reading this eARC was an absolute pleasure- thank you @netgalley and @macmillanusa!
‘the buried and the bound’ is something like a cross between the witch king and TRC; it’s got witchy spooky vibes, a magic forest, a very Blue-esque protag (imo), plus some very fun magic and mayhem. i would recommend to any students, and i am waiting with bated breath for a sequel! 5/5 stars :)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of the novel. 4.5/5 stars.

First of all...a middle eastern, Lebanese witchy protagonist??? I LOVE IT. Second of all, the cover just is beautiful. Aziza is a hedgewitch in a world where magic is a thing but also not a known thing. Magic is also inherited, but no one knows what type of witch powers they will inherit. Aziza lives with Jiddo - her grandpa -- in a town where the realm of Elphame (the fairy world) borders on Blackthorn's border. As a hedgewitch, her role is to maintain the boundary and function as a gatekeeper...BUT WAIT...THERE'S AN OLD HAG AND A NECROMANCER AND TEENAGE LOVE AND CURSES and it's all the creepy, beautiful things I love about fae tied in with a found family trope and 3 teenagers who find themselves saving their town and learning things about themselves in the process.

Aziza is a protagonist that I absolutely loved. She has no fear and has a "get it done" attitude. While the various elements of witchery weren't really developed - like...I don't know how Aziza works her craft, I am curious just HOW powerful Aziza is...especially after the ending. I also like the side story/plot of Leo's curses (including his mother being unable to speak without toads and frogs erupting from her mouth) and how Tristan went from villain to maybe a good person.

While this is a standalone, it's left wide open at the end for more books in this series...and I kind of hope there is!

An adventurous, LGBTQIA+, read with funny moments.

Aziza is a hedgewitch, Tristan is a necromancer, and Leo's family is cursed. Each with their own secrets, but together they must fight "monsters, magic, and wicked fae."

The Buried and the Bound is a story that leans into the deadly, the creepy, the dangerous nature of the Fae and these creatures. Immediately I appreciated the danger, the risks, and the stakes. This has a slow build up as we not only switch between multiple POV - and one that isn't really on the back as well - but also as we are waiting for the secrets, the dominoes, to start falling. There were some themes that I appreciated - like the found family, and the way we choose our home - but I just felt a bit like the plot was really dragging at the beginning in terms of pacing.

This was phenomenal! It was just the right amount of dark for me - full of creeping dread and a constant level of darkness that you don't usually find in fantasy books. Like a Sabriel level of darkness. There were plot twists upon plot twists, and always revealed at the exact right time to make an impact and change the direction of the plot. And while the groundwork was carefully laid, several of them took me by surprise.

I never felt like the plot was forced into the 'standard' YA formula. I was dreading a typical love triangle and am so relieved that this is not that at all. In fact I love this, the bonds between each of the characters, the secrets and the trust. I have become used to checking the percentage on my kindle as a way to gauge what will happen next - but that didn't work here. The story shifted and changed and breathlessly barreled towards the end without ever letting up or falling into the standard back and forth I am used to. I loved it and I couldn't tear myself away.

I LOVED the characters. Aziza is practical and competent and I loved seeing her grow as a hedgewitch. Leo was warm and caring and it hurt to see the effects of the curse on him. Tristan was desperate and in a lot of pain and I really felt for him. I loved how their lives slowly twined together as the story progressed, and how three seeming strangers became inseperable and bound together. I can't wait to see where the next installment takes them.

I love how the story explored the boundaries and margins of things. The way Leo fought constantly against the edges of his curse. The practicalities and difficulties of Tristan being homeless. The way Aziza spent her time protecting the boundary between Blackthorn and Elfhame. The way the hag pushed up against both of those and was neither. The boundaries between love and friendship and trust and curses and lies.

The darkness was all-encompassing and weighed on everything, but there was just enough light to counter it that it never felt too oppressive or too much.

The writing was gorgeous. It was absolutely perfect for the story, and there were phrases that really stood out to me and stuck with me because of how beautiful they were. Darkly beautiful, but beautiful all the same.

I am SO glad it's going to have a sequel(s) because I don't want to leave this world or these characters and there is so much more to be discovered.

