Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen

Direbound by Sable Sorensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 605

Publisher -

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

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…
My Review

Poverty is rife, kids are being taken for God knows what purpose, royalty come through the poverty stricken communities on their huge dire wolves, it sickens Meryn. She is fighting grown dangerous men for money to keep herself, sister and mother safe/fed. Meryn has always had that something and a local helped her hone and focus her anger and skills so she is a walking weapon. All she cares about is her family and her beau. When Meryns sister is kidnapped she has no choice but to go forward to try for the bonding trials, it is the only way she can try and get her sister back. Everything is against Meryn, she is poor, she is ill prepared, some of the richest and well trained kids are up for this, born for it. Even if you get through the process you still need to survive the journey to where the dire wolves are, there are hundreds of competitors and maybe one hundred ish wolves, they pick you. Meryn will stop at nothing to get her sister back, not fail at whatever is thrown at her, not bow down and she won't die because her sister is depending on her if it isn't already too late!

AHHHHHHH YOU GUYS so firstly, hello beautiful book map! Loads of characters and the book gives me vibes of Fourth Wing meets Game of Thrones meets The Hunger Games all smooshed together to give us Dire Bound. Absolutely raging I need to wait til May to get book two! I have had readers block on and off for ages, I sank this in almost one sitting!

The journey to the wolves is very echoy of Fourth Wing/hunger games, every man for himself, dirty tactics allowed, actually anything goes, as long as you make it. Meryn is a kick ass main character, she knows how to handle herself and can take down guys twice her size/weight. The trainors/mentors seem to have an issue with her because of her background and to be fair she has an attitude too. The dire wolves I LOVE, especially the sassy feral one that bounds to Meryn pah ha ha, there is attitudes all around.

There was some moments I wanted to shake Meryn, I get it, she is going through it but damn girl stop making a rod for your own back. I totally get why this isn't for everyone but I absolutely loved it. There is death, fighting, bonding, trials, murder, skulduggery, shady as people, loyalty, betrayal oh and spicy scenes too. The book has a whole lot of everything and some of the echos of the other series was a bit on the nose *cough Stark cough* but I really liked it, one of my fave reads this year guys, 5/5! Hurry up May for book two!

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Claimed by J R Ward

Claimed by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 509

Publisher - Piatkus

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

A heart-pounding new series set in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world, with a scientist fighting to save the timber wolves—and getting caught in a deadly trap herself...

Lydia Susi is passionate about protecting wolves in their natural habitat. When a hotel chain develops a tract of land next to the preserve, Lydia is one of the most vocal opponents of the project—and becomes a target.

One night, a shadowy figure threatens Lydia’s life in the forest, and a new hire at the Wolf Study Project comes from out of nowhere to save her. Daniel Joseph is both mysterious, and someone she intrinsically wants to trust. But is he hiding something?

As the stakes get higher, and one of Lydia’s colleagues is murdered, she must decide how far she will go to protect the wolves. Then a shocking revelation about Daniel challenges Lydia’s reality in ways she could never have predicted. Some fates demand courage, others require even more, with no guarantees. Is she destined to have true love... or will a soul-shattering loss ruin her forever?


My Review

This is book one of a trilogy, Lydia is all about protecting the wolves in their natural environment and a new hotel/chain is putting everything at risk. Daniel, a drifter appears at the perfect time looking for a job. Someone has poisoned a wolf, money at the facility is low and Lydia will do just about anything for the wolves safety. Both Lydia and Daniel are mysterious and or aloof in their own way and it isn't long before sparks fly between the two and their attraction has more pull that what they are hiding.

So the book is from the Lair of the Wolven series and we have snippets of chapters going to the Blackdagger Brotherhood characters, specifically Xhex, dreams and freaking out, then back to Lydia with no seeming reason or cross over, I am hoping with book two we will have more clarity and info (I have book two and three at the ready).

There is murder, intrigue, dodgy behaviour, skulduggery, stalking and wolves of course. I would say it is a slow burner at times but when you get to the end it all comes together and absolutely needs book two to be read asap.

There is some spice, intrigue, wolfy interactions, secrets, danger and all is not what it seems, like even the folk Lydia has worked with and it being a small town there are secrets and reveals to be had. I am very much looking forward to book two and seeing what is next in store, a good foundation book setting up for the rest, 4/5.

