I adored this. It literally had me crying, not because I was sad but because I was so happy when reading it and I never wanted it to end. It gave me all the Finn and Abriella I could ever want. The plot had more of a flow and progression to it than the last, and it was less predictable. The way it flowed and developed just seemed to make so much sense and be routed in well placed hints throughout, not just randomly thrown in logic. The writing was so readable, I never felt info-dumped on, or unsure about the way their world functioned. It was just so well weaved together.
The characters were all exquisite. I love their friendships. There was still a lot of ACOTAR style overlap which I adored. I could have read more of Finn and Abriella forever, they were just so precious together.
Definitely going to be one of my favourites of the year.

This book picks up right where These Hollow Vows ended, Abriella has been betrayed by Sebastian the Seelie Prince and flees the Seelie court. On the run she encounters the Seelie slave camp and with the help of a stranger manages to free the Fae enslaved. The stranger turns out to be the Wild Fae ruler Misha who takes Abriella in and offers her shelter and a chance to heal. Revelations occur when it is discovered that the unseelie realm is dying and Abriella sets out to help. Finn and Sebastian have other ideas and are constantly battling with one another over Abriella's affections.

I loved this conclusion. The introduction of the character Misha offered some humor to the book where in parts could be seen as very Dark due to some of the themes in the book. Flirting and teasing make the beginning of the book so much more interesting. I love Finn and by the middle of the book I just wanted to give him a big hug. Finn isn't perfect by all means, but as more of his past is unveiled I found myself routing more and more for him to win Abriella's affection over Sebastian.
Now this is where is found this book difficult to deal with....... Sebastian.........
I get that he was the main love interest in the first book but after his deception is revealed I really really started to hate him, and found it difficult to find any redeeming qualities. The character whether intentionally or not comes across as very emotionally abusive towards Abriella.
I really hated his character in the book and at times I wanted to throw the book across the room.

This book gives me a lot of SJM vibes and Overall it was very enjoyable, but lost a few stars purely because of Sebastian.

Couldn’t have asked for a better end to this duology!

Some bits were predictable and very reminiscent of other fae books, but honestly this duology is straight up so entertaining and I loved every second.

This was probably my most anticipated sequel and I couldn’t wait to catch up with Brie, Finn and Sebastian especially after the way These Hollow Vows ended. It was so easy to be fully immersed in this fantasy world that Lexi Ryan created. There are scheming and underhand manoeuvres that had me wondering what would happen next. Along with rooting for Brie to make the right decisions. I love how she isn’t the perfect character, she definitely has flaws but I couldn’t help but care about her.

The pacing was great throughout and the chemistry between certain characters (no spoilers) was for me perfect. I loved them together and was so happy with the ending.

These Twisted Bonds is now a firm fantasy romance favourite of mine. In fact both books are brilliant and well worth a read!

Headlines:
Thrones and shadows
Angsty ride
Three-way connections

I liked book one but I didn't completely love it. I'm happy to report that These Twisted Bonds upped the stakes in my enjoyment and it was a gripping read. I think maybe I was more settled in this world of complex allegiances and I finally found where to set my loyalty to the characters and couple potentials.

The MC Ariella caught and kept my attention more. I liked her character development a lot, I found her more centered and more considered in her decisions. She dealt with the power bestowed on her much better than I thought she might at the end of book one.

The romance element of this duology is messy and yet I got into it a lot more with this second installment. I quickly knew where I wanted this to end up and I loved the angst involved in this relationship. I came to realise who these two potential love interests really were which was part of my frustration with book one. So...result!

I'm catching up on netgalley reads, so while this is a late arc review offering, it's been worth going back to find this gem. A worthy finale.

Thank you to Hodderscape for the eARC.

This was such a great way to finish off the These Hollow Vows duology. It wrapped everything up nicely and I still adored the relationships as well as the character connections.

I can't wait to see what Lexi Ryan writes next.

I loved These Hollow Vows and I wasn’t sure if These Twisted Bonds could top it. But it did! I loved this book so much and it felt like the perfect conclusion. Although, I definitely wouldn’t complain if I got to see more of this characters (please).

‘Whether you know it or not, you are a gift to that court. Stop thinking of yourself as a curse.’

These Twisted Bonds picks up right where the first book ended. Brie has woken up fae and flees the palace after feeling betrayed by Sebastian. She ends up at one of the Unseelie camps in the Wild Fae lands and finds an unlikely ally in Misha, the King of the Wild Fae. Misha takes her back to his palace and helps her fortify her mind against the bond with Sebastian, as Brie doesn’t want to be able to feel everything Sebastian feels, and vice versa. Keeping both Sebastian and Finn out of her mind, Brie stays at the Wild Fae palace for a while, not allowing the others to find her. She slowly adjusts to being fae, something she used to despise before entering faerie.

‘Next time you straddle me, wake up first. I want all of you, not just some dark and twisted secret corner of your mind.’

The Unseelie children are slowly entering the long sleep, something that happens when a kingdom is falling apart as no one is sitting on the throne. Finn and Brie must make the journey to the High Priestess to ask her to open a portal for them to meet with Mab. Their plan is to ask for ways to save the Unseelie kingdom. For Brie’s protection, as she is bonded to another male, Finn reveals that they have to pretend to be together in front of the High Priestess’ village. I adore fake dating so I loved these scenes so much! I normally hate love triangles, but this one wasn’t much of an issue for me. I hated that I felt sorry for Sebastian at certain moments and hated the way Brie would defend him to the others. But I could also see that he truly thought he had done everything for the right reasons. However, my heart well and truly lies with Finn, and I loved the development of their relationship over the course of this book.

‘I could sooner choose to stop breathing than stop loving you.’

I loved the world-building in the first book and we just got to explore so much more in These Twisted Bonds. I loved visiting all these new places and having different perspectives of each character as we got to know Misha more. There is no way my review can do this book justice. I loved it so so much and it’s definitely one of my favourite YA fantasy duologys!

An excellent conclusion to the seires, I am so sad it is over though. Fingers crossed we could get some spin-offs in this world (PLEASE!!).

Such interesting world-building and characters and twists that I didn't expect!

I am in love with Finn so much, Sebastian gives very much Tamlin vibes until they end. The ending I felt was quite rushed as at 85% read I was questioning if I had in fact got it wrong and there was a third book coming. All in all ACOTAR vibes and will definitely read again.

First of all thank you to Hodder and Stoughton for the early review arc of this book and Lexi Ryan for one of the best duologys I've read in a while!

**This reviews contains spoilers**
This book was absolutely heartbreakingly amazing. Brie is an absolute QUEEN! Finn, oh Finn, where do I begin? You made my heart break throughout this book and I am so in love with you!
As for Bash... You redeemed yourself (only just) at the end.

Lexi Ryan has a way with her world building that although you travel through various worlds, lands and realms you can visualise everything in the area and it is just perfect!

Overall 4. 5⭐

Sadly the only part that lost its 0.5stars was the fact that Bash was just very repetitive.

These Twisted Bonds is the second and final book in the These Hollow Vows series. Abriella (Brie) finds herself caught between two princes and two destinies while the future of the fae realm hangs in the balance. As civil war wages in the Court of Darkness, Brie finds herself unable to choose a side.

I really enjoyed this book and I thought it was a really good conclusion to the duology. I had forgotten a lot about the first book, but the story picks up immediately after the ending of the first book and I quickly reconnected with the main character Bree.

This was such an entertaining fantasy series with great world building. It’s not the most intricate story but it was so much fun to binge read! If you like books about fairies and if you enjoyed ACOTAR, you‘ll enjoy this one too! There’s also the one-bed trope and fake dating trope. 🥵

If you like fantasy romance novels you‘ll probably enjoy this one too! 💖 I think this series could’ve been a trilogy too and I‘d love to read more from Lexi Ryan in the future!

I enjoyed the first book so much so when I saw These Twisted Bonds up for review, I had to request it! I was a bit disappointed though. While still a good book, it just didn’t grip me as much as These Hollow Vows. I thought there was a lot of unnecessary plot additions, Bas got an undeserved redemption, and Bri was just the most annoying heroine ever. Harsh? A bit. Either way, I did enjoy other parts, such as the introduction of new characters and the development of some of the old ones.

✨for years i would look at the night sky and send that wish up to the stars but i remained trapped and powerless and i stopped believing✨

first a big thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this review copy. every thought/ opinion etc. is my own. i do not get paid to release this review.

These Twisted Bonds is part 2 of this duet. So if you haven’t read the first one yet - be aware of spoilers. Without further ado: let’s start with the review.

We start right off where part 1 ends - Abrielle (Brie) awakes after drinking the potion of life. She’s a faerie now and not totally happy with that to say the least. Because good old Sebastian/ Ronan/ Bash (how ever you want to call him) has betrayed her.

Where in part one i already knew that Sebastian was the “bad guy” and Finn the good guy, and how the staley was going to play out, book two was more of a mystery to me. But unfortunately to me all the similarities to ACOTAR continued and even some scenes from ToG or the cruel prince, they just haven’t been that obvious.

Brie is a good fmc and a good hero for this YA book. She’s strong on her own and does act like an individual person. She makes her own choices and doesn’t depend on the mmc for support.

Finn is Rhysand. In every way that is possible. He has this group of “misfits” and he wants what is best for his people. I didn’t mind though. Sebastian is Tamlin. Also in every possible way. But he gets the redemption arc and is no tyrant which i very liked. His choices and actions have been understandable to me.

In conclusion: it’s a very nice YA book for fans of the ACOTAR/ToG series by Sarah J. Maas and for fans of TFOTA series by Holly Black. The ending did feel kind of rushed and was a bit disappointing.

4*'s. This was a fun concluding book. Predictable and tropey but no unpleasant surprised and I enjoyed my time reading it! Recommend to those who like a good love triangle and don't need any crazy surprises. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an early copy.

My time reading this book hasn't been pleasant, but the romance made it bearable. The plot seemed messy after the ending of the first book and while we did find out some new things, everything up until 60-70% fect forced. It felt rushed, just to we could be convinced of Brie's powers and the reasoning behind her actions.

The romance was the only element I enjoyed, but even that proved to be unbearable at some points, because it was clear who the endgame pairing would be.

I requested the arc for this book because, despite the mixed reviews online, I quite enjoyed the first one. Yes, it had some obvious similarities to A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I just thought the author loved badass daddy Rhys - and who can blame her?!

This second installment, however, is ridiculously derivative - mainly of the works of Sarah J Maas, but also From Blood and Ash, and other popular fantasy series, down to some scenes literally playing out in the same way beat for beat. Only, Abriella isn’t nearly as badass as Feyre or even Poppy (despite also nearly getting a handjob from her dark brooding love interest in a sleeping bag after escaping the Red Mist or Fog or whatever the author called it). No, Brie is more reminiscent of Bella, particularly at the start of New Moon where she spends legit months feeling sorry for herself and being useless. And don’t even get me started on Sebastian - this book's equivalent of Tamlin the tool. He is such a selfish asshole I honestly wanted to throw my kindle across the room every time he was in a scene.

All the information (and trust me, there is *so* much of it) is conveyed to readers though big info dump dialogues - or should I say monologues really? And the pacing is completely off - we spend the first 70% of the book faffing around, just to rush through all the reveals and action at the end. Also, Abriella manages to get herself *almost* kidnapped three whole times - but don’t worry, none of the attempts get far because *plot*.

I’ve given it two stars, but one of those is fully just for Finn.

I didn't notice it was the second in a series but I was able to enjoy it nonetheless.
Well plotted, fascinating world building and fleshed out characters.
The end is a bit rushed and left open a number of questions.
Recommended (better if you read the series in order)
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I couldn't get around to reading this but I did buy it when it came out as I will be reading it this year I just struggled with time. Lexi Ryan is amazing and so was book 1 so I know I will love this.

My Rating:2.5

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for proving me a free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In this sequel, we have two princes- one who has his self-interest at heart and the other who puts his people first- fighting for our girl and the throne through a long-winded plot. Abriella is not a mere pawn in their game. She has a sister and a kingdom to worry about in this book.

I enjoyed reading the lore around the Seelie and the Unseelie court. You can't escape them in a Faery tale. Like many Fae stories, there is no middle ground between these courts. You either pick the Sun or the Moon court.

The whole plot was bent on uniting these two courts, which was a moot point because both the courts were stubborn (at least their rulers were). No matter how many chapters flew by, it felt stuck trying to find a way to put one of the princes on that cursed throne. They would progress only to have the crown reject either of them and make them search for answers from scratch.

Despite being exhausted with the plot, the crown was a good puzzle and a challenge that kept me reading the book. I had some hunches right regarding it, but the ending wasn't anything like I was expecting; it was rushed but I did like it. It tied all the loose ends and gave a better ending for the duology. I was rooting for one ship to sail since book 1, and it did in book 2, which was all that mattered to me.
I was so glad to see Mab again. She is one mythical character that I’d love to read more about. She sounded almost like a saint, only to change that in the last quarter of the book.

I’m happy with how the book (ergo the duology) ended. But I can’t say the same for the things that led to the ending because the loopy plot failed to spark any interest in the story after a point. and the climax was crammed with every possible solution that the characters worked their mind off since page 1.

3.5 stars

Not gonna lie, I sat on my ARC of this book. I wasn’t ready to read it. I really enjoyed These Hollow Vows and I fear getting disappointed by the conclusion of Brie's story.

Turns out I was right to be worried.

This book was not bad. At all. It managed to keep me hooked till the end, even though one too many things felt off.

Let's start with Brie. I was not a big fan of her in Book #1. She was too trusting and naive for my liking. In this book, she actually learned from her mistakes and "I can’t trust anyone" became her new mantra along with “This is all my fault". I know that her survival put the Unseelie court in a difficult position, but - as Finn and Bash repeatedly pointed out - it was hardly her fault. Yet, for nearly 75% of the book, she kept whining about the great mess she put everyone into, complaining that she was not special at all and bla bla bla...
In the end, she finally accepted her role and her darker side, but this otherwise rather cool character development felt a bit too rushed and coinvent.

The pace was pretty inconsistent. The first half was SO SLOW, while the second half (especially the ending) felt way too rushed as if the author wanted to squeeze tons of things into this book but was too tired of writing them down properly.

Even though my favourite got the girl, it didn't leave me 100% satisfied. In more than one way, the ending was terribly anticlimactic. I was expecting something more.

The only thing I loved without any objection was Misha. Period. I hope the Author considers writing a spin-off about him.

All in all, despite the criticism, I can't deny that I wolfed down this book. In all its flaws, it remains an enjoyable guilty pleasure.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are, as always, my own.