The plot was so confusing and I didn't understand why anyone was doing anything. BUT I kept reading for the vibes, which were great. The sexy and romantic parts were excellent.

Because this is in first person POV, but the story is expanding, as second books in a fantasy series do, the POV is very constricted. Some lazy storytelling devices were used to compensate for the limitation in scope like having her overhear so many conversations and having convenient dreams and prophesies that move the plot along.

I will read more of this author, but this book just lost its way.

Will be published on Forever Young Adult on 7/19/22.

Careful, Sweetie: spoilers! This is the second book in the These Hollow Vows series, so if you haven’t read These Hollow Vows, you should probably hop back in the TARDIS and go curl up by the pool in the library with the first book before continuing.

Cover Story: Misleading

I’m pretty sure Brie isn’t going to let Sebastian get that physically close to her, especially as the novel opens. I find it a weird choice to only feature one of the men in this love triangle.

The Deal:

When we left Brie at the end of her first book, she was having kind of a no good, very bad day. Her beloved prince of the Court of the Sun, Sebastian, had finally convinced her to bond with him, except he left out the part where she would die after it happened and be reborn a faerie against her will. He also failed to mentioned that his interest in her, aside from being in lurve, was because she secretly wore the lost Crown of Oberon. Once Brie realizes she still has access to the crown’s shadow powers, she throws a (completely justifiable) tantrum and storms out of Sebastian’s castle to forge her own way.

She finds an ally in the king of the Wild Fae, who encourages her to help the dying Unseelie court and figure out a way to get the right ruler on the throne to avoid war. Brie has been lied to, manipulated, and tossed around like a worthless pawn, so it’s time she takes the situation into her own hands and makes the tough choices.

BFF Charm: Nay

I was on the fence about Brie during the first book, but I’m putting my BFF charm back in my pocket and casually strolling away after this one. I’m not even annoyed that Brie is the special chosen one, but I cannot abide the whiny, self-sacrificing nonsense she put me through. I know the mark of a good leader is sometimes the willingness to sacrifice for the good of their people, and it’s nice that Brie cares about all the little faerie children, but…like, come on. She’s not bright enough to come up with any clever solutions, so her grand idea is to just suffer endlessly on the behalf of everyone else. No thanks.

Swoonworthy Scale: 5

I appreciate that Ryan didn’t drag out the love triangle too much in this book. I would’ve respected Brie even less than I do if she’d given Sebastian a pass after everything he did to her. The way things play out, though, just got very repetitive and tiresome, and it felt like too much telling versus showing when it came to how much Brie and Finn meant to each other.

Talky Talk: What Happened To The Faerie Fun?

Was it the worst book I’ve read? No. Was it a boring-as-hell conclusion? Yes, a thousand times yes. I’d mentioned before that the story was tropey and familiar, but the plot beats in These Twisted Bonds suddenly felt way too similar to a particular Maas series we all know in an uncomfortable way. And if we lay out the major moments in bullet points…not a ton actually happens in this book. All the twists and secrets were spoon-fed to Brie as she eavesdropped from her shadows and even afterwards she’d ponder, “Huh, I wonder what that clearly laid-out conversation meant?” *face palm* The villain and their ending are so severely underwritten and anticlimactic that I laughed out loud. That was IT? Why spend time creating actual threats, I guess, when we all know we just want to wallow in the relationship drama a little bit longer?

Bonus Factor: Castles

The Wild Fae king and queen live in a castle made of the land, with trees and the hillside and little waterfalls all intertwining and creating the walls and rooms; basically really leaning into the indoor/outdoor school of home design. As it’s a magical faerie world, I’m going to hand-wave away the fact that there’s either no mosquitoes or there’s an excellent magic spell to ward off bugs, so please sign me up for a vacation home in the Wilds!

Relationship Status: Run Its Course

I didn’t see us lasting beyond our second roll in the hay, Book, and…turns out I’ve got excellent intuition. You started weirding me out with your talk of undying love and mind-melding bonds…you’re just a bit too intense for me. Feel free to wait in the driveway for your Uber.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Clarion Books. I received neither money nor peanut butter cups in exchange for this review. These Twisted Bonds is available on July 20, 2022.

