THE BURIED AND THE BOUND

An ancient horror awakens in Blackthorn, Massachusetts, and three 17-year-olds—a witch, a necromancer, and a cursed boy—come together to face it.

Lebanese American Aziza El-Amin is a hedgewitch in charge of the boundaries between the human and fae realms. But recently something has felt very wrong, as though a disease were spreading, and it’s connected to a family secret that Jiddo, her grandfather and guardian since her parents’ deaths, is keeping from her. Leo Merritt’s Italian American family lives under the shadow of a mysterious curse that Leo has been trying to break for a year, ever since his 16th birthday when it made him forget everything about his one true love. Suffering due to the gaps in his memory and an all-consuming grief, Leo discovers that Aziza is a witch and believes she can help him. Tristan Drake, a White boy, made a terrible mistake when he became the bondservant and necromancer to the increasingly powerful hag in the woods in exchange for breaking the curse on his beloved boyfriend, Leo. But then the hag threatens Leo and everything changes. With gorgeous prose and rich worldbuilding, this gripping dark fantasy slowly unfolds its tale of broken hearts, family secrets, and self-empowerment as it follows its three appealing, well-rounded narrators and a variety of interesting secondary characters. This is one for fans of Holly Black, Anna-Marie McLemore, and romantic fantasy that has a bittersweet bite.

A wonderful start to a new trilogy.