#bound to fall

[dawllick]

Celeste from “Bound to Fall” by @akcaggiano

Tomorrow I am busy BUT SUNDAY I’ll add Reeve 💕💕

[hashtag-amf]

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[blurrypetals]

Bound to Fall by A.K. Caggiano - blurrypetals review

originally posted jan. 31, 2025 - ★★★★☆

When I read the main three books of this series last summer and fall, there was something familiar about the story structure that kept scratching the back of my brain the whole way through.

It wasn't until now, when I've played enough Baldur's Gate 3 to equal at least 20 books since I read Eclipse of the Crown, I finally realized these books feel like reading someone's fun D&D campaign. And I mean that in the best way!

These are so charming and fun. I loved the goodest boy paladin energy Reeve gave off and Celeste was so sweet and entertaining, just a cinnamon roll who deeply needed love and protection.

This was a great read and I'm looking forward to reading Bound and Tide sometime soon, too!

[thecasualbookreviewer]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bound to fall, A.k. Caggiano

Summary:

Celeste Delacroix’s sister is dead. This is unfortunate…sort of. But it’s also an opportunity to return to the realm of Eiren and begin anew, if noxscura will allow her.

Cursed with dark magic, living virtuously has always eluded Celeste, but she’s determined to right the wrongs she wrought in the sleepy village of Briarwyke and maybe even find her ever after, happiness unrequired and, as she sees it, undeserved. But darkness accompanies Celeste as keenly as clumsiness and shame, and when she accidentally releases a new evil on Briarwyke, she must find a divine source of magic to destroy it.

Sir Reeve, Holy Knight of Valcord, is one such divine source—not to mention incredibly handsome—and as luck would have it, already intent on vanquishing the evil that plagues Briarwyke. Unfortunately, he believes that evil to be a noxscura-wielding witch who has desecrated his faith’s temple: Celeste herself. Abyss-bent on fulfilling his destiny, Reeve’s virtue and beliefs have never wavered because the world is simple, after all—there are those who are good, and those who are evil, and evil must be destroyed.

But what happens when a perceived evil requests assistance in defeating an even greater threat? Can Celeste and Reeve band together to save Briarwyke, or will their contempt for one another be their downfall?

/

Bound to Fall is a standalone spinoff of Villains & Virtues, a completed trilogy that follows the exploits of Damien and Amma. This book takes place in the spring, after the events of Villains & Virtues, and does contain spoilers for the series including character death. However, Bound to Fall focuses on a new couple, Celeste and Reeve, who we did not meet in the original trilogy, and can be read as a standalone story.

Review:

This book took a lot more time to get through than the other books in this universe, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good. The story felt a lot much slower, and it was all set in a single town with at times made it feel like it wasn't moving along at all, however the characters are pretty interesting and make you want to come back and continue reading their story.

Celeste and Reeve are two characters that at first I didn't see myself liking much, but by the end I had a great appreciation of both, and of course the author has a great balance of humor and serious moments.

I wouldn't quite call this a cozy fantasy, because the stakes are quite high, but i think for the most part it might fit the genre.

[eccentric-ocean]

late may/early june reading list

Bound to Fall by A.K. Caggiano

This is a spinoff of Villains and Virtues and technically book #4 in the series. Having invested in a non-amazon e-reader, I couldn't get a hold of it in a digital format. I believe the author self-publishes through amazon? So, after much pondering, I got the paperback. And I was not disappointed. I loved it. It's a story about opposites who turn out to have loneliness in common, the way AK Caggiano has mastered them. And we get cozy little (magical) town vibes, as well as a backstory on a villain from a different book. Don't actually recall why I knocked off half a star and gave it 4.5, might've been the smut I wasn't vibing with or some of the magic I had a hard time following.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) #1 and #2 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

Very much here for WWX and LZ, which means the big chunks of story where either of them is missing are looooong.

Boyfriend Material and Husband Material by Alexis Hall

I promise I have not set out to read A. Hall's entire body of work this year, although it looks like it. In my defense, I already know there's some of his books I will not be reading, just cuz they're not my cup of tea. But that's already 5 books of his I've read in 2 months. And I've enjoyed all of them, some A LOT. Boyfriend Material is um... about polar opposites falling in love. Do you sense a theme in my reading lately? Anyway it's funny and lovely and gay. And the characters are complex. They get even more so with Husband Material, which is all about whether marriage is for everybody. Whether there is a "right" way to be gay. What happens when your shitty parent dies. etc.

I confess Husband Material was less fun than the first book. Simply cuz there is that constant tension around marriage/weddings, until it finally breaks at the end. Still worth a read for more Lucien and Oliver. Some of the cast of friends felt more cartoonish than others but meh, I still enjoyed them.

