Because I DNF’d the first book, I will not be continuing this series. The age gap is something hit or miss for me and with this series it was a miss.

I can't even put into words how much I loved this book!
Carian Cole has a way with words, and it's impossible not to fall in love with the characters she writes. But Tied is on another level, the character development, how they're broken but together manage to face their demons and take small steps forward to a new life... it's so beautifully poetic.

Definitely a 5-star book and my new favorite!

Tied was my introduction to author Carian Cole and let me tell you, an introduction it was! It was a beautiful, intense, angst ridden novel that no matter how surprising I absolutely loved it. It was incredibly well written and the storyline was top notch. It touched the heart and the brain. It was quite a wonderful novel and I am excited to read more.from Carian Cole moving forward.

Once upon a time, a little girl believed in princes and fairytales. She was happy and safe in her innocence with a family who loved her. Until she wasn’t. Through eleven years of horror, the little girl clung to her fairytales and happily ever afters, knowing someday her prince would come. The little girl finally found rescue, but the beauty was tarnished and dented, and the beastly savior was ghastly and unrecognizable.

Tyler Grace has made a lot of mistakes in his lifetime. Mistakes that cost him everything. Rescuing Holly Daniel’s from her captivity and dispatching her captor is his on redemption. It doesn’t change the opinions of small-minded people in town about him, but something about Holly feels familiar. He recognizes the haunted look in her eyes and her demons mirror his own.

Eventually, Holly finds her way back to Tyler, and a cautious, unlikely friendship of sorts begins. It's tentative and careful, fraught with fits and starts. Both haunted by horrific pasts, they find a confidante and kinship in each other. Slowly, over time, each sooths the other's soul and heals the other's scars. An unlikely prince is made and the promise of happily ever after lingers.

Oh my heart y'all, I thought Torn was a phenomenal story, but this one is head and shoulders above that one! Two horribly damaged people in desperate need of healing who find and save each other is everything. The emotion in this one is a hurricane, tornado, and earthquake all in one. So much feeling! I was altogether exhausted, wrung out and euphoric by the end.

This story isn’t an easy one, but its evocative beauty makes it all worth it. It's heartbreaking and sad and terrible, but its stunning allure and exquisite depth of heart leave an indelible mark. These characters own me, heart and soul, and will live with me forever. This masterful work of rare magnificence is the read of the lifetime, and your heart will be forever altered by it.

𝟰 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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One thing that I know is an absolute guarantee when I read a Carian Cole book is that I’m going to get all the angst. So much angst. And I gobble that shit up like a starving person.⁣
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This book brings together two broken people just trying to navigate through life. I can’t even really pinpoint why I love this book. It was just…everything. It was the love perfect love story. ⁣
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They had a trauma bond, for sure, but they learned to heal together and find comfort and love in each other. And I have mentioned the angst? ⁣
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It all kinda felt like a fairytale with some really emotional moments. It was quite simply…beautiful.

This is a beautifully written story about two broken souls who help each other heal from their trauma. I love that they formed a friendship first instead of instantly falling in love. I also appreciated that their intimacy wasn't rushed and seemed realistic considering Holly's past abuse (as opposed to a lot of other books where the character is suddenly totally comfortable with intimacy post-abuse). Their love for each other was very pure and sweet, and I loved how supportive Tyler was of Holly regaining her independence and being happy even if that happiness didn't include him.

I really enjoy Carian Cole's writing and this story was one was no different! It was really well done.

**Warning please check triggers**

Absolutely loved this book! Holly and Tyler’s stories absolutely broke my heart and put it back together again!


Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book!!

thank you net galley. so this is tyler and holly story.this was so angsty wow, while reading this book i realized that words really do hurt people. holly was such a brave strong character, while tyler still had some thing to work throught, you also see the connection they have with each other and strong it really is. such a tear jearking book beautifully written highly recommend.

I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into with the series and yet somehow I got completely swept in. Tyler and Holly are two characters who dealt with a lot of trauma, but find love with each other. Full warning there are a lot of incidences of trauma, violence, family issues. I wouldn’t recommend this book without people reading the contact warnings. That being said, I still really enjoyed it. The new covers are beautiful.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for it on this review

I absolute love this book and this series. The new covers are amazing and I can’t wait to own them. I am posting a little review drawing attention to the new covers as well as the release date on my instagram. Thank you again for the Arc copy.

Tyler and Holly

Amazing story of survival and love. Carian Cole's stories transport me. IMO, one of the two best fairytale HEA stories EVER written. It's ironically "tied" with 'No Tomorrow', another Carian Cole book, for my favorite book ever penned or imagined. This story deserves an entire galaxy of stars.

