. Now, survival means enduring brutal training, deadly politics, and an unpredictable direwolf that refuses to communicate.
Meryn and Lee have been dating for just over a year when the story begins. I have no idea why they like each other. Speaking of that… the sex scenes? They are hollow, lacking genuine depth and intimacy. They are two bodies just going through the motions.
And while we’re on the topic of things missing, world-building. Need more.
Meryn is unreliable, making mistakes due to her impulsivity and immaturity. It’s hard to trust her, and when combined with the predictable plot, the story falters.
There was SO much telling instead of showing.
This story could have benefited from fewer trials and more depth, more exploration of her past, her mother, and her wolf.
Then there’s the violence. Very graphic, on-page torture and honestly, unnecessary. When one guy cries out for his mother before being ripped apart, enough said.
All of that bloodshed. All of those lives.
That was my first thought after finishing the book. But I guess when a corrupt regime needs to be toppled, there’s always a trail of senseless death.
Tropes:
-Secrets on top of secrets
-Dark fantasy with dire wolves
-Forced proximity
-Extremely violent/gore-heavy
-Graphic, unromantic sex
-Morally grey characters
-Death trials
-Fated mates (sort of)
-Hidden powers
-Vampires vs wolves (but barely)
-Feels YA at times
-Not a love triangle, but has aspects of one
Final thought? This would make a great buddy read! Highly recommended to read with a friend for venting and second-guessing!
* Editing issues in the kindle edition, 42% and 65%, I started noticing multiple paragraphs repeating themselves, someone forgot to cut those out.
If you enjoyed Fourth Wing, The Hunger Games, ACOTAR, or Throne of Glass, this book might be for you. However, it leans heavily on familiar tropes, making it more predictable than fresh.
"Wolves die. Riders die. We move on."
Meryn (23) never wanted to be one of the Bonded, warriors linked to massive direwolves. But when her sister is kidnapped across enemy lines, she has no choice. Enlisting in the army, she’s forced into the deadly Bonding Trials. Now, survival means enduring brutal training, deadly politics, and an unpredictable direwolf that refuses to communicate.
Meryn and Lee have been dating for just over a year when the story begins. I have no idea why they like each other. Speaking of that… the sex scenes? They are hollow, lacking genuine depth and intimacy. They are two bodies just going through the motions.
And while we’re on the topic of things missing, world-building. Need more.
Meryn is unreliable, making mistakes due to her impulsivity and immaturity. It’s hard to trust her, and when combined with the predictable plot, the story falters.
There was SO much telling instead of showing.
This story could have benefited from fewer trials and more depth, more exploration of her past, her mother, and her wolf.
Then there’s the violence. Very graphic, on-page torture and honestly, unnecessary. When one guy cries out for his mother before being ripped apart, enough said.
All of that bloodshed. All of those lives.
That was my first thought after finishing the book. But I guess when a corrupt regime needs to be toppled, there’s always a trail of senseless death.
Tropes:
-Secrets on top of secrets
-Dark fantasy with dire wolves
-Forced proximity
-Extremely violent/gore-heavy
-Graphic, unromantic sex
-Morally grey characters
-Death trials
-Fated mates (sort of)
-Hidden powers
-Vampires vs wolves (but barely)
-Feels YA at times
-Not a love triangle, but has aspects of one
Final thought? This would make a great buddy read! Highly recommended to read with a friend for venting and second-guessing!
* Editing issues in the kindle edition, 42% and 65%, I started noticing multiple paragraphs repeating themselves, someone forgot to cut those out.
May 6, 2026
This was surprisingly fun and fast-paced fantasy academy read that gave me a mix of Harry Potter world vibes and Fourth Wing intensity. It’s one of those books where you can sit down “just to read a chapter” and suddenly realize you’re halfway through. The characters have strong personalities, the direwolves add a really compelling layer to the story, and there’s
a certain character who completely stole the spotlight for me.
I’m definitely curious to see how the sequel expands the world, because you can feel hints of something much bigger simmering beneath the surface.
Read My Honest Book Review on My Blog:
Dire Bound
Want a FULL book recap before Fury Bound? READ HERE
The story isn’t without flaws. There were some details felt underdeveloped, and a few things left me wanting more depth. But overall it was entertaining, easy to follow, and a fun escape into a new fantasy world. If you enjoy academy settings, magical trials, dangerous creatures, and a touch of romantasy tension, this one is worth picking up.
I kept this review spoiler-free, but trust me… I have thoughts about certain plot choices, character dynamics, and the worldbuilding. 👀
If you want my full breakdown—including a spoiler section where I dive into everything the book did (and didn’t) do—I posted a detailed review on my blog. 💚📚✨---->
HERE
Connect With Me:
BLOG ⟫ INSTAGRAM ⟫ NEWSLETTER ⟫ PINTEREST ⟫
Read My Honest Book Review on My Blog:
Dire Bound
Want a FULL book recap before Fury Bound? READ HERE
The story isn’t without flaws. There were some details felt underdeveloped, and a few things left me wanting more depth. But overall it was entertaining, easy to follow, and a fun escape into a new fantasy world. If you enjoy academy settings, magical trials, dangerous creatures, and a touch of romantasy tension, this one is worth picking up.
I kept this review spoiler-free, but trust me… I have thoughts about certain plot choices, character dynamics, and the worldbuilding. 👀
If you want my full breakdown—including a spoiler section where I dive into everything the book did (and didn’t) do—I posted a detailed review on my blog. 💚📚✨---->
HERE
Connect With Me:
BLOG ⟫ INSTAGRAM ⟫ NEWSLETTER ⟫ PINTEREST ⟫
September 5, 2025
3.75
This was a solid romantasy read. Definitely HEAVILY inspired by Fourth Wing, but had enough creativity to stand on its own.
While predictable (and Meryn was constantly 20 steps behind), the story was fun to follow and there was some unexpected character depth.
A bit too much spice for me, and some obvious microtropes (“who did this to you” etc) that seemed to be thrown in there just to be included - but all in all, I really enjoyed this world & story. Can’t wait for the next!
This was a solid romantasy read. Definitely HEAVILY inspired by Fourth Wing, but had enough creativity to stand on its own.
While predictable (and Meryn was constantly 20 steps behind), the story was fun to follow and there was some unexpected character depth.
A bit too much spice for me, and some obvious microtropes (“who did this to you” etc) that seemed to be thrown in there just to be included - but all in all, I really enjoyed this world & story. Can’t wait for the next!
April 3, 2025
THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. HOLY SHIT. 6 stars!!!!!
The plot was THICK, the tension and banter? Flawless. And the world with the wolf bond, and trials??? NEED MORE NOW.
This was an excellent balance of page turning plot, and crazy turns in the story. There were so many theories I had in my head reading this (I never do that), it was so fun!
This really had my blood boiling in some points, then giggling and kicking my feet in others. This story is 10/10 worth it in my opinion.
RELEASE ME FROM THESE CHAINS AND GIVE ME BOOK 2 THANKS
The plot was THICK, the tension and banter? Flawless. And the world with the wolf bond, and trials??? NEED MORE NOW.
This was an excellent balance of page turning plot, and crazy turns in the story. There were so many theories I had in my head reading this (I never do that), it was so fun!
This really had my blood boiling in some points, then giggling and kicking my feet in others. This story is 10/10 worth it in my opinion.
RELEASE ME FROM THESE CHAINS AND GIVE ME BOOK 2 THANKS
May 4, 2026
RATING BREAKDOWN
Characters: 3⭐️
Setting: 5⭐️
Plot: 4⭐️
Themes: 3⭐️
Emotional Impact: 4⭐️
Personal Enjoyment: 5⭐️
Total Rounded Average: 4⭐️
Direbound was the page-turning, heart-racing, twisty ride I needed it to be! The world-building and plot particularly worked well for me because there was a familiar structure. This will either be a positive or a negative, depending on what readers are looking for. I have read a lot of romantasy, so when I pick one up, it's for nostalgic reasons, and I like a certain level of familiarity. Others will find this very predictable and not enjoy it for that reason.
I got that addictive feeling just as we crossed the 25% mark and it didn't let up! Emotional investment was high, and I wanted to get to the twists! Overall, I had an amazing time, I loved the setup for Furybound, and I feel like this is a story that is earning its pages! I love a tight narrative that gets where it's going with purpose and intention, and this one does just that! It's not trying to be anything it's not. You will get exactly what you expect from this one, and for me, that makes it super successful!
Characters: 3⭐️
Setting: 5⭐️
Plot: 4⭐️
Themes: 3⭐️
Emotional Impact: 4⭐️
Personal Enjoyment: 5⭐️
Total Rounded Average: 4⭐️
Direbound was the page-turning, heart-racing, twisty ride I needed it to be! The world-building and plot particularly worked well for me because there was a familiar structure. This will either be a positive or a negative, depending on what readers are looking for. I have read a lot of romantasy, so when I pick one up, it's for nostalgic reasons, and I like a certain level of familiarity. Others will find this very predictable and not enjoy it for that reason.
