Azere promised her father, on his death bed, that she would marry a Nigerian man and keep the culture he was so proud a big part of her life...the only problem is that every Nigerian man her mother sets her up with rude, condescending and only wants a woman to cook, clean and have babies.
After a really bad date, Azere runs into the handsome (Spanish not Nigerian) Rafael she ends up spending the night with him thinking that this will be fine because nothing will ever come of it.
Of course, fate has other plans for Azere & Rafael and pretty soon they are in a semi-serious relationship...one that Azere fears will upset her mother and the promise she made her father.
Azere is forced to look at what she wants, for once, and to decide if it is Rafael and the life he offers her or to forever be the daughter that does whatever her mother asks.

My first read of August is in the books, and it was a good one! First of all, can we just take a moment to appreciate this beautiful cover?! As a child of interracial parents and now being in an interracial marriage myself as an adult, I have always been drawn to these types of stories. I remember the episode of Saved by the Bell when Zach and Lisa liked each other, and movies like Save the Last Dance and Something New have remained all time favorites. I love that interracial marriages and relationships are represented more in television, movies, and of course, books!

Ties that Tether isn't out until September, but you won't want to miss this one! Azere is a Nigerian woman who falls in love with Rafael, who is tall, handsome, and white. Her mother has always expected her to marry a Nigerian man, and she is not happy when she learns about the two of them as a couple. I just loved this one. It was everything I wanted it to be, and more. The cover is only the beginning of this beautiful story. I loved the characters, and I didn't want the story to end. It was one of those books that left me wanting a follow up novel. I love the richness of culture that was present throughout the book. I found myself rooting for Rafael and Azere. I definitely cannot wait to read more books by this author. Thank you @berkleyromance @jane_igharo @netgalley for this digital copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Pub for the egalley.

My thoughts: 4.5/5! I really enjoyed this book about culture, love, family, promises and the balancing act we perform to keep our parents happy.

Overall an easy 5 stars. If life hadn’t gotten in the way I would’ve finished it in one day. It’s a binge worthy read with likeable and not so likeable characters. Azere’s mother drove me nuts and Azere too which her inability to speak up for herself. She does find her voice after an interesting turn of events and I was so thankful.

Ties that there was the perfect title for this book too! Grab a copy!

4.5 stars - I so loved this read! I love that it’s a multi-cultural romance. As an African-American woman, who’s married to a white man, many of the situations resonated with me. I enjoyed this read all the more because I could see myself in the heroine. I look forward to reading more titles by this author.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It's a little hit you over the head with interracial dating politics to the point where I had to do some double eye rolls at the fake drama but otherwise, it's a cute story and really liked the couple!

The cover art is absolutely beautiful and drew me right in. I really loved this book and how it depicted the struggle that many immigrants face when their families force them to choose between their native culture and the present dominating culture. I really love how Azere was able to find her voice and go after what she wanted. I would recommend this book to there.

Loved this book! The characters are so vivid and nuanced. I found myself falling in love with Rafael from the beginning (and pictured Rafael Solano from Jane the Virgin!). The mother daughter and sister dynamics reminded me of my own family. I’d recommend this read for anyone looking for a book that uplifts, entertains, and comforts at the same time. I’m so excited for the next book by this talented author!

I thought this book had a beautiful representation of cultures and I thought the main characters and their families/friends were really well written. I definitely felt all of the emotions they were experiencing.

Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo is an emotional and thought-provoking rom-com that touches on topics such as immigration, Nigerian culture, love, family, balancing multiple cultural identities, and the importance of putting your needs first and living a life that feels true to you.

At 12 years old, Azere’s father passes away and her last words to him include a promise that she will marry a Nigerian man and help preserve her family’s culture- even after they’ve moved to Toronto. To help hold Azere accountable to this promise, her mother is insistent on constantly setting her daughter up with eligible Nigerian men- men that Azere wants nothing to do with. After another one of these dates going horribly wrong, Azere finds herself in a hotel bar enjoying the company of an incredibly attractive white man named Rafael Castellano. Rafael is in town from NY for a job interview and just as quickly as they hit it off, their encounter turns in to a one night stand. A few weeks go by and as fate would have it, Rafael ends up getting hired at Xander, the company that Azere works at. What started out as a one night stand begins to develop into something much more serious and complicated, and Azere is torn between the need to please her mother’s wishes by marrying a Nigerian man and her growing feelings for Rafael. When her fears begin to get the best of her, she worries that being Rafael will somehow make her less of a Nigerian and compromise her identity. Is
it possible for Azere to betray the promise she made to her father long ago and give in to the happiness that Rafael provides her? Or will she continue to remain complacent in living the unsatisfying life her mom has planned for her?


