I have been on such a dark romance kick, that I jumped at the chance to pick up The Ties That Bind by Piper Rhodes. This was a great, short read that packed enough plot to keep the novella moving forward and just enough spice to keep it tantalizing.
The plot made sense and was satisfying considering Rhodes had less than 80 pages to develop tension, climax, and resolution. I think because it was so quick paced, and the situation itself was so time sensitive, it worked. Surprisingly, it worked better than a lot of other romances I’ve read that are three times as long. Rhodes was great at setting up the story, having it unfold, and having it resolve without making it unnecessarily long.
Our MMC is Alec, a desperate and down on his luck regular, blue collar guy that’s trying to come up with ways to rescue his sister. Cue Elle, our FMC, who is a bit naive when it comes to life, though the same cannot be said for her sex life. Chemistry hits the moment they meet and I honestly could not WAIT until we got to the spice. We get teased throughout, adding to the tension as both try to figure out what the sparks between them mean.
I think that The Ties That Bind by Piper Rhodes is a solid dark romance and I really recommend it for readers that are thinking about dipping their toes into that genre. Veterans of dark romance or bullymance or monster romance may find this a bit low risk, but still entertaining.
About the Author
Piper Rhodes spends much of her life in daydreams, so it was only natural that she start writing them down! She loves romance, travel, and sexy, soulful men with the kind of puppy dog eyes that turn a girl to mush. She also loves bad ass heroines who have their shit together and aspires to one day be as cool as her literary icons.
