Hopelessly Entangled
Books where two (or more? if these exist I WANT THEM) characters are bound up in some way—inside each other's heads, connected by a spell, entangled by technology—the important part is the forced proximity and the element of technology or magic, or something else over the top that would not normally happen! And maybe they're in love or they fall in love as well...
100% open to recommendations, I want to know about ANY books you think might fit 🙏
created by nostoat
last updated August, 2026
Comments
Firstly, LOVE this list 💞 Michelle Wong’s House of the Beast also fits this criteria
I know there are more books with this trope/dynamic I'm forgetting about AND I'm desperate for more books that might fit this because it's soooo specific and I eat it up every time so PLEASE if you know of any books, TELL MEEE 🙏
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter does this in a really interesting way!!
A Song of Legends Lost by MH Ayinde. One of the main characters has another being forcibly bonded to her, and he exists in her head from then on.
It's been a while since I read it, but maybe The City We Became by NK Jemisin? The characters have all been made avatars of New York, each one of them avatars for a different district of it. I'm pretty sure I remember them being able to sense all sorts of stuff from each other because of that?
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner - before the beginning of book one, a young girl and a small god are bound together. They've no idea how it happened and they both resent the loss of privacy. They can't be physically apart and they can talk with their minds.
I think Invisible Ring by Anne Bishop has this? The main character is given a magic ring that allows him to feel the emotions of the person who buys him (he's a slave). It's not a super intense, constant thing but it is plot-relevant!
Mercy Makers by Tessa Gratton - one character marries another under false pretences; part of the ceremony involves ingesting 'marriage eggs', which are basically spells that bond them together permanently. They don't become telepathic but constantly feel what the other is feeling.
Maybe Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee - the main character has the ghost of a general tied to her; she's the only one who can see and hear him, so she has to pass on his orders to the army, which is awkward. Pretty sure they can't be very far apart physically. I don't think there's a psychic element though, I don't remember any telepathy/empathy stuff.
Radiant by Karina Sumner-Smith - YA again, about a girl and a ghost that are bonded together. Pretty sure they could feel each other's feelings, and share power and things. Can't be too far apart, etc. REALLY epic trilogy, first one I ever read with no romance, just making their friendship the central relationship.
In Roz Kaveney's Rhapsody of Blood series, Emma and her ghost girlfriend Caroline are tied together. I don't THINK they can feel each other's feelings etc, but they can't be too far apart, I think.
Arguably all the dragons in Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner - dragons speak via telepathy, and if a speaker isn't careful the listener can hear a lot more than they intend to say. This probably isn't what you want, though.
A King's Trust by SE McPherson - the prince and his bodyguard (who ends up his lover) have a bond the prince put in place accidentally. It's a HUGE deal in book 2 especially.
The Host by Stephenie Meyer probably counts?
The Magic Between by Stephenie Hoyt is a really fun urban fantasy/romance thing, where the main characters end up with a soulmate bond. I forget all the effects of it though.
nostoatOP
A FEAST for me omg thank yooouu. I forgot about the god thing in Godkiller and entirely forgot about the marriage eggs in Mercy Makers, putting both of them Under Consideration for sure. As for the rest 📝 books for me to read heheheee and I'll see what fits thank you SO much !!
You're so welcome! Hope you find some new faves in there :D
Rec: Heart Trouble by Jae
Freak accident establishes an empathic link between an emergency physician and a server/waitress.
Not OP but I love the sound of this!
It is cute, sensible and wonderfully wholesome!
nostoatOP
📝 Making note, thank you thank you
Great list! I love this trope.
Ohhh that's SUCH a cool premise for a list! AND YOU ALREADY HAVE ASUNDER ON IT, AHH THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!
I'm combing my shelves for suggestions, but - I don't read them myself, but if you look for mate-bond stories you'd probably find a bunch of this? I'm assuming, I guess authors are going to vary in how they write it.
Saint Death's Daughter by CSE Cooney has entanglement between Lanie, the main character, and her zombie nurse/servant. It's mostly because of Lanie's bloodline and also being a necromancer. I'm not sure it gets enough page-time to qualify for this list, though.
Oh! The Tarot Sequence by KD Edwards has this between Rune, the main character, and Brand, his bodyguard. They're very happy to be entangled like that, though.
In the Black Dog series by Rachel Neumeier, Natividad (one of the main characters) accidentally creates this kind of entanglement with two other characters (they can both sense her, but not each other, so it's not PROPERLY three all bound together).
OH OH OH!!! I'm such an idiot, how could I forget! The Unspoken trilogy by Sarah Rees Brennan! The two characters have been talking in each other's minds since birth, assuming the other is their invisible friend. But then they meet in real life. It's nothing like what you're probably assuming, they don't immediately fall in love or anything (they're actually horrified). Alas, it is YA, but I recommend it anyway for the entanglement trope!
In SM Stirling's Shadowspawn trilogy, this is a thing! One character gets kidnapped by a sort-of vampire, and being repeatedly bitten gives the sort-of-vampire access to her mind and whatnot. It's played for creepiness.
I'LL ADD MORE IF I FIND THEM
nostoatOP
YES Asunder is one of my favorite examples of this!!
And yeah I'm SURE mate-bond stuff would have this in oodles but it's kind of not my thing, I want it weirder and less uh... allosexual than that I guess?
I might have to give Saint Death's Daughter a reread and see, it may fit! and HOW !! could I forget abt the Tarot Sequence! A perfect fit for the list, Rune and Brand are such codependent little freaks (affectionate)
I've been meaning to read Unspoken for so long, so this is incentive to get to it!! And I'm putting the rest on my TBR as well, yippee thank you 📝
Asunder is one of my favourite books full stop. I NEED SOME PUBLISHER TO BUY THE SEQUEL ALREADY.
Ahem.
You're so welcome! :D AND OMG YOU'RE A TAROT SEQUENCE FAN ALREADY TOO?! Gotta stalk your library on here because you clearly have MAGNIFICENT taste!
nostoatOP
I NEED THEM TO UGH YES every time I read her newsletter and the news is "still nobody wants this book" I'm like WHHHYYYY I NEED IT !!!!
Omg thank you I'm blushing I'm blushing and right back at you btw SO FEW people have read some of these books!!
Right?! And her latest one the other day mentioned Solaris is taking ages to say yes or no - GODS DAMN IT SOLARIS YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SMART, BUY IT ALREADY! (Seriously hopeful because Solaris really DOES have great taste in 'out-there' SFF...)
Personally I think it should be illegal for publishers to not buy the whole series if they publish book one. (I am only half-joking.)
That just makes it our job to rec them to as many people as possible :D
Are you kidding me, they only the first one? I didnt know that was a thing, also I assumed this book was popular, everyone was talking about it on release 😭 I'm still excited to read it but it's going to suck. I wonder if that might happen to the Archive Undying too, though maybe they just haven't written it yet...
Yeah, Tor's been doing this more often the last few years - buying the start of a series, but not marking anywhere in the book that it's not a standalone. Makes me want to gnaw a wall!
As far as I know, the sequel to Archive Undying is bought, Tor signed a contract for it, but the author hasn't finished it/finished polishing it yet, or something. So that we definitely should get eventually!
If you like this vibe, I would recommend checking out The Merge by Grace Walker to see if it's up your alley!
nostoatOP
📝 Noted! Thank yoouu
Audition by Pip Adam has a three-way mental link, but I'm not sure the vibes match what you're looking for here
nostoatOP
I'll give it a sniff! 📝
