A few things I really enjoyed about this book: dual POV, good and bad vampires, fated mates, fierce and stabby FMC, axe jokes, banter, queer representation. The narrators were excellent.

That cliffhanger at the end though…

Also I have so many more questions about this world. I’m looking forward to the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and Samantha R. Goode for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook.

After being attacked by vasi, watching her dad die, and then being attacked my mortal men, Evaline goes to live with her aunt and uncle (lord and lady) in Kambertus. In an attempt to save money to escape her life there, Evaline pickpockets from the rich in her village. One day, she tries to steal a dagger from a strange visitor - Maddox, a kova and the book’s other POV. He immediately realizes that she is his mate and then will do anything to protect her.

Evaline’s aunt and uncle decide that it is time she marry and become someone else’s problem. However, the man they choose is a part of her traumatic history. And badass Evaline is not about to let him get away with what he’s done.

This book was a bit slow to start and a definite slow burn, but overall it was enjoyable to read (or listen to, as I did). Not a ton of world building, which I actually like. I dont want to read chapters of descriptions of lands and politics, etc. However, the plot still moved pretty slow.

It ends on a cliffhanger with a solid set up into the second of the trilogy - which is still not out.

Audio Review: dual narrators, listened at 1.25 speed, was not offended by either voice - which is a win in my book.

⭐⭐⭐ ⭐
🌶️

Great book. I enjoyed it. It was a little frustrating at times that Maddox didn’t tell her that they are mates, but I do understand why. He was scared. I’m looking forward to the next book.

3.5 ⭐️

This started off pretty slow and I almost dnfed. Once we got about halfway through I feel like it picked up. The world building is almost non existent and only a few things were mentioned. Love interest is basically a vampire who is mated to the human but doesn’t want to tell her and scare her. She finds out he lied about knowing. She gets mad. They bang it out. This reminded me of FBAA and ACOTAR. Even the relationship with the love interest and best friend is pretty much the same. I didn’t love it. I didn’t hate it. I am interested in what happens next so I’ll probably pick up the sequel. I listened to the audio and loved both narrators. I’d definitely recommend giving it a listen. Hopefully I’ll be able to snag the audio for the sequel as well!

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook!

Ill start with what I disliked. I was annoyed how strange the female main characters plan was, and the poor communication between them.
But otherwise I loved this book. I would recommend. I will definitely continue reading the trilogy or listening to the audiobook if possible.
The narrators both did an amazing job and had me on the edge of my seat.
-Twilight vibes
-Cinderella story
-Dual narration
-Mate Bond
-Morally Grey Main Characters
-Vampires
-Arranged Marriage
-‘Who did this to you’
-Overprotective male
-Feminist empowerment themes

A fantasy suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat as you listen to the outstanding dual narration that really brings the characters to life. Add in a bit of fated mates and you also have something to satisfy the romance crowd! A battle between right and wrong, a fight for women's rights and a fight for freedom are all tangled into this deftly written fantasy that will have you rooting for Evaline and her friends from the start! Evaline is a strong, stubborn woman who has a distinct sense of right and wrong, while her guardians and many around her obviously fall on the wrong side of the fight. A bit of a Cinderella story set in ancient times and in a land where paranormal creatures exist, but are not actually acknowledged. Add in the seriously hot love interest for Evaline and those who need the romance can swoon in delight! I seriously could not stop listening to this book and cannot wait for the next installment in the trilogy to come out!

Having read the physical book, I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into the audio! It was absolute perfection! The dual narrators definitely brings out more emotion and depth, and their voice acting was a spot on for the characters they brought to life. I love the fated mates trope, I love the different spin on vampires, and I love this book in every single format that's available. I can't wait to get my hands (and ear) on book 2!

I expected this book to be mostly romance, based on the name. I was wrong, but not disappointed. Evaline is a badass. Maddox has more dimensions than the average lead male character. I found myself not knowing where the story was building to in the best ways. The narration was great. I did initially experience a bit of dissonance with how "modern" Evaline's narrator sounded, but I quickly got over it.

I'd recommend this to anyone that likes romantasy or paranormal romance. I'm looking forward to the next book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this audiobook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I received a copy of this audiobook from NetGalley and was quite pleased with it. I was unfamiliar with the book and author, but this is a great Fantasy Romance along the lines of Ingrid Seymour and Holly Black. Both the protagonist and her love interest are interesting characters and it is easy to get caught up in their story. The dual narrators also works well to keep the character perspectives separate, but my only complaint is that there are several occurrences where they pronounce words differently, which throws me off a bit. All in all, an enjoyable read. I will definitely pick up the second book when it releases.

I don't have a ton of thoughts about this. I did really like the romance and was interested in the story and where things were going, but it also was extremely predictable and I would have appreciated just a few twists or unexpected plot points. It's pretty much exactly what you think it's going to be from the start.

I did love Maddox and how sweet and protective he was. I am interested to see where the story is going to go from here and I hope we get a lot more world building.

The audiobook was stellar and I loved the narration. Definitely recommend on audio.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an audiobook copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book had me in a choke hold from start to finish! Fated mates, bonding outside ones species, orphan girl to a late ruler, son of a ruler, rival species, grey vs dark, absolutely BADA$$ FMC, perfectly delicious MMC. Whenever there’s miscommunication, we take a second, resonate with it, and come back to it after rational thought 😱 Basically, this box checked everything box, and the narration was flawless for me. We have a man on his knees, we have a “who did this to you?!”, and a “I’d burn the world to the ground for you”. Honestly, what more could you ask for?! The tension is fantastic, because it’s necessary to build it up in a slow burn. When that spice hits though….. my eyes were watering just a little 🫠 Oh! There’s also comedic relief! So, it’s a yes from me dawg. 5/5 great big stars!! I’m now officially DYING for the second audiobook. That is all!!

I am most definitely in my romantasy era right now, and Bound & Barbed was just what I wanted. B&B felt like an amalgamation of the best parts of my favorite books.

Two years after the most traumatic night of her life, Evaline's aunt and uncle press her to find a husband, not knowing that Evaline has spent the last 2 years planning and preparing for her escape from her gilded prison.

Evaline enlists the help of Maddox, an immortal friend of her father's, to train her to defend herself after she makes her escape, unaware that from the moment he laid eyes on her, Maddox knew Evaline was his mate.

I love a dual narration, but Auri Alden and Tor Thom are just on a whole other level! The narration had me screaming MULTIPLE times; it was that good. The only downside to this book is that I now have to wait for the second book's release.

We have another fantastic debut! This one is a fantasy romance with vampires that aren't vampires, lots of trauma, and revenge plots. We do have some tropes so let's start off with those for those of you looking for it we have Fated Mates, we have this weird Insta-Love/Slow-burn Romance depending on which perspective you're viewing the story from. I think that is it but I'm not a trope expert, so I'm sure there may be more.

The biggest downfall to this story is it is very repetitive, there were some parts that could have been edited out, but that part was not too bad. So let us dive in a smidge. This story opens up with an adult but slightly younger, but adult, Evaline fighting for hers and her father's lives. We see that she sees some pretty horrible things and experiences the brutal death of her father. Evaline ends up in Kembertus where her uncle rules and women are not allowed to carry knives, upper class women can't hold jobs, and are looked down on when they wear pants. We have a lot of anger from Evaline when it comes to women's rights in this book because not every country/realm follows these beliefs. Evaline's aunt and uncle are tired of having her at their castle so the time has come for her to be married off. Evaline (who met Maddox in a less than stellar way) goes to find him to get him and his friend Wyott to train her to fight cause girl wants to escape and it has been a minute since she had training. So then we have Maddox, he is a Kova. There is another book series, maybe several, that have similar things to this. So Kova are the good blood suckers (vampires) who don't kill their victims, stand for the good of the world, and have fated mates. On the flip side you have the Vasi, who are the bad guys with red eyes (oh the Kova have grey eyes) that kill for fun and drain their victims. Maddox is a good guy but humans aren't supposed to know anything about the immortals that roam the world. Except the rulers of the land, and Evaline's dad used to be a ruler then he told her.

Most of the story is world building, Evaline dealing with her traumas, so we have a lot of flash back scenes from the worst night of her life, and her now trying to figure out what she wants. Then their is Maddox who is pining and hungry because since he discovered his mate he can't drink blood. Once we have some romance scenes there is some spice, a few scenes, nothing too crazy. I would love more action but I am assuming that is coming in the next books, and this one was setting the ground work. I am hoping we see more of the feral side of Evaline and she can break out of her damsel in distress shell. I mean she is a fighter but she freezes up way too much.