“None of us asks for the burdens we bear, but that doesn’t make the way we handle them any less significant.”
— 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙏𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝘽𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙨, Lexi Ryan

Wow. The long-awaited conclusion to this duology did NOT disappoint.

We pick up right where we left off at the end of THV, and lord…the title of this book is spot on because this baby was TWISTED. In the best way. I absolutely couldn’t put it down.

Ryan expanded on the stunning and cruel world she created in THV, bringing us deeper connections between these characters, beautiful friendships and soul deep bonds. She also widened the scope of the myths and histories of the Seelie and Unseelie courts to create a fate of a world that hinges on a band of misfits coming together, making hard choices and sacrifices and compromises to save and better the world they know and love.

If I had one bad thing to say, it’s that the ending felt kind of rushed. I knew what was coming in those final few pages, but I also forgot this was a duology so I guess I expected more? It’s still a five star read, but I would’ve liked those final pages to have been drawn out a bit more.

From the very first page, this was an action-packed story. It was heartbreaking, exhausting, gut-wrenching, spicy 👀 and I loved every single second.

R E V I E W
“These Twisted Bonds” by Lexi Ryan
4/5 stars

I was so excited to be given a chance to read and review this book before its release one July 19!!!

This book was easily a 4 star read. It started right where the last book left off and really took the story to a whole new level!

The only short coming of this book it that everything wrapped up really quickly, it could have been longer or even made into two books in order to give more excitement to the conclusion.

It’s rare for a second book, even one in a duology, to hit me as strongly as the first. This didn’t disappoint AT ALL. I loved These Hollow Vows, and I loved These Twisted Bonds just as much.

The pacing, the twists, the characters, it was all amazing. Hands down my favorite book of 2022 so far. The ending was perfect and how we got there was everything I could have hoped for and more. Without a doubt this duology is going down as one of my absolute favorite reads of all time.

I was provided an ARC copy by Netgalley but my review is one hundred percent honest. If you’re on the fence about picking this duology up DO IT. These characters are going to stick with me for a looooooong time to come.

In these hallow vows we were left of a mind blowing cliffhanger, where Brie had had been betrayed by her hearts first love. In this whirlwind of a sequel Brie finds what it means too be all aspects of her true self both in the light and dark. Those bonds shes made in the past are
tested and she’ll have to decide for herself just who is trustworthy. The ending will shock you both leave you with a feeling of euphoria only the best of stories are told.

I was so excited to read this book after finishing the first one in one sitting. I was not disappointed. Brie is one of my favorite female characters, and I love reading her development and seeing her changes from the first book. I am 100% team Finn, and I loved him in this book. I also loved the added drama because Sebastion and Brie could feel each other's feelings lol. Overall, the book was really well written, and Lexi Ryan is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Clarion Books for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Excuse me while I die over the fact I was gifted an ARC of one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

These Twisted Bonds (which I somehow manage to keep calling These Violent Delights in my head, even though that's a whole separate book. But still accurately describes how it feels to read this book.) is a sequel to Lexi Ryan's These Hollow Vows. To avoid spoiling anything, These Hollow Vows follows the misadventures of Abriella as she journey into the world of the Fae to rescue her kidnapped sister. Throw in the bonus of a love triangle, and love interests that are both dark and handsome and look like a golden retriever. Boom you have These Hollow Vows. With now the added bonus of more sadness and angst of These Twisted Bonds. It's fine. We're all fine.

Am I crying? Yes. Am I sad this series is over? Also yes. Will I forever remember and cry when I think Finnian? Also very big yes. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and cry some more. Mostly over the fact that they hid Finn on the back cover and not the front where he deserved.

These Twisted Bonds was my most anticipated read for 2022 and it did not disappoint! Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black, the conclusion to Brie, Sebastian, and Finn's story should not be missed.

