Reviewing A Series || "The Bonds That Tie" by J. Bree.
DISCLAIMER: The Bonds That Tie is an urban, reverse harem fantasy series containing graphic spice scenes.
'The Bonds that Tie' series is about Oli and her life after her parent's tragic death. We follow Oli on her journey as she is captured after five years on the run by the men fated to be her bonded group. Through the six-book series, we see Oli and her bonded grow from enemies to lovers until they all form a cohesive, powerful unit to battle against the true enemy.
The reading order for the bonds that tie series is as follows:
#1 Broken Bonds
#2 Savage Bonds
#3 Blood Bonds
#4 Forced Bonds
#5 Tragic Bonds
#6 Unbroken Bonds
The average rating for all of the books was a 3.5 Star rating for me, so I give the series the same 3.5 Star rating.
I will not give away spoilers during this review and will primarily share my thoughts and feelings on the series.
I will start by saying that 'Broken Bonds book one was not my favourite, yet it somehow gripped me. I did not love book one because our main character, Oli, was incredibly immature and annoying. I feel she was supposed to be this way to cause her bonded group to 'dislike her'; however, it sometimes got a little over the top.
Now that the main issue is out of the way, I have to say that this entire series hooked me. It's not because the writing is incredible but because it's simple and easy to understand, which reminds me a lot of The Zodiac Academy. It gives me a lot of comfort read vibes, and I can understand why some people say they will go back to the series primarily for this reason. The series has a significant theme, and that's growth, which I feel is something that flows well throughout the six books.
The change isn't instant or clean, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and each character took their time to get over and grow from their mistakes and issues. Nothing was the same, and each book seemed to zero in on these different stages of growth, which is entwined wonderfully with the book's specific conflict. Each book ends with a cliffhanger but is instantly picked back up in the next book (There is no dragging things out or pretending that nothing has happened). For this reason, I feel it's what kept me hooked and why I binged the series.
Now, whilst the book starts with only Oli's POV, we eventually switch between the five bonded males ' POVs. I feel this worked well for the series, especially considering the growth between Oli and her bonded throughout the series. For those confused by what a bonded is, it is those paired to be Oli's partners. Society is built with an individual being a 'Central' (In this case, Oli) and the bond to be the partners that will enhance and balance the central's power whilst strengthening their lineage. A central bond group can be female or male, so it's not uncommon to see bisexual pairings.
Although the series is focused on Oli and her bonded, our author is excellent at allowing us to see other groups grow and evolve throughout the books. We get much dynamic and banter between the groups and characters, making reading more enjoyable.
The series isn't all spicy scenes, drama and drool-worthy men; the books get darker and bring more difficult subjects forward. We get to see the adverse effects of bond groups and what power can look like in the wrong hands. We also see how this power can be feared, even by those who control it, and how that can affect their life and mental state.
Overall, I enjoyed the series. Despite some minor issues and the simplicity of the writing, it was still able to grip me (I binged all six books over three days).
I recommend this series to anyone who enjoyed the Zodiac Academy Series.
If you've already read this series, what do you think? If you haven't read it, do you think you will?