This book was a really quick read (I finished it in one day) and I loved the depth of the various topics that are touched on throughout this book. I was very intrigued by things I learned about Nigerian culture in this story. I also really loved the fact that Jane Igharo unintentionally implemented personal aspects of her life into this book. In the acknowledgments, she mentions that she unconsciously wrote her family into this book and her statement made my heart swell:

“Christina is my hilarious sister, Precious. Jacob is my kind brother, Divine. Chapter forty-three- the shortest chapter and dearest to my heart- is dedicated to my father, Fred. He died before I knew him, yet he found a place in this book somehow.”
- Jane Igharo, Ties That Tether



There are a few things that I would have loved to see more of that could have made this story stronger. First, I wish that there were more details about the relationship development between Azere and Rafael. I felt like I wasn’t completely convinced that Azere and Rafael were perfect for one another simply because I didn’t have enough of a view into their relationship and felt that there wasn’t enough strong chemistry between them.

Second, I wish that the character development was stronger for both Azere and Rafael. While their characters were likable, I felt like it was hard to truly fall in love with them. Throughout the book, I was frustrated with Azere and her inability to follow her heart and her need to live her life based on her moms acceptance and expectations. At the very end, she finally did have a moment of realization about needing to live her own life and put her needs and desires first. She was able to stand up to her mom about this and finally choose Rafael without feeling guilty and fearing that she wasn’t doing what was right for her and her family. However, it took so long to get there and it happened so quickly at the end that it almost felt like it was inserted into the story just to finally arrive at a fairytale ending. Despite this feeling, I can also empathize with Azere and was heartbroken over the emotional back and forth she was going through in regards to respecting her Nigerian culture and her growing feelings for Rafael- her struggle felt incredibly authentic. In regards to Rafael, I felt that his character growth was stunted due to dragging out the timing of him sharing his secrets with Azere and not getting to know him deeper than anything surface level for majority of the book.

While I did not like Azere’s mom at all and was heartbroken for Azere over how cruel and selfish her mom was toward her and her life choices, and ultimately how hypocritical she was based on her actions at the end of the story, I completely understand the cultural differences behind their characters. With Azere’s mom, it was incredibly important to her that Azere not lose sight of her heritage and marry a Nigerian man and begin having multiple children by a certain age or else she was essentially wasting her life and a strong disappointment to not only her family, but her Nigerian culture. However, at the end of the book when Azere finally had her revelation and confronted her mom like she should have long ago, her mom finally had a revelation seemingly out of nowhere too and everything was suddenly fixed between them. This is another thing that almost felt like it was quickly inserted into the story to arrive at a fairytale ending. I wonder if the story was written more equally in multiple POV’s, a lot of these things could’ve been addressed differently in the story. I personally would’ve loved a true, multiple POV perspective for this book, including the POV of Azere’s mom so that we could have even more insight into her character and culture.

Overall, Ties That Tether was an enjoyable debut novel and I look forward to reading more by Jane Igharo in the future! One of my favorite lines from the story that sums up this book well is “let go of the life you’ve planned and accept the life waiting for you....” Thank you so much to NetGalley and for gifting me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ties That Tether deals with race, ethnicity, and diversity through the life of a Nigerian woman, Azere, who must deal with family acceptance, love, and the importance of herself.

Azere has lived her life through her mother’s orders and wishes, constantly being set up by her to date the perfect men, according to her mother, a Nigerian man who can take care of Azere so she can live her life as the perfect housewife. But Azere doesn’t want that.

When she meets Rafael Castellano, after a disappointing date, at a bar, their instant connection and attraction was absolutely incredible to read about and I saw the way Azere was changing her views and going against what she believed in - and what her mother believed in - to be with Rafael, even if it was just one night. Or so she thought.

