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Bound and Unbound #2
Unbound
A five-thousand-year-old woman who has outlived empires and a doctor who's spent his life fighting death collide in this novella from
New York Times
bestselling author Ali Hazelwood.
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.
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.
Audible Audio
First published July 14, 2026
About the author
Ali Hazelwood
41 books196k 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).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,094 reviews
July 24, 2026
omg????
i didn’t know i needed this. 5k year old vampire that’s more dominant in the bedroom and night shift doctor that’s 100% into that??? a 10 year situationship??? there’s this line in the books that was something like “if you don’t want kids that’s ok because then i’d just have you” what the actual fuck? i’m reminded men like that only exist in fiction. god he’s so poetic. and he’s exactly my type: tall, muscular, emotionally stable, no family, no siblings, no parents, and orphaned 😍 they are so Mohabbot coded.
lilit omg?? aura farming every sentence. there was something so gorgeous whenever she had to physically defend roman. everyone’s hot in this book. they are so “big & powerful girlfriend plus boyfriend that admires her with big googly eyes” i’m flustered 😩
i didn’t know i needed this. 5k year old vampire that’s more dominant in the bedroom and night shift doctor that’s 100% into that??? a 10 year situationship??? there’s this line in the books that was something like “if you don’t want kids that’s ok because then i’d just have you” what the actual fuck? i’m reminded men like that only exist in fiction. god he’s so poetic. and he’s exactly my type: tall, muscular, emotionally stable, no family, no siblings, no parents, and orphaned 😍 they are so Mohabbot coded.
lilit omg?? aura farming every sentence. there was something so gorgeous whenever she had to physically defend roman. everyone’s hot in this book. they are so “big & powerful girlfriend plus boyfriend that admires her with big googly eyes” i’m flustered 😩
July 9, 2026
Thoughts
The ONLY FLAW? this was TOO FUCKING SHORT 💔 oh my god I love them so much I could cry😭 are we getting more installments or?? Because my days does Ali know how to do this shit to perfection!!!! The back n forth between them to emotional dialogues 🥹 I need more of them y'all don't understand I ATE this up! Ali in her paranormal dark academia has got to be my new favourite era more than STEM I fear --,or actually give me anything Ali Hazelwood and I'll end up devouring or it consuming me!! Gonna end this with stating the obvious [ THIS ACCOUNT IS A ALI HAZELWOOD STAN ACCOUNT ]
Plot Summary
Lilit of Nineveh has spent centuries protecting mortals while keeping her emotions firmly under control. But everything changes when she finds herself unable to stay away from Roman Martin, a kind-hearted emergency doctor she was never meant to love. When Lilit becomes the target of a dangerous enemy and Roman’s life is put at risk, she must choose between her duty and the man who has captured her heart.
My Bookstagram
The ONLY FLAW? this was TOO FUCKING SHORT 💔 oh my god I love them so much I could cry😭 are we getting more installments or?? Because my days does Ali know how to do this shit to perfection!!!! The back n forth between them to emotional dialogues 🥹 I need more of them y'all don't understand I ATE this up! Ali in her paranormal dark academia has got to be my new favourite era more than STEM I fear --,or actually give me anything Ali Hazelwood and I'll end up devouring or it consuming me!! Gonna end this with stating the obvious [ THIS ACCOUNT IS A ALI HAZELWOOD STAN ACCOUNT ]
Plot Summary
Lilit of Nineveh has spent centuries protecting mortals while keeping her emotions firmly under control. But everything changes when she finds herself unable to stay away from Roman Martin, a kind-hearted emergency doctor she was never meant to love. When Lilit becomes the target of a dangerous enemy and Roman’s life is put at risk, she must choose between her duty and the man who has captured her heart.
My Bookstagram
Read
May 28, 2026She made it to Mohabbot 😭
Did Not Finish
July 10, 2026I cannot with these narrators
August 6, 2026
2.5 ⭐️
A five-thousand-year-old immortal woman who has outlived empires and a doctor who’s spent his life fighting death collide.
10-year situationship between a revenant (vampire-like immortal) and a pediatric doctor.
