Reviews with content warning for Blood - Broken Bonds

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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unboundbooklover's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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bangiebangs's review against another edition

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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.

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doubletherazzle's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Solid audiobook read if you can get over the constant use of f bombs and pseudo f bombs. The plot wasn’t too complicated to track while listening and crafting/multitasking. The writing isn’t great and I agree with other reviews that say there’s a lot of whining, but I don’t think it’s an issue. She’s 19 and got a lot crap going on. I find the story interesting and dramatic and will definitely keep going.

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briochebun's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

3 out of 5 ☆’s.

”I'm playing to win, Oli. This is one hand I refuse to lose.”

ੈ✩‧₊˚

I have heard many many things about ”Broken Bonds” within the past year & I am so excited to be beginning this journey! :)

I want to start off by saying that I adore the premise of this novel — it’s very original + interesting!

While the characters are also intriguing — I can’t wait to delve deeper into their personalities — there were times where they came across as being a bit juvenile? I wish there was better communication amongst all of the characters & not an absurd amount of mentions about things that Oli could never even think to share with her bonds (or the audience, for that matter).

ੈ✩‧₊˚

I am excited to continue the rest of the series & see how all of the relationships progress, though! ♡

Content Warnings

lisashelves's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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_savannahreads_'s review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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