When Rafael turns out to be a coworker of hers, Azere begins to cut off all thoughts and interactions with Rafael, the attraction - and fate - seems to bring them closer. The connection brings them together multiple times throughout the book and I absolutely loved their interactions together and the way they dealt with their situations and troubled times together. Azere and Rafael were great together and had an instant connection together and their situations pushed themselves to talk and communicate.

Although sometimes Azere and Rafael did not tell each other things while their relationship was getting more developed, I think that the way they went about things was important to read especially when it came to their family and especially Azere’s family.

I found that the cultural, diverse, and traditional discussions about how Azere's mother continuously pushed for Azere to stick with marrying a traditional Nigerian man with a nice job and to continue a good legacy and the Nigerian blood.

The way Azere’s mother went about things made me realize that there are many women around the world that deal with similar situations and have to deal with parents needing to stick with tradition and continuously having to order their children around and decide what they do with their life.

This book discussed a lot of controversial topics that I felt was such an important part to read which was one of the things that I loved about this book. Besides the romance between Azere and Rafael, the controversial topics and diverse and cultural representation was something I enjoyed while reading Ties That Tether.

Thank you again to NetGalley for an ARC for an honest review.

This book is so GOOD!! I started reading Friday night and finished Saturday around midnight. This book was really more than romance. It was about family, loyalty, honoring loved ones, but also about mixing cultures and how they may or may not define the main character's identity and individuality. The main character, Azere, deals with an internal struggle with finding herself and becoming decisive on the decisions she has to make for her life. This was so heartbreaking, worrisome, and empowering to read. Her relationship with her family and the dynamic with her mother really made me understand her loyalty to them but I still hurt for her. I didn't expect to cry reading this book, but the last 10% of this really had me tearing up. Also, I really enjoyed how much Rafael adored Azere. I wish there were more chapters with his perspective, but this was Azere's story, not his. This book definitely has drama, twists, and turns that had me yelling at my phone. The conflicts really had my stomach in knots! There are tons of celebrity references that I, as a child of absorbing so much popular culture, thoroughly enjoyed. I feel like Azere's struggles and how apprehensive she was to break from her current and culturally accepted path really were displayed very well in this book. It really made the last 10% of the book feel like a big pressure had moved off my chest that I didn't even realize I was feeling. I could definitely imagine this book becoming a great movie and I kept visualizing how scenes would play out. This is an amazing debut novel from Jane Igharo and I can't wait to read more of her future work!

Stop everything you're doing and read this book (when it is published on September 29!). It was the most beautifully written contemporary fiction love story ever. You absolutely fall in love with Azere as she navigates finding out that love isn't always what she expected it to be. Every character plays such an imperative role and I never felt like I was introduced with information that wouldn't help me later on. It was so beautiful and I can't recommend this book enough.

Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo tells the story of Azere, a 25-year-old Nigerian woman living in Canada and must balance maintaining her family and heritage when she forms a relationship with a non-Nigerian man.

The highlight of this book for me was reading about the two main character's relationship with their respective families and learning about both Azere and Rafael's cultures. This book was fun to read and I enjoyed the chemistry between the two leads. Unfortunately, this book contains one of my least favorite tropes in the romance genre which, made it harder for me to enjoy the novel more.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when a traditionally raised Nigerian girl meets a handsome Canadian? This romance is a roller coaster of emotions! Quick to read with a lot more depth than you get with some romances, I recommend it.

This is an interesting book. Deeply relatable struggles as a first gen immigrant, and I especially empathized with the heroine's conflicted relationship with her interfering mother. I'm not sure how much I liked the hero, though. I was more interested in the heroine's arc than the romantic relationship.

A Nigerian woman must choose between love and tradition when she falls for a man her mother does not approve of.

As a child, Azere made a promise to her dying father that she would marry a Nigerian man after emigrating to Canada to preserve their family heritage. After the most recent in a long line of failed dates arranged by her overbearing mother, Azere flees to a hotel bar where she meets handsome (and not Nigerian) Rafael.. An evening of instant chemistry ends in Rafael's hotel room that Azere flees the following morning.

When their paths unexpectedly cross again, things between Azere and Rafael become much more complicated. Will Azere have to give up her family and her culture to be with Rafael? Will she have to give up part of her identity? Is it worth it?

Ties That Tether is a story of coming into one's own and making decisions for yourself after a life time of following your family's expectations and plans for your life. I thoroughly enjoyed the unexpected depth of this Romantic Comedy!

