Lovely romance. Young Nigerian executive, Azere, is under pressure from her mother to get married and have babies (as long as her husband is also Nigerian). In fact, the mother continues to find prospective husbands for Azere; unfortunately she doesn't seem to appreciate this help. Then complications arise after another young executive makes a reappearance in Azere's life and workplace. If only he was Nigerian.... because he sure makes her heart beat erratically.

2.5 stars

Ties That Tether grabbed my attention because it promised a love story while balancing parental expectations. While Ties That Tether paid homage to romance by referencing popular romance movies, I struggled to decide if this novel was a romance or a story about a young woman learning to find her voice.

Azere's mother was deadest on setting her daughter up with a nice Edo man and Azere didn't know how to live her life without breaking her mother's heart. I liked the various discussions on struggling to keep your culture in a new country and the harsh expectations parents can have, but the romance only served to the move the plot along. I never felt an emotional pull between Azere and Rafael; Rafael was smitten from the beginning and Azere found herself in a love triangle which I didn't expect. Besides that, the dialogue often felt cheesy and forced. If Ties That Tether was a TV show, I'd probably watch it for the sheer amount of drama, but as a novel it was mostly exhausting. Despite my disappointment with the overall story and progression of the relationship, I thought Igharo's examination of the immigrant experience and the difficult expectations immigrant parents place on their children was important.

First of all, this cover is gorgeous. I was so surprised by how much I loved this book. When I read romance, I expect a light, fun story that makes me smile and may be predictable. Ties that Tether definitely was light and fun and made me smile and laugh, but very early on, it proved itself with a situation I didn't see coming. I love when I can learn something from a book and I don't get that much from romance, but I learned a lot while reading this book. I know some things about the Nigerian culture, but I was introduced to some new facts. Jane Igharo's writing kept me engaged the entire time. I look forward to another book by Jane Igharo.

2.5/5 stars, rounded up to 3. This is a cute, quick read. It is not the most spectacular book, and it is filled with a LOT of tropes for romance. Overbearing family, tortured past from the male love interest, a lot of attention to wardrobe, etc. This book has somewhat of an issue with fetishizing an interracial relationship with a white man, and similarly with the way that it talks about her bff Christina, who is mixed. That's always really difficult for me to get over, especially as a person coming from a multiracial ancestry who knows all too well that having black relatives does not cute white people of their racism and antiblackness.

The writing is not the strongest even for a romance novel which sucks because I am always craving more romance books with black women at the center of them. All that being said, I was able to devour the entire thing in one sitting! It was clearly enough to keep me going and for that, I thank Igharo.

I loved this heartfelt book about a woman torn between her love for her family and culture and her love for a new person in her life. Will Azere honor the promise she made to her late father to marry a Nigerian man, or will her love life go in a different direction? This was a sweet story, and I loved Azere's heart, determination and courage.

2.5 stars. Trigger warning for surprise pregnancy, loss of a child, and traumatic childbirth.

I want to start out with saying I was so excited to read this book. The cover is gorgeous and this book sounded so good with the main character falling for a man that was not Nigerian when she promised her deceased father she would marry a Nigerian man. Unfortunately, when I started this book, I was really not enjoying the writing style. The dialogue felt very forced and cliche and there were FAR too many movie references. Rom coms are our main character's "thing," but she goes on to reference at least ten movies and follow that reference up with an entire paragraph summarizing the movie or scene she was reminded of. This got to be too much, and, while I love movies and knew every single movie she referenced, I just didn't care and it took me out of the story each time.

On to the actual plot. This book deals with surprise pregnancy, which is my least favorite trope. While this is definitely a me problem, I wish the synopsis mentioned this because I wouldn't have even picked the book up. I honestly would have DNFd this book at that point if I weren't reading this for review. There is a love triangle between Azere and two guys, a Nigerian guy she has a past with that her mother picked and this other guy she had a one-night stand with. I didn't really feel any of the connection or past to the guy she had a history with and I didn't feel the chemistry that much with the other guy she had hooked up with. None of the romance really did it for me. It also felt like a lot started in this book and then just stopped or wasn't fleshed out enough. I feel like we still don't know these characters, who they are, or what they like other than the main conflict of the story. It was just missing that real-life authenticity to the characters.

I will say, I did appreciate the important discussion about dating someone that is not of your same ethnicity and how cultures can or cannot come together in a relationship. Azere has a lot of guilt over not staying completely loyal to her Nigerian roots and disappointing her family's expectations. However, the story itself, the writing, and the romance just did not mesh with me.

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!

I feel like this was a promising start for a debut author, but there was a lot missing here. I think the author just needs time to work on her craft.

The time structure of the book was a jumble, which was due to the pregnancy FORCING the book's pace. I understand why the author included a pregnancy; it was the only way to force these characters into a relationship. But I didn't like the early portion of that forced relationship. I am aware of what the author was trying to do with the "montage" chapter, but again, it just didn't quite work for me.

All that said, I greatly look forward to more from this author, because this is a good start.

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.

This book was absolutely beautiful! I loved it so so much! I enjoyed getting to know Azere and learn about her Nigerian culture. The Ties That Tether did an amazing job of bringing to light the beauty and the richness that comes from in an intercultural relationship. This book really made you question how well do you know yourself and what makes you, you? This book gets all the stars from me! A must read! I want to thank Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy of this book!

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.