Photo Credits: Dagmara Owsiejczyk
Edited by Vaishali
Title: Tied and Bound
Author: Katrina Liss Genre/Themes: New Adult, Contemporary/Erotic Romance Publisher: Independently Published Year of Publication: 2014 Version: E-Book provided by Katrina Liss Review
“Chloe, you’re my salvation,” he sighs heavily.
But what he doesn’t realise is that’s what he’d doing for me. Reviving me, resurrecting me like a Phoenix from the ashes of my ruined love life.’ ‘We all learn from our mistakes, but sometimes it’s difficult to realise what your mistakes actually are.’
After suffering the utmost, lasting betrayal from her childhood friend and partner of four years, Chloe Redmond relocates her now sequestered life to the cosy Cotswolds in search of silence and reprieve from aching perfidy. With the biggest broken heart and a betrayal that that has more than fractured her, drifting is what Chloe is doing during this bereft stage in her life, because besides finding comforting ground for her feet to wander she has never been so melancholy.
‘I’ve been here for nearly a year, but I still feel at sea…I’m floating, like a bubble on the ocean, useless, purposeless, my heart and mind adrift of a home.’
A year living in the Cotswolds Chloe is now proprietor and independent businesswoman of her own culinary business which she has built from the ground up. After a long but much needed year of celibacy and withdrawal, things take a vitalising turn for Chloe when life ushers her in the direction of the seductively mysterious Max Walker.
“Mr Walker, you’re far too dangerous to swim with.”
I’d felt like I was waiting for a shark to attack, to take a big mouthful of some part of my body.’
After a lasting time without a man in her life and to suddenly come face to face with the prepossessing man of muscle and bodacious propriety, a demoralised Chloe is shaken with sharp feelings that rouse a long-since lethargic inclination to feel something other than passive stagnation. Max Miller is all man and all galvanising effervescence. With her esteem sitting on a moderate edge, Chloe is bewildered that a man like Max is showing her that she is most definitely all woman to him.
“Look, you’re a bit too much man for me,” I admit.
He laughs loudly at that…”Maybe you’re too much woman for me. Have you thought of that possibility?”
Lifting her poise and giving her the kind of attention she has been avoiding for obvious reasons, Max is building Chloe’s confidence by a considerable measure without realising it. Awed by his self-restraint, tickled by his filthy humour and considering of his abstruse remarks, Max is an idyllic merging of male sexuality wrapped in genial courtesy with a strong tang of the enigmatic, and one that Chloe wants to add to her menu.
“Such a beautiful temptation,”
Distracted by his biased beauty, envious of his domestic skills and aroused by his loaded words, Max seems to have it all. So distracted perhaps that Chloe looks past the obvious clues and suspicious shades of Max’s behaviour. ‘God-like’ Max may be, but could he possess the more deciding traits of a demon than that of a God? Of a sinner than a saint?
‘Deceit hurts when you find out the truth. I’ve had quite enough deceit in my life.’
Max’s life is all cloak and dagger to Chloe because he leads a life that she can’t completely be a part of. There is another woman in Max’s life, one who he is sworn to by obligation, friendship and exploitation. Helen is Max’s employer, and she demands his finite attention 24/7. Max has a constant responsibility that he’s promised to orbit. His life is far from joyous, compounded with ongoing internal conflict, but once Chloe shows him what pleasure and true companionship can be like, he latches onto something that’s out of his hands and that he has no place placing a claim on. Can he offer anything more than his body?
“Sit yourself down on my nice pink sofa and hug a pink cushion. Rest your feet on my fluffy pink rug.” I smile sweetly.
“Do I get a glass of pink wine and a slice of pink cake to complete the full pink experience?”
Max is bound by a leash of subservience, a disciplined man evident enough by the work he puts into mastering himself and his physique, but the leash that binds his life doesn’t exclusively belong to him. He is bound by a commitment that’s a form of reclamation but hellishly infernal in its own right. Even though Max’s life is messy tangle of complicated attachments he becomes elemental in augmenting Chloe’s credence and exposing a bliss in her life most needed and wanted. But with all of Max’s secrets, does Chloe only have further deceit to look forward to?
“D’you always have to be the best at things?” I wonder out loud.
“I’m serious about everything I do. Sometimes a little too serious.”