I would recommend this to people who enjoyed Garth Nix's Old Kingdom books (Sabriel), Libba Bray's Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy, Holly Black's Cruel Prince trilogy and Darkest Part of the Forest, Margaret Rogerson's Vespertine, Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series, and maybe also Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series. Stories of magic and darkness and terrifying, creeping evil and traditional fae and characters who are determined and hold just enough light to counter the darkness of their worlds.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's and Colored Pages Blog Tours for providing an early copy for review.

*Blog Tour post to be posted on 1/28/23 at https://whimsicaldragonette.wordpress.com/ and https://www.tumblr.com/whimsicaldragonette (full links will be added once posted).

Loved this.
Great story, great writing and I loved the characters.
Highly recommend if you enjoy:

> YA Paranormal
> Witches
> Multiple POV (3)
> Curses
> Several paranormal beings
> Queer REP
> Family Secrets

The Bound and the Buried is filled with some magical goodness- good and bad. There is a lot happening throughout between the three main characters and the side ones but it is wasn’t hard to follow; especially since everyone is connected in some way.

PLEASE this is one of my favorite books this year already and everyone needs to read it ASAP so I can talk about it because I have FEELINGS. Fantastical, magical, haunting, and mysterious, this book is 10/10 everything this genre has been missing in recent years.

Most of the time, being Blackthorn’s only hedgewitch is deeply fulfilling for Aziza, but lately so many supernatural beasts have been crossing the veil she is overwhelmed. When spectral hounds attack, far too many innocents die; she’s barely able to save her classmate Leo. Leo willingly partners with Aziza because he’s cursed and needs learn enough about magic to cure himself. The hounds are under the control of Tristan, who is bound to a malevolent hag and yearns to escape. The other teens have every reason to distrust him, but they must work together to save their town from evil. Well-crafted characters and convincingly perilous magic.

The Buried and the Bound is a YA fantasy about Aziza, a teenage hedgewitch, and her newfound friend Leo, whose family has been cursed for an unknown reason. When a hag goes after Aziza - and, by extension, Leo - through her conduit, a teen named Tristan, they make unlikely allies and team up to rid the city of Blackthorn from the hag's dark magic.

There is a lot to like about this book. I sometimes feel like characters can get lost in all the goings-on of fantasy fiction, but this story definitely feels like it is character-driven instead of plot-driven. Even so, that doesn't mean that the plot drags - far from it, as there is a lot of ground covered in relatively few pages. Hassan manages to almost perfectly balance these two factors, and the result is a lush story that the reader can really sink their teeth into, regardless of where their interests lie.

I believe this is the first in a series; this first book certainly does set things up well for additional installments, and not all the loose ends are tied up by the end - in a good way! I'll definitely be a reader of the next in the series, and look forward to returning to this world and these characters in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for providing a copy for review.

I literally felt like crying when this book ended because I didn't want it to end. There better be a sequel because we are left with questions!! I love those characters. I was unsure at the start how they were going to be connected but once we unravel some of the twists I was hooked. There's a romance that's so angsty yet fluffy at the same time they were breaking my heart the entire time but I have high hopes still. I also really liked the magic and side characters in this book!

Extraordinary - I can't remember the last time a book has left me quite as breathless to the point where it reminded me of the joy I felt reading when I was younger. I can't wait until the follow up having fallen head over heels for these characters and their worlds. I will be recommending this one to everyone.

HIGHLIGHTS
~always check the Christmas fair for misbehaving fae
~indestructible wolves are inconvenient
~DON’T KEEP SECRETS FROM YOUR KIDS
~if you’re not old enough to sign a legal contract you shouldn’t be able to agree to a magical one

A few times over the last few years, I have come very close to swearing off YA – not because there’s anything wrong with it, but because my tastes seem to have changed and YA rarely hits the mark for me any more.

But books like The Buried and the Bound are why I keep coming back.

When I was explaining what I loved about this book (and there are many things, but we’ll get to them) to my husband, I said: the writing is so smooth. Like the perfect rock that fits just right in your hand? That’s what Hassan’s writing feels like. And I have pondered, but I haven’t come up with a better way to put it than that. Hassan’s prose isn’t the flowery descriptive kind I usually prefer, but it’s not barebones and blunt either. It doesn’t have the frenetic pace of an airport thriller; nor does it drag its feet. The action and introspection are in perfect proportion; there’s room for us to fall in love with the characters without slowing down the plot, and Hassan knows exactly when to show and when to tell.