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Virals by Kathy Reichs

Virals by Kathy Reichs
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Publisher - Arrow

Pages - 454

Blurb from Goodreads

Fourteen-year-old Tory Brennan is as fascinated by bones and dead bodies as her famous aunt, acclaimed forensic anthropologist, Tempe Brennan. However living on a secluded island off Charleston in South Carolina there is not much opportunity to put her knowledge to the test. Until her and her ragbag group of technophile friends stumble across a shallow grave containing the remains of a girl who has been missing for over thirty years. The question is, did whoever was responsible for the girl's death have anything to do with the sick puppy they rescued from a secret laboratory on the same island?





With the cold-case murder suddenly hot, Tory realises that they are involved in something fatally dangerous. But events take a turn for the bizarre when they escape some would-be attackers by using physical powers more akin to a dog than a human... Could the puppy hold the key not only to the murder, but also the strange changes that are taking place in their bodies?




My Review

I have read Kathy Reichs before and quite enjoyed her writing, on the tales of Temperance (Tempe) Brennan although this is the first book in a new series. Told through fourteen year old Tory Brennan, the niece of Tempe, Tempe is refered to in this book although she does not appear. Tory lives on a secluded island with her father, their relationship is strained and new to both of them. Tory is an outcast with most of the other kids, she has a close group of technophile friends, kids into their technology and generally smarter than most of the kids on the island. When they discover a body buried in a shallow grave and a break in to a near by secured facility they find themselves the target of someone who will kill to keep the past in the past.

The book, for me, started off ok. We have some cute wolve-dog family living on the island, a father and daughter trying to adjust to their fairly new and thrown upon them relationship and some mean old professor who dislikes the kids. The kids are really smart, curious and end up breaking into a restricted facility and coming upon secret testing in a lab. The fall out of this is the children find themselves changing and having new "powers", they also discover a few secrets that people have killed to keep quiet. The kids then go on exploring and digging into the past as well as trying to keep their "find" a secret as well as dealing with teen angst stuff.

There was a bit too much of everything flung into this story for me and some of the things that happened and the kids pulled off, you would need to suspend reality in order to get through it. A character does a complete 1-80 with no real reason given as to why, which always annoys me. I loved the parts about the wolve-dog animals, I thought that was a nice touch, however most of the other stuff was just too far fetched for me. Considering horror is my favourite genre, I don't mind suspending belief for stories but the way this one is done, it just didn't work, for me personally. This is the start of a new series I believe and if I came across it I would read the second book but I wouldn't go out of my way to get it and I definitely wouldn't be buying it. 2/5 for me this time, I think I will stick to the Tempe books as I remember enjoying them a lot more than this one.

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Review - Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Time Taken To Read - 1.5 days

Blurb From Goodreads

A life hanging in the balance…a family torn apart. The #1 internationally bestselling author Jodi Picoult tells an unforgettable story about family, love, and letting go.

Edward Warren, twenty-four, has been living in Thailand for five years, a prodigal son who left his family after an irreparable fight with his father, Luke. But he gets a frantic phone call: His dad lies comatose, gravely injured in the same accident that has also injured his younger sister Cara.

With her father’s chances for recovery dwindling, Cara wants to wait for a miracle. But Edward wants to terminate life support and donate his father’s organs. Is he motivated by altruism, or revenge? And to what lengths will his sister go to stop him from making an irrevocable decision?

Lone Wolf explores the notion of family, and the love, protection and strength it’s meant to offer. But what if the hope that should sustain it, is the very thing that pulls it apart? Another tour de force from Jodi Picoult, Lone Wolf examines the wild and lonely terrain upon which love battles reason.

My Review

Edward comes home (6 years after he left his family with minimal contact) after hearing of his father and sisters car crash. Dad is in a coma, his sister is recovering and they have to make some difficult decisions, the doctors don't have great news and the decision is whether to end Luke's (the father) life or leave him on life support. Edward wants to pull the plug and Cara wants to give her dad a fighting chance, what would you do?

Luke was an absent father and after taking time away from his family and life as we know it to live wild with wolves he now dedicates his life to taking care of and teaching wolves in captivity. The story flicks between Luke before the crash and his relationship and learning with the wolves and the family present day after the crash and their take on events. We see a family that has been torn apart trying to come to terms with what has happened, what they will do and how they can face the future when they haven't addressed the past.

I really liked this book, it is so very different from anything I have read. For me it split into two, the story of the wolves and how they live and that of a family trying to cope after a tragic event. I think some people may not like the book because of the amount dedicated to the wolves but I loved it and learning about them (I am also going to buy the book written about someone who actually did this) and maybe some of the medical terms but again I liked it. The story stirs up a lot of emotions especially if the reader has been in a position where they have lost someone like this. A great read, something different and as always for me Jodi has written a book that you might find hard to put down, 4/5 for me.

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