These Twisted Bonds: the spellbinding conclusion to the stunning fantasy romance These Hollow Vows

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I swipe the washcloth over my breastbone, ignoring the rune inked into my skin, the sign of my life-bond with Sebastian, right above my heart. Starting off strong with bathing🛀 in self pity mc🧍. Annoying af. The amount of times she said she's "just a human girl" pissed me off so much😑 I adored this. It literally had me crying, not because I was sad but because I was so happy when reading it’ Netgalley – five star review

As I continue washing, I notice the emerald hanging between my breasts. Sebastian gave this to me for our bonding ceremony. It seemed like such a thoughtful gift — a piece of jewelry to match the dress my sister designed for me — but now it’s a cold reminder of his betrayal. I’m tempted to tear it off and toss it into the trash, but I resist. I don’t have any money, and I might need something I can sell down the road.Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was supposed to laugh at that. Since when does wearing dresses mean being controlled? But here comes another thing:

Brie was slightly more frustrating to me in this book than in the first. In this book, we see a lot of repetition in her thinking and her feelings and not a lot of growth. I can see where Ryan attempted to change Brie there at the end, but it felt a little insincere and rushed. Like, Brie feels like the powers are a burden and we hear that over and over again. Also, she is so oblivious to Finn’s feelings even though he tells and his friends tell her and basically, everyone tells her, but she still doesn’t get it.

This final installment really made the book feel much more high fantasy than the first book. Mind you, the main plots are still heavily influenced by the romance but there's a lot more going on than just that such as political intrigue, underworld shananagins, seers with prophecies and past ghostly rulers. Man, oh, man. This ‘male’ (UYTFRTYUIKJHGV) made me want to tear out someone’s eyes and shove them into their ears, so their vision was as muddled as their freaking HEARING. Did this dude not LISTEN when Acidic Waste was telling him she did not want the bond??? My . . . my . . .” he stammers, his eyes darting toward the palace and the dark destruction I left in my path. BREE DID A PRETTY BIG flip-flop from really hating to fae in the first book to wanting to save them all in this book. It worked well into the story so I tried not to think about it too much or else I might like the book less 😆

The barmaid opens the bag and peers inside, and her jaded eyes light up for a beat. Her lips curve in triumph before she schools her expression. “That’ll do,” she says, sliding a key across the counter. “Second floor, last door on the left. I’ll have the maid take up some wash water for you.” The writing was a fail for me too in this specific book, in the previous one? I was like, GO OFF QUEEN. SLAYYYY. YASSSSS. YASSIFY THAT ISH, KILL ME WITH YOUR WORDS, ANNIHILATE ME WITH YOUR METAPHORS- SLICE ME WITH YOUR PARAG- It felt like I’d been counting down to the release date of These Twisted Bonds by Lexi Ryan for ages! It wasn’t *actually* ages, but it sure felt like it (and I’m dramatic that way). This finale in the These Hollow Vows duology was everything I could ever want in a NA fantasy. I will admit this felt like a NA fantasy to me, rather than a YA, but for other readers it probably straddles the line. So what were we promised in this instalment? As civil war wages in the Court of Darkness, Brie finds herself unable to choose a side. How can she know where she stands when she doesn’t even know herself anymore? In this darkly romantic thrill ride, the more Faerie is torn apart from the inside, the clearer it becomes that prophecies don’t lie and Brie has a role to play in the fate of this magical realm–whether she likes it or not. Book Genre: Adult, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Crime, Dark, Drama, Erotica, Marriage, Mystery, New Adult, Romance

In These Twisted Bonds, Abriella must accept her darkness. I really liked the idea of this, because there’s so much pressure on people to strive for ‘perfection’. But in this fantasy? Mab tells her to let go of that control, to let her shadows come out to play. It was so refreshing to read this; we can’t always be good or perfect. And truthfully it’s crazy to expect that we can be! Give me the reality over an illusion any day. So it had to be a happiness boost, because nobody is completely ‘good’ and perfect. I like that Abriella certainly isn’t. Downside: