Reviews - Broken Bonds | The StoryGraph

Not too bad of a read! I was initially confused in the first half just because we don’t really get a full rundown of Ollie’s background, nor how she initially met her Bonds way back and ran from them?

Anyways, I digress

They all pissed me off but Nox just really took it for me. I actually loathe his character and his slimy ass 😒

Atlas seems too good to be true, FUCK North, and the last two are tolerable

Now, my girl Sage? We ride at dawn for her, whenever wherever. I absolutely ADORED her and Ollie’s friendship. They locked in together fr

The plot wasn’t terrible but at times the writing/characters felt cringey but I think bc I listened to this as an audiobook, I was able to get past it 😭 shout out to the narrator, she curses really good, iykyk

I also DESPISED how trapped they kept Ollie, specifically North. He was so controlling like… 🤨

Anyways, she’s a baddie now that she’s using her powers again so let’s see what happens

maddiescho7's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

draconicmama's review against another edition

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emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Complicated
Loveable characters? Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Where to begin?

I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this. I'd seen it recommended in one of my book groups several times and most recently in one where someone was looking for examples of "rejected fated mates" and since I usually hate the fated mates trope I was even more intrigued.

Let me start off with these young people are seriously broken. Almost every one of them is self-centered to the max but, to be brutally honest, that feels very realistic for the ages they are supposed to be. At least for most of them. I want to kick North in the balls for being the a$$hole he is since he's supposed to be late twenties rather than early and should be a bit more mature. That said, the way fated mates is handled in this book is through magical bonds that are extremely powerful and wreak havok on the psyches of those involved when the bond doesn't get to connect the way it wants to. I loved how magic and these bonds works in Bree's world. It's not overly explained, yet we get a really good feel for it and the world.

Strangely, since I was riveted every step of the way, very little really seems to happen in this book until the end. Most of it is us getting little tidbits revealing more and more of Oleander's past and her slowly (oh so very slowly) developing relationships with her bonds. Now, I will warn you that if you hate the miscommunication trope you will HATE this book. Our FMC genuinely thinks her secret keeping is for the best for everyone and it's brought up on more than one occasion by several characters that she's being an idiot and needs to stop, but she never does. But the men are also equally idiotic. Everyone is caught up in their own perspective that none of them takes the time to see it from anyone else's. This series is six books long though, so I have the utmost faith that we're going to get very satisfying character arcs by the end. I immediately started book 2 upon finishing this one.

Content Warnings

bakingbookdragon's review against another edition

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3.0

The FMC was whiny for most of this book about not wanting to cause more trouble because of her dangerous bond. Her main friend also had emotional issues because of her bond. The story improved later in the book and finally hooked me at the tail end of the story. There was enough tension and desire to find out exactly what made Oli so dangerous to keep me reading, but this isn't a book that I would tell my friends they have to read.

flerks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

queenjemmott's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

shawrysko's review against another edition

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3.0

Eh idk I don’t really like any of them that much. I guess if I had to choose I’d be team Gryphon? But like eh idk. Maybe I’ll continue this series maybe I won’t. Only time will tell.

cancercrybaby's review against another edition

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2.0

i am confiscating the word freaking from this authors vocabulary.

riinacharlottaq's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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