Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Broken Bonds by J. Bree

42 reviews

readyourrights's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I finished this book and still don’t fully understand why we care about the protagonist or anything about the world she lives in, what bonds even mean for society, who her enemies are and why we care about them. World building not there but lots of cursing and stream of consciousness in the present tense. I was annoyed mostly reading this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Body shaming

Moderate: Violence and Rape

sfdogmom's review against another edition

challenging dark funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Violence, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Vomit, Sexual assault, Blood, and Domestic abuse

laurenjackman's review

dark tense fast-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Violence, Gore, Emotional abuse, and Confinement

Minor: Death of parent and Death

Toxic masculinity

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Toxic friendship, War, and Toxic relationship

fleetwitchmac's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Confinement, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Grief, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Body shaming

jumbledjess's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.25

Hear me out - I know I’m rating this a 3.25 and sometimes people can think that means bad bad, but that’s not the case for this one. I enjoyed this book and will absolutely continue this series because the tension and plot have me intrigued. While I’m excited to continue on in this world, there are some things that pulled it down for me. I would say the first half of the book is definitely trying to find its footing and repeats A LOT of the same things (words, interactions, internal monologue threads). For a book about relationships that involve having multiple partners this read YA (I know the characters are 19, so I did give them some passes) which was probably due to the amount of petty comments, cursing (and I curse a lot and even this felt like too much), and just sheer childishness by all of the characters. All that being said, I was able to look past it because the main plot of this story has so much potential and I NEED to know what happens. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Car accident, and Suicidal thoughts

s_holdthebus's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The bullying was way more abusive than I thought it was going to be, once I learned it was a bully romance. I didn’t mind most of it, but the constant “freaking” and “bitches” felt really juvenile. And the SA scene felt really gratuitous. We already knew the guy was an asshole, we didn’t need to go that far. It was a bit triggering for me. The end finally picks up when you learn about her gifts and they are cool, I just wish the whole book wasn’t “I ran away from my bonds (at 14) and now they hate me but I can’t share why”. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Misogyny

e_rosemary's review

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Blood, Sexual assault, and Cursing

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Car accident, Self harm, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Suicide

angelinanajel's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I was captivated by this book. The suspense surrounding Oli's decision to run away kept me engaged. I'm a sucker for badass female main characters, and Oli nails that role perfectly. The inclusion of my favorite tropes, like "touch her and die" and forced proximity really enhanced my enjoyment of the book. I also thoroughly enjoyed the slow build up of sexual tension between Oli and her bonds. 

My only qualm lies in the sparse world-building and my strong aversion to Nox Draven.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Medical content, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Grief, Blood, Car accident, and Stalking

melissafelicia's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book reads like one of those reality tv series on mtv; too much cursing, all drama and very little plot, but so entertaining that you keep wanting more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Kidnapping and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent