Reviews - Direbound | The StoryGraph

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Direbound is a fast paced and gripping dark romantasy that will keep you on the edge. It's extremely Fourth Wing and Quicksilver coded, but the overarching story feels fresh despite the many similarities. Meryn is a relatable FMC you can root for. She's a physical fighter entrenched in mental and emotional growth as the story progresses. Her fierce and unwavering loyalty to her family, and desires that crave protection and love in turn, are very realistic. The emotional damage of her demise is raw and watching the slow erosion of her agency and strength gutted me.

This book is at its best with its found family arc. The side characters are easy to like and I'm always here for female friendship and deep bonds forged amidst trials and heartache. The dynamic between Meryn, Izabel, and Venna is beautiful from the start.

However, Direbound isn't a five star read because of its compressed pacing and lazy writing in certain areas. There are several plot twists and many are quite predictable. I figured out who the villain was very early on and cringed inwardly whenever the word "psycho" appeared on the page. I also felt the authors leaned too heavily into popular tropes just for the sake of fitting them all into the story.

For example, we get an abrupt who did this to you, only one bed, and forced proximity in the span of a paragraph. I would have appreciated more substance and a deeper slow burn into these themes. While the "who did this to you" element was forced, I do think the ending explained why it happened this way. Stark's Make me your instrument of vengeance is toe curling.

I also hated the "mistrust" dynamic between Meryn and Anassa. Both had valid reasons for concealing information. An ancient creature like Anassa should be wiser and understand why Meryn wouldn't immediately open up. Especially since she was bonded without her consent.

This narrative of control is resonant. The bitter aftertaste is watching a strong FMC succumb to coercion and gaslighting in relationships that should be trustworthy, safe, and uplifting. I think that's why Anassa's forced bond felt so violating. It's a female lead stripping the autonomy from another FMC for the sake of advancing the plot. What's worse is Anassa intentionally withholding her trust because Meryn refuses to "accept" the trauma and her circumstances outright. These power differentials are a betrayal and make Anassa just as brutal as the main antagonist.

Is Direbound perfect? No, but it's still absolutely deserves a home on your bookshelf. I look forward to the next two books in the trilogy.

theuncommonread's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sarareadsabook11's review

4.0

While direbound was entirely formulaic and predictable, I couldn’t put it down. This is the perfect book if you are looking for something that feels a bit like fourth wing and quicksilver. It’s a thick book but a very quick read. I wanted more character development and I can’t wait for the bond between Maeryn and Annessa to strengthen and become deeper. Same with Maeryn and Stark. It’s tiptoeing on the edge of found family but again there isn’t enough depth to all the relationships. We need more backstory and meaningful dialogue between all the characters. I’ll definitely be continuing the story.

yessi_ca's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Enjoyable read, will be reading second book.

Twist was predictable, and once you read the chapter, you'll know how it happens. But that's fine, predictable twists doesn't make a book bad.

Writing style was not to my liking for this book. Not that the writing was bad, more that the style of the writing feels like it fits more modern settings than the setting in this book.

Looking forward to how FMC and MMC's relationship grow.