Reviews

Bound by Family by Ryan Michele

kaitbabs's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

loverofromance's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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? No

4.25

 This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.

Book Evaluation:
Plot: 🎞️🎞️🎞️🎞️
World Building:🌎🌎🌎🌎
Cover:πŸ“”πŸ“”πŸ“”
Hero: 🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻🦸🏻.5
Heroine:πŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈπŸ¦ΈπŸ»β€β™€οΈ.5
Intimacy Level: πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯πŸ”₯
Relationship Building: πŸ’’πŸ’’πŸ’’πŸ’’
Heart & Feels:πŸ’žπŸ’žπŸ’žπŸ’ž.25
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚
Page Turner Level:πŸ“–πŸ“–πŸ“–πŸ“–
Ending:🧧🧧🧧🧧
Overall View: ✨✨✨✨.25

First Impressions
Bound by Family is the first book in the "Ravage MC Bound series" but is connected to the Ravage MC series and its all part of the same world so keep that in mind. So technically this is book 6 of the complete series. Bound by Family is Cooper's book, in the previous set of books he was a child. Now he is all grown up and a full fledged member of the MC and what a great brother he turns out to be. I love how loyal and strong he is, how faithful he is to his club and family, and how he gets what it means to be a valuable member. And his lady is so different from others that we have seen before. While she is a daughter of another club, she is more reserved and not as kick ass as the other heroines that have been written. She has a kind hearted nature about her but is strong when she needs to be. And she makes Cooper such a great match, but seeing these together was such a treat and had a blast with their story here.

First Line
This life. My life ....is Ravage.

The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Cooper Cruz
Cooper is loyal and duty bound, he is serious minded when it matters. It gets the club and will die for his family if need be. When he commits, he stays true on course.

The Heroine: Bristyl Daniels
Bristyl is kind hearted, intelligent and has a strong will when its needed. But naturally she has a caring heart but will fight for those she loves.

Summary
Cooper is a full fledged member of the Ravage MC, he is young still at 24, and devoted to his family. He has a strong self control that some of his cousins just don't have and he is the voice of reason. Then when he goes on a trip with his brothers to Florida for a biker round up, he runs into someone he doesn't expect. Then comes into the picture Bristyl, who is a daughter of a member of a local MC based in Florida. She lost her mother at a young age, and is working as an accountant. But the MC is making more demands and lowering her status for what she does for the club. When she defends her best friend, she then meets Cooper and thus begins a passionate relationship between them and when her family gives her a painful ultimatum she chooses Cooper to live a full life with, but she has a enemy that could destroy those she loves...

What I Loved
This book was such a whirlwind but such a easy and quick read. I just sped through this one so quickly and I loved every single moment of it. There was something so fascinating about this book and I fell so hard for Cooper and Bristyl. After seeing Cooper as a child in the previous books, it was such a blast to see the man that he becomes and wow he is probably one of my favorite heroes that this author has ever written. He is just so loyal, strong, and well disciplined. I love how he is with his siblings and cousins, he is the rock they are look to for strength and loved his heart. Bristyl is strong in her own way, she doesn't really know how to fight or kick ass at all, but she has a heart of gold and will fight to her death to protect her own. She is so smart though and loved her sassy character.

The story itself as far as the plot being built is so well developed. We have such danger and intrigue that are brought into the story and the author will give you a few surprises in the end that you won't expect at all. I actually loved our heroine. She was definitely my type of heroine. Because her character is so well balanced. But seeing her situation with her family was so heartbreaking. Because her father and brothers are treating her horribly to the point of asking her to be a sex slave for the club just to stay with them. Now as we dig deeper into the story, we see why they are doing that and how they have lost their way where she is concerned and they do redeem themselves in the end. They aren't evil or anything, just highly misguided.

The romance between Cooper and Bristyl is so beautifully developed and I love the focus on the relationship that we have in this one. As much as I love a good sex scene, we need more foundation in a story and the author really does well in this. I adored Cooper and Bristyl together, and their instant chemistry is pretty powerful. I love how dedicated they are together and the ways that they see each other so well so quickly. They act on their hearts with each other not caring what others think. Once they realize what they have is special, they fight for it with everything that they have.

What I Struggled With
There were some aspects that felt a bit off in this one. The way that Cooper's mom (who is Princess from book one of the Ravage MC series) treats Bristyl I did NOT like. She just turned me off at parts in the story. I will be honest, I have never liked her character, she is a bit too much. She came off as hating Bristyl just because Bristyl isn't like her, thankfully, her husband and Cooper puts her in her place haha but still I feel like Bristyl deserved better.

