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A review by isi__1
Bonded by Thorns by Elizabeth Helen
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
*sigh* Where to start with this one? I read this because I was in the mood for a simple, short read that wouldn‘t require a ton of braincells. This was advertised as a reverse harem romantasy & I was reminded of my 13 year-old self who loved to watch reverse harem romance anime, lol.
I knew there was a relatively high chance of disliking this book, because I despise a lot of fantasy romance books these days (my 10 years younger self would be shocked).
It was definitely entertaining, I can‘t lie. Everyone immediately falling for the female main character is so over-the-top, but that‘s kinda what makes it fun.
Unfortunately, from a more objective standpoint, there‘s quite a few negatives: The conversations between the characters felt quite juvenile, a lot of the time.
Furthermore, everyone was so horny all the time. It was really (I absolutely hate to use this word) cringey to read about. I honestly can‘t even count how many times the fmc got dripping wet panties just by being in close proximity to one of the love interests, it‘s ridiculous. Also, if I have to read one more time about how enormous one of the guys‘ cock is, I‘m going to spontaneously combust.
There‘s a couple explicit scenes that were so uncomfortable to read about, for me. I really don‘t like 'spice' scenes, because they usually end up making me cringe so much that my brain starts shrivelling up. Why can‘t we simply have a cute, romantic reverse harem fantasy-romance instead of this fuck-fest? Especially because the chemistry between the fmc and the male love interests mostly wasn‘t believable, because they were constantly just thinking about wanting to bang each other.
Lastly, a big gripe of mine was the female main character herself. First of all, she‘s very stupid. 9 out of 10 decisions she made were absolutely moronic. You‘d think a human couldn‘t possibly be this idiotic. Well, you‘d be wrong.
Aside from her just being dumb, there‘s also a bit of a continuity error regarding her character. At the beginning, she‘s introduced as this shy, introverted, insecure, quiet, timid girl. As soon as she gets to the fae lands, it‘s like her personality does a complete 180. All of a sudden, without any rhyme or reason, she‘s bold, loud, stands up for herself, and talks back to these powerful fae all the time. I would have loved to see this character development play out in a believable way. Unfortunately, there never is any development, because she just is like that, all of a sudden. It doesn‘t make any sense. What changed? You can‘t just make me believe that she lived with this mousy attitude for 26 YEARS and then, out of nowhere, as soon as she‘s transported to this foreign world, she turns into this confident, not-scared-of-anything-or-anyone woman.
Having inconsistent characters like this is one of my personal biggest pet-peeves.
All in all, I definitely didn‘t hate my time reading this. I actually was entertained while reading this (at least most of the time). Unfortunately, my entertainment was more of a “this is so ridiculous“ kind than a “this was a masterpiece“ kind.
I knew there was a relatively high chance of disliking this book, because I despise a lot of fantasy romance books these days (my 10 years younger self would be shocked).
It was definitely entertaining, I can‘t lie. Everyone immediately falling for the female main character is so over-the-top, but that‘s kinda what makes it fun.
Unfortunately, from a more objective standpoint, there‘s quite a few negatives: The conversations between the characters felt quite juvenile, a lot of the time.
Furthermore, everyone was so horny all the time. It was really (I absolutely hate to use this word) cringey to read about. I honestly can‘t even count how many times the fmc got dripping wet panties just by being in close proximity to one of the love interests, it‘s ridiculous. Also, if I have to read one more time about how enormous one of the guys‘ cock is, I‘m going to spontaneously combust.
There‘s a couple explicit scenes that were so uncomfortable to read about, for me. I really don‘t like 'spice' scenes, because they usually end up making me cringe so much that my brain starts shrivelling up. Why can‘t we simply have a cute, romantic reverse harem fantasy-romance instead of this fuck-fest? Especially because the chemistry between the fmc and the male love interests mostly wasn‘t believable, because they were constantly just thinking about wanting to bang each other.
Lastly, a big gripe of mine was the female main character herself. First of all, she‘s very stupid. 9 out of 10 decisions she made were absolutely moronic. You‘d think a human couldn‘t possibly be this idiotic. Well, you‘d be wrong.
Aside from her just being dumb, there‘s also a bit of a continuity error regarding her character. At the beginning, she‘s introduced as this shy, introverted, insecure, quiet, timid girl. As soon as she gets to the fae lands, it‘s like her personality does a complete 180. All of a sudden, without any rhyme or reason, she‘s bold, loud, stands up for herself, and talks back to these powerful fae all the time. I would have loved to see this character development play out in a believable way. Unfortunately, there never is any development, because she just is like that, all of a sudden. It doesn‘t make any sense. What changed? You can‘t just make me believe that she lived with this mousy attitude for 26 YEARS and then, out of nowhere, as soon as she‘s transported to this foreign world, she turns into this confident, not-scared-of-anything-or-anyone woman.
Having inconsistent characters like this is one of my personal biggest pet-peeves.
All in all, I definitely didn‘t hate my time reading this. I actually was entertained while reading this (at least most of the time). Unfortunately, my entertainment was more of a “this is so ridiculous“ kind than a “this was a masterpiece“ kind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship