The Bonding Games: Part 1

by Loa B. Hunt

Genres: Why Choose

667 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 27, 2026

Reviews

[kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok I’m sorry the plot/idea of this book could be SO GOOD but holy crap I have never been so annoyed and cringed out by mmcs. Like why are they all so annoying?!??? I genuinely could not get over how they talk and think, especially Tate, tiger, and alby omg he was the worstttttt. I don’t know if I’m just insensitive but they actually were awful I hated them so much but UGH this book had so so much potential like the games are so interesting and the social classes but wow it flopped. I am interested in the second just to find out what happens to the only tolerable ones in the whole book: Ezla, Scotty, and cooper. Her dad is actually so sick I can’t even imagine and I hope she gets the best revenge ever

Also I can’t believe this was literally 700 pages and they never even finished the games


2 stars strictly only because I liked the plot and FMC

[Ninja Cupcake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made it to 64% and DNF. The glossary at the beginning was wild...almost a book itself. I really liked how the book starts and the first game scene but I feel like the plot began to get lost. And let me tell you what, I was TIRED of Tate and his unhinged sexual comments to/about Ezla. Like, shut the fuck up, bro. They felt ESPECIALLY yucky after reading what she's experiencing from her own father (that sick bastard). The constant verbal diarrhea of his is what made me put the book down. Tiger is also very annoying. I thought Alby was sweet, but eventually he started to annoy as well. Giving it two stars because I like the idea and wish it could have been better. Scotty and Cooper were the only ones who didn't PMO.

[Samantha]

The concept is absolutely awesome. I wish I could read more, but I just can’t do it to myself.

Writing stories is an art form. To make good art, you need to be able to grab people’s attention and hole it.
You can’t catch peoples attention with long descriptive glossaries, excessive info dumps, and un developed characters. It just doesn’t work.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Bonding Games is the first instalment in the why-choose dystopian series by Loa B. Hunt.

I was so excited to see how the premise of this book would play out, because I thought it was an exciting take on dystopian romance. Sadly, it didn't pan out the way I thought it would.

All of the MMCs are insufferable and I don't think I like any of them, especially Tate. The way he speaks to and acts around Ezla was bordering on sexual harassment for me and I just couldn't look past it.

I think the idea of the bonding games was great, but there wasn't really much build-up to it and it felt like we were thrown into the deep end. 700 pages long and I still had no idea what was going on. I don't really have a desire to continue with this series, but I do hope that Ezla's dad is dealt with and the revenge is sweet.

[Chloe Woodley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Loa B. Hunt for sending me an early copy and giving me the chance to read this amazing book. Can’t wait to read part two!!😆🫶

I love this book. The found family in this is phenomenal. The MMCs are amazing and now hold a special place in my heart. The FMC was a little harder to love right away for me, but it was for a reason. Once I read more about her I loved her character. The MMCs made laugh so much, but Some moments in the book made me sad. Especially when we learn the FMCs past and present. Also please read the trigger warnings there are a lot of sensitive topics in this book.

Tropes:
Futuristic Sci-Fi setting
Strong FMC
Reverse Harem
MFMMMM
No MM
MMCs fall first
Found Family
Villainous FMC
Deadly Games
They’re from opposite sides of society
Jealousy & possessiveness
Feminine Rage

Some things about the characters. There are some spoilers so don’t read if you don’t want to know the characters and a little bit about them.
Alby is the quiet keep to himself type with anxiety, he is bullied and has no friends until he meets tiger and Scot and they become his first real friends. Tiger and Scotty are brothers, tiger is the younger brother and he has ADHD and he is so talkative and bright. Scotty is the older brother and he is very protective of tiger and now alby. Tate is very morally grey, crazy and has been obsessed with FMC for 5 years. He is also very protective of her(in his own way). Cooper is the guy that seems unapproachable because when he is in a bad mood instead of holding it in he lets it out. He hates violence because his older brother used to abuse him and he is also a secret softy. Ezla is a very strong independent woman and hates the fact that 5 men are bonded to her(she wants to kill them). She also cares for them in her own way. She has been abused in every way by her father her whole life.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating : 5
Spicy : ?
Darkness: 🖤
Range of emotions : 🤨🥱
Ending : 24%
POV : 👫 (Multiplo)
.
Nao me pegou.

