Dire Bound

The Wolves of Ruin #1, by Sable Sorenson

Summary Provided by Author

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…

Review & Thoughts

Trigger warnings: death, grief, kidnapping, mental health crisis, self-harm, sexual violence & abuse, physical & emotional abuse, substance use,

My close friend on bookstagram messaged me MONTHS ago begging me to read this book and per normal, I added it to the never ending TBR pile and eventually forgot about it. This book was originally independently published by two fantasy fangirls and was soon after picked up for traditional publishing. This allowed them to really grow the visibility of Dire Bound by offering special editions and more importantly !! an amazing duet narration audiobook by nonother than Avery Caris and Gabriel Michael. I was graciously gifted an advanced listening copy of Dire Bound by Hachette Audio and immediately was sucked in. I am stilll kicking myself for not reading this book sooner. This book was so mysterious- but continued to unravel and give you answers slowly throughout the entire novel. She is THICK (610 pages- or 20 hours on audiobook) and despite that, I never once felt bored or overwhelmed with the pacing. I ended up buying the e-book as well so I can go back and forth depending on who I was around (ie, can’t listen to the audiobook around my kiddos) because I literally just could not pull myself away from this story. You know that meme where the woman is pointing at the camera, crying and having to be held back in her rage? That was me at the end of this book. Every time I started to feel like I figured out the mystery BOOM plot twist.

I am feral for book two and genuinely, this may be one of my favorite books of 2025.

Favorite Quotes (may contain spoilers)

“Women in pain give men confidence.”

“Confidence makes men sloppy. And sloppy men are easy targets.”

“And I’m Queen of Shit Mountain”

“Privilege begets more privilege, a never-ending cycle.”

“almost forgot how devastating grief is. How it leaves you husked and raw, but never numb. The pain is like a gaping wound—one no dressing can cover, no shield can truly protect. The agony of it might lessen, but it never truly leaves. ”

“I’ve always used pain to fuel my anger, to keep myself going. It washes over me, burning and biting, and I swallow it down. It ignites something in me. Something merciless. Determined. Unstoppable.”

“Make me your instrument of vengeance. Let my hands act out your every savage, depraved thought. Use me. I’m yours.”