Bound

By Michelle Wiley

They regulate the magic. They can't regulate the fire.

In the world of Alexandria, magic is power - and power must be controlled. Every Partikular is registered at birth, their abilities catalogued and contained by the Lieutenant's Sentinel enforcers. The unregistered are hunted.

Tallula Aberdeen has been hiding for thirty-two years.

As an unregistered Ember - able to conjure fire from her bare hands - Tallie has survived by being forgettable. Brown clothes, trimmed hair, a rooftop shed for a home, and a talent for theft sharp enough to keep her fed. In a city where the wrong color at your fingertips gets you dragged before the law, invisibility is the only protection she has. She has made herself very, very good at it.

Then Torin Fairbairn sits down across from her - and shares his meal without asking for anything in return.

He is younger than her, maddening, and entirely too comfortable everywhere he goes. A stablehand with mahogany hair that falls in his face and chestnut eyes full of mischief, Torin has no reason to notice a woman who has made an art of being overlooked. And yet he keeps appearing. On her rooftop. At her door. With fried dough and a single yellow flower and the infuriating, unhurried certainty of a man who has decided she is worth the wait.

Tallie has survived abusers, Sentinels, hunger, and years of running. The one thing she doesn't know how to survive is someone who simply stays.

BOUND is a slow-burn fantasy romance set in a Celtic-inspired world where magic is suppressed, class is enforced through color, and the most dangerous thing Tallie faces isn't the fire in her hands - it's the man who makes her want to stop hiding.

Book 1 of The Burning Isles. Book 1 of The Burning Isles. Sequel: UNRAVELED. Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Juliet Marillier, and romantasy readers who want earned intimacy, a rich magic system, and a heroine who burns.

Readers love BOUND for:

A slow-burn romance that earns every single moment
A richly built fantasy world with a compelling, original magic system
A fiercely flawed female protagonist who survives on her own terms
Celtic/medieval-inspired setting with immersive atmospheric detail
Themes of hidden identity, class oppression, and the courage to be known
Found family, fierce loyalty, and walls built over decades - slowly coming down

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H85D4978
• ISBN13: 9798185917411
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 500 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"