Bonded By Thorns – Book Review

Before devouring this book within 48 hours, I was in the biggest book slump. I picked up multiple books and read 50 ish pages and found myself bored and put it back down again. However, Bonded by Thorns kept me on my toes while reading. So, thank you to Elizabeth and Helen for keeping me on my toes! 

I saw this book pop up on my bookstagram feed, and who can say no to a pretty cover? So, before even reading the synopsis I added it straight into my basket. When the book arrived I tried to avoid spoilers and reviews as I wanted to go into this novel blind and have no preconceived ideas. And guys, guess what? It paid off, I am so glad I went into this book blind, goodreads has a lot of mixed reviews on this, I have seen a lot of people who didn’t enjoy it, and that’s okay, not every book is going to be everyone’s cup of tea. It just so happens that this was the perfect cuppa for me. 

For me, this novel is a perfect mix of sexy fae princes and plot. While there are a few steamy scenes (both M/M and M/F), I feel as though it probably shouldn’t be used as a selling point for the book, this is a bit misleading. I feel as though the authors Elizabeth and Helen put the steamy scenes in all the right places. This gives the reader the steam from the masses of tension between the characters, but does not take away from the plot. A nice additive, like having a biscuit with your cup of tea.

Each of the four princes represent the seasons: 

• Keldarion, prince of the Winter Realm has a wicked temper and an even shorter fuse especially when it comes to our female main character, Rosalina. Although his heart is frozen cold, I loved seeing the friendship/relationship between them thaw the prince of Winter’s heart. Their relationship doesn’t jump straight to the gun, they both have a lot to learn about each other and I loved seeing this across the pages. 
• Ezryn, prince of the Spring Realm… Where to even begin. Cursed to wear a metal helm for the rest of the curse (or until he finds a mate), he patrols the borders while everyone else in the castle. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Ezryn is how moody he is, how the glass is only half empty for him, until Rosalina arrives at Castletree. Deep down we all know Ezryn has a soft side and I enjoyed seeing this softer side come out of Ezryn with Rosalina. 
• Dayton, prince of the Summer Realm, his carefree attitude is going to get him into trouble. Dayton genuinely believes that there is no problem he cannot drink, fight or f*ck his way through. When we first met Dayton I struggled with his character, while his carefree, I don’t care attitude is what we see from him, there are also scenes where Elizabeth and Helen show the “true Dayton.” This is what I lived for, seeing the emotional side to Dayton. By the end of the book, I did have a soft spot for him. 
• Farron, prince of the Autumn Realm, our intelligent, gentle sweet fae. Farron is the youngest of the four princes and you can tell. Not in a bad way, you see his naivety, and how emotionally immature he is (again, not in a bad way!) Farron is so used to being by himself surrounded by his research and papers, that when our little bookworm arrives he is drawn to her. From the beginning Farron reminded me of a fae Spencer Reid, I think this is what initially drew me to him. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and rated it 4.5 stars. I loved the writing style, the emotions that Elizabeth Helen provokes throughout the book and of course the characters (unless it was the Prince of Thorns, if you know, you know).