As Chloe’s curiosity no longer pacifies the word ‘no’, the mystery of Max and his life becomes difficult to just ignore because these passing moments of secret nights and frantic passion aren’t enough. Or are they? As much as Max brings to her awakening life, Chloe’s feelings for him are a messy mix of sensitivities. What does Chloe want though? Love? Friendship? Some simple passion to satisfy some needs? All Chloe knows is that if Max were enough for her why is her attention swayed by a man she barely knows who seems to usurp her attention as well make her heart flutter.
‘He both soothes my soul and sets it alight.’
Yes this is indeed a story of triangular love that’s both surprising and unannounced. Enter Jack Smith: a business-minded man of money and success. He’s assertive, he’s cocksure, and someone Chloe completely underestimates after their first meeting. Jack proves to be a good-natured surprise and maybe not the playboy Chloe thought he was. Or is he? After mostly experiencing the worst of men, and with betrayal an accompanying characteristic with the men in her life, Is Max just another adaptation of Chloe’s past wrapped in a god-like body and warm eyes? Or will Jack be the one to offer Chloe’s heart more than pain?
‘We’re forming ties, and I’m quite sure I want the bonds to be tied more tightly’
Chloe is self-reliant, self-supporting and a talented chef who loves her work. She’s the kind of woman that has enough worth to put herself first and proud enough to walk away when she knows she’s been done wrong, which I really liked about her. At times though, I did find myself begging that she not overlook what is so obviously a fate waiting to happen, because although Chloe deserves fun and joy considering what her past taught her I would have expected that she be much more cautious and considering where men and relationships enter her life. Not trusting too easily and offering the benefit of the doubt while ignoring potential possibilities. Because of this I just saw the inevitable laughing in her face. She learned some lessons later than I would have expected her to.
‘I don’t like things to be pitch black around me. It reminds me of how I feel inside. Lost in the dark.
It’s how I’ve felt since the day everything I loved was ruined. The day they broke my heart.’
‘Tied and Bound’ has so many layers of the tied and the bound, because there are tactile ties and taxing bonds and as such the title befittingly describes each facet of this story, character relationships and internal friction they suffer. This story begins with a telling prologue that teaches us what kind of deceit Chloe has suffered and that a purpose to mend her heart is going to be the goal of this story. She is quite clearly lost, and seeking serenity. This story was truly not what I thought it would be because here we have a storyline that is darker and deeper than ‘Trading Hearts’ by Katrina Liss.
‘It’s a thrilling, liberating feeling to be freed from the bonds of my past and taken to the edge.’
‘Tied and Bound’ isn’t a lovely, bubbly fest of constant cheerfulness, it’s flavoured with jaded lives and knotted relationships. This story is about learning and understanding for Chloe, to have the forbearance and respect for herself to wait for what she deserves. History seems to duplicate itself in love, with the most unlikely people there to pick up the pieces, and the men in Chloe’s life learn that they can’t come back from lines severely overstepped.
“I signed my life away to her. Sold my soul to the she-devil.”
I can’t filter through the happenings of this story because almost everything about the content is spoilery to an extent, but what I can say is that though some actions and consequences were predictable, this is not your generic formula for a love triangle romance. I thought I knew where this story was going, and who would win Chloe’s heart, but I was blindsided with men, straying desires and supposed choices! I thought I’d know the outcome, ‘Tied and Bound’ taught me that assuming will only quicken the pace of miscalculated estimation.
“I’ve never met anyone like you before. Independent, clever, naughty, nice, and amusing. I’d like to give us a go. I guess what I’m saying is I’m interested.”
My eyes flare. “Well don’t be,” I say, reacting nervously, out of self-defense. “Can’t help it, already am. And when I want something, I tend to go all out until I get it. Whatever it takes,”
I thought I knew who the chosen suitor would be, but Katrina Liss had a way of making me stumble with ambivalence about my choices. Each man serves a purpose in Chloe’s life, but you know which man did win my heart early on? My old man Henry. I love how friendship highlights the idea that age and youth are bound by the similar occurrences in life in the form of Henry’s and Chloe’s relationship. Henry and Chloe change each other’s lives in the way of small changes and homely companionship. It was lovely to see them both with sparking eyes and springing steps as they spoke and laughed like good friends as Chloe herself breathed new life into him, as her fellow men do for her. Comforts of novel friendships that help to lessen the blow and make life more bearable is what Chloe’s and Henry’s friendship is like.
