j bree – Goodys.Blog

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

After three years on the run, I’m back in a Resistance camp, chained to a chair as the resident monster.
Everything I ran from, all of the villains of my past, they’re all here to take another bite out of me. But this time, I’m not alone.
With my Bonds desperately trying to reach me and new friendships I never expected, I start to believe that maybe I won’t become the weapon they want me to be. Maybe I’ll be a monster of my own creation.
When loyalties are questioned and Bonds are tested, everything I thought I knew gets turned upside down. Who are my friends, and who are my enemies?
Are Bond ties stronger than blood?

*Blood Bonds is a full length reverse harem PNR novel with material that may be difficult for some readers. This book will end on a cliffhanger. It’s recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations.

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Well suddenly North Draven completely flips my perception of him with this book! Its incredible to see how from one part of the series I can’t stand the guy, then BOOM suddenly I’m obsessed with him like so many other fans of these books…

This book once again continues exactly right off the cliffhanger ending that the previous books gave us, and it definitely starts off with a darker tone as Oli is actually once again a prisoner in an enemies’ war camp. To make things even worse, she has to come face-to-face with a evil face from her past whom she’d hoped to never see again…

She’s also trying to once again keep her bonds safe by blocking them out from her mind the whole time she’s there, so they can’t be discovered and hunted down. Anything past this point with describing the plot would just be spoilery, so I’ll try to just stop there!

There are some major highlights from this book and this series seriously gets better and better with each addition! Like I’ll admit I wasn’t crazy about book 1 while reading, but now I’m totally seeing it and am gabbing away with my fellow book lovers over which of the guys I like the most and how badass Oli is!

What I Liked:

Oli’s “Other Side!” Oli’s bonded side is a dark, stone cold BITCH and I love her…like actually though I’m totally straight for her. I love the contrast between Oli and her because they’re polar opposites and I love a monster/dark character who sneaks out like that and takes over, kind of like a Jekyll/Hyde sort of thing. It was an interesting concept to learn about the bonds this book is that they have another being when they flip over to their bonded side (aka their eyes go demon black or pitch white). I didn’t know there was a second person in there with them.

North Draven! North totally flipped my perception of him this book and he’s now a total book boyfriend addition I’d be happy to include in my extensive harem. Sure, he’s way overprotective and it gets annoying after awhile, but how his relationship with Oli develops in this book was just so chefs kiss with how he helped her and kept her safe

That Cliffhanger Ending! J Bree is getting better and better with these killer cliffhangers she tosses out at us, and this one seriously had my jaw drop! Like I seriously didn’t see it coming and I’m so curious to see how she explains it in the next book!

The Spice! This series gets better and better with each book and a huge reason for that is because the spice rating is going up up UP as well! Like DAYUMMMM especially goes to Gryphon and North!

Kieran and Oli’s Event! I like that these two kind of bonded (not in that way) at the beginning chunk of this book and grew a mutual respect for each other and even though there’s still some tension, there’s a reluctant understanding there now that I can really appreciate.

What I Didn’t Like:

Nox Continues To Be A D-Bag…I’m still failing to see what others see in him, he’s kind of a POS still in my opinion…I’m (im)patiently waiting to see why he’s some of my book friends’ favorite, cuz gurrrllllllll……we need to talk about your preferences.

A Lot Of Side Characters Get Short Shafted…What happened to Sage and everyone else who isn’t Oli or her bonded? It felt like they just disappeared in this book which then makes me question their importance to the overall series? I could just be being extra judgey about it, but I also give side-eye when there’s a plethora of side characters and they only show up for a scene or two and in all honesty, the book would be fine if they got edited out.

The Pacing Continues To Have a Slow Midpoint…Please refer to my previous reviews for this one because it’s essentially the same. BUT, and its a pretty nice butt, the spicy scenes make it a lot better too!

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Mine. You’re mine. No one will hurt you again. Not me, not the others, not anyone. The shadows cannot harm you, they belong to you, as I do. We all do.”

– J. Bree, “Blood Bonds”

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Conclusion:

Overall, book three is the best of the bunch so far! We meet the big bad villain, the spice picks up, and characters and relationships are developing very nicely in my opinion. Sure, the pacing isn’t perfect still and this will be consistent with the rest of the books, but I’m so invested in the characters and what might happen that I can overlook it for the most part.

Like I said above, I’m defs going to be reading on and seeing what else can possibly happen, plus the other boys need some lovin too and I want to be there when it happens….yeah I said it, and I don’t care how weird that sounds! I am HERE for the spice….Spice is LIFE!

Publish Date: June 28th, 2021
Number of Pages: 423 Pages
Publisher: Independently Published
Genre(s): New Adult Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy

Total Star Rating: 3.75 Stars

Or, I guess, she just wears her damage where we can all see it. I bury mine as deep as I can, as far down below my skin as possible, so I can pretend it’s not killing me slowly, painfully, constantly.”
– J. Bree, “Broken Bonds”

What It’s About:

The official synopsis:

After the death of my mother and her Bonded, I was relieved to find my own Bonds.
I was sure everything would be okay if I had them.
It wasn’t.
The fate of our people is in my hands and I know we’re better off if I’m alone.
After five years on the run, I’m caught and dragged back to face the men I ran away from.
I thought I was doing the right thing.
Now, I’m not so sure.
North, Nox, Gryphon, Atlas, and Gabe may never forgive me but one thing is for sure.
I won’t ever forgive myself.