Overall View
Bound By Family is a fascinating and tension filled romance which is packed with heart, sexy vibes and well focused plot to satisfy you!

Favorite Quote(s)
Life will lead you, where you need to be, or you need to men up and lead it where you want it to go

"Love is what binds us all together. We have that, we’re strong. We lose it, we’re weak."

Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, New Adult, Romantic Suspense
Character Types: Bikers, Accountant/Financial Expert
Themes: Motorcycle Club, Family Love Bonds, Dirty Talkin, Danger
Tropes: Opposites Attract, Instant Love Connection

Book Perspective
Multiple POV's

Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Plot Conflict--the conflict in the relationship is minimal, and the angst in the story is relegated to the outer workings of the story.

Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes! I do recommend reading in order if you can. But you don't have to as long as you understand the world. But it helps make the family ties make sense if you do read it in order.

Steam/Spice Explanations

Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship. 

cupofteabookblog's review against another edition

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5.0

Loved the start of the next chapter of the Ravage MC! Cooper and Bristyl are off the chart sexy and have an amazing love story!

emilyhei's review against another edition

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4.0

Cooper Cruz was born and raised as a part of Ravage MC, he knew one day he would patch in and be a member. Cooper doesn't attach himself to anyone but when out of town at a rally he meets Bristyl Daniels. Full of sass and beautiful Bristyl is everything that Cooper wants but believes he can't have. However, he has no clue that Bristyl is the daughter of the leader of Sinister Sons MC. Can two MC's come together or will it tear them apart.

The first in the Ravage MC series. This was entertaining and I liked Bristyl, she was struggling with her identity as the daughter and sisters to Sinister Sons MC family. I liked how this had a bit of a slow build up and Cooper and Bristyl's chemistry is off the charts. I am anxious to see what happens to a few of the characters introduced, looks like it will be a fantastic series.

arickman's review against another edition

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3.0

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrators.

tracy81's review against another edition

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4.0

Having not read the Ravage books I didn't know who the other characters were in this book so was a little confused at the start but after a got used to who they all were I just rolled with it and actually quite enjoyed this book and liked Ryan Michele's writing style!

Cooper a member of the savage MC meets Bristyl the daughter of the Sinisters VP meet by chance, this starts there whirlwind with secrets revealed and plot twists that keep you engrossed this was a good fast paced MC book. Im not going to go into any details as I feel like I can't without declaring spoilers so I'd say if your an MC fan then this is a book you might enjoy !!!!

Now I feel like I need to got read the other Savage books asap, a very worthy 4 stars from me

mafaldat's review against another edition

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4.0

this was my first time reading anything by Ryan Michele, but I've heard a lot about this series so I had to give it a try, besides its a mafia romance, which im a sucker for!
this story was really entertaining and addictive, I really liked the heroine I think she's really likable and the chemistry between her and the hero, damn it was off the charts, im really interested in some of the other characters introduced in here so IΒ΄ll definitely continue the series!

victoriajayne's review

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4.0

Parts dragged but an okay read. Nothing core shaking here. took a long time for the two to get together. but it's an okay read.

elylibrarysec's review against another edition

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4.0

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Cooper is a member of an MC that this author has written about before. You do not have to read the other series before you enjoy this book. But to better understand the members of the MC you may want to check out at least one or two books, if not all, of the previous series. Bristyl shows how frustrating it is to work with family. She also shows the strength she has in order to do what she wants.

Cooper is in an MC where violence can be used to solve some problems. They’re also involved in some questionable business practices. But that doesn’t put Bristyl off on wanting to know him better. He may be all rough and tough but he does have a romantic side. Sometimes a first book in the series can get bogged down with a lot of information. But not here and I think being an offshoot of another series helps with that.

What I loved was that the author knows just the right way to lighten a scene and make you laugh. Something else that impressed me was how when our couple is together they just want to concentrate on each other and all the MC business seems to go away – even if for a little while. At times you’ll forget that an MC is Cooper’s way of life and think of this as a sweet romance between two people. But that doesn’t mean it won’t get hot and heavy either or that β€œbusiness” won’t rear its ugly head. The ending leaves you smiling and the author includes a bonus that will get you looking forward to June when the next book comes out.

I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
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