Dire Bound (Deluxe Limited Edition) (The Wolves of Ruin, 1)

Not yet published: Expected Mar 3, 2026

Fourth Wing meets The Hunger Games in this spicy, page-turning romantasy where humans and direwolves forge unbreakable bonds and fight for survival at all costs.

Only the worthy survive the Bonding Trials. She'll risk her life--and her heart--to be one of them.

This gorgeous deluxe limited edition is only available while supplies last and features:

Dazzling sprayed edges
Full-color endpaper scene art
Special foil-stamped case
Deluxe effects on the jacket

Meryn Cooper has always hated the Bonded, elite warriors who form mental links with the massive, vicious direwolves they ride. While they live in luxury, Meryn struggles to keep her family out of poverty. When her little sister, Saela, is kidnapped--stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting--Meryn's world falls apart.

Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army and is thrown into the deadly Bonding Trials, where any mistake will cost her life.

Now Meryn must survive four months of training at the castle. She is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her cold and beautiful instructor, Stark Therion, is eager to punish any weakness.

Everything is a competition, and everyone is out to get her--everyone except the dangerously handsome crown prince, whose attention adds another target to her back. In the castle, every smile hides a knife...and the halls hide dark secrets.

It's bond or bleed. Duel or die. Failure is ruin.

Readers are already falling in love with Direbound:

"ONE OF THE BEST READS OF THE YEAR! This book was insanely good." Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Stop it right now... I'm actually quite feral for the next book..." Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"The plot was THICK, the tension and banter? Flawless. And the world with the wolf bond, and trials NEED MORE NOW." Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"I just finished and still trying to mentally and emotionally recover to what just happened to me. You need to read it IMMEDIATELY." Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"If you're into dark romantasy with high stakes, fierce characters, and just the right amount of emotional wreckage, Direbound is your next obsession." Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"What an incredible read!! ... I am blown away. ... The romance, the anguish, the BANTER! I love a book with good banter and this was FULL OF IT!" Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"I. Am. OBSESSED. ... Left me spiraling in the best way possible. The morally grey anti-hero? Perfection. The slow-burn tension? Electric. ... I was completely immersed." Goodreads reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Perfect for fans of:

Slow burn romance
Found family
Morally grey characters
One bed
Touch her and die
Who did this to you
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity
Vampires vs. wolves!

ADD TO MY SHELVES

Recommend book

Pre-order the book

624 pages

Average rating: 9

1 RATING

These clubs recently read this book...

✨Bookish Brews and Banter✨

DISCOVER MORE CLUBS

Community Reviews

Write a review...

ARChapterChaser

Sep 27, 2025

9/10 stars

📚Book Review📚 Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen The Wolves of Ruin Series - Book 1 Published: May 21, 2025 4.5⭐️ Wow!! Just wow! 🤯 My mind hasn’t been blown away like this since diving into The Empyrean Series with Fourth Wing. But before I get started, let’s talk about the cover. 🧐 Did it represent the story? Although the cover appears very simplistic, having a single sword as the focal point, it’s the scrolling design and the bright display royal purples, pinks, and reds that immediately catches the eye. Now having read the book, when looking at it closer, the exquisite detailing of the pommel and cross guard captures the essence of the story in a nutshell - the importance of bonding with and respecting your direwolves and your weapon of choice. Absolutely stunning! 😍 As for the story…. When they said this book was supposed to have that feel of Fourth Wing meets The Hunger Games, they weren’t kidding! This author delivered such a unique debut novel, it was truly a match made in heaven! However, I couldn’t give it the full 5⭐️ rating that I did for Fourth Wing, and based off my love for The Hunger Games movies (yes, I still need to read that series!!), mainly because it did start off a tad slow for me. BUT, once I got through about 50ish pages, I was completely captivated. I’m not going to lie, Dire bound delivered more than I expected for a debut novel. Sorensen packed all the punches by delivering more tropes than one can imagine - an extremely fierce and badass FMC and MMC, plus a second MMC who was the charmer. Throw in just enough slow burn, tension, and delicious spice, you get the perfect enemies to lovers love triangle. Plus the building of strong friendships, powerful and dangerous direwolves, vampires, deadly trials, a ton of secrets, betrayals, and a TON OF TWISTS… you have the perfect rollercoaster, edge of you seat, mysterious plot that you don’t want to put down. Don’t get me wrong, the story had some brutal and gruesome scenes, but in all fairness, Sorensen did provide an extensive list of trigger warnings for those weak at heart… Now I sit here patiently waiting for May 5, 2026 to get here so I can read Book 2.❤️❤️❤️

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.

CREATE YOUR CLUB

More books by this author

Direbound (The Wolves of Ruin)

Dire Bound (The Wolves of Ruin, 1)

Dire Bound (The Wolves of Ruin Book 1)

Furybound: A Dark Romantasy (The Wolves of Ruin Book 2)