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brynjamin's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Almost DNF'd this one. It got SO much better in the last 75 pages. Desperately needed more world building at the front of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Toxic friendship, War, and Toxic relationship
kristanjenkins's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Bullying, War, Grief, Kidnapping, and Sexual assault
ktmcd26's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I am writing this review after I quickly read the whole series and don’t fully know when one book ended and the other began, so this review is more for a series as a whole.
The series has an interesting concept and some interesting scenes, however it suffers from very poor word building an extreme repetition.
The series very much reads as the books were started without a plan for how they are going to end. So things that are set up in the beginning are ignored or essentially re-written later to make way for whatever the author wants later. One of the biggest problems with this is that the world is extremely under developed and I cannot tell you the motivations for a large handful of main characters. Often times this can be ignored if you don’t think about it too hard, but sometimes it is distracting.
The series suffers from the same scenes being replayed over and over again. There seems to be a desire to always have these big dramatic moments, but not enough variety or explanation as to the differences. The repetition can also be seen in the spicy scenes and the wording. If I never read the word Bonded again, I think I will be all right.
I desperately wanted to focus more on the interpersonal connections of the characters and not these big threats.
I also found the immaturity of the MC to be detrimental to the story. I think I would have liked it more if she wasn’t still practically a child.
Half-way through there is also the reveal that many characters have a sentient parasite living inside them. These beings are not well developed, and that’s just no a troupe I enjoy.
The series has an interesting concept and some interesting scenes, however it suffers from very poor word building an extreme repetition.
The series very much reads as the books were started without a plan for how they are going to end. So things that are set up in the beginning are ignored or essentially re-written later to make way for whatever the author wants later. One of the biggest problems with this is that the world is extremely under developed and I cannot tell you the motivations for a large handful of main characters. Often times this can be ignored if you don’t think about it too hard, but sometimes it is distracting.
The series suffers from the same scenes being replayed over and over again. There seems to be a desire to always have these big dramatic moments, but not enough variety or explanation as to the differences. The repetition can also be seen in the spicy scenes and the wording. If I never read the word Bonded again, I think I will be all right.
I desperately wanted to focus more on the interpersonal connections of the characters and not these big threats.
I also found the immaturity of the MC to be detrimental to the story. I think I would have liked it more if she wasn’t still practically a child.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
spicycronereads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I devoured this. Read it in maybe 1/2 a day. The author sets up the mysteries around Oleander with skill and I could not out it down. The tension with all of her Bonds is exquisite and I am not sure who I am rooting for. Love the friendship with Sage and hope to see her saga develop further in subsequent books. I am looking forward to the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Bullying and Kidnapping
Minor: War
bangiebangs's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Oh this was a tricky one.
Things I liked:
- the writing (notwithstanding occasional typos)
- the mysterious setup... this feels like a pretty new take (maybe I just havent read the book series similar to this one?)
- Gryphon. Also Atlas. They seem like rounded people who think before they act. (The rest of the bonds are just insufferably childish, self-centered dudes)
Things I disliked
- he world-building. There is some info about what these bonds are and how they work, but why, when do you usually learn about your bonds, how do you find them (like, some people are "waiting to find" them? Also, seems like you can reject a bond, what happens then? How is power heightened or acquired when a bond is completed? So many questions, but not in a good "mystery we will uncover" way, but more a "causes confusion when reading" way. Also, what is the Resistance resisting against and why? No idea. But they seem to be the baddies for some reason?
- the FMC's naivité. Annoying as hell. I'm personally not a fan of mysteriously self-sacrificing characters, especially when it is then used to explain some shitty behavior without much context?
- description of FMC through the book. She seems to have a normal (or even hot) body in the beginning, enjoying her food, and as soon as she is forced to do more physical exercise the fact her clothes don't fit and are too big gets mentioned a lot. I find that annoying.
- How old are the bonds? Like, all around same age, or some way older? Some are councilmen and uni professors, others students?
But overall... I read this quickly, and I was hooked. Spice is not happening here (0.5/5 for some drooling over hot bodies), but that's likely because this is setting up the series. Wished that I wasn't so confused half of the time when it comes to in-world politics, but hoping that things will clear up.
Things I liked:
- the writing (notwithstanding occasional typos)
- the mysterious setup... this feels like a pretty new take (maybe I just havent read the book series similar to this one?)
- Gryphon. Also Atlas. They seem like rounded people who think before they act. (The rest of the bonds are just insufferably childish, self-centered dudes)
Things I disliked
- he world-building. There is some info about what these bonds are and how they work, but why, when do you usually learn about your bonds, how do you find them (like, some people are "waiting to find" them? Also, seems like you can reject a bond, what happens then? How is power heightened or acquired when a bond is completed? So many questions, but not in a good "mystery we will uncover" way, but more a "causes confusion when reading" way. Also, what is the Resistance resisting against and why? No idea. But they seem to be the baddies for some reason?
- the FMC's naivité. Annoying as hell. I'm personally not a fan of mysteriously self-sacrificing characters, especially when it is then used to explain some shitty behavior without much context?
- description of FMC through the book. She seems to have a normal (or even hot) body in the beginning, enjoying her food, and as soon as she is forced to do more physical exercise the fact her clothes don't fit and are too big gets mentioned a lot. I find that annoying.
- How old are the bonds? Like, all around same age, or some way older? Some are councilmen and uni professors, others students?
But overall... I read this quickly, and I was hooked. Spice is not happening here (0.5/5 for some drooling over hot bodies), but that's likely because this is setting up the series. Wished that I wasn't so confused half of the time when it comes to in-world politics, but hoping that things will clear up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Torture, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Stalking
Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, and War
Minor: Abortion and Gun violence
sexual assault neglect (FMC is left without food for days on end, not being taken care of later in the book) FMC is violently implanted with a tracker (against her will)taliaalongi's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death of parent, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Rape
jla's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Trigger warning bullying and sexual assault
Nox and North are the worst.
Fast paranormal book. It's pretty formulaic, but the world is interesting.
Nox and North are the worst.
Fast paranormal book. It's pretty formulaic, but the world is interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Bullying, and War
zc2's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I was told it was going to be like Haunting Adeline, however it feels like a darker version of the Shatter Me Series. I will probably continue the series although with reading shatter me before hand, it does feel like a reread but with smaller twist. There wasn’t much background information so I kinda felt confused the whole time. The characters were kinda difficult to remember, like it was hard to match personalities with names. Not terrible but could be better.There weren’t really intense parts except for the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Trafficking, Abandonment, Car accident, Confinement, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, and War
g_monaghan's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I think this is what they call a bully romance, almost DNF'd because they really are *mean* but the story has potential, I'd like a little more world building as I feel it's gone straight to fiesty teen drama without all the cool fantasy elements
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Violence, Emotional abuse, War, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
aloevera's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The fantasy concept of Bonds is interesting but poorly explained. In particular, there’s a lot of weird stuff about consent that is really poorly addressed. I think that the characters are good but the main character is constantly engaged in information withholding which drives me nuts when I know that talking to someone would likely solve her problems! Also, this book has some sexual tension but there is no actual payoff which was confusing based off the recommendations I received. It’s an engaging read, but I feel like it needs refinement. Also, it’s way too long!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and War