BTW Lucien just cannot be a sexy name to me, as a french person, even tho I could tell Oliver was supposed to say it sexily. It stopped being popular sometime in the 1950s/1960s so it's bringing up thoughts of someone's great-uncle for me. I had to fight this throughout both novels lol. But at least the author had mercy on me and DID NOT write smut in these.

What I'll read next:

Must finish Veiller sur elle sometime.

Orwell's Roses is next on the TBR. Unless I go for fiction instead, in which in case Yulin Kuang's debut novel How to End a Love Story is a strong contender.

My 2024 storygraph chart currently looks something like this:

[chipchopclipclop]

Magically Bound - what if your middle aged partner became a magical boy (Part 1)

> (Part 2)

[caranoelle]

uhhhh yeah i am obsessed with them

[mxmarsbars]

honk shoo mimimi

[stars-obsession-pit]

Sorry I’m magically married to your brother

Jason gets ritually “sacrificed” by a cult to the Ghost King, which it turns out ends up forcibly marrying him to Danny.

So now Danny is forced to interact with him and the rest of Gotham’s vigilantes while they work to break that.

During that process, Danny starts to fall for… Tim.

(or could be any of them really, just specifically not the one he’s bound to)

Which means Danny now has two goals: get a divorce from his magically-assigned spouse, and seduce that spouse’s sibling.

…he’s never gonna live this down.

[mysteriousmissme]

you are what you read or however that quote goes

[sappho-rose]

“Kou…”

[kettlefire]

As Good as Good Gets (DP X DC Snippet)

Richard "Dick" Grayson is the golden child. In the eyes of the public, and in the eyes of the league. Dick is a sweet, caring son, a man who went from being a sidekick to being a hero. The pipeline from Robin to Nightwing had many people applauding his dedication to keeping Gotham safe.

No one knew the full story, not truly. No one but Bruce Wayne himself. And maybe a certain butler. Many don't know that Dick only became Robin to stop him from hunting down and killing the man who killed his parents.

No one really knows about the harsh fights and arguments he has had with Bruce. The times when Dick would find himself cut off from the Wayne name for a week or so. No one knows that the first person Dick warmed up to was Alfred. Having been bribed with cookies.

Things weren't always this good, trusting, happy relationship between Bruce and Dick. It had been a rough ride, a complicated one. But that was okay, because it got better.

Dick stopped being so moody and angsty. He grew up, he learned, and he changed. He became an older brother, found people that needed him. Needed him in a way that the citizens of Gotham didn't need him.

His brothers like to call him annoying. A goody two shoes who Bruce trusted more than everyone else. They couldn't fathom how someone like Dick could be so stupid and bubbly at all times.

All times, except when shit hits the fans. Despite the name calling, despite coining Dick as the stupid Wayne. They all knew better. They knew that when it mattered, Dick Grayson always pulled through. He was a force to be reckoned with when needed.

The whole Wayne family was a force to be reckoned with when called for. It didn't have to be under the guise of costumes and vigilante acts. Whether he was Officer Grayson or Nightwing, Dick was a man with his morals and values.

One night on patrol as Officer Grayson, Dick found someone who needed that force. A force willing to protect and care for the innocent. The hurt. The damaged, yet still good.

It started like any other night. A call of shots fired by an empty warehouse. There was no sighting or knowledge of any rouges being there, so Dick took the call. Told the team he'll contact them if it seems more than just a civilian incident.

The warehouse was dark, reeked of copper and oil. It didn't take long for Dick to find the trail. The liquid he found looked like the person had been dragged before walking. There was a clear struggle, even with the mess and emptiness that was the warehouse.

That wasn't Dick's biggest concern. The concern lay in just how much blood there was. Too much for any normal person to lose and still manage to stumble through the warehouse.

It wasn't just blood. It wasn't that much, but Dick could spot the strangeness in the liquid. The mixed in green that had an eerily similar color and glow as a certain pit.

Without thinking, Dick followed the trail. Barely remembering to make contact with his family. Give them an update on what he found. Words telling him to stay put for backup went in one ear and out the other.

Something in Dick's gut was telling him he couldn't wait. He needed to find the source. Whoever was currently bleeding out in this warehouse. He silenced the comm, moving further through the dimly lit building.

Then Dick found it. Or more so, he found him. It was just a boy. A boy that reminded Dick too much of the youngest Wayne. A boy sat against a wall, looking pale and weak.

Red and green coated the front of the boy's shirt, arms wrapped tightly around his middle. An attempt to stem the bleeding. A puddle had already started to form beneath the boy, and Dick moved without thinking once again.

He quickly found himself kneeling beside the boy, hands carefully reaching out. Before Dick even touched him, the boy flinched. Eyelids suddenly opened, wide and terrified blue eyes landed on Dick's.

In just that one look, Dick knew what he had to do. The haunting, terrified, and pained look in the boy's eyes told Dick everything he needed to know. The boy was in danger. Someone had hurt this kid, and it was clear it wasn't the first time.