Her writing feels expert. Polished until it gleams. Precise, and elegant, and smooth. It had me hooked after two paragraphs, after which I only put the book down long enough to gleefully describe and explain the story to my hubby.

I am seriously impressed, folx.

The Buried and the Bound is divided pretty equally between the three main characters; Aziza, Leo, and Tristan. They each take turns being the PoV character, and Hassan has an excellent instinct for when to switch between them, for whose eyes we should be looking through for each part of the story in order to give that story the most impact. They’re all absolutely brilliant characters; the careful relationships that develop between them are perfectly on-point, and each one of them reads and feels like a real teenager, a real person. And because they feel so human, here, plot twists and reveals (or not-reveals) that would feel contrived in the hands of a lesser writer work beautifully – because Hassan absolutely sells us on the fact that her characters would behave as they do, even when it’s not the smartest or most rational option. One thread of the plot in particular echos similar storylines I’ve seen elsewhere, but instead of rolling my eyes (as I have before), I was nodding along, because here I understood and believed in the relevant character’s motivations and thought processes. That’s something so many authors struggle with, but Hassan pulls it off with aplomb.

I don’t want to go into the plot very much – the book description sums it up pretty well – but I do want to talk about the characters and their world a little bit.

Aziza is a Lebanese-American hedgewitch being raised by her grandfather, and if you’re anything like me, you saw the word ‘hedgewitch’ and thought of little magics, not-very-impressive magics. But in The Buried and the Bound, hedgewitch actually has a very specific meaning: a witch who is tied to – and, in fact, made or chosen by – a place. It’s Aziza’s job to keep the supernatural and human worlds of Blackthorn safe and separate, to keep the boundaries between them healthy and whole, and I really loved getting to see what that meant, and how much pride and care Aziza takes in the work. I also really adored the fact that she’s a loner who is very happy to be by herself; she’s not secretly pining for friends, and she doesn’t want to be normal. That makes a pretty refreshing change from most witchy characters I see in YA!

<Go into the unknown, but go prepared: That was Aziza’s way>

Leo is not any kind of witch; instead, he has huge, sweeping memory loss – because he was cursed to forget his true love, and apparently, that person was a big part of his life, because big parts of his life are now missing. He signs up to be Aziza’s sidekick in the hope she might be able to help break the curse, and the friendship that develops between them??? *chef’s kiss* Made my heart freaking GLOW. They make such a great team, both for Aziza’s work, and in the way they fit together, play off each other.

<“What if I promise not to make laser noises during the fight scenes?” He held up a bandaged hand in a wait gesture. “Think carefully before you say no. This offer might never be on the table again.”>

And I really liked how well Hassan got across just how devastating Leo’s kind of memory loss is, how damaging it is – and how easy it is to misunderstand for those not experiencing it themselves (ie, Leo’s parents). Personality is shaped, if not outright defined by, memory, so yeah, of course losing huge chunks of his memory messes Leo up!

Tristan is…I probably can’t really talk about Tristan very much without spoilers. He made a deal with a monster, and it was a stupid decision, but it’s easy to see why he made it. It’s way too easy to understand and sympathise with his situation, his desperation. That being said, it does kind of feel like The Buried and the Bound glossed over the terrible things he’s done in favour of the terrible things that have happened or been done to him. That doesn’t really bother me in this case – I liked and sympathised with Tristan too much to really care – but I’m definitely curious to see what other readers are going to think of him and his arc.

<Fear that ran so deep it became bravery.>

Anyway.

I was honestly surprised with how much Hassan managed to pack into one book, without ever making any of the issues touched on or dealt with feel rushed or shallow; we see homophobic parents and homelessness, the debatable value of academics, the dismissiveness so many adults turn on the concerns and cares of teenagers (never ceases to make me rage), family secrets, what on earth True Love means… And this is without touching on the magic, which is delightful; we see dryads and kelpies and pixies and sandmen, and a simple but pretty unique take on witches. This is a world that, like its characters, feels very real, with believable depth to it – and plenty of room to be expanded upon in the rest of the trilogy!

