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shanaetheflyest's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have read so many books from Kimberly Brown and Tethered Love is by far one of my absolute favorites. Brown really put her foot into this one! The characters are unique and diverse in a way that I long for when reading. The story, though dark, emotional and challenging, is beautifully written and one that I'd immediately recommend to anyone. The happily ever after was also very welcome, though not even necessary because Brown did such a good job with the characters Malachi, Eliana, and Violet. My only wish is that this book was longer. Many of Brown's contemporaries would've easily made this book 500 or 600 pages. That's not Brown's style, but for Tethered Love, an emotionally charged dark romance, I think it would've been not only acceptable but beneficial.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Pedophilia, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Death, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Sexual content, and Miscarriage
Minor: Suicide, Infidelity, Child abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Abortion, Misogyny, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
leesbookss's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
This was such a good read. Malachi, Violet, and Eliana relationship was amazing. The romance between Chi and Elle was romancing, and the supense in this book was suspensing. I really wanted to hate Ziva, but having a backstory softened my heart, and she didn't deserve what happened to her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Miscarriage and Death
jessg1014's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Child death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Infertility
bookswhitme's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
CW: miscarriage, death of a spouse, parental death, loss of life/murder, on page suicide (ch. 36), sexual manipulation of a minor & adult/minor relationship (mentioned but not depicted), discussion of mental health and declining ,entail health (depicted on page)
I’ll tell you one thing, this story was beautiful, heavy, and tragic all at the same time. It’s written in a way that allows us to take in all the main perspectives we need: Malachi, Ziva, Eliana, Violet, and Easton. They’re all key players in this story and the narrative treated them as such.
Now, I wanted to snatch up Violet a few times for getting beside herself lol. Her decision to secretly meet her biological father sets off a series of events that no one is prepared for. Malachi has been wanting a child for as long as he can remember and so when Violet shows up in his classroom, he’s shocked, but never hesitates to step up. Unfortunately that puts her adoptive mom, Eliana, in an uncomfortable position and unknowingly pushes his fiancée into even more unstable territory.
The love story between Violet, Malachi, and Eliana was beautiful. You get to watch their family connection grow and even though I didn’t always buy the chemistry between the couple, I always bought into the family dynamic that they established. Unfortunately, a good amount of the tragedy in this book stems from Ziva and the type of person her past has turned her into. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to beat her several times over, but I also felt sorry for her because of all she’d been through, that wasn’t an excuse for her to be a horrible person, but whew she really never stood a chance. Easton having to go through all this with his mama broke my heart, but I’m glad he had Malachi to help him through.
We were always headed to a confrontation of epic proportions, but things spiraled QUICKLY once we hit like...90%. Even with the trigger warning, I wasn’t expecting what happened. I knew the end result, but I didn’t know that’s how we would get there so that kind of threw me. Of course, in the end everything is wrapped up with a bow, but WHEW that ending was a lot.
All in all, an engaging read and definitely one to pick up if you can handle the heavy themes.
I’ll tell you one thing, this story was beautiful, heavy, and tragic all at the same time. It’s written in a way that allows us to take in all the main perspectives we need: Malachi, Ziva, Eliana, Violet, and Easton. They’re all key players in this story and the narrative treated them as such.
Now, I wanted to snatch up Violet a few times for getting beside herself lol. Her decision to secretly meet her biological father sets off a series of events that no one is prepared for. Malachi has been wanting a child for as long as he can remember and so when Violet shows up in his classroom, he’s shocked, but never hesitates to step up. Unfortunately that puts her adoptive mom, Eliana, in an uncomfortable position and unknowingly pushes his fiancée into even more unstable territory.
The love story between Violet, Malachi, and Eliana was beautiful. You get to watch their family connection grow and even though I didn’t always buy the chemistry between the couple, I always bought into the family dynamic that they established. Unfortunately, a good amount of the tragedy in this book stems from Ziva and the type of person her past has turned her into. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to beat her several times over, but I also felt sorry for her because of all she’d been through, that wasn’t an excuse for her to be a horrible person, but whew she really never stood a chance. Easton having to go through all this with his mama broke my heart, but I’m glad he had Malachi to help him through.
We were always headed to a confrontation of epic proportions, but things spiraled QUICKLY once we hit like...90%. Even with the trigger warning, I wasn’t expecting what happened. I knew the end result, but I didn’t know that’s how we would get there so that kind of threw me. Of course, in the end everything is wrapped up with a bow, but WHEW that ending was a lot.
All in all, an engaging read and definitely one to pick up if you can handle the heavy themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia
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