dkgreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
I’m into this, but I definitely wish there was more world building and explanations about the Gifts. It got a bit repetitive with Oli so desperately trying to hide her gift and the reason she ran away, and the guys are total douche canoes, but I kinda get it. Also, I don’t trust Atlas. Not sure why, just a feeling I have. Hopefully the next book will flesh things out a little bit more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Bullying, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent and Car accident
ariesdaydream's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
2/5. I hate how much I couldn't stop reading this book. It reminded me of the soulmate fanfics I used to read on fanfiction(dot)net in middle and high school a decade ago.
The writing is so bad. I'm convinced it was never touched by a professional editor.
The amount of times "freaking" was used was ridiculous. You can easily end up in a hospital if you turned how many times it was used into a drinking game.
The story also has that classic misogyny where every female character is an enemy to our precious female main character. Only two women are nice to her, and any other women who are nice are workers under one of her bond's payroll so they don't count.
I'm surprised all the guys weren't written to be lusting after Oli. Her character is a complete mary sue, and it's not even her powers that are the reason for me calling her that. I love overpowered characters! The reason for her mary sue label isthat I'm still not over how after ONE week of Gabe training her she's able to expertly see the flaw in someone's fighting stance. And despite dropping out of high school and simply going to the library during her life on the run, she's able to immediately get good scores in a prestigious college with the help of some studying sessions.
At some points the timeline was weird?Like the training with Gabe was said to went on for some time, but then Oli outright states they've been training for only a week.
The characters are pretty decent. They're cartoonish, in a half good half bad way. Some of the dialogue made me cringe, and I had to skip a few of them.
And that ending was so lackluster. The action kicks up, and then the story is abruptly over. I honestly thought there was going to be a next chapter but nope. That's just the way the story ended.
Unfortunately, this story has something I love dearly, and that is soulmate stories with some angst, plus ones where the person has multiple hot soulmates. I have a huge weakness for that in fanfics, and this is the first time I'm reading a book centered around that.
Some tiktoks have said that the other books get better, and I hope to god that's true. Please! I need this story to be written better.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books. I want to see North and Nox grovel for the way they treated Oli, and I hope to HIGH FUCK that she doesn't immediately forgive them. I am begging and hoping that their redemption arcs are long and filled with juicy rejections from Oli.
The writing is so bad. I'm convinced it was never touched by a professional editor.
The amount of times "freaking" was used was ridiculous. You can easily end up in a hospital if you turned how many times it was used into a drinking game.
The story also has that classic misogyny where every female character is an enemy to our precious female main character. Only two women are nice to her, and any other women who are nice are workers under one of her bond's payroll so they don't count.
I'm surprised all the guys weren't written to be lusting after Oli. Her character is a complete mary sue, and it's not even her powers that are the reason for me calling her that. I love overpowered characters! The reason for her mary sue label is
At some points the timeline was weird?
The characters are pretty decent. They're cartoonish, in a half good half bad way. Some of the dialogue made me cringe, and I had to skip a few of them.
And that ending was so lackluster. The action kicks up, and then the story is abruptly over. I honestly thought there was going to be a next chapter but nope. That's just the way the story ended.
Unfortunately, this story has something I love dearly, and that is soulmate stories with some angst, plus ones where the person has multiple hot soulmates. I have a huge weakness for that in fanfics, and this is the first time I'm reading a book centered around that.
Some tiktoks have said that the other books get better, and I hope to god that's true. Please! I need this story to be written better.
I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books. I want to see North and Nox grovel for the way they treated Oli, and I hope to HIGH FUCK that she doesn't immediately forgive them. I am begging and hoping that their redemption arcs are long and filled with juicy rejections from Oli.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
shaykay's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Broken Bonds! It's the start of this new crazy world, and I loved this first book so much. The first book, and honestly the second one, are my favorite of the series because I loved the school setting. This book is a slow burn and, frankly, a bully romance mixed with enemies to lovers, and I just could not get enough of it. Oli is fantastic, and she went through so much before this book started that we don't even realize it until later in the series when her secrets start to come out. Anyway, this one was a fantastic start to a really good series, and I really want to get a physical set of them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Kidnapping
linaslittlelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Kidnapping
noellelovesbooks's review against another edition
4.5
Content Warnings: violence, ptsd, grief, bullying, kidnapping, physical abuse, body shaming, death of loved ones, sexual harassment, and sexual assault.
Joined a local book club and this was our first book club pick. I've heard from a lot of mutuals that this series was good but never heard any specifics about the series. Going in not knowing anything aside from the back of book description was a lot of fun.
Though she's only 19 I easily related and loved Oli and her BFF Sage. We get good world building and I love the way each relationship with each of the bonds is different but also constantly evolving.
I planned to read this slow...so I could attempt to space it out but...it was so good I devoured it. I was at 30% and the next thing I knew it said I was at 89%...at which point you have to finish. Right? haha
I'll definitely be jumping immediately into book 2 😎
Joined a local book club and this was our first book club pick. I've heard from a lot of mutuals that this series was good but never heard any specifics about the series. Going in not knowing anything aside from the back of book description was a lot of fun.
Though she's only 19 I easily related and loved Oli and her BFF Sage. We get good world building and I love the way each relationship with each of the bonds is different but also constantly evolving.
I planned to read this slow...so I could attempt to space it out but...it was so good I devoured it. I was at 30% and the next thing I knew it said I was at 89%...at which point you have to finish. Right? haha
I'll definitely be jumping immediately into book 2 😎
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Violence, Bullying, Kidnapping, and Grief
love3v07's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Bullying
jen_sten's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Bullying, and Rape
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Violence
amanda_reads_free's review against another edition
This book made me cringe so much. I DNFed with only 100 pages left. I like the concept of the book but it just kept dragging on and nothing was happening. It was just a bunch of guys bullying the female MC. Also all the rape talk right away in the first couple pages threw me way off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
sillih28's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Vomit
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage
iben_flor's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Classism, Body shaming, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Violence, Car accident, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Bullying, and Stalking