overall really solid. it just needs a good copyedit. the story itself was pretty emotional and tense for a lot of the novel, as oli tries to keep a tight grip on herself against her bonds trying to both break her down and (later) try to be gentle with her (well, some of them anyway). 

 Are y'all ready for a different side of me? No but seriously, I normally stick to posting about books I love, but I read a book that has been on my TBR forever and I had high hopes for it. I love the cover and I thought this would be a nice little spicy read. Little did I know this would be one of my most hated books. If you like this book, maybe skip my review? You've been warned.

Yeah umm no. Nope, nuh uh, 1 star. Where are the trigger warnings? I thought maybe it was just because I listened to the audiobook, but nope. I just checked the Kindle edition and there's none. From what I can tell there's none on the author's website either. There's sa, literal sa, in this supposedly spicy book, and that's the extent of the smut, a r* scene. F* this book.

Olli, our main character is insufferable. Constantly whining, complaining and unnecessarily using the word freaking every other sentence. She's 19 but acts like a child.

The book feels so repetitive and goes nowhere. The main character is supposedly super powerful and scary but has to hide it all away and can't tell her fated bonds a single word about any of it. They all treat each other horribly and even the one guy who's decent, I'm sitting here wondering when he's gonna flip. Toxic with a capital T all but the one.

The r* culture just being accepted and acceptable is beyond wild. The fact that Olli is sa'd and the author goes above and beyond to convince us and the characters that it wasn't actually sa makes me so mad. The author could have done something really good with that narrative and spoken to what a victim of sa goes through, but instead gaslights Olli, her bonds, and us.

Among other triggers is k*dnapping, emotional ab*se, physical ab*se, mis*gyny, g*slighting, t*rture, domestic ab*se, cl*ssism, false impr*sonment, conf*nement, v*ctim blaming, and probably a whole lot more I'm forgetting.

On the language side of things, "freaking" appears 179 times, "b*tch" 55 times, "f*ck" 466 times, "sh*t" 181 times, "a*shole" 62 times, "d*ck" 34 times, and "d*mn" 63 times.

Originally this was just meh, like a train wreck I couldn't look away from. I was alternating between 3 and 2 stars. After finding out there's no trigger warnings whatsoever, it's a 1 for me. This may just be my new hated book on the same level as Haunting Adeline. I picked up book 2 from Libby because apparently I like torturing myself. I thought it had to get better. We'd turn around the plot on the r*ist and do something about him, but no. She's just crying over her freaking leather boots she couldn't live without that she lost in book 1. Like what?

Olli is a total mean girl, not a girl's girl.

The only good thing going for this book is that the cover art is gorgeous. So maybe we should stop judging books by their covers. Smh. 

it was waaay to slow for me. basically all the action happens in the last fourth of the book. untill then it is lots of yearning, longing and backstory 

Dark poly/reverse harem series with a paranormal/fast twist are right up my allley. This book has a YA FMC, which isn’t my favorite but I’m willing to ride it out.
The books has a lot slow pacing but follows a day-to-day story telling format. I was expecting more world building but there are several unanswered questions and secrets and how this gifted community functions and the bonding process. It’s a struggle to have a MMMMF reverse harem romance and don’t have basic information about the characters beside their disparate but equally brooding personalities. We really don’t know any of the ages of the bonded except for Oleander. It’s clear that some of her bonded are closer to her age (Atlas, Gabe) while others appear to be older (Nox, North, Gryphon), but what exactly is the age difference if Oleander found out she was bonded at the age of 14 and met them 5 years late? How come we don’t at least know a little about ANY of their gifts when the presence of gifts is such a central plot point for this world? The main characters have the same energy throughout 80% of the book, and for me, it got really frustrating for there to be seemingly no budge, give, or shift.

I have to remind myself that the FMC is 19 and has been on her on for 5 years at the start of the book. Oleander as the FMC is very angst, stubborn, bratty, and secretive. As a result her personality is insistently bratty, and I don’t find her to be likeable (maybe that will chance since this series has 6 books).

Four of the five of her bonds are no better. All of them seem to be operating with a lot of frustration, projections, and mistrust that fuel each other’s disdain. At this point, I don’t find anyone likeable or anyone to root for except for the best friend relationship between  Oli and Sage. Everyone else can keep it. I’m going to stick with this series because the end of the book delivered with the build up. BUT I’m worried about the pacing and what I predict will be some stagnation between the character development and thus the plot. 

Writing 3/5 - some grammatical trip ups and continuity issues with details and plot points. It’s as if the author forgot about some of the details mentioned earlier and slightly rewrote them in a later chapter. I would flip back to re-read and make sure I wasn’t missing something. Usually if I have to re-read a part, it’s a sign that there is an issue with the writing. 

The main character is wrapped in a mystery that just keeps growing the more we learn about her. She is put in a situation where the control of her own life is taken away from her (and it is very distressing to read about it), but she hints that she can manage it and will take her freedom the first chance she gets. I'm interested in finding out what the mystery of her will unfurl into in the sequel(s).

The book left me quite disappointed, though. Mostly I just wish we would have learned more about the FMC's mysterious past and gift in this first book already. Her Bonds are acting very toxic towards her, mist of them restricting her freedom and choises to the extent of kidnapping and treating her in a nearly hostile way even when thwy allow her a little freedom. There is also some university life material that feels unnecessary filler to me: I just want to learn about the mystery, not dwell in the FMC:s crave for normalcy when she clearly is something extraordinary.

I was captivated by this book. The suspense surrounding Oli's decision to run away kept me engaged. I'm a sucker for badass female main characters, and Oli nails that role perfectly. The inclusion of my favorite tropes, like "touch her and die" and forced proximity really enhanced my enjoyment of the book. I also thoroughly enjoyed the slow build up of sexual tension between Oli and her bonds. 

My only qualm lies in the sparse world-building and my strong aversion to Nox Draven.