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Bound and Unbound #1-2
Bound and Unbound
Not yet published
Expected 6 Oct 26New York Times bestselling author Ali Hazelwood’s intoxicating paranormal romance duology—together for the first time in print and ebook!
Read the captivating dark academia romance in Bound, then flip your book over to unleash the dangers of forbidden love in Unbound.
Bound
A reluctant con artist and a professor with too many secrets are bound by an arcane text—in more ways than one.
Veronica “Vero” Mercer grew up with grifters for parents, and she knows her way around a con. When grad school bills pile up and her friends are in trouble, she turns her art history skills into a forgery side hustle.
It’s supposed to be a short term deal, but her work draws the attention of Dr. Viktor Ashworth, a reserved, very British professor. Instead of turning her in, Ashworth kidnaps her—politely—and makes an unusual forge a mysterious ancient manuscript for him.
Soon Vero finds herself spending long nights with Viktor, bent over rare vellum samples and obscure inks. But as the con grows riskier, Vero has to what does Viktor really want, and why can’t she stay away?
Unbound
A five-thousand-year-old woman who has outlived empires. A doctor who has spent his life fighting death. They fates collide in a blood game of vengeance.
Lilit of Nineveh has spent millennia in control. As a powerful revenant, she enforces one rule above protect mortals. Disciplined and focused, she has never made the same mistake twice, and she has learned that attachments can only lead to ruin.
Enter Roman Martin. An overworked and relentlessly kind ER physician, he is the one mortal Lilit cannot quit. Any relationship between them is against everything Lilit has fought for. Still, she keeps coming back to him.
Until someone starts hunting Lilit, and Roman is caught in the crossfire. When everything comes crashing down, Lilit must choose between the world she has sworn to protect and the man she was never meant to love.
Read the captivating dark academia romance in Bound, then flip your book over to unleash the dangers of forbidden love in Unbound.
Bound
A reluctant con artist and a professor with too many secrets are bound by an arcane text—in more ways than one.
Veronica “Vero” Mercer grew up with grifters for parents, and she knows her way around a con. When grad school bills pile up and her friends are in trouble, she turns her art history skills into a forgery side hustle.
It’s supposed to be a short term deal, but her work draws the attention of Dr. Viktor Ashworth, a reserved, very British professor. Instead of turning her in, Ashworth kidnaps her—politely—and makes an unusual forge a mysterious ancient manuscript for him.
Soon Vero finds herself spending long nights with Viktor, bent over rare vellum samples and obscure inks. But as the con grows riskier, Vero has to what does Viktor really want, and why can’t she stay away?
Unbound
A five-thousand-year-old woman who has outlived empires. A doctor who has spent his life fighting death. They fates collide in a blood game of vengeance.
Lilit of Nineveh has spent millennia in control. As a powerful revenant, she enforces one rule above protect mortals. Disciplined and focused, she has never made the same mistake twice, and she has learned that attachments can only lead to ruin.
Enter Roman Martin. An overworked and relentlessly kind ER physician, he is the one mortal Lilit cannot quit. Any relationship between them is against everything Lilit has fought for. Still, she keeps coming back to him.
Until someone starts hunting Lilit, and Roman is caught in the crossfire. When everything comes crashing down, Lilit must choose between the world she has sworn to protect and the man she was never meant to love.
416 pages, Paperback
Expected publication October 6, 2026
About the author
Ali Hazelwood
37 books194k followersI'm Ali, and I write contemporary romcom novels about women in STEM and academia. I love cats, Nutella, and side ponytails. I'm also currently learning to crochet, so as you can tell I'm a super busy gal with an intense and exciting life!
I only use Goodreads as a reader, to review and hype books that I've loved (many of these book are ARCs received from fellow authors).
I only use Goodreads as a reader, to review and hype books that I've loved (many of these book are ARCs received from fellow authors).
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Want to Read
May 20, 2026mother is finally releasing the eyeball-readable versions of these novellas, and since i can’t read on audio, i’m so happy that i can now complete her bibliography 😭😭 and we have a release date!!!
Want to Read
July 9, 2026my prayers have been answered - audiobook haters REJOICE
Want to Read
August 3, 2026I am pretty sure Ali Hazelwood can do no wrong
Want to Read
June 11, 2026I have approximately one billion unread books and a Goodreads challenge that is actively judging me, and yet here I am, mentally rearranging my reading queue for a dual-narrative about a manuscript forger and a five-thousand-year-old woman with attachment issues. Ali Hazelwood said "what if academia, but also immortality, but also crime" and I cannot pretend that I'm not intrigued.
Want to Read
August 31, 2026...Am I going to read this because it's two Novellas in one and the formatting is deeply nostalgic to me? I will 100% admit that now for future me to look back at this and either be very happy or disappointed.
August 25, 2026
i loved bound & unbound was just good to me
Read
August 2, 20262026: 4.0
Cute
Cute
Read
September 1, 2026
Review of Bound:
Bound by Ali Hazelwood is her third take on vampire romances and the first time she introduced a vampire boyfriend. For this, I cannot thank her enough. The main couple is excellent, since they have this gentle yet sexy energy. Vero is a mood, and Viktor is A MAN (capital letters deserved). The plot was actually quite original and interesting because of the supernatural subplot and the forging subplot. Ali reimagined the whole vampirism idea in a way that made it new and catchy. Also, as a philologist, I found the humanities and arts academia setting charming. Overall, Bound by Ali Hazelwood is another good romance short story from the one and only that you might want to check out!
Review of Unbound:
Unbound by Ali Hazelwood is a follow-up story in the Revenant world, this time by the hand of Lilit and Roman. This world is very original, so I am glad Ali decided to go back to it. And I liked the dynamics of the main couple since this is, I believe, Ali's first time with a female main character who is more dominant and assertive. However, the pacing was awkward. Since by the time we met the couple, they were already in love, although not together, most of the narration consists of explaining things that have already happened. The actual story doesn't start until we reach the middle/end of it. There are also few expectations to have on a couple whom you already know to be in love and close to getting together. Anyway, props to our BISEXUAL POC QUEEN, Lilit of Nineveh; what a GOAT. In conclusion, Unbound by Ali Hazelwood is a nice enough story to stand on its own but would have probably benefited from a longer length. An enjoyable listen, nonetheless!
Bound by Ali Hazelwood is her third take on vampire romances and the first time she introduced a vampire boyfriend. For this, I cannot thank her enough. The main couple is excellent, since they have this gentle yet sexy energy. Vero is a mood, and Viktor is A MAN (capital letters deserved). The plot was actually quite original and interesting because of the supernatural subplot and the forging subplot. Ali reimagined the whole vampirism idea in a way that made it new and catchy. Also, as a philologist, I found the humanities and arts academia setting charming. Overall, Bound by Ali Hazelwood is another good romance short story from the one and only that you might want to check out!
Review of Unbound:
Unbound by Ali Hazelwood is a follow-up story in the Revenant world, this time by the hand of Lilit and Roman. This world is very original, so I am glad Ali decided to go back to it. And I liked the dynamics of the main couple since this is, I believe, Ali's first time with a female main character who is more dominant and assertive. However, the pacing was awkward. Since by the time we met the couple, they were already in love, although not together, most of the narration consists of explaining things that have already happened. The actual story doesn't start until we reach the middle/end of it. There are also few expectations to have on a couple whom you already know to be in love and close to getting together. Anyway, props to our BISEXUAL POC QUEEN, Lilit of Nineveh; what a GOAT. In conclusion, Unbound by Ali Hazelwood is a nice enough story to stand on its own but would have probably benefited from a longer length. An enjoyable listen, nonetheless!
Review of advance copy
Review of Bound:
WHEN DOES SHE SLEEP OMG ALI HAZELWOOD MAY YOUR REIGN AS THE QUEEN OF ROMANCE NEVER END
Seriously though, this was great! One of my favorites from Ali thus far (I know I say that about every book of hers but I really mean it this time). Vincent is one of my favorite MMCs from Ali, and Vero is probably my favorite FMC (like what a badass queen I literally love her??). And the plot twists??? So good. Holy shit. If Bride and Mate are sisters, Bound is definitely their weird but brilliant cousin. The duet narration is peak, William MacLeod was great with all the different accents. I loved this.
Review of Unbound:
Of course I would finish the new Ali Hazelwood in a day lol. I feel like I say this about all of her books, but this was so good!! I don't think I enjoyed this as much as Bound, but it works so well as a follow up to that world. I will say that I wish this had a trigger warning for as it's the focus of the plot for the last handful of chapters. If I had been forewarned I might've taken a little longer to start listening to make sure I was ready for that, but I'm happy everything worked out in the ending.
And of course, all my love and praise for Tara Fatehi and Dean Miller on the audiobook narration. Their performances were spectacular and they really made this story even more brilliant.
WHEN DOES SHE SLEEP OMG ALI HAZELWOOD MAY YOUR REIGN AS THE QUEEN OF ROMANCE NEVER END
Seriously though, this was great! One of my favorites from Ali thus far (I know I say that about every book of hers but I really mean it this time). Vincent is one of my favorite MMCs from Ali, and Vero is probably my favorite FMC (like what a badass queen I literally love her??). And the plot twists??? So good. Holy shit. If Bride and Mate are sisters, Bound is definitely their weird but brilliant cousin. The duet narration is peak, William MacLeod was great with all the different accents. I loved this.
Review of Unbound:
Of course I would finish the new Ali Hazelwood in a day lol. I feel like I say this about all of her books, but this was so good!! I don't think I enjoyed this as much as Bound, but it works so well as a follow up to that world. I will say that I wish this had a trigger warning for as it's the focus of the plot for the last handful of chapters. If I had been forewarned I might've taken a little longer to start listening to make sure I was ready for that, but I'm happy everything worked out in the ending.
And of course, all my love and praise for Tara Fatehi and Dean Miller on the audiobook narration. Their performances were spectacular and they really made this story even more brilliant.
Read
July 29, 20263.75 average rating between the two books!
Review of advance copy
Nice yearning back and forth.
Want to Read
August 12, 2026YESSSSSSSSS I am so excited! I've wanted a physical version of Bound so badly!
Review of advance copy
neurodivergent immortal beings? sign me uuup.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews