When Bonds Were Forged

This book was significantly better than the rest of the series. The author should have written the rest of the books like this. The only critique I have is that Brent’s relationship with Rissa could have been developed better, but this book entertained me enough that I can overlook it. It made me laugh at times. I wasn’t sure if I'd like a book from a different POV, but I enjoyed Brent’s POV more than Ashley’s. The characters felt like real people with flaws. In the other books, most of the side characters could be one-dimensional. Ashley had flaws in her books, but she was still perfect in many scenes.

The Wellingtons felt like a real family in this book. Brent actually had real flaws and made stupid decisions. This book also show more felt like a real book. When it was in Ashley’s POV, it felt like I was reading someone's diary instead of a story about a character. When We Were Close was the worst for it, but the other books suffered a little from it, too. Five stars might seem generous since this book still had flaws, but compared to the rest of the series, it's five stars. Sometimes I thought these characters were too harsh on Linda, but the author addressed that. In the book, Linda comes off as someone who is broken and needs help, rather than just a villain, which I appreciated. To be honest, I wish her backstory had been explored a little more. show less