Bonds: A Royal States Novel

Trigger warning: death of a pet, not graphicCliffhanger: noNumber in series: 7 out of 10+, number is uncertain because books are not all numbered in the set; stand alone at this timeEditing: excellentGrammar: excellentCoarse language: noneViolence: minimalSexual situations: only limited flirting and light intimationSuggested age: 12+Personal grade: AMagic appeared all over the world. The magic grants every person a gift; some strong, some useful, some barely there. A civil war has broken the United States into its individual states, each with its own royalty and government.We meet Jack Alders as he's working to plug a rip in a small oil tanker before it empties, ruining the coast of France, and killing off marine life. Over extending his gift, he wakes up in a hospital after nearly dying. Jack is living in France due to politics that could harm the rest of his family and to avoid the strength of his gift becoming public.From there he slowly loses control of his life, dragged from one situation to the next by his beautiful doctor, the princess of Maine. There's a sneaky uncle who may be trying to engineer "accidents" so he will become the King of Maine; plane crashes; long distance hiking; long suffering bodyguards; will they or won't they bond, and lightweight politics. And cats.Jack is a delightful character. He's been keeping secret his high functional level by working as a search and rescue specialist in France, despite having no practical ability to speak French. He's kept himself under the radar, but you can see his story breaking as he's dragged farther into the life of Melody, his doctor and the princess of Maine. You can see him struggle to keep control of his satisfying life, while Melody is trying to drag him out of it. Eventually, he just gives up and tries to survive the building threats, Melody's plans, and the kittens he keeps being given.Both Jack and Melody are light characters, with enough background to make them interesting, but not so much as to drag us through two generations of royal family lines. Their interactions are dry, and humorous, but don't detract from real danger. The undoubtedly long history of the civil war, breaking up of states, and the initiation of royal rulers is also skipped. Instead of all that heavy description, the story just picks up a couple of generations after the civil war and continues on. Again, there's just enough information to provide nice world building.Melody would have been called a tomboy if she wasn't a princess. She's rebelling against the tradition of arranged marriage; her father would rather she stuck with tradition, but isn't standing in her way. She's used to getting her own way, but seems to steer most of that energy into her medical practice. This doesn't stop her from involving Jack in her plans or picking on her long suffering bodyguards.My only complaint is the sheer number of royal collected by the end of the book. It's hard to remember which characters were actual participants of the plot, or were brought in as window dressing.Bonds: A Royal States Novel is fun read. The danger isn't too dangerous, the threats are dealt with without much violence, the gifts described are relatively benign, and the characters are amusing without being hysterical caricatures. The characters and situations are adult, but treated gently. Personal grade: A.As usual, your mileage may vary.

I like the story and the characters. I had fun reading it. It made me smile so much. This is a keeper.

Loved this series! I read every book in the series and enjoyed it so much I read it again. The writing is outstanding; you'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll want to live in the Royal States!

If anything goes wrong in my life I hope I have a jack on hand 😁 this book has you wanting to take survival courses because you never know when it could be handy.

I have read all of this author’s books, many of the multiple times. This series has great world building and we get to see that world change over the course of the series.

Another great addition to the series. I love these characters. Just a fabulous read.

Loved it!

I loved reading bonds, it different reading it from the males perspective, adds a different feel to it. Jack being able to rescue instead of being rescued was a bonus. The cats were awesome 😻😻Catching up with the other royals is always a delight, the Montana and Texas royals will always be my favourites. It was refreshing not to have one of the main characters experienced emotional or physical abuse like the other royal states book have. I hope the author does Ian book soon. Would definitely recommend reading the series x

Loved this, so when I finished reading it I re-read it. Jack is a first responder and he has to stop a massive oil spill from a stricken oil tanker. He also needs to search for crew. Desperate to succeed he over uses his ice magic, both showing his status as a royal that he's hidden for years and risking a deadly burn out.

I loved this book, Jack a search and rescue hero and his snarky princess Melody. This is a perfect addition to.the royal.States series. I have to.say.thst Susan's books have been know to reduce to me to tears of laughter and sorrow. And cats! There are cats with some serious attitude in this book yes cars you know who I mean.

Love this series. So inventive and fun to read. Bonds starts with a bang with an intense emergency rescue of the French coast from a devastating oil spill and the story develops with all the usual heart warming and funny characters and the story lines I've come to expect and enjoy. I look forward to my escapes into this magical world.

The royal states books have become one of my comfort sets. They always make me smile, I love the world the author created and the characters become friends. Plus excellent animals 😊