Let go of the life you've planned and accept the life waiting for you ....this sums up this book perfectly. I can't wait to read more by this author it just flows in the twists and turns and everything is Happy wanting more I don't know if they'll be a continuation of these characters are not but,this is a gift and I encourage you to read it if you're feeling like your plans are not what you wanted and you're figuring out if you can accept what is and what's to be.

This story was a refreshingly different take on contemporary romance – set in Canada, featuring an interracial couple, and touching upon timely topics such as immigration, acculturation, and how to balance more than one cultural identity without losing oneself.

Azere is a modern career woman living in Toronto, whose traditional Nigerian mother is busy playing matchmaker at every turn. After a spectacularly bad date with one of her mother’s selected suitors, Azere walks out of the restaurant and into the adjacent bar. While sipping on her favorite drink, she meets a handsome stranger named Rafael and flirts the rest of the evening away. One thing leads to another and she ends up sharing his bed.

One month later, Rafael appears at a staff meeting and is introduced as a new colleague at her firm. Suddenly, the one-night stand that has occupied her thoughts over the past several weeks is sitting in an office just across the hall and seems keen on rekindling the passion from their first night. Sparks fly, and as much as Azere tries to control her feelings for him, they eventually end up dating.

Of course, no romance novel is complete without conflict. Azere’s mom is still trying to find her the perfect Nigerian husband, her first love reappears out of the blue wanting to reconnect, and Azere has to make some major decisions about what direction she wants her life to take. While Rafael is the epitome of her ideal man, he appears to be keeping some secrets of his own. All of these elements create one big roller coaster ride of a romance, with plenty of ups and downs, but ultimately worth the ride.

I loved the characters in this novel. Azere’s struggle to reconcile her cultural heritage from Nigeria with her personal identity as a Canadian and an immigrant felt very authentic. She is a romantic at heart, as evidenced by her obsession with romantic movies and happily-ever-after endings.

My one issue with this book was the author’s choice in narrative voice. The story is told in first-person, yet the vocabulary used is very flowery and descriptive in a way that does not feel authentic. The characters do not speak this way when dialogue takes place. And both Azere’s perspective and Rafael’s are done in this fashion, which detracts from their ability to have uniquely distinctive voices. I feel like this book could have been even better if Ms. Igharo had chosen to tell the story from a third-person narrative point of view.

Still, it was a very engaging and entertaining read, with the perfect HEA to wrap it all up at the end in a most satisfying manner. Highly recommended.

This is a promising debut and I’m really happy to have a chance to read it because learning more about different cultures, their traditions, approaches, perspectives turned me into a excited child who is happy to discover new, colorful worlds and appreciates the knowledge is power.

Most of our ancestors have migrated from other countries and sometimes respecting your ancestors’ wishes and protecting your cultural identity might be one of the most challenging thing to achieve because when you adjust to your new environment, your efforts may be resulted with cultural degeneration. There are two risky solutions of this adaptation problem: you may lose the native identity completely and forget where you come from or you turned into someone without identity because you cannot adjust to both of the cultures. You’re just stuck in the middle of them.

This book gave impressive and educational approach to this sensitive topic:

The plot idea was also emotional, thought provoking and moving about young Nigerian woman, Azere wants to obey dying father’s last wish: she will preserve her cultural identity and marry with a Nigerian man. But when her one night stand with a white man turned into a intimate, meaningful relationship, she is stuck in a big dilemma: should she do what she’s told and respect her family’s wishes to marry with a man from her own culture or should she listen to her heart and choose her own path of happiness with Rafael.

It was entertaining, enjoyable romcom and both protagonists were thankfully likable. Their chemistry was hot, sizzling. Only the last quarter of the book a little disappointed me with regular cliches about hero and his big secret which ruined the lovers’ bright future kind of angsty parts. I found it a little unnecessary. But at least conclusion of couple’s lives story saved the day.

Because of the exaggerated angst parts I cut one of my stars. So I’m giving four identity, multicultural interest, powerful, promising, creative four stars! I’m looking forward to read new works of the author.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this moving ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions and introducing me a brilliant debut author.

I loved this story. If you come from an immigrant family or are a first-generation child it's even more relatable. The characters will engaging and likable. Great debut from Jane Igharo. I look forward to reading her future works.