The boy struggled weakly against Dick's touch, terrified whimpers, and barely coherent pleas spilled from the kid's lips. It had Dick's heart aching, clear as day the poor kid has been through hell and back.

It took a lot of reassurance, gentle touches, and promises of help before the kid let Dick take a look at the bleeding wound. A promise on Dick's soul had been the final thing that earned him any semblance of trust. A strange promise, but Dick was willing to make it.

That concern turned to pure anger the moment Dick managed to pull the sticky shirt away from the wound. The sight of a Y-incision cut perfectly into the skin, stitches tight on the skin, but blood still leaking heavily from the wound.

It didn't take long for Dick to realize why. Despite the perfect surgical care of the wound, a good couple of stitches had broken. Leaving gaping spots for that red and green liquid to pour out of.

The boy was deathly silent, tears streaking down his cheek as wide blue eyes stayed trained on Dick. In that moment, Dick knew he had to help. Had to get the kid to safety, patch him up, and find out what kind of monster would do this.

It didn't matter if the kid was human or not. It didn't matter if the kid had special abilities or not. No one, absolutely no one, deserved to be vivisected.

The kid was shrouded in mystery, but that mystery only seemed to grow and become clearer when Bruce had entered the scene. The boy had tensed, eyes flashing a bright glowing green.

Lazarus pit green.

It set a pit of dread in Dick's gut. His mind brings forward memories of Jason. Jason, after his revival, after his dip in that cursed pit. The same flash that his brother would get if he got too angry. Too emotional.

As much as Dick wanted to focus on finding who did this, if it had any connection to Ra's al Ghul. He couldn't. Not when the kid tried to get up, to pull away as Bruce and the others made their way closer.

Right now, Dick only cared about making sure the boy was okay. Fixing those stitches, getting him a meal, and a warm bed.

He needed to get this kid someplace where he felt safe and secure. Comfortable and protected. Dick wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the promise he had made, but he wasn't letting anyone get to the kid.

That included his family. As strange as it seemed, Dick put himself between the others and the kid. Shooting them all a glare that they had only ever seen a handful of times.

Dick lifted the poor boy up in his arms, cradling the crying child close as he led the way out of the warehouse. Ignoring the questions or confusion coming from Bruce and the others. As Dick walked, feeling the trembling boy clinging to him, he made a rather obvious realization.

Maybe the eldest son really was more like Bruce than he expected. Just a few short moments the the boy, a boy that Dick didn't know his name, and he was ready to pull out adoption papers. To give the boy a safety he so desperately needs.

Give him the chance that Bruce had given him all those years ago.

[thefallenangel2008]

Thinking about how either of the Stans react to physical contact when having a panic attack. Ford, a man who usually isn't particularly too fond of touching other people/other people touching him NEEDING physical contact in order to calm down, like a hug for example. And Stan, a man who's usually the one to initiate physical contact and being happy when other people do it first (even if he's never gonna admit it) being TERRIFIED of being touched when panicking which also ends up worsening his panic attacks.

[rotruff]

in my head so it has to be in yours too ; you have to think abt sleepy, half-awake interactions

you have to think about all the time you two spend laying alongside one another because maybe one of you woke up early or couldn't fall asleep and you don't wanna risk waking the other up because they look so peaceful (maybe they're usually more stressed, face now more relaxed and body lacking the usual tension they've held for so long).

you have to think about all the conversations that are more just one trying to form coherent sentences longer than 3 wors while the other just ums in response, maybe laughing when they notice the other slip up in their speech, if thye're not too sleepy to notice, of course.

you have to think about how you two wake up in the morning, do you two fall asleep with some space beween you only to wake up with tangled limbs and numb arms from someone's head resting on it through the night? or maybe you two fall asleep more normally only for one (or both) of you to wake up sprawled out, hand resting on the other to reassure themself they're there even in their unconscious state?

you have to think about when you two finally get up, where you can't help but hover around the other just a little bit to hold onto some of those nice, comforting moments before you really have to start your days. where one of you might hold and lean onto the other while they work on coffee or something similar, eyes falling shut again as they fall into the others touch.

of course, you also have to think about how their voice sounds when they're barely awake, and by extension you have to think about how it sounds when they say 'i love you.'

proship + adjacent dni

[thecasualbookreviewer]

Maybe this was how love worked. Maybe it decided things on its own and just waited for everybody else to catch up.

Bound to fall, A.K. Caggiano

[eccentric-ocean]

Reading Bound to Fall and there is just something about AK Caggiano's writing that gets to me. It's not just that it's humorous and flows pleasantly, and transports you to another world. It's to do with how her characters are deeply lonely and unloved and traumatized, and you get to see it from their own point of view, and then she operates a shift in perspective. And you see it from an outsider's angle, and you feel how much they empathize. Often in spite of their best efforts. Because they're on opposite sides. At least at first. And honestly this the kind of (love) story I live for.