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iowabibliobibuli's review against another edition
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
An excellent book 2 of a series. It gives me good D&D campaign vibes!
serenity043's review against another edition
5.0
The story just gets better and better
I have really really enjoyed reading this series so far. Its got a little bit of everything in it! I will totally keep reading this series. Would highly recommend. It feels like lord of rings but with a better female main character and great companions. Each companion has their own hero's journey as they travel along with her, giving them all depth. I want to know how things work out for all of them. Plus you cant beat an adorable little romance to top it all off.
I have really really enjoyed reading this series so far. Its got a little bit of everything in it! I will totally keep reading this series. Would highly recommend. It feels like lord of rings but with a better female main character and great companions. Each companion has their own hero's journey as they travel along with her, giving them all depth. I want to know how things work out for all of them. Plus you cant beat an adorable little romance to top it all off.
aprhodes's review
4.0
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Quick Thoughts: A solid sequel that continues the slow pace of the first book, but also continues the intricate worldbuilding and incredible characters.
Main Character: Dyna. As predicted, we see Dyna's growth in this book both in her power and as a character - although she's certainly not immune from bad decisions and being saved. Her bad choices wore on me a bit more in this book (the ship scene in particular), because by now she should realize how real the danger is (and that she should never be alone, not for one second). But I still see her potential and I continue to root for her.
Love Interest: Cassiel. Ugh, I love him. He is so conflicted by his wants, his fears, his upbringing, his culture, and his own self-worth. His character-building is so well done.
Romance: We make some progress, which is good. I love a slow burn, but it was almost getting to be too much for me at a certain point and I was getting frustrated. But then we finally get a scene of Dyna and Cassiel having an honest conversation and letting themselves be vulnerable. I wish we had gotten more though. I am dying to see how they interact now that they know that there is so much more to the bond.
Tropes:
• Long, long, long quests
• Found Family
• A interesting twist on Fated Mates
• "My Wife"
• One Bed
What Worked for Me:
Quick Thoughts: A solid sequel that continues the slow pace of the first book, but also continues the intricate worldbuilding and incredible characters.
Main Character: Dyna. As predicted, we see Dyna's growth in this book both in her power and as a character - although she's certainly not immune from bad decisions and being saved. Her bad choices wore on me a bit more in this book (the ship scene in particular), because by now she should realize how real the danger is (and that she should never be alone, not for one second). But I still see her potential and I continue to root for her.
Love Interest: Cassiel. Ugh, I love him. He is so conflicted by his wants, his fears, his upbringing, his culture, and his own self-worth. His character-building is so well done.
Romance: We make some progress, which is good. I love a slow burn, but it was almost getting to be too much for me at a certain point and I was getting frustrated. But then we finally get a scene of Dyna and Cassiel having an honest conversation and letting themselves be vulnerable. I wish we had gotten more though. I am dying to see how they interact now that they know that there is so much more to the bond.
Tropes:
• Long, long, long quests
• Found Family
• A interesting twist on Fated Mates
• "My Wife"
• One Bed
What Worked for Me:
jessfc's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
3.75
literary_steph's review
4.0
As Cassiel looked at her and wondered why she affected him so, he had no other answer but one. "You are made of magic."
Bonded Fate, immediately picks up where Divine Blood ended with Dyna, Cassiel, Zev and guardians continuing their dangerous quest to Mount Ida. A group brought together because of a prophecy, is a group that is going to have some major internal conflict. Great character development happened here, so I would say that this was more character driven then plot. On their way to their next destination they encounter new friends and foes, magical battles and a faerie revel? Just remember to bring your own drinks and you'll be fine lol. Even though this is book 2, Dyna and Cassiel's romance is still in the slow burn stage (insert my pouty face here) with a heavy dose of glaring, miscommunication, trust, forgiveness and sweet kisses.
While the build up was slow and at times the pacing didn’t quite flow well for me, the last 50 pages or so... I couldn’t stop turning the pages until I’d reached the "oh no this isn't good" cliffhanger. Need book 3 stat!
Bonded Fate:
» book 2 of 7
» multiple POV's
» quest with a dose of danger, adventure & battles
» character growth & driven
» love & sacrifice
» faerie revels
» slow burn romance
» bromance
» new friends & foes
» LotR, Throne of Glass, The Cruel Prince world building
Bonded Fate, immediately picks up where Divine Blood ended with Dyna, Cassiel, Zev and guardians continuing their dangerous quest to Mount Ida. A group brought together because of a prophecy, is a group that is going to have some major internal conflict. Great character development happened here, so I would say that this was more character driven then plot. On their way to their next destination they encounter new friends and foes, magical battles and a faerie revel? Just remember to bring your own drinks and you'll be fine lol. Even though this is book 2, Dyna and Cassiel's romance is still in the slow burn stage (insert my pouty face here) with a heavy dose of glaring, miscommunication, trust, forgiveness and sweet kisses.
While the build up was slow and at times the pacing didn’t quite flow well for me, the last 50 pages or so... I couldn’t stop turning the pages until I’d reached the "oh no this isn't good" cliffhanger. Need book 3 stat!
Bonded Fate:
» book 2 of 7
» multiple POV's
» quest with a dose of danger, adventure & battles
» character growth & driven
» love & sacrifice
» faerie revels
» slow burn romance
» bromance
» new friends & foes
» LotR, Throne of Glass, The Cruel Prince world building
chhimichanga's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
trashconnoisseur's review
3.0
This is gonna be an annoyed review because I'm upset that dumb shit dragged down the rating.
All that's keeping me from giving this five stars is my desperate desire to either strangle some of the characters or slap sense into them. Especially Dyna. Why are they all behaving like immature brats whose biggest problem is the school test they didn't study for.
Need to add drama to somehow advance? Lets have Dyna storm off alone because all the other times that was obviously a good idea and didn't land her in trouble every goddamn time.
Need to drag out the romance some more? Add some more misunderstandings that don't make that much sense unless the characters are made dumber than they actually are. Which results in the characters feeling slightly off and the misunderstandings not even making sense. (Honestly Dyna proves that she has much more EQ than those dumb scenes make it seem during enough moments when she is in even more distress)
But my biggest grime is that the standards to which our fun group is held are different.
If someone is drunk and makes a mistake for which they apologize (and the apology is grudgingly accepted) while the other party deliberately stabs them while sparring and doesn't need to apologize (which is accepted as perfectly reasonable by everyone involved) it really rises my hackles. Same if a character always reacts violently when something annoys or angers them, and it's treated like a normal thing.
Also in case it wasn't spelled clearly enough but this is one of the rare cases where the characters seem really off during some scenes. I would say OOC but that phrase makes no sense when it's only one author writing.
But some scenes really struck me, like
I love the story, but the characters are really trying their best to suck all my enjoyment out of it.
In conclusion: everybody needs some goddamn therapy
All that's keeping me from giving this five stars is my desperate desire to either strangle some of the characters or slap sense into them. Especially Dyna. Why are they all behaving like immature brats whose biggest problem is the school test they didn't study for.
Need to add drama to somehow advance? Lets have Dyna storm off alone because all the other times that was obviously a good idea and didn't land her in trouble every goddamn time.
Need to drag out the romance some more? Add some more misunderstandings that don't make that much sense unless the characters are made dumber than they actually are. Which results in the characters feeling slightly off and the misunderstandings not even making sense. (Honestly Dyna proves that she has much more EQ than those dumb scenes make it seem during enough moments when she is in even more distress)
But my biggest grime is that the standards to which our fun group is held are different.
If someone is drunk and makes a mistake for which they apologize (and the apology is grudgingly accepted) while the other party deliberately stabs them while sparring and doesn't need to apologize (which is accepted as perfectly reasonable by everyone involved) it really rises my hackles. Same if a character always reacts violently when something annoys or angers them, and it's treated like a normal thing.
Also in case it wasn't spelled clearly enough but this is one of the rare cases where the characters seem really off during some scenes. I would say OOC but that phrase makes no sense when it's only one author writing.
But some scenes really struck me, like
Spoiler
Zev not letting Cassiel heal Dyna when she's close to dying. Sure it was because he felt something off about them, but Zev always put Dyna's well-being above all else. Even in his wolf form that's what he is driven by. It made zero sense to read that scene except that it was used as a crippled plot device to introduce the fae.I love the story, but the characters are really trying their best to suck all my enjoyment out of it.
In conclusion: everybody needs some goddamn therapy
sejrgorm's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
neighborhood_reads's review
5.0
This book. This. Friggin. Book. I stayed up late just to finish it and promptly went into a rage at the cliffhanger. Why must you be this way Beck? Why must you grab my heart gently only to slam it into the darkest depths of the sea? Divine Blood ended in a cliffhanger so you thought it was ok to end Bonded Fate in one too?? Treachery