Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Blood Bonds

Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Blood Bonds by J. Bree

17 reviews

witcheep's review against another edition

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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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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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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noellelovesbooks's review against another edition

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4.5

Content Warnings: sexual content, kidnapping, torture, blood, body horror, sexual harassment, bullying, classism, toxic relationships, and toxic friendships.

I am devouring these books. Like serious I can't stop. I love the way J. Bree adds characters and lore in a way that never overwhelms you with info. She really paces it so it all feels natural and seamlessly given to you.

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fairyelle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.75

It’s so much better than the last two, way more interesting. We might actually have a plot believe it or not—though there was many long lulls where I was questioning why I thought this book was better, questioning why I was even reading it in the first place and then it picked back up again eventually. Honestly, I think my rating is still far too high because the writing is still not great (though I’d argue it’s gotten better) and the continuity errors prevalent to me as well. There’s also so much wrong with the plot—for example, I literally don’t have a clue as to what the resistance actual plan is?! And it’s not like a mysterious thing that you have to wait for but rather like Bree just didn’t care to share. I’m assuming that part just wasn’t fleshed out. I genuinely don’t know what they’re fighting for. They said something about eliminating all the non-gifted people, yet all I’ve see them do is capture, kill, and torture the gifted—in addition to “brainwashing” them which is literally not explained either?!
On top of this we lack a plot because the bond group is annoying asf and won’t allow Oli to do anything that a normal adult should be able to do.

So we’re stuck without a plan, without a plot, without (very) necessary character development and with our FMC having all her agency taken away. We can’t just have big reveals like the one at the end without a properly executed storyline and it’s a damn shame how good this series COULD be.

The characters are flat too, they do nothing but infuriate me. There’s a serious lack of emotional depth and character development on top of a lack of plot. I do think I do actually believe JBree is simply winging it after the initial Broken Bonds storyline.

This series just reminds me of the way I felt about the Red Queen series—hating it in a sorta loving way? love is a strong word for what I feel though lmao.

I’ve contemplated DNF-ing the series too many times to count but something is holding me against my will with a gun to my head. If the next book isn’t any better and just remains like the other three, I’ll just have to DNF it. Also, hate giving not so good reviews. But I feel it needs to be said as constructive criticism for J. Bree—I’m extremely easy to please so if I have criticisms then it’s something worth considering.

And hey, if you love this book/series I am by no means trying to tear down a book you enjoy (I’m sorta enjoying it too in the most minimal way possible, I guess? I do very much wish I could be in your shoes because I find it not fun for me to verbally destroy people’s writing.

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