Bonded by Thorns is undeserving of its 4 star rating. I am genuinely surprised by the number of raving reviews. Why are people swooning over a story this uninteresting and problematic? Rose - Rosie - Rosalina was as dimwitted as she was dull.

Lots of spoilers going forward! Read at your own risk.

When Rosalina is first mentioned in the book, she's quiet and easily cowed by her previous abusive boyfriend. She tolerates his presence because it gives her some comfort to be near the man that carved his name into her arm (a fact that is never addressed later on in the book, but definitely should have been). She was willing to entertain the idea of marriage to someone that discarded her - repeatedly - as he went around and did whatever he wanted. How could she have been so naïve and cared so little about herself? Where was her sense of self-preservation? If the authors really wanted to make it believable, they should have written it better.

“His name is Lucas. We’ve been on and off since I was fifteen, but I think it’s serious now. Super serious.” I take a deep breath. “Or at least it could have been, if I hadn’t been imprisoned by the fae.”

Going back to her personality, it's like she's a completely different person once she reaches fae lands. She's brave, courageous, stands up for herself and others - something she's never done before - and it was just too fucking unbelievable. Don't even get me started on the ridiculousness of the princes and their curse. The Prince of Thorns? Laughable. No one even blinked at him calling her "princess." Why wasn't that ever addressed? Also, why does he even care? Poorly explained, poorly executed, poorly written.

If I'm being completely honest, I went into this one for the romance and reverse harem theme, but even that was a disappointment. If you're going to have a terrible, nearly nonexistent plot, then at least entertain your readers with steamy sex scenes and erotic content. Bonded by Thorns failed on all accounts. There were some okay moments between Dayton and Farron, but even those were short and excluded the main character.

The dialogue was awful and cringey.

Examples:

1. In a burst of I-just-about-died rage, I glower up at him. “How the fuck am I supposed to answer you when you’re choking me out, you overgrown tin can?”
2. Heh heh.
3. He wrapped his hand around my throat and choked me out.
4. But I am no Peeping Tom, so I force my eyes up. Only, ogling his eight-pack abs and perfect pecs doesn’t seem less creepy at the moment.
5. ...at least death by a monstrous wolf is a bit more awesome than falling off the bookstore stool.
6. That traitor trash panda.
7. “He was really mean!”

I'm not even going to attempt to touch on all of the inconsistencies and grammatical errors. 😑 The princes also kept referring to their human forms and calling themselves men. They're not supposed to be human... At least Sarah J. Maas did that right. Males, males, males.

I went into this book expecting to be enamored with four fae princes all vying for one woman's attention, and them enjoying her separately and together. However, Rosalina was horrible. Her "bewilderment" and "acceptance" not believable for a second. It was also too similar to A Court of Thorns and Roses for my liking, but whatever.

A man behind a mask, her being placed in the Spring Court section of the castle, cursed to turn into animals and needing to find love to break the spell... sound familiar?

This book was a complete waste of my time and money. I hope this review saves a few others from making the same mistake. (★★☆☆☆)

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A tale old as time.

A song old as rhyme.

Beauty and her beasts.

Rosalina loves books. She sees herself in each book she reads. Some may think she is a little different from them. After all, they believe her father is a raving lunatic who believed the fae had taken his wife. And the boy she once loved, Lucas, has returned to Orca Cove and has proposed marriage, but even before Rosalina can give her answer, she finds out her father has gone missing. Even worse, his coat has been found in the forest. Rosalina, along with Lucas, goes in search of her father. There they come across an enchanting place. Lucas flees when they become surrounded by goblins and Rosalina manages to flee herself, only to find herself in front of an enchanted castle. She finds her father a prisoner and when faced with one of the masters, Rosalina decides to bargain with the Winter Prince - she will take her father's place if he will free him.

The price is taken and Rosalina now finds herself a prisoner of the castle with four fae princes of the seasons.

A curse.

Mates.

Time is running out for all of them.

This was a wonderful read. A beautiful world filled with flawed characters. Male leads have been cursed every night in their beastly forms. Roses (much like the ones from the Disney movie, Beauty and the Beast) with their petals falling offering the ticking of a clock. Rosalina, beautiful and strong, desperate to find her way in a world that she does not belong to.

I have to say that the ending made me fall off the couch. I am not going to lie I nearly cried because I wanted more of this book. I loved all the characters. Each and every one of them popped off the page and drew me into their world. I felt like a peeping tom just watching each scene.

I cannot wait for the next book in this series. Time cannot come quick enough for me. ( )

A very engaging Beauty and the Beast / ACOTAR retelling with a possible reverse harem. It started off a little rough with the absolute ober the top dumpster fire of a small town and an abusive Gaston character that made no sense how Rose was ever attached to him. It definitely picked up once in the fae realm. This is where some of the better riffs on the fairy tale came in - multiple princes (some who are in a relationship), mortal girl whose mother is probably the enchantress, and the additional court politics. The Disney BATB and ACOTAR references (masking in the Spring court and dark prince who might or might not be evil) were a little too spot on for my liking. ( )