*Broken Bonds is a full length reverse harem PNR novel with material that may be difficult for some readers. This book will end on a cliffhanger. It’s recommended for 18+ due to language and sexual situations.

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Okay, this is a series that has been recommended to me for so long now, and it’s become a crazy popular book series amongst my social circles in the book community, so it was naturally only a matter of time before I started them myself…and for the most part, I’m happy I did! It’s only the first book in a 6 book series I have to remind myself, so while I see the potential in the story and the characters, it’s not quite there yet for me…

BUT, and its a pretty big but, I try not to judge a whole series based off just the first book—Throne of Glass and ACOTAR are both an excellent example of this—so I’ll have to keep reading on to really be able to judge!

These books have been described as like a reverse harem X-Men and yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description of it, just less comic-book style with the superhero names and the matching uniforms, and more gothic with a mix of X-Men and that 2006 movie, The Covenant, starring Steven Strait, Taylor Kitsch, and babies Sebastian Stan and Chace Crawford. Needless to say, but I’m digging the books based off these comparisons alone!

The story revolves around Oleander (love the unique name btw) or Oli for short, and she lost her parents at age 14, and its now 5 years later where she’d been found running from her own bonded for some reason we don’t know about. She ain’t saying anything to anybody, not even her 5 hot potential bonds who found her, and are all freakin’ pissed she ditched them all. They literally drag her ass back to Draven University where other bonded and their mates go to train and strengthen their abilities, and this first book is about her finding her place in this new surrounding, keeping her secrets, and figuring out who she can trust, and if they’re all truly safe from who’s hunting her…

Not too much to report other than what I have below on what I liked and didn’t like, but I can say I want to keep reading on to see how things play out, and not just because I have the urging from many bookstagram friends, I’m genuinely curious myself!

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He has no idea of what I’ve sacrificed for him.”
– J.Bree, “Broken Bonds”

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What I Liked:

The Mystery Surrounding Why She Ran Away! While a lot of the writing is pretty straight forward and easy to follow, one thing that really drives the story is the mystery surrounding Oli before the start of the story and she’s found by her bonded: where was she? what was she doing? who was she with? why was she trying to stay hidden? why did she run away in the first place? We don’t know any of these answers even after reading the first book, but there’s plenty of hints that wherever she was, it was nowhere good.
Oli is, Like, Scary Powerful! I love a badass, strong lead female character, and Oli is another one to definitely add to the list. She’s a great character, flawed and unapologetically herself, and you find out in the story that she has some wicked powers that she has to keep hidden because it will “bring destruction to them all” like its not a big deal…I’m definitely curious to see what happens here!
A Lot of Favorite Romance Tropes! We got forced proximity, bully romance, grumpy/sunshine, alphamales, touch her and die, reverse harem, protect her at all costs, and I’m actually just here for it all…like I’m actually asking God when is it my turn to have my own RH???

What I Didn’t Like:

There Was Hardly Any Romance…The spice was like a shriveled up half a pepper for this one unfortunately. I get it though, this book is setting the scene, and the guys are all pissed at her for ditching them and then they couldn’t get their massive power ups to stroke their dicks I MEAN EGOS! whoops!!!! But yeah, the romance was flippin’ nonexistent in this one and its a REVERSE HAREM…there’s 5 dudes and not one of them got any action! Not to worry, I am told good things come to those who wait with these.
Pacing Really Slowed Down In the Middle…As this book feels very character-driven in terms of plot, if you’re not feeling the characters by the midpoint, you’re gonna struggle. It gets a bit slow with the tedious and (kinda) childish mean girl drama, the bonds all being pissed at her, and Oli just being Oli which isn’t a bad thing, but she’s keeping secrets and she ain’t opening up quite yet…
I’m Hoping for More Worldbuilding…I want to know more about the history or lore of the bonds and like why they are around, how they came to be
Nox Draven is a DOUCHE…Well and so is his brother North in all honesty…they can choke. Nox just seems so petty and immature, and that’s coming from ME…Nox’s behavior doesn’t strike me as a college professor, so I’m sorry to say Lance Orion he is NOT.

Conclusion:

Overall, I liked but didn’t LOVE this book, but it’s also the first book in a 6 book series that everyone says is a giant slowburn, so I can’t judge too much about what didn’t happen. What I did enjoy was the cast of characters and the whole cast dynamics, the mysteries surrounding Oli and where she was, and the sexual tension that is peaking out from beneath the covers and (hopefully) wants to come out to play sooner rather than later!

I’m not wholly convinced yet, but I can definitely see hints of why so many of my inner circle of the book community consider this one of their favorite all-time series! Let’s hope I can soon join them…

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell