Dire Bound
Sable Sorensen
by Laura Thalassa
Selene Bowers is a young witch desperate to secure her place at the prestigious Henbane Coven. To prove her worth, she embarks on a perilous quest through the South American wilderness, only to have her magic forcibly awakened by a supernatural assault. This awakening comes with a devastating price: every time Selene draws upon her power, she loses a fragment of her past.
The situation spirals into chaos when Selene inadvertently awakens Memnon the Cursed, an ancient, malevolent force who mistakes her for the wife who once betrayed him. Though she manages to flee to the safety of her academy, the nightmare follows her. As mysterious deaths plague the campus, suspicion falls on Selene due to her fragmented memory and her inexplicable connection to the intruder.
With her identity slipping away and her life on the line, Selene is forced into an uneasy—and dangerous—alliance with Memnon. He holds the keys to her survival and the truth behind the carnage, but his obsession with his past threatens to consume her future. In this high-stakes dance of power and forgotten history, Selene must decide if the man who haunts her memories is her greatest enemy or her only salvation.
Rita MarieIt's an extremely good first book!
"This story so far is extremely good. The story in itself is so much more vast and deep than you think initially. So far the magic system is intriguing, and I want to know more. The FMC and her magical condition of losing memories when doing magic is extremely well written. The MMC is written really good, I absolutely hated him throughout most of the book together with the FMC. And an author being able to make me feel that same intense hate as the FMC is an exceptional writing-feat. It's an extremely good first book, let's just hope the second one continues just as good, and don't go into the usual mistakes of way to easily forgiving grievance that has been made. But the story has been set to actually become better than the first, and I really hope it's true. ["
May 19, 2026 Verified Purchase
Jocelyn RoushEntertaining and hilarious Romantasy
"I just finished Bewitched and what a breath of fresh air! Finally a FMC I like! Selene is a young witch who has been trying to get into Henbane Coven for over a year, but has been rejected because of how her magic works. Each time she uses her magic, it erases a memory. On top of that, she does not have a familiar and has not had a magic quest. Determined to be accepted, she books a trip to South America, where she ends up a sorcerer, Memnon, who has been asleep for 2,000 years. Upon waking, Memnon believes she is his wife from 2,00 years ago who betrayed him and destroyed his empire and is thirsting for revenge. A series of events unfolds after that. Selene is hilarious. I laughed out loud several times while reading this book. She is witty, kind, and resilient. She is organized and meticulous to compensate for her memory loss. Just like most romantasy books, she is very powerful and you find out the reason for that. Memnon is trouuuuble in the best way possible 😍 He's sexy, funny, flirty, devious, murderous, vengeful, and extremely powerful. I was giggling and kicking my feet at some of his comebacks. The tension between these two is electric. Selene is unable to resist him despite her dislike for him. There are a few side characters that pop in and out but they don't really contribute much to the plot. They aren't annoying, though. The plot is interesting. I usually avoid urban fantasy because I don't want to feel like I'm in reality at all, but this was really well done. There was a ton of action, magic, murder, mystery, and romance. It ends on a big cliffhanger, so I immediately picked up the second book and am already enjoying it. Overall, I recommend this book! ["
April 29, 2026 Verified Purchase
Michelle FI can’t wait for book 2…
"I have to start off by saying that I loved this book so much, the ONLY reason it took me so long to read it is because my life has been so chaotic, to put it lightly, for the last month. I didn’t have the mental capacity to read it or absorb it rather, so I ended up re-starting it a few times (ugh) as sad as that is. But, I loved it! It is the perfect, paranormal, enemies to lovers (well, maybe lovers?) story with an intriguing mystery to uncover that keeps you on your toes. Selene is one of those leading ladies you can’t help but love. She is a young witch doing everything she can to be accepted into a coven while trying to keep herself alive day to day. Her magic, one of the coolest things about her literally eats her memories every time she uses it so she really struggles to get through every day life lol. I honestly loved all her notes to herself, and her reminders? They’re so witty and funny. I found myself really enjoying her dialogue! Along the way, of trying to navigate life and work her way into a coven, she takes a little trip. She has to go through some type of trial and then write about it in detail as part of her acceptance into a coven. And boy, does she take a trip! She heads to a different country and quite effortlessly wakes the biggest of bad sorcerers of all time, Memnon. Who is both equally intriguing and aggravating! He’s got all the charm but, I wanted to ring his neck a couple of times lol. They have a whole past to uncover.. but, is Selene really who Memnon thinks she is? Are they actually soulmates? Can they overcome their past? This book has so many twists and turns and it really keeps you on your toes. I have NO idea what to expect for the second book and I love that. This is my first Laura Thalassa book (thank you Naomi) and I was thoroughly impressed with the world building and character building. I loved the story so far and I can’t wait for more! I also cannot wait to see Memnon grovel. So looking forward to Bespelled! ["
May 15, 2024 Verified Purchase
Kindle CustomerEntertaining, but has its flaws
"I'd rate Bewitched 3.5/5 stars. While I enjoyed reading it for the most part, some aspects of the book, especially regarding the main characters, became progressively more irritating. Some secondary characters, such as Selene's best friend, flicker in and out of the story but don't feel like they have any impact. They appear every so often, but nothing really comes of their interactions. Other characters who seem like they'd be important or leave a lasting impression on Selene are mentioned once or twice and then never again. Selene herself is likable but incredibly frustrating. She repeatedly makes really stupid decisions during dangerous or potentially dangerous situations. She does not learn from her mistakes (and I'm talking about common-sense decisions, not anything related to her memory loss). Each time it happens, Selene acts like she's sticking it to the man when, in reality, she's digging her own grave. Then there's her relationship with Memnon. The dude is an ***hole, straight up. He's extremely possessive and controlling and refuses to acknowledge Selene as her own person instead of his long-lost wife. He'll go on about how he's madly in love with her and wants to deliver the world to her on a silver platter, then pulls a complete 180 and dismisses what she tells him entirely, only focusing on his revenge because she allegedly cursed him and locked him away for 2000 years. The scenes Selene and Memnon share are pretty repetitive. Memnon shows up, and Selene either tries to run from him or fight or both but inevitably gives in because his presence is so magnetic to her that she just can't help herself, apparently. Even with the explanation of their sharing a bond as soul mates, it feels like a weak cop-out. Memnon is so incredibly overpowered that even if Selene had done everything she possibly could to resist, there'd still be no chance (she does try at one point and predictably fails). Such an unbalanced power dynamic between the two MCs is made even more frustrating because there is never a point in the story where Selene gains more power, or Memnon loses some of his. There's never an opportunity to even the scales, which makes the story progressively more predictable with each interaction. On a positive note, I will say that I did enjoy the twist on how magic works. It's kind of goofy, but not so much so that it feels unrealistic within the world's context. I also like the caveat of having Selene's power consume her memories. Even though many of her peers consider it a disability, she's still able to live a (mostly) normal life and pursue her ambitions in a way that makes sense. Her interactions with her familiar are hilarious. There aren't that many action scenes, but the ones that do exist are easy to follow and engaging. The prose is descriptive but not overly so, the only exception being whenever Memnon is present, you can expect Selene's thoughts to express just how attractive she thinks he is, which gets dull very quickly. Despite the frustrating moments punctuated throughout, Bewitched was an entertaining read. The murder mystery aspects were unexpected but interesting. I just wish the characters were a little more developed and balanced. ["
November 24, 2024 Verified Purchase
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