Title: UnboundAuthor: Penelope Bloom
Pages: 576
Publication Date: May 27, 2026
Publisher: Forever
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Romance
Synopsis:
Welcome to Confluence Academy...
Nineteen-year-old Nessa Thorne expects death when she volunteers for the Empire's selection. Instead, she's thrust into Confluence Academy, where students harness elemental magic and bond powerful beasts, from wolves to ancient dragons.
Students are branded by water, air, earth, or fire. But Nessa's mark is different. A silver spiral - the mark of an unbound. It's a power so dangerous her kind were hunted to extinction centuries ago - or so the Empire claims.
To survive, she must hide what she is in a castle where alliances are forged in blood and students kill each other freely for advantage. Nessa's greatest threat may be the only other volunteer, Raith Hollow, a powerful fire affinity with a scorching gaze that follows her every move and secrets that could topple kingdoms.
Forbidden desires become impossible to ignore, enemies approach from beyond the castle walls, and something evil has found its way inside - stalking the midnight corridors, hiding in plain sight.
Nessa must embrace her terrible potential, or watch everything she's fought for burn.
Because at Confluence Academy, students leave as weapons... or they don't leave at all.
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Overall, I enjoyed this read. It’s a bit slower than I typically like, but the characters, romance, and elemental magic were great. The worldbuilding was strong, too. It’s a brutal world, and the students lives are in danger literally every second of every day, and Nessa’s even more so since she has an incredible power. On top of the deadly trials they face, which are violently brutal, murderous rivals, life-sucking siphons, and more threaten Nessa and her friends.
The story is told mainly from Nessa’s perspective. She’s a layered and compelling protagonist with a tragic past and a dangerous power that she must hide. Despite everything she’s endured, she never loses her determination or her moral compass, even when the odds were stacked against her. Watching her slowly learn who she can trust while coming to terms with the truth about herself made her easy to root for. Her friends are great, too. They definitely have found family vibes. They form such a tight bond, and each has a distinct voice and purpose. They are all so different but they work, and I found myself as invested in this group as much as the romance.
Speaking of romance… we have to talk about Raith. He’s so secretive, and it’s clear he’s there for a reason. I love a moody, protective MMC, and Raith has both in spades. lol There’s a lot of push and pull between him and Nessa, but you can also tell there are some internal struggles going on with him, too. Their relationship has so much tension, longing, and unanswered questions, and they had great chemistry. Their romance was a highlight of the book for me. No surprise there!
I also like that there are so many enigmatic characters whose motivations are unclear. Nessa has a very small pool of people she can trust, and even some of the ones she does trust are suspicious. And there’s one particular elemental character that stole the show with his witty sarcasm and frank talk. Typhon kind of reminded me of Venom, and every time he called Nessa “angry human,” I chuckled. Their tether allows them to speak to each other telepathically, and their conversations often contrast some of the intense, darker things going on around them. It worked really well to break up the heightening tension and showed the bond growing between the characters.
I do sometimes wonder if I read too much of this genre, though, because I’m starting to notice a lot of similarities between them. I definitely could see that in this book, with the fierce FMC with a secret power, a mysterious MMC, a deadly academy and trials, and elemental magic. There are definitely some reveals that were predictable, but the strong character development, worldbuilding, and suspense made it an entertaining and immersive read. It’s definitely a sloooooow building story, and there are some parts that could have been more concise, but I felt overall like it was worth the wait.
- enemies to lovers
- deadly trials
- elemental magic
- found family
USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts Bestselling author Penelope Bloom is taking her first flight into romantasy—and yes, there are dragons. After years of contemporary romance, she’s temporarily trading meet-cutes for magical academies and coffee shops for castles that reek of blood. She promises the banter is just as sharp, but now it comes with deadly consequences.
Fun fact: “Penelope Bloom” started as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to the family dog, Penelope—never meant to be anything serious. But then the books took off, and the name stuck. Behind the scenes, Penelope Bloom is actually a husband-and-wife team. He handles the writing; she edits, helps with brainstorming, and runs the reader-facing side of things (like social media and messages). So if you’ve chatted with “Penelope” online, you’ve likely been talking to her—with the author chiming in whenever needed. Together, they’ve built the voice readers know and love.
