Savage Bonds: The Bonds That Tie, Book 2

Savage Bonds is the second book from J. Bree’s The Bonds That Tie series, and oh boy, this one knocked the socks off my feet when reading it. Holy crap! If you have not started this series, I recommend you do it soon. The last book in the series releases at the end of October 2022, and I’m so glad I started this series late in the game, so I didn’t have to wait in between books because J. Bree leaves her readers on cliffhangers. I thought the last book’s cliffhanger was a good one, no this one was a big surprise ending, and I’m going to be immediately diving into the third book because of it.Storyline/My Thoughts: What are my thoughts on the second book? This one gets five stars because it kept me on edge while reading it. Oli lives in the Draven mansion, and her bond is acting up even more now since she’s unleashed her powers. She’s having difficulty controlling her actions, especially when her bonds are in trouble or injured. It also doesn’t help when two of the bonds have women around them, and she gets instantly jealous of the women. It takes a few of her bonds, watching over her and keeping her calm, so she doesn’t go on a murderous rampage over those women who try to come between her bonds.Readers will discover what she is in this book, and she’s being called a monster. She’s potentially the deadliest of her bonds, and the bonds should be worried about how she reacts to certain things. I love her character and how strong she is out of everyone. I also love how she cares for not only her bonds but her friends, too. Don’t mess with anyone in Oli’s circle.Atlas won me over in the last book because he didn’t judge Oli for her actions, and he still won me over in this book, but now I have Gabe and Gryphon, who I adore too after reading the second book.In this book, Oli is forced to sleep in a room on rotation with each of her bonds so her bond doesn’t act up. This means, eventually, she has to be in the same room as the Draven brothers. I know that eventually, Nox will change, and I may end up liking him, but for now, he will remain on my poopy list. Although, his shadowy nightmare creatures have taken a liking to Oli, which I found adorable, even if they are meant to be scary. Oli has one attached to her, following her everywhere, which makes others scared when the creature comes out of hiding. North has creatures, too, like his brother, but they don’t act the same, but there was a scene in this book that had me cracking up because of how everyone acted when Oli petted one of North’s creatures. Everyone else is scared of the Draven brothers’ nightmares, but Oli.I liked discovering more about Oli’s bonds in this book and their powers. Each is unique, and I can see why the Council worries about how much power Oli and her bonds will have if they bond completely.J. Bree went into detail a bit on how you find out who your bonds are in this book, which is something I wanted to know when I read the first book. Some things come to light with a secondary character, Oli’s friend, and the dilemma she is facing with her bonds. Oh, boy, it’s a doozy!!!Let’s not forget about the real threat: the Resistance. They are still kidnapping the gifted and getting closer to Oli. She knows she should run again, but that dang chip prevents her from running, plus her friends and how close she is getting with some of her bonds. Oli is at risk of her bonds finding out the truth of what happened to her when trying to hide from everyone.This book has some spice. There’s a lot of tension, too, but there is spice.It involves Oli and one of her bonds, and I’m not telling which one. I felt it would happen because Oli is feeling things in this book that she wouldn’t have felt in the first book since she was hiding her powers.I felt for Oli more after reading this book because of how people treated her after she revealed her powers; now, everyone knows about her. They were judgmental of her, and I wanted to hug her and yell at everyone who was calling her a monster. Thankfully, her bonds, especially Atlas, Gryphon, and Gabe, will not tolerate someone talking about Oli in a derogatory way. North and Nox, not so much. North may be winning me over towards the end of this book, but again, Nox, I don’t like you right now. I only like your shadowy creatures.When an author such as J. Bree can make me pick and choose from the characters she writes in her books on who my favorite is, I know I’m going to be in for it later in the books. She’s going to make me do a 360, isn’t she? I’m going to end up loving the Draven brothers more, aren’t I? Okay, I’m prepared for it because I love morally grey characters that win me over, eventually. Right now, Atlas is still my favorite.Overall, I give the second book in the series five stars, and I can’t wait to read where J. Bree takes me next in this series. Will my heart survive it?Standalone or Part of Series: It’s part of The Bonds That Tie series, and I recommend reading in order.Trope(s)/Element(s): Fated Mates – Originally Rejected. Slow Burn. Touch Her and I’ll Unalive You. Touch Him and I’ll Unalive You, Too. Forced Proximity. Enemies to Lovers. Praise.Trigger(s): Unaliving. Violence. Bullying.Cliffhanger: Yes.Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you enjoy NA Paranormal Romance with Reverse Harem/Why Choose, this book/series is for you.Favorite Quote(s): I feel like if I murdered this man right now, I could argue my case in court and have it be counted as justifiable.“If you burn, I burn with you. You’re not alone, Oli, not for one second. I told you before, I’m not afraid.”“You’re in so far over your head, she’s going to eat you all alive and I’m going to enjoy the show.”

