melissa_rueff 's review for:

Broken Bonds by J. Bree

4.0

emotional funny fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This book is a good example of poly rep but filled with horrid misogyny. Every part of this book is just the main character shitting on women for being feminine or pretty or interested in men. The main character just is just screaming internalized misogyny all over the book. Honest to God I almost didn’t finish the book because it was so misogynistic. I finished it because I like the poly concept, but I really really think that the author  
 is a “not like other girls” girl and that’s really disappointing to me.  Like the concept that you can write about a poly relationship yet you can’t think that other women who are  feminine are not shitty for being so. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

The relationship depicted is severely abusive. I believe the author did that intentionally to create plot points, but the fact that the main character doesn’t recognize and then states the treatment as domestic abuse at the level it is really makes me question what this author thinks is okay. because everything that is happening here is domestic abuse and not even light abuse like horrid treatment is astounding to me. If you’ve experienced any form of like gaslighting, or like control, this might not be the novel for you, I say all of that is a warning because I don’t feel like I was warned getting into this book. I did enjoy this novel it has a lot of fun plot points is an interesting concept. There are redeeming characters, but the fact of the matter is, there’s not enough of a warning how severe the domestic abuse is, and it’s never really touched on even later on in the other novels and nobody really apologizes for the severe severe abuse outside of like “I’m sorry that happened but it had to happen because of the plot points that wr as the character expierenced so it’s excuse” which is a shit excuse and also abuse in itself. Understand me I like this novel but I am warring you it’s a bad time.