Me deu mto ruim q passa o pov de TODOS caras antes do dela.

E ai seila eles nao combinam. Ai seila oq mas ta no comeco... ent mas o comeco é pra dar o empurrão pra querer ler tudo.

Oq me dá curiosidade é como vai ser os jogos ne cada fase.. mas seila.. é tao... sem sal.

E o tate é TAO problemático. Como passa pano pra esse doido?? E o Tiger nao da pra nao imaginar um pre adolescente lendo ele sabe?

Ai seila.. da ruim.. construcao péssima. E a capa do livro podia ser melhor

Aa e o glossário KILOMETRICO no começo.... mano mais me deu preguiça e me deixou confusa... acho mais interessante explicar as coisas conforme aparecem na historia e deixar um glossário de guia no final sabe

Oq era útil antes de começar era o guia de ersonagens principais.

Ai pior.. o livro começa com o pov do cara mais patético do grupo.. tipo.. n da nem pra sentir dó... tipo ele é so um excluído... fodase.

Livro é bom pra ler gnt daora nao gente real.. se nao eu tava vendo tv e nao lendo livro de fantasia

[Veronika · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s so devastating how much I wanted to like this and yet I wanted to DNF it multiple times…. In the beginning I couldn’t shake the Hunger Games, Divergent and Tron vibes, but then I kind of got okay with that because of 2 things:
1, I enjoyed that the majority of the book was written from the guys POVs which is unique
and 2, the male characters were easy to like and distinguish from one another.

However!! The ongoing abuse aspect felt awful as I read the book. It was detailed and difficult to stomach.

I also just wasn’t vibing with the world and the plot unfortunately. Sad.

[Cheyenne Barnes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DNFed at 18% I really wanted to like this book the idea behind it. I could go on about how it’s not inspired by hunger games but actually just a sci-fi rip off of hunger games…but the reason I DNFed it was Tate he’s a terrible character and I can’t get behind grown adults being attracted to children(he mentions being in love with her at 18 when she would have been 15 and he even specifically mentions how it’s morally wrong but it’s okay because he “wouldn’t have done anything with her” like that makes it better?)

[Bekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! The FMC is great, I love a badass female and she really is but still has a soft side that I loved seeing. It was really interesting getting more of the MMCs POV over the FMC, I actually really enjoyed that. All the MMCs have different personalities so they don’t all just get lost in each other which can sometimes happen in RH.
Cliffhanger was a killer, look forward to the next book!

[LaneyDay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really inventive!

I loved this!
Great characters, and super interesting world building. Can't wait to read book 2.
Hope it comes out soon!

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need book two now!! This is probably one of the best books I've read in a while. I loveeee the characters and the cliffhanger at the end makes me want to get my hands on book two as fast as possible.

[Little Reaper · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 ⭐️
I enjoyed this book. I liked the differences between all the MMC's and the strong female lead. And I did not expect Cooper to be my favorite one.

The glossar at the beginning kind of overwhelmed me. I thought I will never understand anything, but it was ok.

Game 1 and the chapters after were really nice. It is sad that the games kind of lost their importance further on tho. It wasn't that detailed. And I was expecting more of a Squid Game, Panem vibe.

[✨ Lauren ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️ 667 pages, 10 hours and 48 minutes.

This book is interesting because I would say it doesn’t have a true main character? It’s not one main POV and the side LI POVs. It actually takes a bit to even get to the FMCs POV. And it’s not the most frequent.

Hunger games vibes but different. I will read the next ones when they come out. I won’t reread of its not too far away.


Edit- it is out now but it shows as 1 of 1. Click on that and it will bring the part two one.