Ali Hazelwood has a formula when it comes to her MMC’s—devoted, lovestruck simps—and I eat them up every time! However, I’m left questioning the payoff of the romance in this book due to the leads already being together and mutually in-love right from the beginning.
As a romance-centered book, what’s left to root for when everything (namely, their falling in love + getting together) has already been established by page 1?? Mind you, Unbound wasn’t a second chance romance; all events happened in a linear fashion with a handful of flashbacks showing their past.
I’d say skip this one, as the romance was very, VERY unfulfilling.
Other Bound and Unbound duology review:
Bound (3.5 ⭐️)
A five-thousand-year-old immortal woman who has outlived empires and a doctor who’s spent his life fighting death collide.
10-year situationship between a revenant (vampire-like immortal) and a pediatric doctor.
Ali Hazelwood has a formula when it comes to her MMC’s—devoted, lovestruck simps—and I eat them up every time! However, I’m left questioning the payoff of the romance in this book due to the leads already being together and mutually in-love right from the beginning.
As a romance-centered book, what’s left to root for when everything (namely, their falling in love + getting together) has already been established by page 1?? Mind you, Unbound wasn’t a second chance romance; all events happened in a linear fashion with a handful of flashbacks showing their past.
I’d say skip this one, as the romance was very, VERY unfulfilling.
Other Bound and Unbound duology review:
Bound (3.5 ⭐️)
July 16, 2026
2 🌟🎧
i found this pretty mid and boring 😴😴 … i just did not care or connect with either character or their story oopsss 🤷🏻♀️
i found this pretty mid and boring 😴😴 … i just did not care or connect with either character or their story oopsss 🤷🏻♀️
July 16, 2026
★ ★1/2
It pains me to say this, but I found this extremely boring.
On the list of things I didn’t like: the vampire lore, the elder meetings, the lack of tension between Martin and Lilit. We need to get mommy Aethelthryth and Daddy Lazlo in here.
I also hated the narration. At the same time, I feel a little hesitant to critique it because I’m not an audiobook expert. I am basically a toddler in the audiobook world, as this is only my second one. My first audiobook, Priest, taught me that you can hate a story and still enjoy the hell out of the narration.
Unbound taught me that the opposite is also possible: you can dislike a story, and the narration can somehow make the experience even worse for you. How interesting. I didn't like the narrator's portrayal of Lilit at all. There was no emotion where there should have been. Sometimes the performance came across as flat and cartoonish.
I love experiencing new things, so I’m okay. No regrets there.
It pains me to say this, but I found this extremely boring.
On the list of things I didn’t like: the vampire lore, the elder meetings, the lack of tension between Martin and Lilit. We need to get mommy Aethelthryth and Daddy Lazlo in here.
I also hated the narration. At the same time, I feel a little hesitant to critique it because I’m not an audiobook expert. I am basically a toddler in the audiobook world, as this is only my second one. My first audiobook, Priest, taught me that you can hate a story and still enjoy the hell out of the narration.
Unbound taught me that the opposite is also possible: you can dislike a story, and the narration can somehow make the experience even worse for you. How interesting. I didn't like the narrator's portrayal of Lilit at all. There was no emotion where there should have been. Sometimes the performance came across as flat and cartoonish.
I love experiencing new things, so I’m okay. No regrets there.
September 16, 2026
Short vampire legacy troupe story 🧛 still no sparkles 😉
July 15, 2026
This audiobook was unforgivably bad. I'll get it out of the way that it's not Ali Hazelwood's fault that the narration and production of this audiobook is awful, but this is a novella that is only available on audio and was written as a Spotify Original, so I had no option but to listen to the audiobook and therefore I think it's fair to include the audio production in this review.
The male narrator was perfectly fine while voicing Roman, but the voices he did for some of the other characters were highly questionable. The female narrator, who is narrating Lilith and is reading all non-male speaking lines, was so bad. From what I can tell, she's never done an audiobook before and it was glaringly obvious. This was not helped by the extremely poor production of this audiobook that had her very very frequently rerecording lines, in which she would be speaking in an entirely different accent/cadence/speed and with significantly lower audio quality to the extent that certain rerecorded lines sounded muffled.
The story itself is also fairly weak. When doing a novella you already have only half the amount of time to develop the relationship, and yet we barely got any relationship development. We start the novella with both of them already having feelings for each other, but never get to see why these two would have those feelings or how they would work together in an actual relationship.
For a vampire romance it's absolutely insane
The male narrator was perfectly fine while voicing Roman, but the voices he did for some of the other characters were highly questionable. The female narrator, who is narrating Lilith and is reading all non-male speaking lines, was so bad. From what I can tell, she's never done an audiobook before and it was glaringly obvious. This was not helped by the extremely poor production of this audiobook that had her very very frequently rerecording lines, in which she would be speaking in an entirely different accent/cadence/speed and with significantly lower audio quality to the extent that certain rerecorded lines sounded muffled.
The story itself is also fairly weak. When doing a novella you already have only half the amount of time to develop the relationship, and yet we barely got any relationship development. We start the novella with both of them already having feelings for each other, but never get to see why these two would have those feelings or how they would work together in an actual relationship.
For a vampire romance it's absolutely insane
July 24, 2026
3.5
This was an enjoyable listen overall. The female narrator was amazing, she genuinely sounded like an ethereal being, and I could completely believe she was a revenant.
That said, the romance just didn't have me hooked. I found the friends-with-benefits setup removed any real tension, so I never felt fully invested in where the relationship was going.
Luckily it was a novella but this definitely took me longer to get through than usual, although I am currently in the middle of what feels like the world's biggest reading slump, so that probably didn't help.
Definitely not my favourite Ali Hazelwood, but it's also far from her worst!
I received an advanced listening copy through the publisher, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was an enjoyable listen overall. The female narrator was amazing, she genuinely sounded like an ethereal being, and I could completely believe she was a revenant.
That said, the romance just didn't have me hooked. I found the friends-with-benefits setup removed any real tension, so I never felt fully invested in where the relationship was going.
Luckily it was a novella but this definitely took me longer to get through than usual, although I am currently in the middle of what feels like the world's biggest reading slump, so that probably didn't help.
Definitely not my favourite Ali Hazelwood, but it's also far from her worst!
I received an advanced listening copy through the publisher, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
July 31, 2026
3 stars
I loved ‘Bride’ and ‘Mate’ by Ali Hazelwood, so I know she can write amazing paranormal romances. For some reason, this series hasn’t been my fave from her. I was pretty bored the first half, then it picked up and got a little better.
I loved ‘Bride’ and ‘Mate’ by Ali Hazelwood, so I know she can write amazing paranormal romances. For some reason, this series hasn’t been my fave from her. I was pretty bored the first half, then it picked up and got a little better.
Audio book source: Libby
Story Rating: 3 stars
Narrators: Dean Miller & Tara Fatehi
Narration Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 5h 23m
July 21, 2026
Vampire baddie STRUCK down by the LOVE affliction ♥️🩺🩸He respectfully yearns for her & anything she’s willing to give!
“He was quiet when I wanted him to be and loud if I demanded it. He would kneel at my feet.”
Lilith is a badass bitch who UNWILLINGLY fell for a handsome paediatric doctor. It’s been a decade of sneaking away from her elder vampire business to dally with a clueless mortal 🧛🏻♀️ She loves him dearly & he yearns for any part of her she’s willing to give! Desperate desire for something that could never be until she’s forced to reveal her true nature!
I rarely get to read relationship with a dominant fmc & a cutie mmc who’s just along for the ride ✨ I thoroughly enjoyed this! Lilith had this man ensnared from the moment they met and he was respectful of her boundaries to never ask for more…but Roman was a YEARNER!
♥️ he prefers older women & is surprised to be attracted to a 23-year old….but she’s really 5000+
🩺 10-year situationship
♥️ she gives him the bare minimum and he takes all the crumbs & thanks her
🩺 stolen nights of passion & vulnerability!
I really enjoyed the pace and intertwining past/present storytelling. Dual narration really helped with the delivery! There was a small miscommunication trope, which was annoying but didn’t detract too much from the plot. Not as smutty as I hoped!