Ok yet again this book was amazing!!! We finally got some smut and we got some more character development and building relationships between Oli and some of her bonds.I yet again read this book in under 24 hours I just could not put it down. There were so many scenes that I was laughing out loud and just loved all the characters. Some spoilers to come so continue reading if you dont mind spoilers!************Ok so I had so many favorite scenes in this book and we also learned so many new things about Oli and even though you learned new things that we were questioning in book 1 we now have more things that need to be answered from the end of this book.So some favorite scenes...1. Oli now has one of Nox's nightmares. Little Brutus! I just love him!!!2. Oli needing to smell all her bonds so Gabe stole clothes and pillows from them all for her3. She is now on a sleeping schedule with all the guys and my favorite moment of her sleeping in their rooms was with Nox. I loved that all his nightmare creatures came out to sleep around her and she overheard North and Nox's conversation.4. When North thought one of his nightmare creatures was about to attack Oli and she put him in his place and now kind of has another nightmare puppy. August! And everyone was in disbelief because North's nightmares are rabid!5. Oli bonding with Gryphon <3 I was so happy! And then North busting in the room hahaha6. North helping Oli when Sage calls her in a panic and letting August out to help her as well when she asked7. North ordering coffee for Oli and Sage and knowing Oli's exact crazy order.This is my current ranking of the boys from my favorite to least currently...1. Gryphon: I just love Gryphon! I am so glad that he was her first official bonded. I also love that he pays attention to Oli's needs and sticks up for her when other girls are around like North's secretary and puts a stop to Nox bringing random girls to dinner2. North: It is very hard for me to pick between him and Gryphon right now especially how North was at the end of this book. I think he is finally seeing that Oli isnt some brat kid who ran away from her bonds and I hope they can figure things out soon!3. Gabe: It is still hard for me to see Gabe as a love interest because I see him as a best friend for Oli and a little brother to all the other bonds, but I really like how things are going with him and I hope to start seeing a different side from Gabe other than just the boy next door.4. Atlas: So I do enjoy Atlas and appreciate that he is always there for Oli and on her side, but now that it was revealed his family is part of the resistance and his father was there at the end of the book when Oli again is captured by the resistance, he has some serious explaining to do!5. Nox: We still have not seen much from Nox to be able to understand why he is the way he is with Oli when all the other bonds seem to be able to move past her leaving them so I am hoping we get to see more of him and Oli in the next book and I have a feeling I will end up loving their relationship!So overall I am obsessed with this series and can not wait to see how book three brings to us!

Why is J Bree’s writing so addictive??? I just can’t help but binge them all. And still I’m kicking myself in the butt for putting the series off for as long as I did. I am also grateful I did at the same time. In this book we learn more about bonds…Oli’s bond and the men who are intended to be her bonded. I still dislike Nox immensely and North makes me really mad…the brothers are just a holes… Oli is not in the mansion/house with all of her bonded. We also learn how the individuals find out how the FMC and the MMCs find out who their bonded is.I love the development of the character. Also, because of Oli’s bond she now has to sleep in the same bed individually with each of her bonded…what a hardship. I will say at this point I have read all of the books in this series. I read them so fast that sometimes it is hard for me to keep them separate in my head. But that tells you how much I love this series. Keep on reading and enjoy becuase I know I did ;-).P.s. hope you love the cliffy

So I was kinda dipping my toes into the water withe this series. And so far I'm loving it. Oli is a central bond to 5 high tier gifted guys. She ran away from her bonds before they even met her, on the grounds of trying to protect them and the world. She refuses to use her gifts and fights against the bonds and gifts, but her bonds had her hunted down and brought to them. This story evolves as we have each of their relationships grow and change from enemies to friends and maybe more. So far there has not been but 2 episodes of bedroom type scenes, so I'm hoping for it to not get too wild in the next books. Cause I do love the series story so far.

So the mild cliffhanger at the end of the first book is addressed straight away, but the cliffhanger at the end of this book...well, just beware it's a mind-blower! That being said, please don't wait to read this book until the next one is out; they're so good they deserve love and attention straight away.This book really gets to grips with Oli and her guys. We learn more about the backstories of each of them and what their individual powers are. We learn more about Sage and her relationships (towards the end this story thread becomes so intriguing and possibly relevant to Oli!! Ahhh no spoilers are hard!) Nox and North both provide wonderful companions for Oli (who also have deeper relevance I'm sure) in Brutus and August, the best and most adorably savage shadow puppies EVER ❤)I've seen it said that Oli behaves immaturely for someone who supposedly took care of herself on the streets for years. Yes, Oli had to look after herself, but also...she had never had 5 alpha males to deal with! She'd never been close to any men or had any male role models that we know of after her dads died. Her confusion and awkwardness regarding her Bonds is perfectly understandable in my opinion. It's new territory for them all, and J Bree does a wonderful job of showing their struggles.It's true, a lot of the main action happens towards the end of the book, but the emotions and daily lives of the characters are nothing to be sneered at! J Bree always has a reason, and I believe the smaller details could be key to the future plot points so I devoured every tiny bit I could! Get your flowcharts ready! Prime your whiteboards! Keeping track of all of the breadcrumbs is such fun with these books!There are still so many things unanswered and so many possible theories that I'm unbelievably excited for the next books, still 4 to go and so much could happen!

