Ties That Tether is a debut novel by @jane_igharo but it reads like it’s her twentieth book. Her writing drew me in from the first chapter and she wove the story together perfectly. The contemporary romance genre has another new gold standard for me – and this one is it.

Azere is a Nigerian woman who has spent most of her adult life in Canada and is consistently struggling with how to both fit in and embrace her culture and heritage in her daily life. Her mother is constantly setting her up with Nigerian men who she deems fit for her and Azere is tired of it. One night, a date goes poorly and she leaves mid date to go drink at a hotel bar, where she meets Rafael – the kind of man her mother would not approve of (well, because he’s not Nigerian but a Spaniard). Their relationship takes an unexpected serious turn and Azere has to decide what she wants from life – to make her family happy or to make herself happy.

The book does an amazing job at highlighting interracial relationships and the hardships that often go into them. I also loved how by the end of the story, Azere was able to find her voice and figure out what was most important to her without compromising who she is. I find that trait to be so important in a female lead. I enjoyed learning about Nigerian culture and the idea of having to live in two worlds at once, which is not a concept I am familiar with myself.

4.5/5 ☆ = 5+

Trigger Warnings// traumatic childbirth, mentions of deaths

All her life, Azere has known she must marry a Nigerian man. After moving away from Nigeria at the age of twelve to Canada, the fear of losing herself and her culture in a new world has haunted her ever since. Or more specifically, her father who passed away, where his last wish was for Azere to marry an Edo man. This leads to countless of arranged dates with Edo men, where after one miserable and sexist date, Azere stumbles upon Rafael, a white man. The exact kind of man Azere promised to never fall for, to honor her father's last wish. What seemed to be a one-night stand turns into something more when Rafael appears on her workplace as a newly appointed hire. And also is the baby daddy of Azere's unborn child.

Ties That Tether was a quick but wonderful read. It was as if reading a rom-com, with all the feels and drama and of course - a swoon-worthy romance. And it definitely toyed with my feelings.

The mix between a contemporary story and romance was something I really liked. As a daughter of immigrants, I've also faced the issues and difficulties of finding where I belong. I found myself relating to many of the complications of culture clashes. The themes of family values are engraved deeply in my heart and soul, and I definitely loved the importance of it in this book.

At some times the writing could seem a little silly or cliché, yet I did get a whole lot of rom-com vibes from this book. And I'm definitely a sucker for rom-coms, so the silliness felt almost right to me. Yet I wish Igharo could dig deeper into the pain and confusion. There was a potential for this story to become even more...raw and heartbreaking.

I found myself relating to Azere at many points. The confusion, finding my own voice, as well as going for what my heart really wants. And I wonder if anyone else feels like this. In a way, I felt represented, as I also found bits of myself in Azere. Now I feel empowered and certain that I will find my way in this world.

I could definitely feel that this story was a mix of thoughts and an important message Igharo wanted to convey. I do wish there hadn't been so many time skips, so I could really feel understand the emotions and pain Azere was going through in her story.

In conclusion, I found this book absolutely enjoyable. I had fun, as well as learned a little bit more about Nigerian culture. Even though Azere and I are different, I also found many similarities as our shared experience of living in two different worlds at the same time. This book made me miss watching rom-coms, so I will definitely watch one soon!

Over and out. -Nora<3

Summary:

After yet another terrible date with one of the many Nigerian men Azere’s mom sets her up with, she has a one-night stand with a handsome stranger in a hotel bar. She is horrified weeks later to find that he is a new hire at her company. She is even more horrified to find out that she’s pregnant. Torn between her culture’s demands and her own feelings, Azere navigates balancing love and family.

Review:

I had really high hopes for this one, and it had a lot of potential. It started off very strong but fell flat pretty quickly for me. While I liked a lot of the story itself, I found the writing style pretty cheesy and cliche. I did really love the cultural component, and the ultimate realization that adapting to Canadian culture doesn’t have to make Azere any less Nigerian.
Overall, this was a cute enough romance novel that was quick and easy to read.

