Bound

By: Ali Hazelwood

Narrated by: Brittany Pressley, William Macleod

A reluctant con artist and a professor with too many secrets are bound together in Ali Hazelwood’s intoxicating new dark academia romance—available only in audio!

Veronica “Vero” Mercer grew up with grifters for parents, and she knows her way around a con. When grad school bills pile up and her friends are in trouble, she turns her art history skills into a forgery side hustle.

It’s supposed to be a short term deal, but her work draws the attention of Dr. Viktor Ashworth, a reserved, very British professor. Instead of turning her in, Ashworth kidnaps her—politely—and makes an unusual offer: forge a mysterious ancient manuscript for him.

Soon Vero finds herself spending long nights with Viktor, bent over rare vellum samples and obscure inks. But as the con grows riskier, Vero has to wonder: what does Viktor really want, and why can’t she stay away?

©2025 Ali Hazelwood (P)2025 Spotify Audiobooks

Very slow start but worth sticking it out.

I considered DNFing this book after about chapter 2. I just wasn’t connecting to the characters or the world. That disappointed me because I loved Bride and Mate (much more than Ali Hazelwood’s contemporary romances).

But I’m glad I continued. The characters get fleshed out much more as the book goes along. Vero’s personality and motives become more clear.

🌶️🌶️ a couple of detailed scenes between the two main characters. Ali Hazelwood writes good spice and good banter.

I think my biggest problem with the book was the accent of the male narrator. It seemed contrived and odd. And I just didn’t enjoy it. That might just be me. I’d be interested in more books or novella from this revenant world.

Not my favorite Ali

Story was OK. Narrator for MMC sounded a bit old and it was hard for me to get into that character. I appreciate that it was duet format though and he did a great job for all the other characters. Female narrator was excellent. (Keep in mind that for me, a three star review is not bad, just average.)

Bound in more ways than one

I thought the story was unique. I really liked the pacing of the story as well. The characters were likable. But I felt like the story overall was lacking something whether that be depth or that the ending didn’t feel like the end but more of a beginning. I would have liked more descriptions of some things as I feel like this particular creature is not something talked about popularly and felt more background would’ve gave the story the extra something it needed to be an amazing read.

Don’t pass on this one

Honestly, I ate this book up. I loved how it read. It was so well done for the shorter length. It has con-artists mixed with urban fantasy. The world building was actually pretty strong. The audiobook narrators were at 12/10. Definitely don’t pass this up. I want more stories in this world.

Excellent.

My favorite Ali Hazelwood story so far. Narration was amazing. I loved the FMC her development even for a novella. Seriously this is by far my favorite and I’ve read all of Ali’s books.