You could skip this book and jump straight to the third in the series without actually missing out.Whilst a reader often builds their own expectations waiting for a follow up book (difficult to reconcile with what the author delivers) very little actually happens in this book not even great character development or explanations. It feels like a place-holder for the third book which I will be buying, but probably won't be waiting for with quite the same level of enthusiasm.There are two biggish plot reveals in the last couple of chapters both signposted in the first book: the villains are too well-organised so there has to be a traitor or two be found.The world building is based on genetic "bonds" basically the fated mates trope but somehow the process has failed. Whilst the female lead is bitterly blamed for abandoning her bonds, her best friend's bond is getting absolutely no shame for doing exactly the same thing.

Savage Bonds picks up where Broken Bonds ended. Oli gets taken by the resistance when she has gone after her friend Sage. Things happen that result in Oli using her gifts that she has gone to so much trouble to hide.In Savage Bonds we start to learn more about all of the powers everyone has and a little more about how the bond works and is affecting Oli.I love that Oli starts getting closer to all of the guys, apart from Nox who is still a 🍆. There is more to Nox than we know at this point??Her guys are starting to understand that there was a reason she ran and that it wasn't because she wanted nothing to do with them.It is lovely to see them all (well, nearly all) starting to show their feelings for her. It's also great to see how they begin to respect her more and take care of her, especially when they realise how much her bond needs them, and they start giving her clothes that smell of them so she can feel close to them. They could easily try to force the bond, but they don't.And what can i say about Brutus, Nox's shadow puppy, that has taken a liking to Oli and spends all its time hiding in her hair. He is easily one of my favourite characters.In this book we also learn more about how things work within the gifted community itself.This book ends with a cliffhanger, of course, and leaves a lot of questions that need answers

In this book we have Oli and her bonds trying to find ways to appease Olis bond without the need for sex. Which would be fine if they didnt use this as a way to override her own thoughts and feelings. As it is they already decide everything for her down to what she eats. But then deciding whose bed she will sleep in and when is going a bit far.. especially when one of them doesnt want her there.The scene that really turned my stomach and put me off this book is Oli finally bonding. A scene I was orginally looking forward to since we all knew it would happen eventually.But the way it happened.. without her consent..without the other party even trying to see sense and maintain control himself, or question her personality change, when she was so against bonding earlier.The way he so brutally went about it. Then he usea that newly created bond to pry into her mind, into her most private thoughts and allows her no privacy. It was bad enough her other freedoms were restricted. Now this.Also he was so undeserving of her, if it had been Atlas or Gabe.. it wouldve made more sense. They've been supportive and caring of her for months.. and they wouldnt have gone about it like that. Neither was he apologetic about what he has done, but proud he beat the others to the punch. Despite the fact she never actually chose him.The person it ended up being blows hot and cold.. and while he has his caring moments it was nothing it comparison to Atlas and Gabe.She was embarrassed seeing them afterwards and so she should be. The treated her like gold..and she put them on the backburner.SPOILER ALERT, she does that to those two for a long damn time. Too long.Was such a disappointment to a built up moment and didnt really interest me to care about their bond. Really spoilt this book for me. So while Ive read the whole series Im gonna imagine that scene went differently.

The worst thing, absolute worst thing... is the plot is god dam awesome! Honest to god amazing! It is just such a shame the character development and story progressions crap AWFUL. Oli isn't a bad ass her bond is. She spent the whole of the first book being mentally and verbally abused by her bonds, like they have some god given right to her, to own and control her and then suddenly shes bonded to one of them and can't go anywhere without wearing some of their clothing and has to sleep in their beds on rotation... pathetic! She stops Nox from bonding with her when he sexually assaulted her in the first book but can't cope with a little perfume!! This is domestic abuse at its finest an abuse of power and control by most of her bonds. If I didn't have kindle unlimited I wouldn't read any more, but I'm in this now and I know I am just going to keep getting disappointed. J Bree wrote Handford prep for christ sake, I know she can write amazing FML so why is Oli character development failing so miserably?!?!?