The story continues right after Brie realizes Sebastian has tricked her. The story follows Brie as she finds out who she truly is and tries to find a way to save the Unseelie court. With delightful new characters, a messy, swoon-worthy romance, and plenty of adventure, the conclusion to the duology is a true triumph! The only problem? That I want more of it all!

I was so excited about this book! It’s book 2 and I stopped and did a happy dance right where I was standing. Yay! If you haven’t read book 1 then you have to start it right away.
This was a continuation of book one and it picks up right where it left off. I felt like it dragged a little in the beginning but kept reading. I loved the whole theme of this world and enjoyed everything. It’s been awhile since I’ve felt so torn up about a love triangle. I actually don’t like love triangles, but this felt different. There is so many underlining secrets and politics to the Kingdoms. It’s complicated and interesting and the goal was peace. So I just couldn’t make up my mind about the love interests.
This series is my first for LR and I’m in love with her writing. She writes great stories with precious moments. I hope she writes another with this genre.
Thanks for this wonderful story Lexi Ryan.
Thanks Clarion Books via NetGalley.

Genuinely such a great book and super happy to have received this ARC. It was definitely a satisfying and adorable conclusion to this duology. Brie is genuinely a fantastic character who is trying to do her best by everyone in her life, even when things get difficult, confusing, or just a huge pain in the ass. There were parts of this book where I was on the edge of my seat, terrified of what was going to happen next. I remember audibly yelling at certain parts, and I read this whole book in one sitting. I think that Lexi Ryan could have definitely spaced out this story to cross more than just two books, but at the very least you will feel wrapped up and completed once you finish this sequel. Definitely has reread potential!

I liked this book better than the first one. I thought the plot was better and less predictable, the characters were more interesting, and there were more interesting details in the worldbuilding as well.
The book picks up where the first book left off, if I remember correctly. Bri has become Fae as a result of the potion of life Sebastian gave her after bonding with her and is fleeing the castle, using her new powers to aid her. She works on controlling her powers and shielding her mind from the bond with Sebastian. She discovers that they need to reunite the courts or the courts will die, and that brings her back together with Finn. Several good spicy moments in this one, and like I said before, I liked this sequel better than the first one.

I was so excited to have been grated an advanced copy of this book. Thank you NetGalley and Clarion Books! The following are my honest opinions of the book.
I find it interesting that the synopsis for the book paints this as more of a love triangle than it really is, because Brie pretty much has her mind made up. This was actually a pleasant discovery seeing as there was enough of the triangle in the first book. Finn is as delicious as in the first book.
We meet some new characters - Misha is probably my favorite, delightfully flirtatious. The cruelty of the queen of the Seelie court is brought into even greater light and has no limits. Sebastian is trying to make amends and correct some of his mothers wrongs in attempt to gain Brie’s favour.
I enjoyed the action packed story and the great characters. There were moments where I was on the edge of my seats and others where I was swinging.
Brie comes a long way from the beginning of the first book - from poverty, love and betrayal, to growing into her powers and becoming quite a formidable woman. She is a pretty great heroine - read the book to find out more!
This was satisfying conclusion to a rather enjoyable duology.

If I could give this book more than 5 stars I definitely would. Seriously, I couldn't love these characters more (even the unlovable ones...you know who you are!). I couldn't put this book down...not to to eat or to work (don't tell my boss) or even to give my poor old eyes a rest. I went directly from the first book into this one and, oh my gosh, it was everything I'd hoped for. The adventure, the emotions, the world-building were all on point. And, of course, the characters continued to burrow themselves into my heart.

The decisions that Brie faces in this part of the story are life-altering and she does it with such class, such care for others, that it's quite obvious that anyone would be lucky to have a friend like her or even just have her in their corner when the going gets tough. She goes through so much self-discovery and becomes even stronger than she could ever imagine being. I loved the character growth in this book and the fact that each one had many obstacles they needed to face together and on their own. I won't tell you which prince wins the girl because that's cheating...but I will say that Finn still made me sigh throughout this entire story and I will continue to be #TeamFinnForever!

