Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen— Genre’d Podcast Episode 15
- genredpodcast
- Jan 15
- 7 min read
This week on Genre’d, we are diving into Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen, a brutal, addicting romantasy that delivers trials, bonding magic, pack politics, a
nd one very moody dire wolf with a personal vendetta against peace and quiet.
It is giving street fighter heroine, deadly competition, chosen one secrets, and a kingdom built on erased history.
But first, we have some things to say.
Katy is in a full-body, weeks-long spiral over Heated Rivalry, the wildly viral hockey romance series based on the beloved books by Rachel Reid. We get into why the internet cannot stop making edits, why the stakes actually feel high, and why this is the rare romance adaptation that turns even non-romance readers into unwell little gremlins. If you have seen our clips lately, yes, this is where they are coming from.
💥 Spoiler warning: The first ~20 minutes are spoiler-free. Full spoilers after that, including major reveals, character identities, late-book twists, and endgame setup.
About Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen
A street fighter from the slums enters a brutal set of trials to bond with a dire wolf in order to save her kidnapped sister. What starts as a fight for survival turns into a reckoning with a corrupt system, erased history, and a destiny she never asked for.
Sable Sorensen is a pen name for a writing duo, which honestly makes sense once you see how confidently this book leans into classic romantasy structure while still giving us a few character-driven twists that work.
What we cover in this episode
We have some things to say
Katy’s Heated Rivalry obsession spiral and why it is taking over her life
The joy and chaos of TikTok edits and how the algorithm knows too much
Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie appreciation corner
The Empty Netters hockey podcast that live-reacts to Heated Rivalry and why it is elite content
Elyse’s new reading journal era, sticker printer included, kindergarten teacher energy respected
A quick detour into thrillers: His & Hers (Netflix adaptation of the Alice Feeney book), plus Katy’s love of plot twists
Frieda McFadden shout-out for fueling the twist addiction
Spoiler-free Dire Bound setup
Genre and vibes: romantasy, trials, competition, magic school structure, wolf bonding
What surprised us most: it is spicier than expected
How it compares to the big ones: Fourth Wing, The Hunger Games, plus a little Throne of Glass energy
Why Marin works as a main character right away: she starts dangerous and stays dangerous
What makes the dire wolf bond feel different: it is not instant besties, it is friction and mistrust for most of the book
Who should read this:
Romantasy readers who want trials, bonding, and classic tropes executed cleanly
Readers who like fast pacing and dramatic reveals, even if they are trope-aware
Who should skip:
Readers who hate long training sections
Readers who do not want explicit romance on the page
Characters to watch
Meryn Cooper: our street fighter heroine who enters the Dire Bound trials to save her sister and ends up holding way more power than she asked for
Anassa: Meryn’s dire wolf, moody and difficult, and honestly the best kind of menace
Lee: the love interest who is deeply suspicious in a way that makes you want to start a spreadsheet
Stark: alpha energy, permanent glare, and absolutely not here to be nice about it
Isabel: packmate friend and the main way we learn what Meryn does not know about this world
Saela: Meryn’s kidnapped sister and the emotional engine for why she enters the trials in the first place
What it’s giving
We kept our “it’s giving” mostly spoiler-safe, but here is the vibe check:
Throne of Glass energy in the sense that Meryn begins as a competent fighter from page one
Fourth Wing parallels in bonding mechanics and training structure
Classic romantasy framework with a few fun character-based upgrades, especially the wolf bond tension and the pack skill sorting
Would our mother read this?
No. Too spicy. Also the wolves talk and the vampires exist and she would immediately say no thank you.
One line plots
Elyse: A love-starved MMA fighter joins the army to solve a kidnapping, bonds a sassy wolf, survives a 400-page training montage, and discovers that magic and losing your mind look pretty much exactly the same.
Katy: A kick-ass street fighter bonds with a dire wolf with a major attitude problem, attracts two deeply suspicious men, and stumbles into a centuries-long secret that reshapes an entire kingdom.
⚠️Spoilers ahead⚠️
From here on out, we are fully in spoiler territory.
When we knew we were in
We both liked it immediately because Meryn starts the book already fighting in an underground ring. No “chosen one who cannot lift a sword” training era needed. Bless.
The twists we called early
We clocked a lot of the reveals quickly, especially if you have read a decent amount of romantasy.
Lee is not who he says he is. The moment he casually knows the timing of secret Dire Bound trials and encourages Meryn to join anyway, we were like, okay prince behavior.
Stark is clearly positioned as book two energy. The glare count alone tells you the story is setting him up.
Meryn’s mom’s “dementia” is magic. It is passed down through the women and the book is not being subtle about it.
The big world reveal
The war has been going on forever, and the siphons are framed as vampire-like enemies. But the real reveal is that the system itself is corrupted.
We learn that the king is a siphon, the siphons took power centuries ago, and they erased the history of the true ruling line, including a magical restriction that prevents people from even speaking about the former queens.
Meryn is part of the rightful line, and the story is building toward her being positioned as a queen figure, whether she wants that or not.
The engagement bracelet and the power theft
We are obsessed with the concept of an engagement bracelet. Unfortunately, in this book it is also a magical conduit used to take Meryn’s power and bind it to Killian.
Romance, but make it sinister.
The pack dynamics and why the logic is funky
We loved the skill-based pack sorting. It is giving fantasy Hogwarts. But the system also encourages people to compete, kill each other, and sleep around for mating bond reasons, which sometimes feels like a waste of resources for an army that supposedly needs fighters.
It is romantasy logic. We accept it. Mostly.
Meryn becoming alpha
One of the biggest third-act escalations is when Meryn and Anassa are chosen as alpha of their pack. It is decided by the wolves. Humans cannot override it. Suddenly she is in charge, even though she is still “in training.”
This is where the chosen-one arc stops whispering and starts yelling.
The dress twist we loved
The modest, gorgeous dress that shows up for Meryn is not from Killian. It is from Stark. This was one of our favorite little reveals because it reframes who has been paying attention to Meryn the whole time.
The final twist that got us
The kids are being taken and drained for power. Meryn and Stark rescue them, including Saela.
But Killian leaves a final surprise, and Saela is not fully Saela by the end. She turns, and the last moments set up a bigger siphon power system we still do not totally understand.
Which is exactly why we will be reading book two.
Game: dragon or dire wolf?
Elyse chooses dragon for the flying.
Katy chooses dire wolf because she hates flying and would rather speed-run the continent on a giant fuzzy murder taxi.
Final ratings
⭐ Elyse: 4 stars
Loved the setup and the core romantasy satisfaction, but it felt too long and many twists were predictable if you read the genre a lot.
⭐ Katy: 4 stars
It borrows familiar pieces from big romantasy hits, but it is fun, readable, and compelling. If this were one of your first adult romantasy reads, it could absolutely feel like a 5-star gateway book.
Mentions in this episode
TV and adaptations
Heated Rivalry (series) based on the books by Rachel Reid
His & Hers (Netflix adaptation) based on the book by Alice Feeney
Books and authors
Rachel Reid
Alice Feeney
Frieda McFadden
Fourth Wing
The Hunger Games
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Throne of Glass
Podcasts
Empty Netters (hockey podcast mentioned for Heated Rivalry reactions)
Fast facts
Book: Direbound
Author: Sable Sorensen
Genre: romantasy
Core tropes: trials and competition, magic school structure, bonding magic, found family, chosen one, love triangle setup, fated mates vibes
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Our final ratings: 4 stars, 4 stars
Next episode read: We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark
Join the conversation
Have you read Dire Bound yet, or are you adding it to your TBR?
And more importantly, are you also in a Heated Rivalry spiral, or are you pretending you are better than us?
Drop your thoughts, your wolf name picks, and your most unhinged romantasy trope you will defend in court.
Listen and follow along
🎧 New episodes drop every Thursday.
If you like what we do, please rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen.
👉 Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube
👉 Explore more episodes of Genre’d Podcast
👉 Follow us on Instagram & TikTok @genredpodcast
And remember: no genre shaming unless it’s funny.
Mini FAQ
Is Dire Bound a good entry point for romantasy?
Yes! It hits classic romantasy beats clearly, has a fast hook, and does not require you to be deep in the genre to understand what is happening. If you are trope-savvy, you may predict some reveals, but it is still fun.
Is Dire Bound similar to Fourth Wing?
There are noticeable parallels in training structure and some bonding mechanics, plus the trials vibe. The biggest difference is Meryn starts out already capable and dangerous, and the wolf bond is much more contentious for most of the book.
How spicy is Dire Bound?
We rated it🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️. It is spicier than you might expect going in, especially toward the end. It never fully stops being plot-driven, but some scenes are definitely there because romantasy is going to romantasy.
Should I read the audiobook?
Yes! We liked that the audiobook uses duet narration with both male and female voices, which keeps the pacing moving and makes it easier to stay engaged.
Comments