A review by thelongroadtosanity
These Twisted Bonds by Lexi Ryan
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
"There is only one thing I can trust, and that is that no one can be trusted."
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This book concludes the conflict between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Abriella discovers that Bash has betrayed her, and flees the Sun Court, wandering the woods until she stumbles upon a work camp for Unseelie prisoners. Freeing those trapped there, and befriending the Wild Fae King, Bri has to overcome her emotions and discover the truth about herself and the power of the Unseelie Court.
The first book in this Duology has fan-fiction vibes, and that continues on into this story. Towards the end, I definitely felt there was some Throne of Glass overlap. I also struggled with Bri through the entirety of the plot. I felt that she was very, very whiney and annoying and continued to mope about and profess "woe is me, I've been betrayed". It's definitely like that for nearly half the book and I must admit, I would have DNF-ed this solely based on my agitation with Bri's character if I wasn't supposed to be doing a buddy read with coworkers.
The plot is fast-paced, which did keep my attention, and I enjoyed the action and bits of spice sprinkled throughout Bri's emotional breakdowns. The lore and world-building is more complicated in this, and I felt that it was almost too overwhelming at one point until it was all explained later on in the timeline. Once it all made sense, it peaked my interest.
I was not a fan of the conclusion. It felt like there was so much build-up to get to this point and then everything happened over what felt like 5 pages and then everything was suddenly fine and dandy again. The small plot twist at the end was a nice surprise, but I wanted more character development from Bash, Bri, and Finn. I suppose you could consider this a "slow-burn" type of romance with an awkward "love-triangle" troupe if you really wanted to.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed in this Duology. The hype behind the books was so great, especially for those who love SJM, ACOTAR, and TOG (aka ME) but unfortunately for me it just wasn't there. I definitely wanted more from the plot and more from the characters. (07/2023)
3 out of 5 stars
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This book concludes the conflict between the Seelie and Unseelie courts. Abriella discovers that Bash has betrayed her, and flees the Sun Court, wandering the woods until she stumbles upon a work camp for Unseelie prisoners. Freeing those trapped there, and befriending the Wild Fae King, Bri has to overcome her emotions and discover the truth about herself and the power of the Unseelie Court.
The first book in this Duology has fan-fiction vibes, and that continues on into this story. Towards the end, I definitely felt there was some Throne of Glass overlap. I also struggled with Bri through the entirety of the plot. I felt that she was very, very whiney and annoying and continued to mope about and profess "woe is me, I've been betrayed". It's definitely like that for nearly half the book and I must admit, I would have DNF-ed this solely based on my agitation with Bri's character if I wasn't supposed to be doing a buddy read with coworkers.
The plot is fast-paced, which did keep my attention, and I enjoyed the action and bits of spice sprinkled throughout Bri's emotional breakdowns. The lore and world-building is more complicated in this, and I felt that it was almost too overwhelming at one point until it was all explained later on in the timeline. Once it all made sense, it peaked my interest.
I was not a fan of the conclusion. It felt like there was so much build-up to get to this point and then everything happened over what felt like 5 pages and then everything was suddenly fine and dandy again. The small plot twist at the end was a nice surprise, but I wanted more character development from Bash, Bri, and Finn. I suppose you could consider this a "slow-burn" type of romance with an awkward "love-triangle" troupe if you really wanted to.
Overall, I was slightly disappointed in this Duology. The hype behind the books was so great, especially for those who love SJM, ACOTAR, and TOG (aka ME) but unfortunately for me it just wasn't there. I definitely wanted more from the plot and more from the characters. (07/2023)
3 out of 5 stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content