Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Blood Bonds by J. Bree

3 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Sexual content, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, and Bullying

Minor: Vomit and Gaslighting

laurenjackman's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, Death, and Domestic abuse

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-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

5.0

Ummm k. Cliff hanger much? Good thing all 6 books are on KU so I don’t have to wait, cause that ending has my head spinning. Are their human shifters? Like people who can look like others in J Bree’s world, cause if not i need answers asap. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Body horror, Sexual content, Violence, Classism, Murder, Torture, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Mental illness

Minor: Stalking, War, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Abandonment