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A review by loverofromance
Bound by Family by Ryan Michele
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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? No
4.25
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
Book Evaluation:
Plot: ποΈποΈποΈποΈ
World Building:ππππ
Cover:πππ
Hero: π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ».5
Heroine:π¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈ.5
Intimacy Level: π₯π₯π₯π₯
Relationship Building: ππππ
Heart & Feels:ππππ.25
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πππ
Page Turner Level:ππππ
Ending:π§§π§§π§§π§§
Overall View: β¨β¨β¨β¨.25
First Impressions
Bound by Family is the first book in the "Ravage MC Bound series" but is connected to the Ravage MC series and its all part of the same world so keep that in mind. So technically this is book 6 of the complete series. Bound by Family is Cooper's book, in the previous set of books he was a child. Now he is all grown up and a full fledged member of the MC and what a great brother he turns out to be. I love how loyal and strong he is, how faithful he is to his club and family, and how he gets what it means to be a valuable member. And his lady is so different from others that we have seen before. While she is a daughter of another club, she is more reserved and not as kick ass as the other heroines that have been written. She has a kind hearted nature about her but is strong when she needs to be. And she makes Cooper such a great match, but seeing these together was such a treat and had a blast with their story here.
First Line
This life. My life ....is Ravage.
The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Cooper Cruz
Cooper is loyal and duty bound, he is serious minded when it matters. It gets the club and will die for his family if need be. When he commits, he stays true on course.
The Heroine: Bristyl Daniels
Bristyl is kind hearted, intelligent and has a strong will when its needed. But naturally she has a caring heart but will fight for those she loves.
Summary
Cooper is a full fledged member of the Ravage MC, he is young still at 24, and devoted to his family. He has a strong self control that some of his cousins just don't have and he is the voice of reason. Then when he goes on a trip with his brothers to Florida for a biker round up, he runs into someone he doesn't expect. Then comes into the picture Bristyl, who is a daughter of a member of a local MC based in Florida. She lost her mother at a young age, and is working as an accountant. But the MC is making more demands and lowering her status for what she does for the club. When she defends her best friend, she then meets Cooper and thus begins a passionate relationship between them and when her family gives her a painful ultimatum she chooses Cooper to live a full life with, but she has a enemy that could destroy those she loves...
What I Loved
This book was such a whirlwind but such a easy and quick read. I just sped through this one so quickly and I loved every single moment of it. There was something so fascinating about this book and I fell so hard for Cooper and Bristyl. After seeing Cooper as a child in the previous books, it was such a blast to see the man that he becomes and wow he is probably one of my favorite heroes that this author has ever written. He is just so loyal, strong, and well disciplined. I love how he is with his siblings and cousins, he is the rock they are look to for strength and loved his heart. Bristyl is strong in her own way, she doesn't really know how to fight or kick ass at all, but she has a heart of gold and will fight to her death to protect her own. She is so smart though and loved her sassy character.
The story itself as far as the plot being built is so well developed. We have such danger and intrigue that are brought into the story and the author will give you a few surprises in the end that you won't expect at all. I actually loved our heroine. She was definitely my type of heroine. Because her character is so well balanced. But seeing her situation with her family was so heartbreaking. Because her father and brothers are treating her horribly to the point of asking her to be a sex slave for the club just to stay with them. Now as we dig deeper into the story, we see why they are doing that and how they have lost their way where she is concerned and they do redeem themselves in the end. They aren't evil or anything, just highly misguided.
The romance between Cooper and Bristyl is so beautifully developed and I love the focus on the relationship that we have in this one. As much as I love a good sex scene, we need more foundation in a story and the author really does well in this. I adored Cooper and Bristyl together, and their instant chemistry is pretty powerful. I love how dedicated they are together and the ways that they see each other so well so quickly. They act on their hearts with each other not caring what others think. Once they realize what they have is special, they fight for it with everything that they have.
What I Struggled With
There were some aspects that felt a bit off in this one. The way that Cooper's mom (who is Princess from book one of the Ravage MC series) treats Bristyl I did NOT like. She just turned me off at parts in the story. I will be honest, I have never liked her character, she is a bit too much. She came off as hating Bristyl just because Bristyl isn't like her, thankfully, her husband and Cooper puts her in her place haha but still I feel like Bristyl deserved better.
Overall View
Bound By Family is a fascinating and tension filled romance which is packed with heart, sexy vibes and well focused plot to satisfy you!
Favorite Quote(s)
Life will lead you, where you need to be, or you need to men up and lead it where you want it to go
"Love is what binds us all together. We have that, weβre strong. We lose it, weβre weak."
Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, New Adult, Romantic Suspense
Character Types: Bikers, Accountant/Financial Expert
Themes: Motorcycle Club, Family Love Bonds, Dirty Talkin, Danger
Tropes: Opposites Attract, Instant Love Connection
Book Perspective
Multiple POV's
Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Plot Conflict--the conflict in the relationship is minimal, and the angst in the story is relegated to the outer workings of the story.
Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes! I do recommend reading in order if you can. But you don't have to as long as you understand the world. But it helps make the family ties make sense if you do read it in order.
Steam/Spice Explanations
Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Book Evaluation:
Plot: ποΈποΈποΈποΈ
World Building:ππππ
Cover:πππ
Hero: π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ»π¦Έπ».5
Heroine:π¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈπ¦Έπ»ββοΈ.5
Intimacy Level: π₯π₯π₯π₯
Relationship Building: ππππ
Heart & Feels:ππππ.25
Witty/Banter/Reaction of Laughter: πππ
Page Turner Level:ππππ
Ending:π§§π§§π§§π§§
Overall View: β¨β¨β¨β¨.25
First Impressions
Bound by Family is the first book in the "Ravage MC Bound series" but is connected to the Ravage MC series and its all part of the same world so keep that in mind. So technically this is book 6 of the complete series. Bound by Family is Cooper's book, in the previous set of books he was a child. Now he is all grown up and a full fledged member of the MC and what a great brother he turns out to be. I love how loyal and strong he is, how faithful he is to his club and family, and how he gets what it means to be a valuable member. And his lady is so different from others that we have seen before. While she is a daughter of another club, she is more reserved and not as kick ass as the other heroines that have been written. She has a kind hearted nature about her but is strong when she needs to be. And she makes Cooper such a great match, but seeing these together was such a treat and had a blast with their story here.
First Line
This life. My life ....is Ravage.
The Main Protagonists
The Hero: Cooper Cruz
Cooper is loyal and duty bound, he is serious minded when it matters. It gets the club and will die for his family if need be. When he commits, he stays true on course.
The Heroine: Bristyl Daniels
Bristyl is kind hearted, intelligent and has a strong will when its needed. But naturally she has a caring heart but will fight for those she loves.
Summary
Cooper is a full fledged member of the Ravage MC, he is young still at 24, and devoted to his family. He has a strong self control that some of his cousins just don't have and he is the voice of reason. Then when he goes on a trip with his brothers to Florida for a biker round up, he runs into someone he doesn't expect. Then comes into the picture Bristyl, who is a daughter of a member of a local MC based in Florida. She lost her mother at a young age, and is working as an accountant. But the MC is making more demands and lowering her status for what she does for the club. When she defends her best friend, she then meets Cooper and thus begins a passionate relationship between them and when her family gives her a painful ultimatum she chooses Cooper to live a full life with, but she has a enemy that could destroy those she loves...
What I Loved
This book was such a whirlwind but such a easy and quick read. I just sped through this one so quickly and I loved every single moment of it. There was something so fascinating about this book and I fell so hard for Cooper and Bristyl. After seeing Cooper as a child in the previous books, it was such a blast to see the man that he becomes and wow he is probably one of my favorite heroes that this author has ever written. He is just so loyal, strong, and well disciplined. I love how he is with his siblings and cousins, he is the rock they are look to for strength and loved his heart. Bristyl is strong in her own way, she doesn't really know how to fight or kick ass at all, but she has a heart of gold and will fight to her death to protect her own. She is so smart though and loved her sassy character.
The story itself as far as the plot being built is so well developed. We have such danger and intrigue that are brought into the story and the author will give you a few surprises in the end that you won't expect at all. I actually loved our heroine. She was definitely my type of heroine. Because her character is so well balanced. But seeing her situation with her family was so heartbreaking. Because her father and brothers are treating her horribly to the point of asking her to be a sex slave for the club just to stay with them. Now as we dig deeper into the story, we see why they are doing that and how they have lost their way where she is concerned and they do redeem themselves in the end. They aren't evil or anything, just highly misguided.
The romance between Cooper and Bristyl is so beautifully developed and I love the focus on the relationship that we have in this one. As much as I love a good sex scene, we need more foundation in a story and the author really does well in this. I adored Cooper and Bristyl together, and their instant chemistry is pretty powerful. I love how dedicated they are together and the ways that they see each other so well so quickly. They act on their hearts with each other not caring what others think. Once they realize what they have is special, they fight for it with everything that they have.
What I Struggled With
There were some aspects that felt a bit off in this one. The way that Cooper's mom (who is Princess from book one of the Ravage MC series) treats Bristyl I did NOT like. She just turned me off at parts in the story. I will be honest, I have never liked her character, she is a bit too much. She came off as hating Bristyl just because Bristyl isn't like her, thankfully, her husband and Cooper puts her in her place haha but still I feel like Bristyl deserved better.
Overall View
Bound By Family is a fascinating and tension filled romance which is packed with heart, sexy vibes and well focused plot to satisfy you!
Favorite Quote(s)
Life will lead you, where you need to be, or you need to men up and lead it where you want it to go
"Love is what binds us all together. We have that, weβre strong. We lose it, weβre weak."
Book Details (also in my shelves)
Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, New Adult, Romantic Suspense
Character Types: Bikers, Accountant/Financial Expert
Themes: Motorcycle Club, Family Love Bonds, Dirty Talkin, Danger
Tropes: Opposites Attract, Instant Love Connection
Book Perspective
Multiple POV's
Relationship Conflict vs Plot Conflict
Plot Conflict--the conflict in the relationship is minimal, and the angst in the story is relegated to the outer workings of the story.
Recommendation For Reading Order
Yes! I do recommend reading in order if you can. But you don't have to as long as you understand the world. But it helps make the family ties make sense if you do read it in order.
Steam/Spice Explanations
Simmering cup of tea---soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin' by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin' up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.