Synopsis:
Aurélie experiences an identity crisis now that so much has happened over the past few months and realizes she is no longer comfortable with being sub for her fiancé, Rory Krieger. She leaves him though he tracks her down several months later and begs her to return and promises to change for her.
Meanwhile, ghosts from the past continue to haunt their togetherness and Aurélie wonders if a happy ending is at all possible between the two of them. When her family is placed in the center of the conflict, she must decide how far she is willing to go to keep them safe
The Ties That Bind Trilogy, Book three
Author: Elle Chardou
Genre: Romantic Suspense / Erotica/ BDSM
Date Published: 1/12/13
Purchase links:
Amazon / B&N / Smashwords
Other books in the Trilogy:
Find out more from Goodreads
or Purchase it from:
Amazon / B&N / Smashwords
Read a synopsis from Goodreads.
Purchase it from:
Amazon / B&N / Smashwords
Elle Chardou is a world traveler and author of several different series.
Ms. Chardou is the author of The Ties That Bind Trilogy, The Atonement Series, The Hart Family Saga, The Vamp Saga, The Supernaturals, Beginnings: Book I (The Plague) series.
She is currently working on Undertow, Only Love (The Atonement Series), and several other novels for her continuing paranormal series, The Vamp Saga.
Ms. Chardou has lived abroad in Stockholm (Sweden), Manchester (England), Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland. She currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
You can find her on her Blog, Facebook page, or Twitter.
My Thoughts:
Killing me softly and all of the books in this trilogy are meant for mature adults only. Some of the language is coarse. There were some things that happened that I was not prepared for, I'm still processing them. I don't think these books are meant for the faint of heart.
I would advise reading them in order. They are super erotic and have more BDSM elements than I am used to.
I can't say for sure whether I like or dislike them. I am kind of numb and still thinking through all of the things that happened in this trilogy. There are a lot of twists and turns, lots of intrigue, and some really hot scenes as well as some that made me uncomfortable. I can say that I was interested enough to keep reading even after coming across parts that made me pause.
I am sorry for leaving you with this bizarre review but these are my honest thoughts.
I would suggest trying Killing Time if it sounds good to you. You won't know unless you try it. My lack of rating, is my fault and should not reflect on the book. Notice i didn't say that I disliked it, I just can't say that it was great either because of my own personal hang ups with some of the circumstances in the books.
I wouldn't hesitate to read other books from the author if she has milder books.
I received a copy of all three books in exchange for my honest opinion.
Have you ever read a book that you couldn't decide how you felt about?
I'd love to know what you're thinking. Please leave a comment!
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteYour review actually intrigued me a little, Brenda, so I went to Goodreads to try to glean a little more information about this series. Now that I have more details, I understand the more cryptic statements in your review! And I don't think that this is a series for me. =(
I have read a few books that made me feel mixed up about whether or not I liked them. They were usually classics or literary fiction. The weirdest example has got to be my experience with Women in Love by D.H. Lawrence, which I had to read for a paper at uni and did not enjoy at all. A few months after the final exam, however, I randomly pulled my copy down off my shelf, opened it to a page in the middle, read the first line that caught my eye . . . and kind of "hallucinated" (for lack of a better term) that the words had been written in fire. It was really as if the words caught on fire before my eyes, and after the fire went out, the brightness left dark spots on my retina. I can't explain it. But whenever I remember what a bad taste Lawrence left in my mouth, I also recall that no one else's prose has ever done something like that to me.
If you don't mind a really long-winded comment, here's another example--one which is closer to this book. Several years ago, I read an Agatha Christie novel in which two sisters fall in love with the same man but only one of them gets to marry him. Later in the story, someone wonders why the husband continued to have a relationship (which may have been entirely chaste, albeit deeply emotional) with the sister he did not marry; and another character suggests, "Maybe he loved both of them." That already goes into a dark place for me. I wouldn't have an emotional affair with my sister's husband (or condone my sister having an emotional affair with my husband) any more than I'd sleep with her former lover after her death (or be okay with my sister easily doing the same), so I'd be deeply uncomfortable reading about characters who are okay with that.
Having said all that, I hope I'm not coming across as bashing this series. It could be really well written, for all I know; but what I'm certain of is that it's not for me.
