Reviews with content warning for Violence - Savage Bonds

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Savage Bonds by J. Bree

31 reviews

taylormaria's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

i really enjoyed this. it was fast paced and easy to read. i love the authors writing style . this series so far has been so good and the character development in certain people was well written.

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beckyremillard's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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bangiebangs's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.75

I'm really enjoying the extended world-building and slow burn romance(s) in this book. It's pretty well-paced, something always keeps the story going and there weren't really any lengths for me here.

What I didn't enjoy:
- the dubious or nonexistent consent (again); they all seem ruled by their bonds occasionally, and one bonding occurs here where neither of the people involved have any agency over their actions, but the bond still completes.
- Oleander is still pretty whiny and naive. Some specks of self-esteem are showing up but if she and everyone else just communicated... this would be much less annoying.
- What I LOATHE in this series is the body shaming... like, Oleander seems to be conventionally pretty/ have a normal, slim body; throughout the book(s) she starts tactical training (sounds like basically CrossFit plus martial arts), so she gets pretty physically fit. AND STILL there are so many scenes where she just thinks about her body, like why the guys would like her "lean, toned" legs (because how is that appealing, a mystery!), or her belly (that was slim to begin with, and is now even flatter). This is also a book with the "she eats more than the guys and still doesn't put on any weight!" trope (both the FMC and her sidekick best friend).
Like, in the scene after the bonding, we're talking sex haze afterglow... just nope:

"I'm definitely not perfect but he says it with so much conviction that I desperately want to believe him. His hand begins to move to stroke over the soft skin of my belly and I'm happy that all my training has shrunk the little belly I have there. I still have one, probably because it's housing my uterus because, hi there, I'm a girl, but it's not something I'm self-conscious of anymore."

So, a completely flat belly but she needs to explain that organs need space? So over this, and it's the reason that none of these books will get 5* from me, I think. We don't know anyone's eye color iirc, but we have heard about her belly a dozen times. Hard nope.

What I enjoyed:
- some more hints at the mechanics of bonding... and possibility of manipulating it? I'm really curious to learn what is going on there.
- more of the Resistance, though I still have no idea what their goal might be other than terrorizing the Gifted community? But am looking forward to see what all the foreshadowing was about. So far, a confusing but good villain.
- the bonding itself. With my favorite. Here for it! (Spice overall would say 2/5)

So yeah, some issues with this, lots of CNs to watch out for, but still enjoyable.

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vault_assassin_01's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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

4.5

4.5⭐️ I am absolutely devouring this series, the only reason I’ve not gone straight to the next one is because it doesn’t arrive until tomorrow 😩 This series has me in a chokehold, and there’s barely any spice - who am I😂😅

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crgrace's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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lauratector's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

The twist at the end. Gut wrenching.

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laia_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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briochebun's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

3 out of 5 ☆’s.

”If you need me to be the villain in your story to get through your day, then I'll accept that. You're not going to be the villain in mine though, no matter how hard you try.”

ੈ✩‧₊˚

I am so glad that we were able to see some of Oli’s bonds develop in this novel! It was so refreshing to see that some progress was made! :)

While I was happy with most of the relationship aspects of ”Savage Bonds“, there were parts that I felt could’ve been done a bit better.

There were some plot points that I believe were executed quite poorly & could’ve used some more foreshadowing / discussion…

For instance — the strange man that Oli starts thinking of that’s associated with the Resistance? Where was the buildup for that in the first novel? I would have loved to see that miniature plot point grow naturally as the story progressed, but instead his entrance into the plot felt so sudden and a bewildering?

TLDR: I hope that we receive more answers + world building + significant relationship development + better communication in the next one!

ੈ✩‧₊˚

Brutus + August are the best characters in this series. ♡

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catladymeg's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

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koistyfishy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5 Nightmare Puppy Stars ⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️/5

Book 1 was 466 fucks of fantastic….this book only 370…. That is quite a downgrade people!

This is a sequel - which means DON'T read this review if you haven't read the first book because OBVIOUSLY there might be spoilers from book one that are slipped in - I take no blame for this... If you are still reading you do this at your own risk.

Book 1 ended on what we believed to be the worst cliffhanger (you have been warned the one at the end of this is EVEN WORSE) and everything has gone to shit...The WHOLE WORLD basically knows that Oli actually has powers (GOSH, who didn't see that coming!) - she still doesn't want to bond and is a bratty teenager about it and is tortured through exercise. The boys are still fucking insanely hot, moody and pissed off as Oli won't tell them anything but she does get closer to them all - except Nox because he is a pissy enigma of a man....and then shit goes down after people get drunk, have sex, or are just doing normal things like working in a coffee shop.

My worst book icks or turn-offs ALL seem to happen in this book and QUITE frequently...LACK OF COMMUNICATION, chosen one, "not like the other girls", and explosive "firework seeing" first-time sex shit...Yeah, they are all pretty prevalent...there is also a lot of sweating (in the gross exercise kind of way, not the sexy kind of way)

We do get one scene that's steamy and spicy but completely ruined by my utter second-hand embarrassment at the dirty talk... it's like... I need bleach for my eyes after reading this...

“Such a greedy fucking pussy, taking me all the way down like a good girl. Tell me you’ll be good for me from now on, give me this pretty Bonded pussy whenever I want it

Oli is also REALLY immature. She acts selfish and bitchy and thinks she knows best in situations, but taking the world on her shoulders really just makes everything worse. Her saviour complex is probably going to get her killed and quite frankly almost all the relationship drama and angst could be removed by ONE Adult conversation where things are aired out and strategised.

But as much as I didn't like quite a lot in the book, I still inhaled this book and have become addicted and craved to know more about these men and this story. It's like I'm the one in the Bond Haze and I just need all the books surrounding me for comfort and security. I think this is what makes J. Bree's writing so good because it is so easy to devour and enjoy with all the action, angst and drama that you just keep reading.

The BEST THING about this book is the fucking puppies. Those puppies have weaselled their way into my heart, and there is nothing that those puppies will ever be able to do that will make me hate them. I want all their slobber all over me and they can crawl to the back of my neck and nestle in my hair as much as they want. Those puppies deserve to be protected till the end of time. They are the best boys and I loves them!

Basically the TLDR -
THIS BOOK HAD ALL THE THINGS I DON'T like and that make me annoyed BUT I still LOVED it and adored it and am going to the next book - The Draven Bond Men are my new obsession and the amount of Fan Art I have looked at for them scary.....

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