Reviews

The Gifts That Bind Us by Caroline O'Donoghue

allishortell's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

bibliolatteblog's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

alisha33's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny 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

4.0

graceg33's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

shawnaontheshelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

ace_of_spades_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

4.0

fien22's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

firefox's review against another edition

3.0

-1 star because the ending was so underwhelming.

meeganerin94's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective 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

4.5

this was a travel book for me and I was really excited to continue the series.

I did enjoy it. It’s me feeling bad for Aaron that shocked me. However, it wasn’t what I was expecting. It was great though. The storyline is very real to what a high school student feels. Bf moving away, friends not planning on staying, and finding your own in the world is hard.


Definitely recommend

hellobluebelle's review against another edition

4.0

The second book in this series was even better than the first. The pacing was great, the plot well thought out. This book had me DYING to flip ahead and find out what happens, which is a sign of a great nail-biting book to me. I love how magic is portrayed in this setting: it’s a perfect blend of fantasy elements in a modern setting. The friendships and characters feel real, and palpable. The fact that LGBTQ+ subject matter and topics influenced by feminism take such a large part of the story, in such a well done way, is so refreshing. I enjoyed seeing Lily and Maeve build their friendship again, in a realistic way. I enjoyed Maeve and Roe ‘s imperfect relationship- and imperfect is something this book also is so great at.

I’m not sure how I feel about the sudden Aaron redemption arc, and Roe remembering everything that happened again felt a bit rushed and cheesy. Manon was a fun addition to the cast, and Nuala’s involvement with a bunch of kids has always seemed a bit weird to me, so it was nice to have Nuala to bridge that gap a bit. But these are just little issues. Again, I really wished this series existed when I was a teenager- It would’ve been revolutionary to me, but I’m glad it’s here now, and I’m eager for the last installment