Reading With Tyler

Name: Broken Bonds
Series: The Bonds that Tie #1
Author: J. Bree
Publisher: Self-Published
Format: Kindle (through Kindle Unlimited)
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Noted Tropes: Fated Mates, Reverse Harem, Why Choose?, Secret Powers, Enemies to Lovers (maybe!), Found Family
Spice Rating: Behind Closed Doors (with suggestive language) 🌶️🌶️.5

Rating:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Review:

Pretty sure that anyone who knows me would have questioned me when I said I loved Broken Bonds. It’s got a bit of bully romance, it’s a reverse harem – books I don’t typically go for. But colour me intrigued, because I loved this. I don’t like all of the romances, but I love Oli and her friends and SOME of the guys won me over / were starting to by the end of the first book… Let’s talk about them!

Oli is our FMC, and she ran away from the 5 guys she was bonded too. She was to be the central bond to these guys, and once the bond would be completed – their powers would grow. Each of the 5 guys have a power, but Oli presents powerless which only adds to peoples frustration around this situation – (one of them is a shadow daddy! He’s also the one I hate the most… so we shall see if my opinions of him change). You might think this is odd, or the sign of royalty or something in this world but it seems quite normal… Oli herself is the daughter of a group of four bonded (her + 3 guys) I believe, with her mother being the central bond there – if I remember correctly. So, it’s not like this is unusual in this world.

Running away however, is. Very unusual. To the point where her 5 bonds-to-be hate her when they finally get her back. And it’s this hate and confusion over why she ran away is what dictates how each of the guys treat her… So some of them seem to warm up quickly, others may be warming up by the end of the book, and some still hate her for sure. It’s very odd reading about this kind of a relationship. My mind keeps telling me that she has to pick one of them… then I remember it’s a why choose – she can, and will have all of them… if she actually chooses to bond with them.

Again, totally not my kind of book! But I can’t help it, I really enjoyed this! Some people may say the writing was cringey – but if so then I definitely am too because I saw a lot of myself and my own habits in the way Oli speaks. So, I didn’t see it as cringey! I really enjoyed the pacing of book 1, and the set up for book 2!! Oh my god, I still have so many questions and I am definitely looking forward to diving into the rest of the series so that I can get answers!

I am hoping that nothing bad happens to Sage because I love her. Honestly, her and her brother and Felix all sort of created a found family around Oli which I really appreciated. So, whilst this feels like the beginning of one – I’m excited to see if it turns into a solid found family. I am a sucker for a good one after all…

Yes, I’d absolutely recommend this – but I think you have to understand what reverse harem is, and be okay with the why choose aspect of this. Otherwise you may struggle with that side of things.

“Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”