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A review by kaylokay_
Direbound: A Dark Romantasy by Sable Sorensen
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Thank you to Sable Sorenson and Book Funnel for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC!
I cannot express how excited I am to see where this series goes. I hate to dilute it by calling it “Fourth Wing but with Direwolves and better editing,” but I’ll get into that. According to their website, Sable Sorenson is the pen name of two friends who are romantasy readers and it shows. Not because Direbound is derivative, but because I feel like it was clearly written by someone who is an avid reader of romantasy and thought, “I feel like I can make this enhance this.” While I was reading Direbound I genuinely felt like Sorenson was including tropes and plot devices and we all know and love but that are sometimes are executed poorly, and then took special care to make sure that they wouldn’t fall into the same traps.
The world building was thorough and prominent for those that like a heavier fantasy element in their romantasy but doesn’t feel like over explaining. I ate up the magic system and its paralleled relationship to the wolf pack mentality. weaves seamlessly into the story in a way that propels the narrative. The deadly trials have genuine stakes and felt genuinely brutal and unforgiving. Action scenes genuinely felt cinematic to me.
And speaking of tropes. Like I said one of the ways I can describe this is as Fourth Wing but with direwolves instead of dragons and much more tightly edited. I think in terms of stakes Fourth Wing and Direbound are on par with each other but Direbound just blew me away from start to finish in a way that Fourth Wing didn’t until the end. All your favorite tropes are there: deadly trials/war games, mate bonds, a love triangle, only one bed, “who did this to you?,” and and ancient rivalry between two mythical creatures. This could easily get overwhelming and feel like pandering but it just…didn’t. It all felt so natural and entertaining while still having a rich political storyline. Nuggets of that storyline are present throughout and big reveals are surprising but feel earned.
Direbound also handles it more serious subject matter with care, with respect to family/sibling dynamic, caretaker woes, and toxic relationships - all in a way that just worked so well for me.
Idk man. I need book 2 out STAT. Expeditiously. Keep it coming.
I cannot express how excited I am to see where this series goes. I hate to dilute it by calling it “Fourth Wing but with Direwolves and better editing,” but I’ll get into that. According to their website, Sable Sorenson is the pen name of two friends who are romantasy readers and it shows. Not because Direbound is derivative, but because I feel like it was clearly written by someone who is an avid reader of romantasy and thought, “I feel like I can make this enhance this.” While I was reading Direbound I genuinely felt like Sorenson was including tropes and plot devices and we all know and love but that are sometimes are executed poorly, and then took special care to make sure that they wouldn’t fall into the same traps.
The world building was thorough and prominent for those that like a heavier fantasy element in their romantasy but doesn’t feel like over explaining. I ate up the magic system and its paralleled relationship to the wolf pack mentality. weaves seamlessly into the story in a way that propels the narrative. The deadly trials have genuine stakes and felt genuinely brutal and unforgiving. Action scenes genuinely felt cinematic to me.
And speaking of tropes. Like I said one of the ways I can describe this is as Fourth Wing but with direwolves instead of dragons and much more tightly edited. I think in terms of stakes Fourth Wing and Direbound are on par with each other but Direbound just blew me away from start to finish in a way that Fourth Wing didn’t until the end. All your favorite tropes are there: deadly trials/war games, mate bonds, a love triangle, only one bed, “who did this to you?,” and and ancient rivalry between two mythical creatures. This could easily get overwhelming and feel like pandering but it just…didn’t. It all felt so natural and entertaining while still having a rich political storyline. Nuggets of that storyline are present throughout and big reveals are surprising but feel earned.
Direbound also handles it more serious subject matter with care, with respect to family/sibling dynamic, caretaker woes, and toxic relationships - all in a way that just worked so well for me.
Idk man. I need book 2 out STAT. Expeditiously. Keep it coming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Mental illness
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Alcohol