I liked this one way more than the first one. Definitely triggering at times but it wasn't done in a distasteful way. This was a journey of healing and I truly loved Tyler. This was a heavy book but I'm glad I read it.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Forever/Grand Central Publishing for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is an emotional read, and could be triggering for some. It is a wild ride, the main characters are damaged by others and doing their best to survive. Ty and Holly are just trying to live and get by, but find happiness together. Her parents were messed up and needed help. Her brother was amazing. Truly great story. 4.5 stars

Soul mates or trauma bond? Twisted coincidence or fate? Who knows but, what I do know is that I ate this book up! Holly was kidnapped as a child, and Tyler is a recluse who saves her. These two have the invisible string that ties them together and their connection is undeniable. If you enjoyed Still Beating and/or Lotus by Jennifer Hartmann, you will LOVE Tied. Tied is a beautiful story of two lost souls who find each other, work through the pain and heal together.

This was a re-read for me and I did enjoy it again. It is a sad, but unique storyline. I thought it was interesting that the parents had a hard time coping with the return of their daughter, that isn't something you normally see in these types of stories. I felt so bad for Holly, she just needed people in her corner and I'm glad she found that in our MMC. I felt the end was a bit rushed and it dived deeper into them creating a life together instead of just jumping into a proposal. Solid though!

I really liked this romance, just not as much as Torn. The main character Holly just read very young and a bit immature, and of course her circumstances made her that way.. it’s just not how I like my heroines to be portrayed. I loved Tyler though!

Holy shit! What a book. If you loved Still Beating, you will love this book. Do yourself a favor and pick it up. You won’t regret it! Easily one of my fave books this year. I liked it even more than Torn!🙊

Thanks so much, NetGalley and Forever, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Tied is book 2 in Carian Cole’s All Torn Up series. The first book in this series, Torn, is one of my all-time favs. So I was so happy that this book really worked for me too!

This is a very emotional, trauma-filled read. Both the hero and heroine have had awful things happen in their pasts and have a lot to overcome. Their journey together was really well done and so beautiful. It’s slow and tender and just really sweet. This book has an age gap, the hero Tyler is 12 years older than Holly. I enjoyed Holly’s relationship with her brother and his girlfriend and Holly & Tyler’s love for dogs.

Holly was kidnapped when she was 5-years-old and was held captive (being tortured and abused) for 11 years. She escapes and while running/hiding in the woods is when Tyler finds her. He becomes her rescuer but they don’t actually meet again until 2 years later. I really liked the time apart because Holly obviously had a lot to work through and get used to, she spends time at a care home and goes to therapy. Tyler also had something horrible happen in his past, he was pushed into a bonfire as a teenager and badly burned. From the burns and skin grafts he is badly scarred and has become a recluse living on his own in the woods outside of town. After the burning incident, Tyler also heavily abused drugs and alcohol and ended up crashing his motorcycle, which lead to him damaging his vocal chords and having a hard time talking. So these 2 characters have been through SO much when they do meet up and start forming their friendship.

This is a very, very slow romance and it definitely felt right down this way for what these 2 characters were going through. They definitely feel meant to be though and I loved the sweet happiness they find together.