As I said earlier, I couldn't love this book (or this series) more. But I do have one beef with the author and that's simply...why a duology?!?! That's not nearly enough. I need more of these characters. I need more Finn. I need more time in the Fae realm and in the underworld. I need more Finn (wait, did I say that already?). I need....well, I need more!! Hey, Ms. Ryan...take us back again...please!

This was easily my best read of the year! Everything was great about it. The pacing, the plot, the character development, the emotional roller coaster. I hope Lexi revisits some of these characters in possible future books! The ending was so satisfying and I loved reading about Brie’s journey to learn about herself. Also I loved Misha!!!

“𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝…𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐋𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭."

“𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬—𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞. 𝐓𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫. 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞.”

“𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫.”

___________________

Wow. All I can say is WOW. I think I can actually keep this spoiler free because trust me when I say you don’t want to know a single thing about this book. You want to live in every moment, every twist and turn, as it happens and let it blow your mind!!

The book picks up immediately after the first book’s ending and the emotions are running HIGH. Abriella really does run the gamut of emotions and mental processing, and watching her deal with what has happened while also trying to determine who she is now and what it is that is important to her most is one heck of a character arc!! She was a solid character to begin with but watching her grieve, become angry, become bitter, deal with being a victim, cope with the paralyzing loneliness, and reconcile her past with her future and her goodness with her demons is absolute perfection. I love her, I loved her journey, and I loved seeing such a strong character use such painful sacrifice to make herself unstoppable, and use the weaknesses and darkness within to make herself stronger.

The love triangle continues in this book with ALL of the strings attached but it honestly functions more as an integral part of the story and Brie’s journey as a whole than it does a romantic device. We gain so much more depth to Finn in this book and watch Sebastian grapple with the consequences of his actions and what comes next. Brie does NOT let EITHER of them off the hook though and the emotions that are pulled out of all 3 characters independently and together as they try to navigate this complicated dynamic is breathtaking. The spice stays fade to black but somehow gets even hotter in this book and, in my opinion, tips slightly more toward New Adult than it does YA. So absolutely no complaints here!!

True to the first book, this book will also keep you on your toes and guessing right up to the very end. There were some aspects that were super obvious and plain as day where the story was heading, but again don’t get comfortable thinking you know anything about the story. Things that seem obvious quickly become complicated, things that seem anticlimactic quickly become explosive, and my GOSH if the last 30% of this book didn’t rip my dang heart out of my chest…

All in all I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about this book. This was a perfect and beautiful conclusion to a fantastic duology and if I say it left me wanting more it’s only because I adore and miss this world so much already. I can’t pick one star in the sky…it deserves them all!!

Thank you SO much to Netgalley, Clarion Books, and the author for sending me a copy of this amazing book in exchange for my honest review.

There is so much to process, it’s ridiculous. The explanations we finally got just tied everything together so beautifully. Brie is so skeptical of everything and everyone around her, and so rightfully so. She’s had her trust betrayed in the worst way, and seeing her character growth in spite of that made it so worthwhile. The steam between Brie and Finn was just 😩 amazing. It was deliciously smooth in the delivery and leading up to the big scenes. I loved the new characters and how they contributed to the development of Brie’s story. Overall, it was a little predictable. Only a little, because I didn’t see what would happen toward the ending. I’m not happy with the ending, which is the only reason I didn’t rate 5/5…I needed more. It was too quick to end.

This was hands down one of the best books I read this year. I loved it so much. It gives actor vibes in all the best ways. Seriously enjoyed this so much

Super happy to revisit this world and these characters. A good pace and I enjoyed Lexi Ryan's writing style. I think this moved more swiftly than her first novel. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Lexi Ryan has a way of writing that appeals to all fans of YA fantasy. These Twisted Bonds is an enthralling sequel to the series that ties everything up in a beautiful bow. It introduces new characters to love while keeping the ones you've met but giving you a new reason to fall for them.