I got that addictive feeling just as we crossed the 25% mark and it didn't let up! Emotional investment was high, and I wanted to get to the twists! Overall, I had an amazing time, I loved the setup for Furybound, and I feel like this is a story that is earning its pages! I love a tight narrative that gets where it's going with purpose and intention, and this one does just that! It's not trying to be anything it's not. You will get exactly what you expect from this one, and for me, that makes it super successful!
May 20, 2025
the authors really said “oh you want yearning??? HERE DAMN.” HOLY F&@KING SHIT YOU GUYS my toes were in a constant state of *curled* throughout the course of this book - whether it was from tension or disgust <3
the direwolves & trial aspect of this book were obviously incredibly dope - but that underlying plot laden with easter eggs and sneakyyyyy world building? >:)) you know I’m eating it the hell up every single time.
I NEED BOOK 2 MORE THAN I NEED AIR. THIS ENTIRE BOOK WAS THE EPITOME OF WAITING FOR AN IMPENDING TRAIN CRASH BUT NOT BEING ABLE TO LOOK AWAY. F**K.
the direwolves & trial aspect of this book were obviously incredibly dope - but that underlying plot laden with easter eggs and sneakyyyyy world building? >:)) you know I’m eating it the hell up every single time.
I NEED BOOK 2 MORE THAN I NEED AIR. THIS ENTIRE BOOK WAS THE EPITOME OF WAITING FOR AN IMPENDING TRAIN CRASH BUT NOT BEING ABLE TO LOOK AWAY. F**K.
June 11, 2026
𝚛𝚒𝚙-𝚘𝚏𝚏
/ˈ𝚛ɪ𝚙ɒ𝚏/
𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗
𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.
example: dire bound is a rip-off of
game of thrones: we have a house named stark. our sigil is literally a fking wolf. we have wolves. we have a family of starks. winter is coming.
dire bound: i have a MLI named stark. i have wolves. it's cold in nocturna.
twilight: edward and jacob simp for bella. edward and jacob bite bella. jacob is a wolf.
dire bound: killian and stark simp for meryn. killian bites meryn. meryn has a wolf.
acomaf: tamlin you stupid bitch. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 rhys 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
dire bound: killian you stupid bitch. 🥰 stark 🥰
fourth wing: we have a quadrant where you fight and kill people. we have trials for you to bond a dragon. we can telepathically communicate with our dragons. violet has a friend who she signs with. violet and xaddy fk a lot.
dire bound: i have a military school where you fight and kill people. i have trials to bond a wolf. i can telepathically communicate with my wolf. meryn has a friend who she signs with. meryn and killian fk a lot.
iron flame:
dire bound:
ember in the ashes: the fmc's sibling goes missing. the fmc spends 67% of the book NOT trying to find them.
dire bound: meryn's sister goes missing. meryn spends 67% of the book NOT trying to find her.
what dire bound didn't rip-off:
*meryn's sister goes missing*
meryn: *fks killian*
✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃦☽⋆⁺₊✧⚜️ 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉 ⚜️✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃠☽⋆⁺₊✧
this book has FINALLY deigned to let me read it AWOOOOOOOOOOO ˙✧˖°🐺 ༘ ⋆｡˚
buddy reading withmy bitches the wolfpack aoibee, cherryl, ash {officially taken by a wolf}
/ˈ𝚛ɪ𝚙ɒ𝚏/
𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚗
𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.
example: dire bound is a rip-off of
game of thrones: we have a house named stark. our sigil is literally a fking wolf. we have wolves. we have a family of starks. winter is coming.
dire bound: i have a MLI named stark. i have wolves. it's cold in nocturna.
twilight: edward and jacob simp for bella. edward and jacob bite bella. jacob is a wolf.
dire bound: killian and stark simp for meryn. killian bites meryn. meryn has a wolf.
acomaf: tamlin you stupid bitch. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰 rhys 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
dire bound: killian you stupid bitch. 🥰 stark 🥰
fourth wing: we have a quadrant where you fight and kill people. we have trials for you to bond a dragon. we can telepathically communicate with our dragons. violet has a friend who she signs with. violet and xaddy fk a lot.
dire bound: i have a military school where you fight and kill people. i have trials to bond a wolf. i can telepathically communicate with my wolf. meryn has a friend who she signs with. meryn and killian fk a lot.
iron flame:
dire bound:
ember in the ashes: the fmc's sibling goes missing. the fmc spends 67% of the book NOT trying to find them.
dire bound: meryn's sister goes missing. meryn spends 67% of the book NOT trying to find her.
what dire bound didn't rip-off:
*meryn's sister goes missing*
meryn: *fks killian*
✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃦☽⋆⁺₊✧⚜️ 𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉 ⚜️✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃠☽⋆⁺₊✧
this book has FINALLY deigned to let me read it AWOOOOOOOOOOO ˙✧˖°🐺 ༘ ⋆｡˚
buddy reading with
August 7, 2025
4⭐️
This was quite good especially for a debut! It has similar vibes to Fourth Wing, but with a more likable FMC (in my opinion), direwolves, magic and Siphons, who are essentially vampires. These combined elements definitely kept things interesting.
The pacing is a bit slow to start, but never boring. I find that pretty typical for the first book in a fantasy series, since there's a lot of groundwork to lay with characters and world building. It doesn’t take long to gain momentum, and by the last 25% of the book, I couldn’t put it down.
The FMC, Meryn, is strong, scrappy and capable without coming across as arrogant. She’s mostly confident but also shows vulnerability at times, which made her feel relatable. She does make a few poor choices and acts immaturely here and there, but overall, I really liked her. Then there’s Stark Therion, my favorite character besides Meryn’s direwolf, Anassa. I mean, with a name like that, how could he not be a dark and broody alpha?
The direwolves were a highlight for me, especially their interactions with their bonded riders. The book is full of secrets and twists, some I saw coming but a few genuinely surprised me. I still don’t feel like I have a solid grasp of the world yet, but I’m hoping the next book will fill in the gaps. Book two can’t come fast enough because after that ending, I definitely have some questions that need answers. There’s a lot more I could say (Ari can vouch for that), but unfortunately much of it would be spoilers.
Buddy read with Ari . We had some really good discussions and quite a few laughs while reading this one. Be sure to check out her review.
Fun fact: Sable Sorenson is actually the pen name for two fantasy-loving friends who co-wrote this very solid debut novel.
This was quite good especially for a debut! It has similar vibes to Fourth Wing, but with a more likable FMC (in my opinion), direwolves, magic and Siphons, who are essentially vampires. These combined elements definitely kept things interesting.
The pacing is a bit slow to start, but never boring. I find that pretty typical for the first book in a fantasy series, since there's a lot of groundwork to lay with characters and world building. It doesn’t take long to gain momentum, and by the last 25% of the book, I couldn’t put it down.
The FMC, Meryn, is strong, scrappy and capable without coming across as arrogant. She’s mostly confident but also shows vulnerability at times, which made her feel relatable. She does make a few poor choices and acts immaturely here and there, but overall, I really liked her. Then there’s Stark Therion, my favorite character besides Meryn’s direwolf, Anassa. I mean, with a name like that, how could he not be a dark and broody alpha?
The direwolves were a highlight for me, especially their interactions with their bonded riders. The book is full of secrets and twists, some I saw coming but a few genuinely surprised me. I still don’t feel like I have a solid grasp of the world yet, but I’m hoping the next book will fill in the gaps. Book two can’t come fast enough because after that ending, I definitely have some questions that need answers. There’s a lot more I could say (Ari can vouch for that), but unfortunately much of it would be spoilers.
Buddy read with Ari . We had some really good discussions and quite a few laughs while reading this one. Be sure to check out her review.
Fun fact: Sable Sorenson is actually the pen name for two fantasy-loving friends who co-wrote this very solid debut novel.
May 1, 2026
Direbound – more like “Dire Lack of Braincells”
Logic didn’t even touch this novel with a stick. Since the nonexistent worldbuilding was clearly inspired by the German language, you could also call this a Reinfall – (this means Failure in German and it matches the city names that the authors chose for their world. It’s super funny, believe me). But let me explain by simply describing the plot to you, my dear three followers on Goodreads.
Careful. Spoilers.
The PLOT
We find ourselves in Nocturna, a country that has chosen to only take the most boring parts of the amazingly rich German language and construe them into half-assed city names. It has been at war for 500 years with the vampires of the neighbouring country. A war that long, someone should have won it already but this is not a question we explore. Unfortunately the enemies are called “Syphons”, which is very similar to the German word “Siphon”, the s-bend underneath your kitchen sink that keeps sewage smells in the sewer and out of your kitchen. So everytime I read that word I had to think about plumbing. I digress. Our female hero Meryn Cooper is a seasoned pit fighter and all-around awesome, but tragically poor. There is a clear class divide between the rich and the poor in the capital city of Sturmfrost. This is not something you pick up through details strewn into the narrative – no our FMC Meryn Marx tells us in the first chapter that it’s a very classist society. Shout out to our class concious girlie. Power to the people, stick it to the Man.