After another awful set up by her mother, Azere meets a man that sweeps her off her feet. Things get even more complicated when she finds out her is her new coworker. She can’t help but fall for him, there is just one problem. She made her father a promise before he died that she would marry a Nigerian man and keep her culture alive after moving to Canada. Choosing Rafael will not only break her promise, but her mothers heart as well. Will Azere chose love from a man, or love from her mother in the end?

This book was everything I wanted it to be. It had the great love, it had the heartache, it had the amazing friends and support characters. I just loved it. I also really loved learning more about the Nigerian culture. It always breaks my heart when I learn about parents disowning their children. I can’t imagine having the ability to just cut your child out of your life completely. Azere was a gorgeous character that was caught between doing what her mother wanted her to and having the love she wanted and deserved. I can’t imagine the pain of having to make that decision. I’ll be honest, if it were me, Rafael would have come on a little too strong, but it really worked for the book, and I still loved him. If this book isn’t on your radar, it should be! It’s out September 29th, so make sure to preorder your copy now!

It seems well-written but I was not expecting a surprise pregnancy trope or so many references to loved ones unexpectedly dying and in this current pandemic baby boom climate I just couldn't keep reading it.

Ties that Tether is a contemporary romance debut novel by @jane_igharo that tells the story of a Nigerian-Canadian girl, Azere in the quest of preserving her cultural identity, got caught up in a dilemma after a one night incident that took place.⁣
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This book cuts across important themes from immigration to culture and tradition, interracial relationship, ethnicity, love, family pressure and expectations, misconception, feminist stereotype and likability.⁣
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This read was an enjoyable one to me. It was educative, drama filled and throwing spotlight to important issues in the society at large.⁣
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Preservation of one cultural identity is something important and to me, not easy especially when the individual happens to be an immigrant. Trying to balance the prevailing culture of the society you in and that of your indigenous culture, do result to acculturation.⁣
So, in my own opinion, at some level I understand Azere's parent wish but didn't fully subscribe to it, mostly the level it was been taken.⁣
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On the issue of feminists been stereotyped, the awareness of what feminism truly stand for should be discussed and passed across, because of the negative connotation, often making the stereotyped subjected to derogatory mockery.⁣
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Another light I would want to throw in is on life satisfaction. On this aspect, ones happiness is among the top things to consider.⁣
In life, one's opinion matters alot than others because at the end it defines the state at which you are going to live in. Taking a decision of your choice is very necessary, just like in the female protagonist situation (your happiness matters).⁣
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The male and female protagonist were likable to me but the reason for the male protagonist been angstful wasn't good enough (the secret was just flat).⁣
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Most of the male characters were douchebags, I must say and to some level one of the main reasons I love Azere was her way of handling them.⁣
At the end the epilogue wasn't necessary in my opinion.⁣
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I can best describe this book as "Something New"... with a Nigerian twist. For a debut novel, this was an amazing start for Jane Igharo. There was a significant amount of chemistry between Rafael and Azere that kept me interested. As an ADOS, I do not have a clear cultural connection to my African roots. I can, however, relate to Azere , with the pressure to marry someone, Black. That is a source of constant struggle for a lot of Black women living in the west. It does a fantastic job of highlighting the struggles of an immigrant in love and life and having to choose between tradition or passion.

Also, the second love interest was so blah, it made us forcibly root for Rafael despite everything. A lot of it was just heavy-handed.


My only negative for the book was some conversations between Azere and Rafael felt formal and not casual/natural. That could be my casualness as an American reader. I also am not a fan of surprise babies. Just not a trope I am drawn to as a reader. Also, one pet peeve: Rafael is from Spain. He wouldn't be Latino. He would be Hispanic but accurately, European (I suppose).

SN: This would make a great Nollywood show.

I read this via NetGalley.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

There’s a lot going on in this book. So, first and foremost, know that this book features a surprise pregnancy, the death of a child/spouse, and a traumatic birth experience.

I had some knee-jerk ‘white, western woman’ emotions regarding the familial expectations placed on Azere and I had to check myself constantly. For example, a part of me thinks her father’s death-bed request was borderline cruel and that her mother’s disregard for her feelings was not okay. But then again, I cannot possibly comment on the experiences of a minority immigrant family trying to maintain cultural identity while living in North America.

