While Brie and Finn’s romance might be the star of the show, it is by no means the entirety of the story. There is even a touch of spice, so if that’s your jam, you’re in luck. Perhaps more importantly though, their romance features such delectable tropes as forced proximity, fake dating, love triangle, and the pièce de resistance – the only-one-bed conundrum. This progression is perfectly paced, with just the right amount of buildup to when they get together, and once they do, enough uncertainty over the outcome of their relationship remains to keep you turning page after page.

We see them transform from reluctant allies to friends to something decidedly more. In this book, however, their relationship becomes the focal point. He and Brie have always had chemistry, but hitherto, their relationship took a backseat to that of Brie and Sebastian. The reappearance of Finn about 100 pages in cements the book’s hold on you, for with Finn comes romance and oh-so-much sexual tension. Her fate is uncertain, and this uncertainty, coupled with the right-off-the-bat action and not-so-minor matter of her bond with Sebastian, secures your attention from the get-go. Picking up right where These Hollow Vows left off, These Twisted Bonds starts off in the thick of things, with Brie fleeing the Seelie palace after learning of Sebastian’s deception. It is just as good, if not better than, its predecessor, and it closes out the These Hollow Vows duology on a thoroughly satisfying note.

Action, romance, revelations, and even a sprinkling of court politics: this book has all the trimmings. I spent the better part of two days lost between its pages, entranced by its story. From the moment that I cracked it open, I struggled to put it down, squirreling away time so that I need not be away from it for too long. These Twisted Bonds had me in its thrall from the very beginning. TLDR: An escapist delight and wonderful conclusion to the These Hollow Vows duology.

These twisted bonds lexi ryan