Anyways, Meryn has this super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend, Lee. He’s a castle messenger, so he spends quite a few nights at the castle for his job. He’s definitely just an amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend. Meryn is living a poor but stable life, all is good, except her mother Mrs. Everdeen has psychotic episodes since her father Mr Everdeen died in the mines. Oh no, it was the front. The plumbers got him. My bad. And then – her little sister Saela is abducted, like many other poor kids in the city. As we hear, the plumbing mafia that we’re in a war with have been abducting kids because their blood has super-lifeforce in it. Imagine it like Pizza-Gate. Same concept. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hillary Clinton herself is queen of the Plumbing Mafia.
The only solution for our very experienced pit fighter here is to sign up for the army and go to the front, where these poor kids are drained for their adrenochrome. Then she can sneak across and find her sister before the Plumbers use her for their evil plumbing empire.
Now, you may think: Wait a minute – wouldn’t that mean she’s wasting time in boot camp (like, at least a month, you’d expect) and then needs to become a deserter, i.e. if she’s caught sneaking across the front lines, she will be court marshalled or killed on the spot? Wouldn’t it be better if our experienced, bad-ass pit fighter just heads straight to the border, on foot, maybe hitching rides?
Dear reader, please don’t think too much.
Obviously, the super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend, Lee, helps her get kitted out for the army and also informs her that he overheard the rumor that her bootcamp is actually going to be doing a bonding trial. Because the Direwolves, the elite fighting unit, needs new riders every few years. This is not something Meryn wants, but she manages to cross the Parapet and bonds the biggest badass drago– sorry, she climbs a mountain and bonds the biggest badass Direwolf out there. DA DA DAAA. She becomes special, because normally you’d only get a strand of your hair bleached in your Direwolf’s colour, but she get’s a full makeover. Her hair is now silver and SPEschUl.
Unfortunately, this means FOUR MONTHS of boot camp to become a super cool Direwolf rider. The fact that her sister is probably a dried out lil husk already is not a concern of Meryn, no she just wants to get to her. Because she’s probably still alive. We think. We also learn that Direwolves have mates, but Anassa, our unfunny version of Tairn, is super secretive about it so we can’t guess at all who it is.
When humans bond Direwolves, they get divided into four different packs: Dauntless, Erudite, Candor and I already forgot what the fourth one actually did. Meryn finds herself in Erudite, aka Strategos. They are the pack who make up battle strategies and think ahead. Why she is in there is beyond me since she does not have a strategic bone in her body, let alone a brain. If she did, she wouldn’t even be there. She’d already be at the front, searching for her sister. Why the Direwolves need the humans at all is also a bit mysterious to me. I think Anassa would fare better without Meryn on her back, but that is just my humble opinion.
Now here we also meet Alpha Stark Therion, who is basically Temu Xaden. Stark, because he has a Direwolf, like in GoT, get it? Haha. Well. Our girl Meryn REALLY notices how hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous he is. She thinks about him more than super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend, Lee. Unfortunately, he totally hates her (she thinks). When we get to the presentation day with the royal family DA DA DAAAAA - Lee (super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend) is the crownprince! Quelle surprise!! I was totally shocked to find out. There’s a few culling events/trials where unimportant people die. Meryn is also starting to have these episodes like her Mom and wakes up in strange places. We are very forgiving with our dear Lee but continue to thirst after hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous Stark Tony.
Then for some reason that is absolutely beyond me, the direwolves elect Anassa and with her Meryn to be the Alpha of their pack. Just kidding, I know why: It’s for the plot and the sexual tension. Obviously Meryn is totally unqualified, so she needs some private lessons with hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous Stark Tony on how to be an Alpha and lead a pack. He is also totally not withholding knowledge from her for plot reasons. Some kids are spotted at the front. Meryn remembers she has a sister and she is also totally unqualified to fight the Plumbers, so clearly Tony Stark needs to acompany her there. He’s broody and mysterious even as he does not get comfortable enough on the floor of the Inn and they need to share a bed, because obviously, there is only one bed. This trope gets topped off with the most awkward “Who did this to you” growl I’ve ever laid eyes on. Literacy can be a curse.
The kids at the front were a dead end, but Meryn gets a bunch of tattoos out of it that get licked by Stark Tony in a very hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous way. For plot reasons. It’s super unhygienic, but who am I to judge. It gets Meryn’s panties pretty wet but she still loves super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend Lee. With the help of a friend from another pack (Candor?) Meryn finally finds the missing kids. They’ve been – DA DA DAAAAA – in the castle all along! It’s – DA DA DAAAA – the evil king who’s been the child snatcher. Who would have thought. From here on it get’s pretty wild and unhinged, so strap in dear reader, your brain is not going to be able to keep up with the plot holes.
Meryn goes against all the advice she receives from her super wise and ancient wolf. She runs straight to amazing, sweet and kind Lee, who wants her to be his queen. Together, they plot some sweet, sweet regicide. Lee’s totally in it for sure. The next day happens to be graduation. Meryn manages to kill the king in front of hundreds of people, but then Lee looks at her like shocked Pikachu and asks, “Why did you do this, omg Meryn, that’s really messed up.”
Our strategic brainiac did not see this betrayal coming, unlike her wolf and us readers. Luckily for Meryn, she’s thrown into the dungeons with Anassa. It turns out – DA DA DAAAAA – Anassas’ mate is Stark Tony’s wolf! Whaaaaat? And they come to rescue them and they bring an ancient crown that was hidden in the drains. Because – DA DA DAAAAA – Meryn Marx-Cooper is the long lost heir to the throne and the kingdom has been secretly run by the Plumbing Mafia for five centuries! Why in secret you may ask, since they conquered it quite openly? We don’t know. But there is this blood curse, that’s why although Anassa and Stark Tony knew who Meryn was this entire time, they couldn’t talk. Stark’s family were able to write the history down and read it for 500 years so it is mysterious as to why no one simply wrote a letter to Meryn. Just an idea, idk. Because the wolves are mated, Meryn actually realises just how hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous Stark is. They’re still in the dungeons and guards may show up any moment, but she has this true epiphany and it takes her a while. Stark has actually been watching her for years, I kind of imagine Edward-like, when she sleeps and fights. He could have slipped her a message in all those years, you’d think. HE actually did all those amazing sweet things that Lee got credit for, like a private room, a beautiful dress and killing people who threatened her. All the time, they’ve got the hots for each other because their direwolves are thirsting for each other through the bond. It’s a bit like a foursome I guess, with some bestiality involved?
Then, instead of using her Strategos and Alpha skills to gather an army made up of allies she can trust to overthrow the evil new King Lee, she goes straight to him, totally alone, to confront him. But – DA DA DAAAAA – he’s a Plumber as well now, or to be more correct, he shares a body with the OG S-Bend who killed the good queen 500 years ago. It’s kind of Quirrel/Voldemort style, you can see it in the eyes or something. Anyways, Lee foresaw all this and he kinda really loves Meryn, although he totally preplanned everything. He also knew she was the heir. – DA DA DAAAAA.
Lee escapes in some kind of darkness, I’m unsure because I skipped ahead a bit.
Meryn escapes him with the help of Tony Stark, but Lee did a thing with the wedding band he gave Meryn, where he can steal her magic powers. So she’s not as strong as she could be. Oh, he also made poor little Saela into a plumber, too. This is revealed in the last paragraphs. The end.
My personal lowlights:
- Greek terminology everywhere. Strategos, Kryptos. Alpha, Beta. Gamma.
- The Guillotine. I guess even this fantasy world had some very angry French peasants at some point. You cannot escape the French.
- The term “Gaslighting” – bitch, you tellin me this world also had the theater play GASLIGHT by Patrick Hamilton, from which this term then evolved and got picked up? What a coincidence.
- too many sex scenes when there was no yearning built up, I don’t know how to describe this better. I think one might have been enough. Maybe two. But there was one every other chapter, I swear. And they were all with Lee, who we totally knew was not destined to be the one. So it felt like putting the effort in to read through all those scenes was wasted, ya know?
Anyways. 1.5 stars because this was still weirdly entertaining. I kept waiting to discover the next dumb trope or story line
Logic didn’t even touch this novel with a stick. Since the nonexistent worldbuilding was clearly inspired by the German language, you could also call this a Reinfall – (this means Failure in German and it matches the city names that the authors chose for their world. It’s super funny, believe me). But let me explain by simply describing the plot to you, my dear three followers on Goodreads.
Careful. Spoilers.
