BoundRating: 5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel


This continuing saga of Cory and the gang at Green’s hill (and I don’t use the term “saga” lightly) is a direct continuation of Wounded, the second book in the Little Goddess series, and as such must be read in order.  I’m not too worried about spoilers, though you may not get some of the context within the review.

Cory, Bracken, and others from Green’s hill are preparing to give college a try, but this time, Green has a plan to keep his people safe. The entire group enroll in the same classes at Sac State so that they can commute the hour from Green’s to school, allowing them to stay at Green’s and not have the same negative psychological impact that Cory and Rennie experienced while away in San Francisco.

As the group is leaving the campus, a stench of evil overwhelms Cory, then again later that night in Grace’s store, debilitating the vampires and causing Cory to become violently ill. After being under attack by Crispin, Sezan, and then Goshawk, the inhabitants need a break from being under attack, but powerful forces won’t give them a reprieve.

Cory’s bond with Green isn’t an issue for Bracken, but the accidental bond with Nicky bothers him, even though Nicky would die without sex with Cory once a month. Cory, ever the human, has difficulty with sleeping with Nicky, and although she does so, it leaves a shadow, for lack of a better word on Cory’s psyche, and her inability to see Nicky as more than a once-a-month fuck hurts him greatly.

Green’s hill is seriously a whole ‘nother world, I tell you. Lane continues to strengthen and deepen the world building with every installment, and to be honest, I still get confused at times, most likely due to the fact that I am not reading the stories back to back.

For a book that focused on serious matter, there were many times that I laughed, or even just giggled to myself, such as the quote below, and that balance added authenticity to the story, as far as I am concerned.

They all looked so imposing coming in like a black sail of doom that I was forced to giggle when Marcus gave me a casual hullo and that shy grin.

Seriously, all doom and gloom sucks, and the little bits of levity and the significant number of every day activities, necessary for the advancement of the plot, takes the extraordinary and tones it down. I hesitate to say that the combination ends up feeling realistic, but given the context, that’s exactly what Bound ends up being, realistic.

Here is where my review gets hinky. How do I discuss the characters that have grown and changed so much since my first introduction to the Little Goddess series? If you have read my previous reviews, you know the key points, the critical pairings (and I use the term “pairings” very loosely), but the changes, some quite significant, and others far more subtle, just can’t be described appropriately. Just know that every character we meet, no matter their importance, is as three-dimensional as you can get in a book.

I also want to address the sexual dynamics in Bound. This is not a story about sex, although there is a fair amount going on. It is a story of survival, of love, of acceptance and tolerance, where the sex is used, guilt-free if at all possible, to heal and bring people together.

I mentioned this in my previous reviews, this is not strictly an M/M book, and so if this is not your thing, I would not recommend the series. But the fluidity demonstrated by the characters is pretty hot at times, and the story so solid, that I definitely recommend Bound, and look forward to what’s next.

A review copy of this book was provided by DSP Publications.

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