Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Bonded by Thorns

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Bonded by Thorns by Elizabeth Helen

20 reviews

_snow_bird_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

There are scenes of M/M, so head’s up for that - it caught me completely off guard. Since it is a spicy book, there is the set up for a M/F/M (which is more suggested in this first book), and M/M/F/M/M (which is anticipated for future books).

This is the first book of a series of books (I think 7 total?) in a retelling of Beauty and the Beast in a Reverse Harem setting.

Four Fae princes, each in charge of a respective four seasons?? Yes please! It does deal with some domestic abuse in a previous relationship, and isn’t terribly explored in this book.

I’m going to be honest, it’s not entirely my cup of tea, but I can appreciate it, and I am curious to see how it pans out, so I will be reading the other books as they are released.

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tiannarose's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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pritenpink2's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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forgottencupoftea's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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princette's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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bookishlucy's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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nicoreads333's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.25

This is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a twist.

Things I like:
1. Polyamorous relationships
2. Queer love
3. Great spicy scenes
4. Reverse harem

I don't want to go into too much detail because of spoilers, but there is a lot to love about this.

Things I didn't like so much:
1. Poorly edited - I think this may be published by the authors themselves, so I am giving them some grace with this. But as an avid reader, one of my biggest pet peeves is poorly edited books. There are mistakes and repetitions that pull the reader out of the story that could have easily been fixed by another pair of eyes.
2. In one scene, it's almost identical to what happens in the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. Again, I feel like it pulls the reader out of the story and into a cartoon movie. I don't know if they were trying to pay homage or like put an easter egg in there, but in my opinion, it didn't work.
3. The MC is hard to pin down personality-wise. Maybe it's my own perception clouding my judgment, but I feel like she is almost contradictory at times. She's still likable, but not always relatable and honestly that's ok.
4.

Ends on a cliffhanger and you have to wait for the next book (or however many books may be in the series)

I didn't realize this was going to be a series. I hate having to wait for the next book to be published. If I had known, I would have waited for the series to be complete. I have a bad memory, so I'll probably have to reread it.

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sassysophie's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a really good beauty and the beast retelling! Especially because even though I new the original story I still couldn't tell what would happen next. I'm very interested in what will happen next.

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daisycantread24's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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gidstheghoul's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

3.25

I hated the MC if I'm being honest. She was inconsistent and hit a little too hard on the "not like other girls" trope. Something changed around the 60% mark, and I couldn't tell you what if I wanted to, but I ended up hooked. All of the characters were more enjoyable and I ended the book excited for the next one. I'm almost mad at how much I ended up liking it despite the rough start.

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