The PLOT
We find ourselves in Nocturna, a country that has chosen to only take the most boring parts of the amazingly rich German language and construe them into half-assed city names. It has been at war for 500 years with the vampires of the neighbouring country. A war that long, someone should have won it already but this is not a question we explore. Unfortunately the enemies are called “Syphons”, which is very similar to the German word “Siphon”, the s-bend underneath your kitchen sink that keeps sewage smells in the sewer and out of your kitchen. So everytime I read that word I had to think about plumbing. I digress. Our female hero Meryn Cooper is a seasoned pit fighter and all-around awesome, but tragically poor. There is a clear class divide between the rich and the poor in the capital city of Sturmfrost. This is not something you pick up through details strewn into the narrative – no our FMC Meryn Marx tells us in the first chapter that it’s a very classist society. Shout out to our class concious girlie. Power to the people, stick it to the Man.
Anyways, Meryn has this super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend, Lee. He’s a castle messenger, so he spends quite a few nights at the castle for his job. He’s definitely just an amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend. Meryn is living a poor but stable life, all is good, except her mother Mrs. Everdeen has psychotic episodes since her father Mr Everdeen died in the mines. Oh no, it was the front. The plumbers got him. My bad. And then – her little sister Saela is abducted, like many other poor kids in the city. As we hear, the plumbing mafia that we’re in a war with have been abducting kids because their blood has super-lifeforce in it. Imagine it like Pizza-Gate. Same concept. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hillary Clinton herself is queen of the Plumbing Mafia.
The only solution for our very experienced pit fighter here is to sign up for the army and go to the front, where these poor kids are drained for their adrenochrome. Then she can sneak across and find her sister before the Plumbers use her for their evil plumbing empire.
Now, you may think: Wait a minute – wouldn’t that mean she’s wasting time in boot camp (like, at least a month, you’d expect) and then needs to become a deserter, i.e. if she’s caught sneaking across the front lines, she will be court marshalled or killed on the spot? Wouldn’t it be better if our experienced, bad-ass pit fighter just heads straight to the border, on foot, maybe hitching rides?
Dear reader, please don’t think too much.
Obviously, the super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend, Lee, helps her get kitted out for the army and also informs her that he overheard the rumor that her bootcamp is actually going to be doing a bonding trial. Because the Direwolves, the elite fighting unit, needs new riders every few years. This is not something Meryn wants, but she manages to cross the Parapet and bonds the biggest badass drago– sorry, she climbs a mountain and bonds the biggest badass Direwolf out there. DA DA DAAA. She becomes special, because normally you’d only get a strand of your hair bleached in your Direwolf’s colour, but she get’s a full makeover. Her hair is now silver and SPEschUl.
Unfortunately, this means FOUR MONTHS of boot camp to become a super cool Direwolf rider. The fact that her sister is probably a dried out lil husk already is not a concern of Meryn, no she just wants to get to her. Because she’s probably still alive. We think. We also learn that Direwolves have mates, but Anassa, our unfunny version of Tairn, is super secretive about it so we can’t guess at all who it is.
When humans bond Direwolves, they get divided into four different packs: Dauntless, Erudite, Candor and I already forgot what the fourth one actually did. Meryn finds herself in Erudite, aka Strategos. They are the pack who make up battle strategies and think ahead. Why she is in there is beyond me since she does not have a strategic bone in her body, let alone a brain. If she did, she wouldn’t even be there. She’d already be at the front, searching for her sister. Why the Direwolves need the humans at all is also a bit mysterious to me. I think Anassa would fare better without Meryn on her back, but that is just my humble opinion.
Now here we also meet Alpha Stark Therion, who is basically Temu Xaden. Stark, because he has a Direwolf, like in GoT, get it? Haha. Well. Our girl Meryn REALLY notices how hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous he is. She thinks about him more than super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend, Lee. Unfortunately, he totally hates her (she thinks). When we get to the presentation day with the royal family DA DA DAAAAA - Lee (super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend) is the crownprince! Quelle surprise!! I was totally shocked to find out. There’s a few culling events/trials where unimportant people die. Meryn is also starting to have these episodes like her Mom and wakes up in strange places. We are very forgiving with our dear Lee but continue to thirst after hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous Stark Tony.
Then for some reason that is absolutely beyond me, the direwolves elect Anassa and with her Meryn to be the Alpha of their pack. Just kidding, I know why: It’s for the plot and the sexual tension. Obviously Meryn is totally unqualified, so she needs some private lessons with hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous Stark Tony on how to be an Alpha and lead a pack. He is also totally not withholding knowledge from her for plot reasons. Some kids are spotted at the front. Meryn remembers she has a sister and she is also totally unqualified to fight the Plumbers, so clearly Tony Stark needs to acompany her there. He’s broody and mysterious even as he does not get comfortable enough on the floor of the Inn and they need to share a bed, because obviously, there is only one bed. This trope gets topped off with the most awkward “Who did this to you” growl I’ve ever laid eyes on. Literacy can be a curse.