‘It hasn’t been an easy journey, arriving at my new paradise, but worth all the pain and every physical and mental scar I’ve received.’
Though Chloe knows that actions speak louder than words so does reason, and she learns that behind every bad decisions and hurtful mistake does indeed lie a reason, valid or no. And those reasons made me feel sympathy for certain people who I initially thought didn’t deserve it. There were so many ties and bonds in this story, and with the understanding that of intense relationships nobody is perfect, people are lost and lies hurt there some you just can’t walk away from.
‘I have no idea where he’s taking me, but I’m damn near willing to go.’
‘Tied and Bound’ is about the lows of rock bottom through failings and the highs of a good life when it’s with the right man. Every broken heart has the right and fortune to be brought back to life and Chloe finds the man who has the cure. Absolution for one man as he is stuck living the deciding costs of his choices, an unexpected sympathy for another, and a love well-deserved for the last and perhaps best. Through hormonal frenzies, searing touches, uncouth flirting and a whole lot of hurt and problematic trust this story is about finding a way to overturn pain and continue with the right approach during the loss of love.
“...There was always something missing before you; no real connection, no feelings gathering momentum, but with you I have it all.”
“I love you, angel. You have no idea how much.”
Katrina Liss writes avidly about love stories, taking ‘Tied and Bound’ on an intense, dramatic ride with suspenseful intrigue that draws out a reader’s curiosity. As well as the love story itself Liss certainly loves penning down an enthusiastic love scene because my are they steamy and pampering to read. Katrina Liss has a passion for romance and getting it right. Failed romances, feuding men, fostering friendships with a punch of the ominous is what you’d get with this romantically charged tale of tangled and intimate devotion. Weeds, thorns, ties that splinter and those that fasten are what Chloe endures on her journey of complicated romance. A fortuitous ending to a love affair that took time, patience, pain and three leading men to discover with one that breathes long-lasting life into her.
‘We couldn’t be tied any tighter and my love for him truly knows no bounds.’
I gave this book 3.7 stars -
Thank you Katrina for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for a review!
Trigger Warning: Talks of drug abuse and gambling. A lot of swearing and multiple sexual encounters of a descriptive nature.
THIS PART WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!
Concerns/Thoughts:
1) I don’t know how Chloe can and has been ignoring obvious possibilities where Max and Helen are concerned considering how badly she had been burned before. Perhaps it’s just me but I would have guessed that she’d have been far more cautious. Even though she was too trusting of Max to begin with, you’d have thought she’d have learnt that lesson from Julian, and held her trust in precious hands and given it with precious worth. Without Max's errors though this story wouldn't have held its progression and twisty turns so I loved how this played out. I also think Chloe wanted to get lost in the bliss that Max gave her, overlooking the truth because sweet bliss is always better to indulge than sorrow. Because she doesn't know where she stands she enjoyed Max for what he could give her rather than his hidden secrets. 2) Max definitely has redeeming qualities. He was quite obviously stuck in his own hell, but even so after how honest Chloe had been with his about her past, he owed it to her to be honest. I felt disappointed that he was just another betrayer, but again saying that Chloe was the only light in his life and when one lives in the darkness they ARE usually drawn to the light. Max was a great character overall, and I kept imagining a life where he and Chloe got their happy ever after because with the right choices and in the right time I think they could have had something amazing too. 3) Henry is awesome! 4) I liked certain traits of Chloe’s character, but I felt that Fliss’s character from ‘Trading Hearts’ was a bit better established and more distinct enough to like. 5) There were some spelling mistakes, mostly toward the end of the book with missing punctuation as well. Some cleaner editing would have bound the book nicely ;) 6) I like the way Liss navigates this storyline, it was captivatingly twisty!
L E A V E A C O M M E N T
|
VaishaliBorn in the UK Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
2019 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [Vicarious Living] has
read 15 books toward
her goal of
30 books.
hide
2020 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [Vicarious Living] has
read 1 book toward
her goal of
20 books.
hide
2021 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [V.L. Book Reviews] has
read 1 book toward
her goal of
10 books.
hide
2022 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [V.L. Book Reviews] has
read 0 books toward
her goal of
5 books.
hide
2023 Reading Challenge
Vaishali • [V.L. Book Reviews] has
read 0 books toward
her goal of
5 books.
hide
DisclaimerAll images of book covers on this site belong to the authors and publishers of the books.
|