⭐️ 4.5 the epilogue might have been my favorite!
“He was quiet when I wanted him to be and loud if I demanded it. He would kneel at my feet.”
Lilith is a badass bitch who UNWILLINGLY fell for a handsome paediatric doctor. It’s been a decade of sneaking away from her elder vampire business to dally with a clueless mortal 🧛🏻♀️ She loves him dearly & he yearns for any part of her she’s willing to give! Desperate desire for something that could never be until she’s forced to reveal her true nature!
I rarely get to read relationship with a dominant fmc & a cutie mmc who’s just along for the ride ✨ I thoroughly enjoyed this! Lilith had this man ensnared from the moment they met and he was respectful of her boundaries to never ask for more…but Roman was a YEARNER!
♥️ he prefers older women & is surprised to be attracted to a 23-year old….but she’s really 5000+
🩺 10-year situationship
♥️ she gives him the bare minimum and he takes all the crumbs & thanks her
🩺 stolen nights of passion & vulnerability!
I really enjoyed the pace and intertwining past/present storytelling. Dual narration really helped with the delivery! There was a small miscommunication trope, which was annoying but didn’t detract too much from the plot. Not as smutty as I hoped!
⭐️ 4.5 the epilogue might have been my favorite!
August 1, 2026
The second half was better than the first, but the first book of this series was more enjoyable overall.
August 3, 2026
⋆.˚✮ 4 stars ✮˚.⋆
while not as captivating as the first vampire novella in this series, i still had such a fun time listening to this! once again, like Bound, i just wish this had been longer because i could see a concept like this being a really interesting full-length series, but nevertheless i'm still happy Ali wrote this series. Lilit was a fun character to follow, she's a super old vampire who has told herself she isn't ever going to fall for a mortal, but then she meets Roman. and oh, do i understand. Roman is a medical doctor, good at thinking on his feet, kind and always inquisitive. he was such a good character to balance her out as they were running from people trying to kill her. he is definitely someone i would not mind spending thousands of years with, he was just so cool!
↬ trigger warnings: death and murder, blood and gore, terminal illness and cancer, medical content and injury
while not as captivating as the first vampire novella in this series, i still had such a fun time listening to this! once again, like Bound, i just wish this had been longer because i could see a concept like this being a really interesting full-length series, but nevertheless i'm still happy Ali wrote this series. Lilit was a fun character to follow, she's a super old vampire who has told herself she isn't ever going to fall for a mortal, but then she meets Roman. and oh, do i understand. Roman is a medical doctor, good at thinking on his feet, kind and always inquisitive. he was such a good character to balance her out as they were running from people trying to kill her. he is definitely someone i would not mind spending thousands of years with, he was just so cool!
↬ trigger warnings: death and murder, blood and gore, terminal illness and cancer, medical content and injury
July 28, 2026
I tried. Oh how did I try! But this audiobook was just SO AWFUL! The female narrator sounded like AI. Like she was reading rather than acting, just like a computer generated voice. I couldn't even finish this one. The narrators ruined the experience for me.
Want to Read
May 27, 2026Every single one of your works, I have devoured. Can't tell you how impatiently I'm waiting for July 14th. You write it, I read it.
July 25, 2026
did my chores and ran my errands and ended my Ali drought. Gorgeous Saturday.
July 31, 2026
was 4+ stars until it was mentioned that he tried to meet other women during their separation
would’ve let his ass die just for that
would’ve let his ass die just for that
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2026
The audio quality and narration was terrible which is wild considering it’s the only way to read this.
July 19, 2026
3.5 stars rounded up
I love me a duet-narrated book 😮💨, but even the duet-narration didn’t make it easier to get through the first half 😅. It’s times like this when I WISH I had the ebook 👀.
Lilit of Nineveh is a 5,000-year-old revenant (an immortal that kind of has vampiric qualities 👀) who has survived civilizations rising and falling. She follows one unwavering rule: protect humans at all costs. She avoids emotional attachments because she’s learned that loving mortals only ends in heartbreak 🤷🏻♀️. Makes sense. She’s older than most things in the world 🤷🏻♀️.
Roman Martin’s (24-34 ish) an overworked ER physician who has unknowingly become the one human Lilit can’t stay away from 👀. Their relationship has existed in a sort of secret, on-and-off “situationship” for 10 years 😬. Roman has no idea Lilit is immortal or that an entire hidden supernatural world exists 😅, all he knows is that she doesn’t do commitments 😅, and he decides he’s okay with that.
But then… someone breaks into Roman’s home… and Lilit needs to protect him 🤷🏻♀️ because he doesn’t know what’s really going on in her world 👀 or that supernatural beings exists 😬. And we find out that she’s not the only one with secrets 😅.
what I liked SPOILERS
— Roman’s sweet heart 🫶. He wears his heart on his sleeve and it’s obvious how compassionate he is as a doctor ❤️
— both are celibate in the 10 years they’re together 👏🏻. Phew. I got worried 🤣. Sure. Lilit is THOUSANDS of years old and has TOOOONS of experience compared to Roman, but IDC 🤣. I love me a dedicated hero 🫶
— Lilit being an immortal 👏🏻. I love me a badasssss heroine 😉
— reverse age gap? This is like THE Reverse age gaps of all age gaps 🤣🤣🤣 can anyone beat a 5000 year difference 🤡
— Lilit, the woman, is the immortal 👏🏻 we rarely get this in books 💁🏻♀️
— the 🔥. I love that Roman was submissive to Lilit 👀. I mean. She is like A LOOOT older than him 🤣. She knows what she’s doing 🤷🏻♀️. The scene where he 💦 too soon made me cringe…
BUUUUT
Then he makes up for it by asking her to kneel on his face 🥵
— the touch HIM and die vibes… it’s the opposite of what we see in books 👀… which means I also loved…
— how protective Lilit is of Roman 🥹. I mean. He is of her too, but she LITERALLY HAS to protect him ❤️. He’s a cinnamon roll for her 🫶
— the scene where she finally bites him? 😭😭😭 I got emotional 😭 because that’s when she finds out 😭
what I didn’t like/wanted more of SPOILERS
— so much info dumping in the beginning 🫠. I think it’s because we’re getting thrust into a relationship that’s BEEN established (ish) for years. So I felt discombobulated 😅😬. We didn’t get the normal “meet-tension-relationship” dynamic that we see in most books
— lack of buildup 😐. I wish we had ACTUALLY witnessed the scenes where their chemistry explodes 😒. Instead, we get a quick retelling; this was ESPECIALLY frustrating when it came to their intimate scenes 😒. Their first time was initially a disappointment, and we get told this, but we don’t see it (I mean. I guess we don’t really WANNA see it… but still 😑) Then Roman makes up his… ahem… quickness by having her kneel on his face 🤣😉👏🏻
— more Roman time 😭. I needed him and Lilit to be onscreen more 🤷🏻♀️
— too short 😒. Come on! I need extended epilogues please 😭
— we don’t see Roman’s transition 😒. Come on! Give us something 😭
Overall, I enjoyed this 👏🏻❤️
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/omd/owd*
-violence
-cancer/dying
-not really owd but the H ends things w the h and makes her believe there’s ow. There’s not 😅
-spit play/reverse D-s
-epilogue/10 years later
I love me a duet-narrated book 😮💨, but even the duet-narration didn’t make it easier to get through the first half 😅. It’s times like this when I WISH I had the ebook 👀.
Lilit of Nineveh is a 5,000-year-old revenant (an immortal that kind of has vampiric qualities 👀) who has survived civilizations rising and falling. She follows one unwavering rule: protect humans at all costs. She avoids emotional attachments because she’s learned that loving mortals only ends in heartbreak 🤷🏻♀️. Makes sense. She’s older than most things in the world 🤷🏻♀️.
Roman Martin’s (24-34 ish) an overworked ER physician who has unknowingly become the one human Lilit can’t stay away from 👀. Their relationship has existed in a sort of secret, on-and-off “situationship” for 10 years 😬. Roman has no idea Lilit is immortal or that an entire hidden supernatural world exists 😅, all he knows is that she doesn’t do commitments 😅, and he decides he’s okay with that.