If I had to pick out a flaw or two… I would say that there’s a touch too much telling-not-showing, although I also think Hassan’s introspective writing style makes the telling go down easy, rather than it being something that I choked on. At the same time, one or two things aren’t explained when they probably should be; I know what selkies are, but if you don’t, you might want to read up on them a bit before opening up this book, because The Buried and the Bound doesn’t really tell you. And a few things happened or came together a bit too neatly for me, or didn’t quite make sense.

But those are all extremely minor gripes, and don’t change the fact that I adored this book so much, and already have my eyes out looking for the sequel! I already can’t wait to get back to Aziza, Leo and Tristan, and see where the rest of the story will take them; I already miss Blackthorn and all its magical secrets and mysteries.

So if you’re looking for elegantly written YA witchery, with just a touch of Holly Black vibes? Make sure you snatch this one up next month – and then come tell me what you think of it!

I’m so, so sorry. I tried to read this story like five times, but I constantly get stuck at 5%, and I don’t seem to get any further. So I quit. I hate it because I’ve seen all these raving reviews, and I’m sure this book is lovely. So, please check out other reviews and don’t mind mine. I won’t be reviewing it on Goodreads or other social media for obvious reasons.

Thank you, Macmillan and NetGalley, for the E-Arc!
The description of this is spot on, and I can see so many people loving a story. This book has queer characters, found family, tremendous writing, and magic! I think the magic in this book is done extremely well in a very creative way. I loved the creatures and immersive world that the author created for the story. I am so excited for other people to read this book and cannot wait for more by this author.

I loved this book so much and I can't wait for it to come out so I can talk about it with other people! I have so many emotions and I'm struggling to find the words.

Aziza, Leo, and Tristan all have intriguing stories that make reading each of their POVs enjoyable, often when I read alternating POVs I favor one or two above the rest, but that wasn't the case this time. I was deeply invested in each of their stories and struggles and getting to see how it all intertwined so they had to work together in the end was fun.

The side characters also had stories that added to the plot without taking away from the main trio and I'd love to continue reading about Hazel or Meryl. The book ends on a hopeful note, but I'd never say no to reading more about Blackthorn and the magic that lives there.

This book toes the line of spooky fantasy and horror well and even the moments that are more gory are described in a way that paints the picture but without making it disgusting, which I appreciated.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for making this available in exchange for an honest review.

"he knew better than most people that Blackthorn was ugly and dangerous sometimes, and its magic was ugly and dangerous sometimes, but the ugly parts of Blackthorn had a right to exist too."

this book !!!!

there are three (3) pov characters, Aziza, Leo, and Tristan. the book is split fairly evenly between them, with occasional overlap for important scenes but otherwise entirely new perspectives every chapter. imo, these characters were the best part of the book.

Aziza, a prickly hedgewitch who has always gone above and beyond to try and protect her home city Blackthorn; Leo, a boy cursed last year to forget his true love and is now trying desperately to remember them; and Tristan, an unfortunate soul stuck in a torturous bond with an awful and homicidally hungry hag.

the story follows the evolving relationships between these characters and also the slow and mysterious degradation of the line between the human world and 'fairy land'. Aziza, as a hedgewitch, is in charge of managing the fraught interactions between mortals and supernatural critters and protecting both as best she can. she runs into Leo (to her a veritable stranger, despite the two of them sharing a class) when the local holiday fair is attacked by a bunch of spooky, humongous black dogs. the plot leaps off from there and never stops moving.

I loved seeing all the different creatures and learning about their particulars. there's sprites and kelpies and shades and selkies and a half dozen more. I am beyond excited for the next book and thrilled I had the opportunity to read this early. I will be preordering it from my local bookstore and cannot wait to see that glorious cover in person 😤

read this book if ;;
- you enjoy a good underdog story
- you're particularly fond of the found family trope
- characters with complicated histories make you fall in love
- you like murderous horses 🐴
- you want to read about a kind of Fair Folk that legit everyone is afraid of
- you like murderous dogs 🐕
- doomed love is kinda your thing
- you're dying for good selkie rep (gonna go feral for the next book y'all)

rep - bisexual mc, gay mc
thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc ✨

Rochelle Hassan has found herself a new fan. I fell in love with The Buried and the Bound — from fully-formed, three-dimensional characters to magical mysteries to creatures of the forest to heartbreaking love, it has everything you could want in a YA book, and more.