While this is book 2 in the series I like to read this one first since it gives glimpses of the Grace family that gave me greater insight into the family's history.

Content warnings: long time kidnapping victim; torture; escape; burn victim; drug abuse; death of a parent; motorcycle accident; murder in self-defense; and tough family situations. I only added these warnings so that readers are prepared. Please don't shy away from this story, you won't regret spending your time with these characters. JP

Carian Cole has this way with her powerful words she time and time again so naturally writes. “Tied” is another story of hers that has captured my heart in ways I’m still attempting to piece together.

Child aßdüçtion stories are sensitive to write about, yet Cole seamlessly takes readers through Holly’s path to healing and weaves it with Tyler’s trauma. She fits two distinctly different people with a twelve-year age gap who eventually find true, authentic love with each other.

Of course, there were bumps in the road, and only Cole could conjure up feelings of outrage I had towards the characters in Holly’s and Tyler’s lives and finally find some compassion. I was fully immersed in this world, along with the characters, experiencing every emotion with them.

“Tied” is an extraordinary love story with my kind of fairytale ending.

I received a copy of this book and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley and Carian Cole for the eARC!

Let me just say, I put off reading this book for a while because I genuinely thought i was not going to like it. But BOY WAS I WRONG.

I read the first book in this series, Torn, last year and I really was not a fan. At all.

When I first started reading Tied and was going in not really expecting a whole lot and if I’m perfectly honest, nearly DNF’d it at the 14% mark. It was tough to read! The FMC, Holly, has been through an awful experience in her life (PLEASE check content warnings for this book) and it seems that no one is in her corner or really cares to support her. Holly’s mom was the absolute worst and she is the character that made me want to put this book down and just be done with it. However, I promised myself I’d give it a chance until the 20% mark and boy am I glad I did.

Tyler and Holly are two broken people with awful backgrounds of things that have happened to them. But together they support and love one another and bring out the absolute best in each other. I won’t lie. This was a TOUGH read. It’s emotionally gut wrenching. But it’s also so beautiful.

Just one piece of advice for the author/publisher, would be to please include a content warning page at the beginning of this book so that readers are very clear as to what they are getting into.

To anyone reading his review, I’d say skip the first book in this duology, but definitely read Tied!

This book had me very conflicted. I finished reading it at the end of 2023, and I honestly still don't know how to correctly express my thoughts. This book was really well-written, but the premise of it is what really messes with me. There isn't anything objectively wrong since they are both adults, but Holly was traumatized and not really an adult in her mind. Holly's parents made me so mad, and I really felt for her and for Tyler too. I loved how they were both healing from their trauma and the bond they formed. The animals and Christmas trees were so cute too. Honestly, this isn't my best review but I literally still can't wrap my head around this book.

I couldn't get into this story. I understand that the girl was kidnapped at 5 and would have lack of social skills, but it was almost too much.

Wow. This book was filled to the brim with triggers and trauma, but somehow also absolutely beautiful. It’s hard to write a thorough review without giving away spoilers, and I do think it’s best to go in somewhat blind (if you want to know triggers I’m happy to share), but I will just say that it was extremely well done. These two characters have been through absolutely unimaginably horrible things, but their connection is somehow so sweet and innocent to start. Holly sees Tyler for who he truly is, and Tyler softens around her, giving a glimpse into what old Tyler used to be like before all of the bad stuff. I thought this book was very well-written and complex. There’s even a plot twist towards the end that I did not see coming at all and had my mouth dropping open in shock!

“I'm going to love all of her - the good and the bad, the smiles and the fears, the pretty and the dirty."

God! Again the best by my angst queen, Carian Cole.
Holly and Ty!
The way my heart broke for Holly was unbelievable.
The way Ty’s and Holly’s relationship grew and developed from friends to everything to each other was so heartwarming to read. The way they put together their lives, each and every part of their hearts, GAHH! Just loved them.

Definitely recommended
♾️/10

I need to start by saying I feel fortunate to have gotten access to both books in the All Torn Up series. I feel like these books could have been read independently, but the reader gets a lot more by reading both. I enjoyed the second book in the series more than the first book. This author truly has a way of breaking a reader’s heart before slowly mending it together again. It also takes talent to write about a character at their level. Holly was kidnapped at age 5 and held in captivity for 11 years. The author appropriately wrote her in an immature way, which would be fitting for someone in Holly’s position. The book was a slow burn romance while also being a book about emotional healing. I would recommend both books in this series!

This was.... a lot. I was really hoping we would have gotten to see more of the previous couple because it felt like there was still a ton unresolved there. Overall though, I think Carian handled the trauma in this really well, but still something isn't quite sitting right with me after finishing.