Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Blood Bonds by J. Bree

41 reviews

lauraleahdp83's review against another edition

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Too violent, story taking too long
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readyourrights's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Better than the first two in the series - more dynamic relationships with each character than just main character being mean to everyone. Still some major plot holes and unexplained phenomena in the world I don’t understand lol but sex scenes are good and there’s just enough intrigue to keep me curious. 
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witcheep's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I really should stop trying to give this series new chances. It isn't for me, even if the bonds getting personified and getting interaction as POV chapters is somewhat interesting.

I find the plot as a whole too superficial to really care about. The motivations for the resistance aren't very clear or well-articulated: what are they resisting, if they are represented as super evil powerhungry
torturers, mindwashers, and child-abductors/killers
? The resistance's main role seems to be the BBEG organization that is there to cause shock and horrors. The worldbuilding begins crumbling down when every action seems just like a rushed reaction to something, without the reasoning being shown properly. So much of the reasonings is only briefly mentioned (not even properly told) rather than shown, which makes the plot feel very shallow.

My main icks with the series are the same as with the previous books, though:
  • The bonded group is way too possessive in every way. One bonded would like to lock Oleander away so no one else can even look at her, and another would prefer parading her around to show everyone that she is his. Oleander isn't much better herself.
  • The men of the bonded group try to take away Oleander's agency in turns, and they often overlook the consept of consent completely in more than one area of life. They also joke about it (in the lines of "maybe you should have a gps chip again", for example). The bypassing of consent is represented as somewhat acceptable because it stems from the possessiveness and a want to keep the central bond safe. This is very offputting and problematic to read.
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carsons1996's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I liked the additions of all the extra characters and their plot lines. The story is getting a bit repetitive, but I understand that it’s basically just a vessel for the harem romance plot, which I am kinda fine with. But the ending left me rethinking the entire story… 
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antidietleah's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

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jla's review against another edition

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

4.0

Pretty good plot, just some minor annoyances.   The age of the characters just doesn't do it for me. Griffin, North and Gabe I like. They seem more mature.  I really like Kieran, too.

Atlas is a bit too saccharin. 

I really can't get over Nox and his toxicity, and I'm not looking forward to 3 more books of that.   We get it he was abused as a kid.  I'm guessing one of the abducted brainwashed gifted, but how he can hold onto his opinion of her despite all the evidence contrary is dumb. 

That cliffhanger, though...ugh.
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mj_86's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-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? Yes

4.25

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onyxghost's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

There is significantly more spice in this book but still less than you would expect from the third book in a RH
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ktmcd26's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I am writing this review after I quickly read the whole series and don’t fully know when one book ended and the other began, so this review is more for a series as a whole.

The series has an interesting concept and some interesting scenes, however it suffers from very poor word building an extreme repetition. 

The series very much reads as the books were started without a plan for how they are going to end. So things that are set up in the beginning are ignored or essentially re-written later to make way for whatever the author wants later. One of the biggest problems with this is that the world is extremely under developed and I cannot tell you the motivations for a large handful of main characters. Often times this can be ignored if you don’t think about it too hard, but sometimes it is distracting. 

The series suffers from the same scenes being replayed over and over again. There seems to be a desire to always have these big dramatic moments, but not enough variety or explanation as to the differences. The repetition can also be seen in the spicy scenes and the wording. If I never read the word Bonded again, I think I will be all right.

I desperately wanted to focus more on the interpersonal connections of the characters and not these big threats. 

I also found the immaturity of the MC to be detrimental to the story. I think I would have liked it more if she wasn’t still practically a child. 

Half-way through there is also the reveal that many characters have a sentient parasite living inside them. These beings are not well developed, and that’s just no a troupe I enjoy.
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kmack79's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

4.0

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