Book: Fractured Bonds by Lyra Mishon
Reviewed by ThatBookBratBethany 📚⚔️💋
Rating: 2/5
Unfortunately, book three was a little all over the place and lacked any true character development...don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed certain aspects, but I definitely had to push myself to finish because it just wasn't sucking me in. I am going to start with the things I enjoyed:
The parallels between the story & what's happening in today's society. It was obvious the author was trying to tie in evil elite vs. anyone who doesn't fit the mold, & I love this for her. I just feel that the execution was often too petty and lacked any true emotion.
Still loving the academy vibes, etc. It was a fun read, I just feel we should be further along with development in the 3rd book of a series.
Things that really irked me:
At the best of times, Raven has toed the line of being an insufferable FMC. In this book, she took a nosedive into this territory, sadly. The author had all the makings of giving us a naive to badass FMC who fights injustice and makes us feel hopeful. In book 3, she somehow still hasn't developed her magic/control & could somehow kill an all-powerful sea witch & save her 4 mates, but couldn't defend herself in a fight against an academy witch? Thus needing to be rescued by Alar-dick? I know we needed an opening for him to begin his redemption, but this really didn't make sense.
I also found Raven shallow, petty, and just hard to digest in this book. You don't change by telling yourself you're a badass constantly, but then not following through when put to the test. You change through working on it. I also feel like she isn't the best mate - but honestly, the relationships lack depth, so I can't dive into this part. If the plot is going to be lost to spice, the spice should be worth it - but each scene lasted two seconds and made it look like her mates have 0 stamina.
And why is she still at odds with her dang familiar?!?!
The MMCs all lack true depth and personality - they have their roles, and beyond that, we don't get to know them. I mean, poor Kai was tortured and almost killed at the request of his mother, but then he kind of fades into the background. I could actually go into a whole rant about this and how by book 3 and with 4 permanent bonds in place, things should be deeper & more cohesive, but I don't want to. Furthermore, I rarely get upset about books not hitting the mark, but in a world where Academy why choose is becoming overdone, you really have to hit the mark. I rarely give heavily critical reviews, but I really feel by book 3 of a series we should be deeper with eveyrthing and this book was very surface level with too many holes to ignore. It's obvious Vane is up to something incredibly nefarious, but his move isn't made until the last 10% of the book. We get no development of Raven being hell's princess, we get no pushback from the mer queen, etc., and I am supposed to believe that everything will be wrapped in a pretty bow in one last book? I think maybe longer between releases would have given more time to develop the plot in a manner that didn't leave anything to be desired.
Anyway, I am sure many will still eat this up because it's a decent paranormal academy, why choose, and I love that, and I think the author has done well. I just personally expect more depth by this point. Thank you, Lyra & Book Sirens, for this opportunity.