If you're drawn to steamy, slow‑burn mafia romances with morally complex characters and lovers torn between loyalty and love, Ties That Bind Us delivers. Ava and Nick’s chemistry ignites gradually, and the emotional payoff is rewarding—even through the unraveling drama. This is a thrilling beginning to what promises to be a riveting saga.

Thank you, NetGalley team, for the opportunity to review this captivating start to Nicole Knight’s Caponelli series!

Thank you to @Dreamscape_Media and Nicole Knight for the Audio Advanced Reader Copy of Ties That Bind Us.

I finished this book a few weeks ago, but I really needed to cool off a hot minute before reviewing it after that ending. The book itself was going to get like 2.5-3 stars? It was really predictable, some of the plot made no sense <spoiler> ("Oh, I know that her brother hated me and tried to beat me up 5 minutes ago, but I'm just going to blindly follow his claims anyway." -Nick, apparently.)</Spoiler>, and it was kinda difficult to finish. I couldn't really stay interested. It was an odd paradox of I know things are happening - the story is progressing, but it doesn't *feel* like anything is happening.

As far as the narration, some of the things that I'm sure we're fine in the book did not translate well in audio. For example, the flashback in the first couple chapters to when Nick and Ava met was incredibly jarring. Additionally, Ava's narrator only used an accent on every 19th word, making it more annoying than immersive. Both narrators gave Allesandro a voice that sounded like he was a nasally high schooler, instead of the leader of a major crime family. (This accent was also not consistent throughout the book and was there depending on the scene.)

Side note - Nick is also incredibly stupid. Like, for someone who claims to be able to read people like a book, he's so bad at it. He's also bad at identifying alternate scenarios. He thinks up one option, decides "yep, that's what will happen" and then is shocked Pikachu face when something else happens. I was trying to give him some grace, though, because books with perfect humans have no story. So that is not why this book has the rating it does, I just felt like this needed to be pointed out.

The reason I dropped this book down to one star is because some of the themes felt like the author was trying to be edgy while never having had experience with the topic previously. I don't think authors have a requirement to have experience with a topic in order to write about it, but they ABSOLUTELY have a requirement to do, at minimum, cursory research on the topic. Talk to someone who's experienced it. Talk to someone in the field. Please, I'm begging you.

She does this with the drug use throughout the book, where Ava has an entire inner monologue about abusing drugs, but then apparently had no problem quitting cold turkey when her dad threatened her. But when she was sad and her ex offered her drugs, she couldn't help herself. But carried around a whole baggie of them for weeks and completely forget they existed. That's not really how that works...

<Spoiler>The one that really pissed me off was the adoption story line. Not only was it completely unnecessary, but she got almost every detail about the adoption process wrong. This especially rubbed me the wrong way because I am an adoptive mother. I'm just going to include a list, because a paragraph would be way too jumbled.
- NEARLY EVERY ADOPTED CHILD WAS WANTED BY THEIR FIRST FAMILIES.
- Are you trying to tell me Nick, a literal hitman, passed a background check?
- The adoption agency would never hand you a child immediately after showing you the child's file and then send you on your merry way.
- "Oh, my wife has an outfit picked out. She's been wanting this for a long time." You've been considering this for less than 6 months. It takes longer than that to get licensed to adopt. Most people wait years.
- If you're adopting a 1 year-old, you would have weeks of transition. You don't just see the file, meet the child, make a split second decision, and peace out with them.
- Being pregnant disqualifies you from finalizing an adoption. </Spoiler>
If you're going to include themes that are someone else's lived experiences, please make an effort to get them right.

This was a fairly decent read. I listened to the book, and the narrators did a great job portraying Ava and Nick. Ava did not float my boat. She came across as an entitled. downward spiraling goose. She's a runner, runs from people, and has emotions but not drugs and alcohol. She did not earn my respect.

Nick was a doll. For a Mafia romance, this book did not focus on the mafiaso side of Nick's personality, but on his regular guy side trying to win and keep his lady love. His devotion to Ava was spectacular!

#netgalley #TiesThatBindUs

Not a bad story. Quite tropey and a little cringe at times. But the writing was decent and the story didn't drag. It was a wild ride that was fun for what it was.

This isn’t typically the type of book I’m drawn to (mafia romance), but I really enjoyed it. I hope it becomes a series, as I’d love to read more about these characters.

Definitely check the trigger warnings if you’re sensitive to certain topics.

The book was narrated by Jack Calihan and Allie Shae, and I enjoyed their performances. While I enjoyed the narrators’ performances, I would have preferred Nick’s voice to have a deeper tone.

#TiesThatBindUs #NetGalley
Publication date- May 27 2025

It wasn’t really my favorite. Personally I felt the pacing was a little all over the place and the characters didn’t have the click I usually look for them to have. I think by the end I could happily see them together but it took me a while to be rooting for them.

📚⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶
🎧⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Narrated by Jack Calihan and Allie Shae

Ava and Nick

• Mafia •

Overall, this book was good. I loved the characters and the overall plot.

However, it sometimes felt like we jumped from one plot twist to another. The characters would face a challenge, and it was nearly solved instantly without any angst or story development. I would have loved to see these bits explored more deeply to further the character development.

With that said, It is a good audio book. The Narrators did a wonderful job. If you are looking for something that is without much strife this is your next read!

I normally like a good mafia romance, but this one fell flat for me. Honestly, I wanted to DNF it after the first few chapters, but I can't bring myself to do that. The characters were interesting and the plot was a good idea, it just needs more work.

This mafia romance was not what I expected. Especially meeting one night and have no idea their families are rivals.

It was perfection. But life always gets in the way right?

Ava has a lot of obstacle she now has to think about and are now involving her one night stand with Nick

This book was really good. I loved the tension that happened throughout the book. I love the family aspect and to see how the rival families interact throughout the situation.