But then… someone breaks into Roman’s home… and Lilit needs to protect him 🤷🏻♀️ because he doesn’t know what’s really going on in her world 👀 or that supernatural beings exists 😬. And we find out that she’s not the only one with secrets 😅.
what I liked SPOILERS
— Roman’s sweet heart 🫶. He wears his heart on his sleeve and it’s obvious how compassionate he is as a doctor ❤️
— both are celibate in the 10 years they’re together 👏🏻. Phew. I got worried 🤣. Sure. Lilit is THOUSANDS of years old and has TOOOONS of experience compared to Roman, but IDC 🤣. I love me a dedicated hero 🫶
— Lilit being an immortal 👏🏻. I love me a badasssss heroine 😉
— reverse age gap? This is like THE Reverse age gaps of all age gaps 🤣🤣🤣 can anyone beat a 5000 year difference 🤡
— Lilit, the woman, is the immortal 👏🏻 we rarely get this in books 💁🏻♀️
— the 🔥. I love that Roman was submissive to Lilit 👀. I mean. She is like A LOOOT older than him 🤣. She knows what she’s doing 🤷🏻♀️. The scene where he 💦 too soon made me cringe…
BUUUUT
Then he makes up for it by asking her to kneel on his face 🥵
— the touch HIM and die vibes… it’s the opposite of what we see in books 👀… which means I also loved…
— how protective Lilit is of Roman 🥹. I mean. He is of her too, but she LITERALLY HAS to protect him ❤️. He’s a cinnamon roll for her 🫶
— the scene where she finally bites him? 😭😭😭 I got emotional 😭 because that’s when she finds out 😭
what I didn’t like/wanted more of SPOILERS
— so much info dumping in the beginning 🫠. I think it’s because we’re getting thrust into a relationship that’s BEEN established (ish) for years. So I felt discombobulated 😅😬. We didn’t get the normal “meet-tension-relationship” dynamic that we see in most books
— lack of buildup 😐. I wish we had ACTUALLY witnessed the scenes where their chemistry explodes 😒. Instead, we get a quick retelling; this was ESPECIALLY frustrating when it came to their intimate scenes 😒. Their first time was initially a disappointment, and we get told this, but we don’t see it (I mean. I guess we don’t really WANNA see it… but still 😑) Then Roman makes up his… ahem… quickness by having her kneel on his face 🤣😉👏🏻
— more Roman time 😭. I needed him and Lilit to be onscreen more 🤷🏻♀️
— too short 😒. Come on! I need extended epilogues please 😭
— we don’t see Roman’s transition 😒. Come on! Give us something 😭
Overall, I enjoyed this 👏🏻❤️
⚠️safety squad⚠️
-no cheating/sharing/omd/owd*
-violence
-cancer/dying
-not really owd but the H ends things w the h and makes her believe there’s ow. There’s not 😅
-spit play/reverse D-s
-epilogue/10 years later
Want to Read
September 30, 2026libby hold placed 😏
will this be better than bound???
will this be better than bound???
August 5, 2026
when i’m reding something freaky and lowkey discover new things about myself
August 31, 2026
3/5⭐️ not bad in concept! Books like this are never long enough for me to have an emotional connection to the characters.
September 12, 2026
I loved this 😩 I actually liked it a bit more than the first book. Such fun little novellas!
July 25, 2026
A decent read for its short length.
I liked the concept of following a very very old vampire, especially in this case a female one as most ‘ancient’ characters especially in romantasy books tend to be male. However, it didn’t feel all that unique which is kind of to be expected. I did like the Ali Hazelwood switched up with having the female character be the dominant partner and found it a nice change of pace to her other works which tend to have the male character in the dominant role.
I liked both Lilt and Roman, but especially regarding Lilt Iw anted way more backstory. I love vampires in a large part because I love history and one of my favourite things about reading stories about long lived individuals in the scope of history that can be covered through their backstory. Given that the synopsis mentions that Lilt is extremely long lived and has seen the rise and fall of empires, I wanted to see more of that explored in the story, particularly regarding how such a long lived person would have to try and adapt to the dramatic charges of the modern era and adjusting to modern life, dating and so on. Roman too didn’t really get a lot of character building and I think it would have been interesting to explore the stark separation between their status and place in the grander world given the thousands of years age gap between them. Perhaps this is too much to ask from such a short story but I do think that given that these themes around longevity and change are mentioned in the synopsis does make me feel justified in having had higher expectations for the story in this regard.