Aziza is such a badass protagonist. I really appreciate the courageous, no-nonsense way she looks at life, her home and her unflappable commitment to her role as its protector. Leo has the biggest heart, which is clear just from the way he jumps to help Aziza in her witchy duties, despite her self-proclaimed inability to help him solve the curse. And Tristan — whew, what a complex, deeply haunted character, who, despite it all, puts the well-being of the ones he loves before himself.

I normally stay away from books that flip between POVs of MCs — largely because I often find there’s at least one character I never end up getting that invested in, so I’ll skip through their sections to get to the protagonists I’m more engaged with. That didn’t happen here. I felt equally invested in Aziza, Leo and Tristan, and was enchanted by the way Hassan connects their storylines together, deftly using the alternating chapters to fill in any missing plot pieces.

Cue the applause — a standing ovation, really — in celebration of this spellbinding book. As far as I’m concerned, Rochelle Hassan’s The Buried and the Bound should be on everyone’s TBR list.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Witches, curses, monsters, and magic come together in this story about three people who’s lives are intertwined. Aziza El-Amin is the only hedgewitch in Blackthorn, Massachusetts and she makes it her duty to protect the world from the magical creatures. She’s bargained with wood nymphs, rescued tiny fairies from cats, banished flesh-eating shadows from parks... but when a dark entity awakens in the forest slowly destroying the boundary between the the human world and the fairyland...things are about to get out of hand. Then she meets Leo Merritt, a boy who was cursed to forget his true love on his sixteenth birthday. Leo is determined to beat his family curse and get back his memories of his true love, but he’s hit one dead end after another. He feels a giant hole in his life and feels haunted by just the thought of his true love. He’s desperate for answers and thinks that only Aziza can help him. In exchange for her help he will provide backup for her nightly patrols. But during one of their patrols, a creature in the woods begins to set its sights on them, and their only way to survive is with the help of the mysterious young necromancer named Tristan, who is hiding his own dark secrets. Tristan has made a mistake, he’s entered into a servant bond with the hag of the woods in exchange for one wish he’ll owe her 9 years of his life as a servant... unfortunately she’s made him do unspeakable things and he just wants to get out of it by now.... and the reason he entered into the bond in the first place? To break the curse of his beloved. Tristan, Aziza, and Leo must stop the hag of the woods, but there is a price to be paid and secrets will be revealed... there will be consequences and they will have to see if they can trust each other enough to survive. This is the first book in a trilogy and it definitely was a good start. The story is perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood and The Darkest Part of the Forest, I am excited to what happens to the characters in the next books and definitely enjoyed this one!!


*Spoilers: Aziza kills the hag and in turn frees all the trapped spirits as well as entering into the new contract with Tris, Tris is actually Leo’s true love and entered into the contract to break it, but he only served one year and now he is bounded to Aziza for the next 9 years. They entered into a contract in which: she only has to make sure he doesnt get on a boat. Tris still has not told Leo that he is his true love. Leo found out his younger sister Hazel is actually a changeling and that his parents killed the fairy that took his real sister, and said fairy cursed their family before dying. Leo still doesn’t remember Tris but is warming up to him. Aziza and Tris don’t tell Leo that Tris is his true love as even mentioning the curse hurts Leo’s head. The story ends with Leo insisting that Tris comes to live with his family and him.(

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Roaring Brook Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Read this gorgeous book in a day. Hassan’s writing is beautiful, her plot moves along quickly, the magic system is rich and incredibly layered, and the romance is just the sort of hopeless suffering I love to see in YA. Cannot wait for the next book in the series!

I adored The Buried and the Bound. Hassan wove and incredible story with a touch of magic and romance that keeps you in the story from the first page to the very last. Love and loss and duty are three pillar themes in my opinion and it hits each of those so well. The book really imparts good lessons are these themes.