I just wanted to say Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy reading everyone's comments to Brenda's questions!
DeleteThat's what has me so conflicted. It was interesting and other than coarse words, which are usually in these types of books, it was pretty well written.
DeleteThe problem was not with the writing, or any of the usual problems. The problem was how I feel about certain things that happen in the book. I can not with good conscience condone such things, make believe or not. Therefore, how could I say that I liked these books? On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with the books. So how can I say that I don't like them?
+JMJ+
DeleteJosette -- Thanks for reading! =) I also love coming back to read the other answers to Brenda's questions. She has a talent for asking some great ones!
Brenda -- Exactly! I didn't describe Women in Love in my first comment, but I found the characters in it deeply unlikeable as well. I wouldn't like to know them in real life, so why would I want to read about them as the "heroes"? =S
Brenda, thanks for your honest comments regarding this book. I can only imagine how hard it is to write a review like this. I write personal reviews - for those books I choose to read, I feel it's important to share our thoughts with the author and other readers - of the books I read on Amazon, B&N, and Goodreads.
ReplyDeleteSo, the question, there really isn't anything that pops into my mind. I'm pretty open to anything when it comes to reading. I would say "horror" novels might make me feel that way - there the one genre I stay away from. I mean if horror movies (which I don't watch) can make me uncomfortable and creep me out (my imagination is so much worse than anything on the screen, but with today's special affects...let's just say they feed my imagination and there is nothing funnier than a 40 year old having to sleep with the lights on LOL), I can only imagine what a book would do with all of that additional detail. As for BDSM, etc., I've read quite a few and I've said to a few of my book club how funny I find everyone's reactions to 50 Shades - I've read books SO much worse than 50 Shades! I guess I feel a books job is to make us feel something; whether that is happy, sad, angry, or creeped out. If the book makes us feel, then it's done its job.
I can't read or watch Horror either Josette. lol!
DeleteAs for the this series, I loved Fifty Shades and Bared to you. In my mind those are mild. This series was so much more potent and I was not prepared for it. Also the lines blur with their relationships to put it mildly and me being the prude that I am, I have a hard time accepting that, even knowing that it is only make believe. That is MY issue with this series. It has absolutely nothing to do with the story.
If you are used to the more edgy BDSM books you may really like these. If you try them, please come back and tell us what you think of them. :-)
+JMJ+
DeleteBelieve it or not, I'm actually a huge fan of Horror in general. With a few exceptions (because there are always exceptions), I find Horror movies and novels easier to take than stories like Killing Me Softly, because in the former, there are hardly ever any shades of grey. The villains are really villains who must be sent all the way to hell, if need be. The heroes may be unlikeable anti-heroes, but insofar as they do the right thing, we can stay on their sides.
I don't expect life to be totally black and white, of course; but when I think an issue is a definite no-no and an author insists on presenting it as a morally ambiguous shade of grey, that is when the cognitive dissonance kicks in.
I'll have to do that Brenda! Added it to my Wish list and when I get my gift card I'm waiting on I'll see about putting it on the To Buy list.
DeleteI usually do better with suspense, because the people are "real" and I know how to handle them. If the monster under the bed was real and it grabbed my foot one night, I wouldn't know how to handle that ;) LOL
Thank you for being so honest with us like always.
ReplyDeletei don't think it's a book for me but i'm sure some must love it simply not for me.
i did read book that left me unsure how i felt but i guess i must be resolved that after becaus ei can't remember any of them now^^;;
:-) As I told E, I'd feel bad saying that I disliked it when the book was fine. It was what happened in the book that has me so unsettled. It is a personal issue with me and because of it, I can't say that I liked it either. I don't think this would be a book most of you regular commenters would like either.
Deleteyou did great don't worry. we can't all like the same thing aftyer all and you did try the book so for me that's the most important and staying honest is capital ( one reason why i like your reviews so much and come check everyday^^)
Delete:D Thanks Miki!
DeleteThere have been a few books that have left me not knowing whether I liked it or hated it. Thanks for the honesty when it comes to this series. I am not sure it's for me because often the "too coarse" type of books are the ones that I just can't get into.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't happen very often, but I've read a few books in my life that I've had very conflicting feelings about. I appreciate you being honest and sharing your true feelings instead of just saying it was a good story.
ReplyDelete