I had access to the audiobook via NetGalley but didn’t manage to download it before the archive date. Thankfully, I was so excited for this release that I listened to it on Spotify the moment it dropped! I really enjoyed the story — especially the emotional tension, the arranged marriage angle, and the chemistry between Ava and Nick. While some parts felt a little fast or repetitive, the audiobook narration was strong, and I appreciated the blend of heart, spice, and suspense. A great intro to mafia romance for readers who enjoy a slightly softer take on the genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC — even though I missed the download window, I still got to experience the story and share my honest thoughts!

If you've ever loved someone recovering from drug or alcohol addiction, this one might rip your heart out while also putting it back together. I did not expect to be held in as much suspence as I was while reading this. Ava and Nick are perfectly toxic and spicy. Im new to the mafia romance books as a trope/genre but I am starting to think I need more.

Ava and Nick were two characters that I enjoyed, however the rest of the book was kinda meh. I feel like there was a lot of potential for this book to have been a 5 star read it was just lacking something. As far as mafia romance books go, this is more on the bottom of the books I've read in this sub-genre. Not the worst by far but also not fantastic. I think the narrators did a great job with what they were given and I'm sure I would have DNF had I been reading it digitally or on paper. Another thing that I felt should have absolutely been addressed before the book began was the miscarriage. That should have been a TW as there are a lot of people who cannot handle reading about that, myself included. Though it did add to the story, a TW should have been included to avoid strong reactions to what happened.

This book is a dark mafia romance following our two main characters Ava and Nick who come from rival mafia families. They spend one steamy and passionate night together having absolutely no idea about who the other person is and it’s strictly supposed to be a one night thing however their families arrange for them to be married so the families can form an alliance.
I was really enjoying this book the premise read really well to me and that’s why I requested the arc in the first place and when I was listening to it I also really liked it personally I didn’t enjoy the direction the book took in the last 50% however I do think that’s a personal preference and something I imagine others will enjoy. This book is very fast paced as lusty from the get go I would argue it’s an instant love type of situation too as the characters are an item before the halfway mark but I’m not sure it also did kind of read like a Wattpad fan fiction not necessarily in a bad way it’s just something I imagine some readers won’t like.
All in all I thought the book was alright I would still recommend the book to people because there are parts some readers will enjoy more than others I just don’t think it was for me personally 😁

If only men or partners in real life were anything like Nick or even his father then we’d all be living our best lives. It was a cute story with a perfect ending. #TiesThatBindUs #NetGalley

This was my first mob/mafia love story. Although I did like the “meet cute” and the main characters, I could not wrap my mind around scenes like “I killed a man today”. This made me realize this is not my genre. Happily ever after does not appear to be a logical conclusion to their story and the epilogue completely made me mad that the agency did not thoroughly check them out. So unrealistic. Sorry that I am not the demographic, but I did finish it because I am stubborn and don’t give up!

Unfortunately, this one just didn’t work for me.

The premise sounded promising, and I was hoping for something intense and gripping, but the execution fell flat. The writing felt unpolished, like an early Wattpad draft with lots of telling instead of showing, inconsistent pacing, and dialogue that didn’t feel natural or grounded.

Nick, the supposed mafia boss, never quite delivered on the dark, commanding presence I expected. Instead of exuding danger or control, he came across more awkward than intimidating. And that kind of undercut the whole vibe the story was going for.

I tried to push through, but even at 35%, I realized I was forcing myself to keep reading. There just wasn’t enough depth or development to keep me invested in either the plot or the characters.

I always want to root for new voices, but this needed more refining before it was ready to hit the shelves.

DNF – 1.5 stars for concept and cover.

• Slow burn
• Enemies to lovers
• Forbidden love
•Arraigned marriage
• Mafia

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the access to the audio arc for an honest review. I enjoyed the story it was sweet but also had spicy moments as well and I really enjoyed the narrators.

Thank you @NetGalley and @Macmillianaudio for ALC. I am just stepping my foot into Mafia Romance and this was a great book to begin with. I fell for Nick and his big heart. Ava is strong and they are a perfect match. A must read.

This book was exactly what I needed after a long day at work. It was easygoing and didn't have many side characters that I had to remember and follow.

I really loved the banter between MCs at first but the more I read the more annoyed it made me. I didn't see much character development for the FMC, only on the few pages at the end, and that made every conversation the same.

I felt like 30% of the book was just repetition of events, reactions and conversations.

The ending felt a little rushed for my taste but overall it fulfilled it's purpose- it gave me the chance to escape my reality and live through someone else's eyes for a few hours.

294 pages? This felt like it was more than 500 pages!

It took me a little while to really get into the story. It started off as a cheesy beginning of a romance that started as a one night stand. I remember being more than an hour into the audiobook wondering where the mafia portion would enter.

I was listening for a bit when suddenly things took a dramatic turn that really drew me into the story. From that point the drama, suspense, violence and mafia life kicked in and didn’t let up. There was sooo much happening, but at times I did feel it was overkill. The suspense scenes ran through so fast, I would’ve preferred more tension in wondering what would happen instead of so many quick resolutions.

Ultimately, I enjoyed the story more than I thought I would. There was some heated romance, family conflict, violent crime and more. The characters were deeply layered and flawed. Ava’s inner conflicts really pulled me in; she was struggling with a lot!! She really helped “bind” me to the story.

Nick was a bit too perfect, but I liked him. They balanced each other well and the epilogue brought everything together nicely!

Arranged marriage
Mafia romance
Insta-love
He falls first
Dark romance

I really enjoyed the audiobook! The narrators gave an awesome performance; however, it felt so slow. Even when I bumped the speed up to 2x speed it still sounded like I was listening at 1x speed.