I liked the concept of following a very very old vampire, especially in this case a female one as most ‘ancient’ characters especially in romantasy books tend to be male. However, it didn’t feel all that unique which is kind of to be expected. I did like the Ali Hazelwood switched up with having the female character be the dominant partner and found it a nice change of pace to her other works which tend to have the male character in the dominant role.
I liked both Lilt and Roman, but especially regarding Lilt Iw anted way more backstory. I love vampires in a large part because I love history and one of my favourite things about reading stories about long lived individuals in the scope of history that can be covered through their backstory. Given that the synopsis mentions that Lilt is extremely long lived and has seen the rise and fall of empires, I wanted to see more of that explored in the story, particularly regarding how such a long lived person would have to try and adapt to the dramatic charges of the modern era and adjusting to modern life, dating and so on. Roman too didn’t really get a lot of character building and I think it would have been interesting to explore the stark separation between their status and place in the grander world given the thousands of years age gap between them. Perhaps this is too much to ask from such a short story but I do think that given that these themes around longevity and change are mentioned in the synopsis does make me feel justified in having had higher expectations for the story in this regard.
September 1, 2026
*2.25 BORED STARS*
“He was quiet when I wanted him to be and loud if I demanded it."
This was a very quick novella that left me feeling very unsatisfied.
The romance just didn't do it for me. Maybe because our MMC and FMC were already in an established relationship/situationship before the start and we only got a handful of flashbacks, but I just didn't feel the connection or why Roman managed to captivate Lilit unlike anyone else.
I did like the mystery aspect but because we only got to encounter the other Revenants one time, I didn't really care for who the culprit was that much. I was actually pretty bored because there wasn't a whole lot happening for the most part, and the ending was a given as well.
“He was quiet when I wanted him to be and loud if I demanded it."
This was a very quick novella that left me feeling very unsatisfied.
The romance just didn't do it for me. Maybe because our MMC and FMC were already in an established relationship/situationship before the start and we only got a handful of flashbacks, but I just didn't feel the connection or why Roman managed to captivate Lilit unlike anyone else.
I did like the mystery aspect but because we only got to encounter the other Revenants one time, I didn't really care for who the culprit was that much. I was actually pretty bored because there wasn't a whole lot happening for the most part, and the ending was a given as well.
July 16, 2026
2.5. Obviously I wanted to love this, because I really liked Bound and I loooove this relationship dynamic, but this might be the most strangely paced book I have ever read. It’s a romance where the characters are already in love from the beginning, and most of the first half of the book consists of flashbacks showing us how they got here; then, at the 40% mark, they break off their situationship, making this an unexpected second chance romance… sort of? Then the plot actually begins, which necessitates them to just simply explain all the things that hadn’t been explained before, allowing them to get back together. And the mystery of the plot is resolved by Lilit simply figuring it out and dramatically explaining it. So neither the romance nor the mystery were particularly compelling, in the end.
This seems especially jarring compared to Bound, which I actually thought was perfectly paced for its length.
This seems especially jarring compared to Bound, which I actually thought was perfectly paced for its length.
July 15, 2026
At this point, Ali Hazelwood is her own worst enemy as it is so hard to read her new books without comparing them to her incredible backlist. Unbound was okay, but I think it’s undoubtedly her weakest book. Both the main characters felt incredibly bland and the primary conflict was rushed. I appreciated getting more insight into the world that she started building in Bound, but there wasn’t enough of it to flesh out the story. The saving grace was that despite this being so short, this did have AH’s trademark charm and I did find myself invested in the story (even though upon reflection, I can’t quite put my finger on why).
July 30, 2026
I love a strong FMC and a man who also loves a strong FMC. Perfect blend of romance and plot and managed to put quite a bit of character in this short audio novella. Chef’s kiss!
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