The kids at the front were a dead end, but Meryn gets a bunch of tattoos out of it that get licked by Stark Tony in a very hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous way. For plot reasons. It’s super unhygienic, but who am I to judge. It gets Meryn’s panties pretty wet but she still loves super amazing, sweet and kind boyfriend Lee. With the help of a friend from another pack (Candor?) Meryn finally finds the missing kids. They’ve been – DA DA DAAAAA – in the castle all along! It’s – DA DA DAAAA – the evil king who’s been the child snatcher. Who would have thought. From here on it get’s pretty wild and unhinged, so strap in dear reader, your brain is not going to be able to keep up with the plot holes.
Meryn goes against all the advice she receives from her super wise and ancient wolf. She runs straight to amazing, sweet and kind Lee, who wants her to be his queen. Together, they plot some sweet, sweet regicide. Lee’s totally in it for sure. The next day happens to be graduation. Meryn manages to kill the king in front of hundreds of people, but then Lee looks at her like shocked Pikachu and asks, “Why did you do this, omg Meryn, that’s really messed up.”
Our strategic brainiac did not see this betrayal coming, unlike her wolf and us readers. Luckily for Meryn, she’s thrown into the dungeons with Anassa. It turns out – DA DA DAAAAA – Anassas’ mate is Stark Tony’s wolf! Whaaaaat? And they come to rescue them and they bring an ancient crown that was hidden in the drains. Because – DA DA DAAAAA – Meryn Marx-Cooper is the long lost heir to the throne and the kingdom has been secretly run by the Plumbing Mafia for five centuries! Why in secret you may ask, since they conquered it quite openly? We don’t know. But there is this blood curse, that’s why although Anassa and Stark Tony knew who Meryn was this entire time, they couldn’t talk. Stark’s family were able to write the history down and read it for 500 years so it is mysterious as to why no one simply wrote a letter to Meryn. Just an idea, idk. Because the wolves are mated, Meryn actually realises just how hot, brooding, mysterious and dangerous Stark is. They’re still in the dungeons and guards may show up any moment, but she has this true epiphany and it takes her a while. Stark has actually been watching her for years, I kind of imagine Edward-like, when she sleeps and fights. He could have slipped her a message in all those years, you’d think. HE actually did all those amazing sweet things that Lee got credit for, like a private room, a beautiful dress and killing people who threatened her. All the time, they’ve got the hots for each other because their direwolves are thirsting for each other through the bond. It’s a bit like a foursome I guess, with some bestiality involved?
Then, instead of using her Strategos and Alpha skills to gather an army made up of allies she can trust to overthrow the evil new King Lee, she goes straight to him, totally alone, to confront him. But – DA DA DAAAAA – he’s a Plumber as well now, or to be more correct, he shares a body with the OG S-Bend who killed the good queen 500 years ago. It’s kind of Quirrel/Voldemort style, you can see it in the eyes or something. Anyways, Lee foresaw all this and he kinda really loves Meryn, although he totally preplanned everything. He also knew she was the heir. – DA DA DAAAAA.
Lee escapes in some kind of darkness, I’m unsure because I skipped ahead a bit.
Meryn escapes him with the help of Tony Stark, but Lee did a thing with the wedding band he gave Meryn, where he can steal her magic powers. So she’s not as strong as she could be. Oh, he also made poor little Saela into a plumber, too. This is revealed in the last paragraphs. The end.
My personal lowlights:
- Greek terminology everywhere. Strategos, Kryptos. Alpha, Beta. Gamma.
- The Guillotine. I guess even this fantasy world had some very angry French peasants at some point. You cannot escape the French.
- The term “Gaslighting” – bitch, you tellin me this world also had the theater play GASLIGHT by Patrick Hamilton, from which this term then evolved and got picked up? What a coincidence.
- too many sex scenes when there was no yearning built up, I don’t know how to describe this better. I think one might have been enough. Maybe two. But there was one every other chapter, I swear. And they were all with Lee, who we totally knew was not destined to be the one. So it felt like putting the effort in to read through all those scenes was wasted, ya know?
Anyways. 1.5 stars because this was still weirdly entertaining. I kept waiting to discover the next dumb trope or story line
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