The only thing I can comment on is how the author is characterizing Azere’s feelings about those expectations, and it’s clear that she’s struggling.

I think this is a smart romance grappling with cultural/racial identity. It’s pretty trope heavy (surprise pregnancy, love triangle, forbidden relationship) and there’s a lot of drama. While the tropes featured in this story aren’t generally my favorites, I am happy to see cultueally diverse romance novels taking up more and more space on the bookshelves. I enjoyed this book.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.5/5 Stars

** I was provided an E-ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review**

I have some mixed feelings about this book. There were parts of it that I really enjoyed but there were more parts that I didn't care for. The romance was alright and I did like them together. However, the part that made me rate this book so low is all the side characters. For the life of me, I couldn't stand the mother or the other "love interest". Overall an okay book, the writing was okay. I recommend at least checking it out.

Jane Igharo's novel touches on the experience of immigrants and the lives they try to build that combines their new and old lives and expectations.

As a first book, I can only hope the author will write more. Azere is a Nigerian woman, moving with her family to live in Toronto, Canada with her Uncle after her father’s death. Azere made him a promise to marry a Nigerian man, and her mother sets up dates so she will keep her promise. When Azere meets Rafael, her world is turned upside down. Will Azere follow her heart, as in her favorite romantic movies, or will she remain obedient to her culture. I enjoyed this book and recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I truly enjoyed Ties That Tether.
The story of Azere, a single, Nigerian woman who is torn by family and ancestral tradition after a one-night stand with a man who is not Nigerian, is intriguing without stiffness. Azere loves romance and fills her head with dreams and reenacting romantic films popular in Nigeria and the United States.
Rafael, the man with whom Azere has the one-night stand, is drawn to her and wants more, but keeps his secrets. Both characters are loving, gullible and stubborn, but it's their respected families' traditions and honor that gives them a roller coaster ride.
I loved the consistency of the story. It never faltered, nor did it bore me. It kept my attention til the very end. I see a bestseller, and a movie in Ties That Tether.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved reading from the perspective of a Nigerian immigrant, Azere, and her struggles to honor her culture while trying to fit in with her fellow Canadians. This same struggle trickles into her love life as well as she is trying to honor her father’s dying wish that she marry a Nigerian man to help preserve her culture, but falls in love with a Spanish/Canadian man named Rafael. My only issue is that I felt like this book fetishizes Latinx men through Azere’s love of men from Latinx cultures that she harbors from adolescence to adulthood. This obsession of hers is forbidden of course because of the promise she made. I also had an issue with Rafael being referred to as a Latino. First, the correct term is Latinx and people from Spain are European not Latinx. These issues along with the lack of communication being one of the main factors that caused tension in the relationship are what kept this from being a five star read for me. As far as chemistry/heat factor I would probably give this a 3/5. It started out pretty hot and then fizzled out the farther along I read. Overall, I really enjoyed the plot, the writing style, and characters. I rated this 4 stars.

First of all, this cover is gorgeous! The vibrant colors grabbed my attention and drove me to read the synopsis which in turn lead to me reading the book. So bravo to the artist.

As for the actual story, I give it 3.5 stars. The fact that it was about an interracial couple was beautiful. I am a product of an interracial marriage and in this day and age I find that more and more people are. So it’s great to see fiction derived from how the world actually is. Representation matters, even if it’s not your culture, or especially because it’s not.

I am not Nigerian, but the struggles Azere has with what her traditions dictate and what her heart wants is relatable. Of course you want to respect your culture and be accepted by your loved ones. But just how much are you willing to sacrifice to find your own happiness?

Personally, I’ve never experienced such blatant ultimatums from either of my parents. I’m incredibly lucky in that they’ve always let me choose who I want to be and who I want to love. But I can relate, if only in periphery, through my Aunt’s story. My Aunt is Mexican-American and she fell in love with a man outside of her race and culture and my grandfather disowned her. He never had a problem with his grandchildren from the marriage, but he was stubborn enough that he never spoke to or looked at my Aunt when she visited my grandmother. It wasn’t until my grandmother got sick 40 years later that he finally gave up his stubbornness to let her help take care of my grandmother and he rekindled their relationship.

It’s so incredibly sad that they lost so many years because of ridiculous bias and stubbornness. But some cultures are like that. Azere’s Nigerian mom was just as stubborn as my Mexican grandfather. She wanted a Nigerian husband for her daughter and that was it. No arguments. It seems stubbornness is multi-cultural and multi-generational.

This story is great because it is about more than romance. It’s about family, traditions, culture and how they all get incorporated into your life. The author expressed these views well. She showed just how much pressure cultural values and expectations can be and how they can effect every aspect of your life.

What I didn’t like was Rafael’s “secret” that was holding them back. It was predictable and the author put too much emphasis on it having a major issue with why they weren’t working as a couple.

I also had a problem with some of the writing style. I didn’t like that every time she wrote conversations she had to address the person by name. “Azere...you look beautiful.”, “Rafael, thank you.”, “Azere, you’re welcome.” Now obviously the writing wasn’t as cut and dry as that, but it felt like it sometimes. The audience is intelligent enough to follow conversation without addressing the person by name in each sentence.

But other than a few things I didn’t like, I found that I enjoyed it. It was a good first novel and I would definitely read more from this author.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for releasing this ARC to me in exchange for an honest review.

I really appreciated the way this book addressed how to celebrate and respect two cultures in a relationship. Yes, Azere is Nigerian and that identity is very important to her and her family, but her love interest is Spanish, and his family also clings closely to their cultural identity. I found this to be a very fast and fun romance. If Jane Igharo writes more romance, I hope her next book focuses on Efe!

I have not seen much about Ties that Tether on Bookstagram or Goodreads for that matter, but after reading the synopsis on NetGalley I went ahead and requested it. I’m so glad I did! (Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for a review). Jane Igharo’s debut was brilliant! I finished it in two days because I couldn’t put it down.

What I Liked: The core of this story is about Azere and how she tries to maintain her Nigerian identity and promises made to her family while simultaneously trying to make room for Rafael (her unexpected one night stand turned love interest) in her life. Igharo did such a great job at weaving this into the story and presenting the hardship immigrants and children of immigrants face when they are trying to find their identity as a person in a new country. They are forced to conform to the “norms” of their new country, but also don’t want to lose their identity and culture of where they came from. I loved Azere and Rafael’s relationship and that their conflict arose from how to navigate and blend their backgrounds (Nigerian, Spanish, and Canadian) so they could build a life together. It’s very real, very big deal kind of conflict and not a forced miscommunication issue that so many romances can have. I think everyone can relate to Azere in the sense that it can be hard to ignore the will of what others (parents/family) want for us while trying to build our lives, so much so that it can prevent us from living our own lives. I loved the family drama, and I loved how many scenes made my heart flutter. Finally, the steam was 🔥 🔥 🔥.

What I Struggled With: Nothing. I flew through this book and loved every page.

If you want a romance with some excellent character depth, themes, family drama, and steam: pick this one up! I loved it!

This one is out today!

I will be posting my review to Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/bookswithemandfrankie/ ) and Goodreads ( https://www.goodreads.com/bookswithemandfrankie/) on Pub Day 9/29/20.

You go into this book thinking it is going to be like a lot of contemporary romance, but it ends up being about so much more.

relationships with family
with partners
with yourself.

I was almost late to a meeting because I had to finish this one up. It was filled with beautiful lines and believable tensions.

Deep-rooted, cultural expectations could wield overwhelming control over a person’s life’s decisions? "Ties that tether" captures the cultural conflicts and confusions experienced by Azere in her quest to find love. Page after page, Azere’s journey peels back my own subconscious layers of denial, unearthing many years’ worth of buried questions. I could not put it down.
Thank you @berkleyromance for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

NetGalley ARC | Ties That Tether is one of my new favorite romances of 2020. I devoured this book in a single afternoon.

A beautiful story about love and heritage, Igharo examines the internal and external battles interracial couples face. Azere is a strong and powerful woman who cannot say no to her family. Readers learn more about Nigerian culture just as Rafael does, and you’ll find yourself cheering for them both.

You can find my full review on The Uncorked Librarian here: https://www.theuncorkedlibrarian.com/september-2020-book-releases/

Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for providing me with a free advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.