A review by bribreez
Tied by Carian Cole

dark hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

*Please Check Trigger Warnings before reading.

4.5 ⭐️/ 3🌶️

Holly Daniel’s life wasn’t an easy one. At the age of five, she was kidnapped and held captive by a horrible man. After eleven years in captive and horrifying circumstances, she was finally free by a mysterious man who saved her. Although, she was now back living her new life, things still weren’t the same as she still dealt with the trauma of everything she endured over the years, and couldn’t stop thinking about the man with beautiful blue eyes who literally saved her. Tyler Grace was a reclusive person, didn’t speak much, and was use to being on his own ostracized by the town he lived in. The day that Tyler saved Holly from the horrors she knew he also knew he would never forget her face and how so much was hidden behind her eyes. Carian Cole wrote an angst filled romance with some heavy topics, and a slow burn romance between Holly and Tyler as they both found peace with each other, as well as grew stronger in themselves.

Holly endured a lot in the years during her kidnapping and afterwards, it wasn’t an easy journey, but slowly she started to find her place in the real world. The interesting thing I found about Holly was her outlook on life. Following the time when she was saved and found, Holly still had to adjust to her new surroundings and basically learn how to live independently. I think how Holly slowly gained confidence and independence was a big factor in her character growth, and truly showed that she wasn’t necessarily going to let her trauma override all the work she put into bettering herself. As much as people such as, Holly’s mom viewed Holly as a fragile and delicate person, she wasn’t that. Instead, Holly gradually grew into her own person, and developed her personality, her wants, her needs, her own self. This story tackled a bit of Holly’s trauma so please check trigger warnings before reading as this book did mention some heavy topics.

Tyler was a reclusive man who didn’t speak much, and when he did it was a few gruff words, but when he was around Holly, he started to soften a bit of his rough edges. If there’s one thing I love about a rough and tough man is not only seeing him become soft for the woman he’s falling for, but also being aware of what she needs. Tyler was observant in everything, but in particular with Holly, he knew when to soften his tone or step back a bit in order to make sure she felt comfortable especially since sometimes Holly was still working through feeling comfortable with physical touch. Tyler was known around town as the golden boy gone bad, and many were suspicious of him, but in all honesty Tyler wasn’t the bad guy at all. The moment when Tyler saved Holly he was a hero, but a miscommunication with the police and town had them labeling Tyler as the Villian. Tyler was use to people around town judging him, but being around Holly it was clear to see that he slowly started to enjoy the friendship they formed. 

Both, Holly and Tyler had a good amount of character growth that was shown throughout the book, and their romance was actually endearing. Through all the trauma and loss Holly and Tyler experienced, seeing them together going from friends to lovers was heartwarming, sentimental, and deep. As much as Tyler was initially stand off-ish towards Holly, he quickly found himself looking forward to the days they would spend time together. There wasn’t much conflict in this book other than the trauma that Holly experienced when she was kidnapped, and Tyler being the one who saved her. The rest of the story really showed the character growth both Holly and Tyler went through as well as seeing the two of them find their own happiness together. This story felt more character driven which I really liked, and genuinely felt the chemistry and love that Holly and Tyler felt for one another. With a bit of angst, sadness, romance, and hope, this story illustrated the way two lost souls not only found happiness, but also overcame the obstacles they faced. Good story, really enjoyed it, and loved the sentimental epilogue that was included at the very end.