By: Sable Sorensen
Series: The Wolves of Ruin
Genre: Dark Romantasy
Release Date: February 26, 2025
Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials. She’ll risk her life—and her heart—to be one of them…
Meryn Cooper has never dreamed of being one of the Bonded, the King’s elite warriors who form mental links with massive, vicious direwolves. She’s made peace with her life scraping by in poverty in the shadows of the castle. But then her younger sister Saela is kidnapped, stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting.
And Meryn’s world falls apart.
Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army—only to discover that there are Bonding Trials this year, where all soldiers are forced to risk their lives in an attempt to connect with a direwolf. It’s too late to turn back; Meryn is thrown into the deadly competition against her will.
Now, she’ll need to survive the next four months of training at the castle if she wants a chance of finding Saela. Everything here is a test, from the brutal classes where one mistake means death, to the glittering court parties where every smile hides a knife.
To make things worse, Meryn is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her gorgeous instructor, Stark Therion, is as malicious as the wolves himself.
Everyone is out to get her—everyone but the dangerously handsome crown prince, Killian Valtiere. But if she loses her heart to him, she may also lose her life.
And the castle is hiding dark secrets…
Fourth Wing meets The Hunger Games in dark action-packed fantasy series, perfect for romantasy fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses, The Serpent & the Wings of Night, When the Moon Hatched and Quicksilver!
I’ve been reading romantasy for a little less than two years, yes Fourth Wing introduced me to the genre. This story has bonding trials like Fourth Wing and direwolves like Game of Thrones. I’m sure there are other movie and book similarities to be found.
For the last five hundred years, the country of Nocturna, protected by its infantry and Bonded riders/direwolves has been at war with the country of Astreona, governed by their king Lucian Brightbane, with Siphons also known as vampires as their army. During all of this time, no one has ever truly had an advantage. However, Nocturna has turned into a poor, poverty-stricken county. Most of the lavishes and riches are heaped upon the Bonded families, leaving most commoners barely scraping by.
At the age of twelve, Meryn Cooper lost her father to the war. Shortly after, her mother started experiencing mental health issues, which resulted in Meryn dropping out of school, taking care of her infant sister, and taking over her mother’s job to have income. Now twenty-three, Meryn still works at the laundromat and supplements her mother’s medication and her sister’s schooling by fighting in warehouses against men twice her size.
For as long as she can remember, kids have been kidnapped from the capital city of Sturmfrost in the middle of the night, while they’ve slept in their own beds. The thought is that Nabbers who are Siphons or working for the Siphons are responsible, and take the children across the border. When Meryn’s ten-year-old sister Saela is taken right from under her nose, Meryn knows she needs to get her back. “If anyone’s fool enough to take the fight to the Nabbers, and strong enough to stop them and bring home our kids, well, it’s you.”
In order to get Saela back, Meryn needs to get to the frontlines of the war fast. Her solution is to join the King’s Royal Forces. To her surprise, this season’s recruitment also includes the bonding trials, where every recruit must compete and scale Mount Wolfsbane to see if they will be selected by a direwolf and become Bonded. Those who do not bond with a wolf will immediately be sent to the frontlines to complete their training. But those who do bond will spend the next four months doing intense pack training. The trials immediately begin with the Ascent, where some will not make it. Luckily for Meryn, with the help of her new friends Venna and Izabel, she’s able to make it up. Venna and Izabel immediately bond. Meryn has no desire to bond and is ready to be transferred to the frontlines. But Anassa a powerful-looking direwolf has other plans for her.
The two immediately clash in a battle of wills, with neither trusting the other. This doesn’t bode well, as trust between direwolf and rider is paramount for survival. Not only does Meryn have to deal with an irritable (to say the least) direwolf, and other Rawbonds (newly bonded) trying to eliminate her, but she also has to deal with Stark Therion, one of the training instructors. Stark isn’t just an instructor. His normal position is that of Alpha of the Daemos pack, the warriors, which usually finds him on the frontlines racking up Siphon eliminations. He oozes disdain for Meryn and seems to take joy in trying to break her.
But Meryn would endure anything and everything if it meant freeing her sister and returning to her mother and the love of her life Lee, her boyfriend of a year and a palace messenger.
Direbound was more than I expected and almost nothing I expected at the same time. I loved Meryn who is outspoken, courageous, and brave. Stark is a complicated man who keeps everything close to his vest. His allegiance is to the crown and he makes it no secret. With his direwolf Cratos, they are a force to be reckoned with and inspire fear and submission. Lee is handsome and charming and knows exactly what to say and what Meryn needs. He is just way too good. Their attraction is palatable and their relationship is passionate and spicy.
Direbound was captivating from the first to the last page. Every part of this story is important to the overall picture. I so LOVED all the twists and turns. Make no mistake, Direbound is a brutal, gruesomely graphic story. But there’s also beauty in friendship, found family, and coming into your own. This is a story about longing, betrayal, and secrets. So many secrets. I love the “touch her and die” trope. Direbound (shaking my head) has very good t.h.a.d. moments. There are other tropes, but I don’t want to list them and spoil anything. Just know that Direbound is going to be with me for a long long time. I can’t wait to see what happens next in Furybound.
~ Favorite Quotes ~
“I’ve never let difficult things break me and I’m not going to start now.”
“You are more precious to me than you could ever imagine.”
“Friendship can be a strength.”
“I give respect where respect is due.”
“Leadership requires both knowledge and strength.”
“There are different kinds of strength. Different kinds of weaknesses.”
“I will never lie to you.”
“Family is a blind spot for all of us.”
“Trust goes two ways.”
**Received a copy of the book from the author and voluntarily reviewed it. Also personally purchased a paperback copy.**
Rating: 5
Purchase Direbound from:
(Affiliate Links Used)
The Wolves of Ruin Series:
Furybound (Book 2) releases July 30, 2025
Untitled Book 3 releases November 25, 2025
Follow Sable for an exclusive peek into the Wolves of Ruin series.
Places to find Sable Sorensen:
No comments:
Post a Comment
STOP!
Did you just copy and paste your previous comment? Please don't. Duplicate comments will be deleted.
Comments that include links to other sites, or names including links WILL BE CONSIDERED SPAM AND DELETED.