I loved the narration, I like when the publishers, or who ever decides this, gives different voices to the different POVs. This helps with flow so much better. There were only 2 things I didn't love that was the female narrator during her introspective scenes changed her volume to almost a whisper so I kept having to adjust my volume. These old lady ears appreciate the emotions and bringing these characters to life, but I don't want to chase the sound. The second is I'm not sure if the male and female narrators talked about their direction they were going with their choices. We would hear a scene from the female perspective and would have one set of emotions and then the male would give that same scene with a completely different feel. Which I guess is true with various perspectives.

Overall, this was a fun fantasy romance with a young adult fated mates pairing.

I had a hard time staying invested in this book. I thought that the pacing was slow and wasn't that interested in the characters. As far as the narration went, I enjoyed the female narrator, but I thought that the male narrator was more wooden in the delivery and had long pauses after every phrase. It was a bit distracting to me.

Evaline grew up unconventionally on the road with her father. After his tragic death, and worst day of Evaline’s life, she was thrown back into the role of a lady cooped up in a castle. And now, her aunt and uncle are looking to marry her off before she is too old. As Evaline’s world starts to implode, she meets Maddox and hatches a plan to get out of her predicament. But how much can she trust this immortal? Will she succeed?

I really enjoyed this audiobook. It took a little bit to settle into the narrators’ voices as they were very breathy with overly dramatic pacing to start. But once I adjusted the play back speed to something comfortable to me and got used to their inflections, the voices brought Evaline and Maddox to life.

The novel itself has good depth and structure. Each time the protagonists miss a connection it has you reeling and either cheering them on or chastising them to not be so foolish. The greater arc of the novel is also well done. I am interested in exploring more if this world and the politics behind it. A solid fantasy romance. 5 stars.

Review based on a Advanced Audiobook provided by Dreamscapes Media and NetGalley. Thank you!

This. Book. Is. So. Good.

I was in a choke hold the entire time. I love a strong female lead with the male lead standing by her side even if he disagrees. This was an amazing beginning to a series and I can’t wait to read the next book in October! I don’t know how I’ll survive this long with this cliffhanger.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced listener copy.

When Maddox met Evangeline he immediately knew she was the mate he’d waited 200 years for. When Evangeline met Maddox she knew he was the same type of blood thirsty immortal that killed her father.

Genre: Fantasy Romance
Star rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice rating: 🌶️/ 5
Narrated by: Tor Thom & Auri Alden
Audio Quality: Great

After the death of her father Evangeline is forced to live with her ruling Aunt and Uncle. When they demand she marries the one man she would rather die than marry she is forced to seek help from the visiting Maddox.

This Duel POV, slow burn romance follows Evangeline and Maddox as they train in preparation to help her escape the kingdom and pending nuptials.

For a blood drinking immortal Maddox is a kind hearted softy that reads romance and prays for the day he finds his mate. His love and devotion to Evangeline from the moment they meet work as a perfect juxtaposition to her reluctance to let him in.

Notes on Audio: Both Narrators did an incredible job at bringing the atmosphere to life and bringing emotion to some of the more intense scenes. I was almost in tears listening to her explain the events of Evangeline’s past and it had me hooked from start to finish.

Thank you #netgalley for providing this arc audio for review.

I was able to get the audiobook of Bound & Barbed from NetGalley and I am choosing to leave a review. This books story follows two main characters Evaline and Maddox. These characters were likable and engaging. I enjoyed the way this book is written from both (Evaline and Maddox) points of view. The worldbuilding in this book was light and easy to follow which made for an easy read/listen. Although the story was slightly predictable and occasionally slower paced than I prefer I truly enjoyed this book! The narration was very good and definitely added to my enjoyment of the book. I love hearing different voices for the two points of view. Overall I enjoyed Bound & Barbed and can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the dual narration on this book for the two main characters! It really helps to set the scene when you get both the male and female narrators reading the story. I enjoyed most parts of this dystopian universe and it’s set up for more books in the series which I would love to read when they come out! The story is about a girl who is getting an arranged marriage at her Aunt and Uncles insistence. I really enjoyed this new world and can’t wait to continue the story!

We love a book with a badass FMC who is capable of defending herself, and Evaline is exactly that. She has, unfortunately, experienced some trauma and loss, but she continues to persist and dream of a future far from her aunt and uncle - the future her father wanted for her. As she inches toward that goal, she meets Maddox, to whom she feels an inexplicable draw.

I greatly enjoyed following the story of Evaline and seeing how she and Maddox's lives became intertwined.

CW: parental death, PTSD, panic attacks, anxiety, assault

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Samantha R. Goode for access to a digital audiobook I'm exchange for an honest review.