This is a rural romantic suspense set in the beautiful New Zealand and it was a great story, filled with danger and moving emotions that will bring two well deserving people together and help two children who have been through so much feel whole again and part of a family, make yourself comfortable for this one it travels a bit slowly at first then it moves with a punch as danger gets closer and secrets are revealed.

Ex -undercover cop Luke Galloway has spent a lifetime trying very hard to ignore emotion, he lost his parents when he was young and his sister Jenn brought him up and he was not an easy kid, fast forward to now and Luke is now caring for his niece and Nephew after his precious sister Jenn and her husband have been killed in a car accident and left their children fourteen year old Rose and eleven year old Otto with serious injuries. Luke hires physiotherapist Brooke Galbraith to help with their care, and here starts a sensual spark that leads to a lot of emotion and feelings entering Luke’s Life.

Brooke Galbraith has returned to her home town to help her father who has had a stroke it has been a while since she has been home after the dramas and scandals that had her leave, life has been hard for Brooke and love is the last thing she is looking for, but she cannot deny the spark that ignites her when she meets Luke and the caring that she has for his niece and nephew, there are a lot of fears that Brooke needs to overcome to make for a bright and happy future and maybe Luke and the kids can do that.

Luke can be a bit hard and bitter at times especially at the start of this story but he really has been through so much and he is determined to care and love these kids that mean so much to him and Brooke is just the person to help him. A lot comes out in this story about both of their pasts and it cathartic for both of them especially when they find out who is behind the danger that has appeared and who is determined to keep the kids from opening up about what they know. I really enjoyed this story and do recommend it to anyone who loves a story that is sensual and has danger lurking around the corner. Thank you MS Wine.

2.5 stars

Luke never thought he would be raising his niece and nephew, while trying to work full time and grieve for his sister. Luke reached out to Brooke at a last ditch effort to help the kids, knowing her reputation will put stress on relationship from the start. Unwilling to let his promise go unfulfilled, he pushes past his feelings and eventually falls in love with her.

Brooke has dreaded returning to her hometown, her dad needs her help. Looking for work to help cover the cost of moving back home, Brooke takes on the headstrong opinionated Luke. Brooke heart easily gets swept away by the children, and she soon found herself moving into Lukes’ house to get the best of gossip mongers.

Luke and Brooke have strong emotions about each other from the start, it could be considered an enemy to lovers story. Both had good intentions with the kids, slowly learning to trust each others input. Both were mature characters who talked things through, moved past reputations and put the children first. Their romance really bloomed towards the end of the novel, it was easy to see how Ms. Wine was working the couple through the stages, making their way to a happily ever after ending. The secondary characters blended into the background, no characters possessed anything that made them stick out. Lies that Bind held a plot twist that forced all of the characters to come together. If a reader is looking for a quick book, light on suspense and romance Lies that Bind could easily fit the bill. This is the first read of Ms. Wines work, I feel there is was a little bit lacking in the emotion/connections with characters; there is a foundation of a good novel it just needs built up more.

When I saw this book on the list of Escape Publishing’s new April books, I found myself interested in this read. I love romance novels, apparently especially since I’m pregnant, but I also love romance novels to have a little suspense. And this book sounded like it had plenty of both. So obviously I had to read this one.

Brooke Galbraith is a physiotherapist who came back to the small town she ran away from years ago, to take care of her father. Being back in her old home town is hard for her. And when the handsome but rude Luke Calloway offers her a job she can’t refuse Brooke is determined to keep things strictly business.
Luke has had a view hard months. His beloved sister and her husband died in a car accident and left him as sole guardian to his young niece and nephew. The last thing he wants is to ask help from the gorgeous Brooke.

To be honest, it took me a little while to really get into this story. When I read the first view pages I felt like I was missing stuff. Like I missed a previous book. Thankfully, things got easier to follow the further I read. But the two main characters Luke Calloway and Brooke Galbraith weren’t as easy for me to connect too. I just didn’t really like them at the beginning.

Thankfully I slowly began to enjoy this story a little more. I was glad to find there was definitely some suspense in this book. And I loved the way Luke was with his young niece and nephew. But the romance between Luke and Brooke wasn’t really what I hoped it would be. I just couldn’t really feel the chemistry there.

The writing in ‘Lies That Bind’ was very descriptive, which made it easy to follow. Although I liked the ending of the book, I still feel like there are some loose ends I would have liked to be more tied up at the end. But overall it was a nice read.

Luke had been a cop but his sister Jenn and brother in law Ian had been killed in a car wreck and they had left behind his niece Rose who was 14 and his nephew Otto who was eleven. Otto was in a wheelchair and Rose had a severely injured shoulder. Otto had been sleeping then knocked unconscious but Rose had been awake and see her father die there and her mom was severely injured and died at the hospital. As Jenn lay dying Luke promised Jenn he would take care of her precious kids. Ian had been a criminal lawyer and had told his wife to be careful. Brooke had came home to take care of her father who had a severe stroke and was having problems recovering. Cassie dad brought up the fact Luke needed help with his niece and nephew he was raising and Brooke was a physiotherapist. When Brooke had lived in this town when she was younger through her innocence she had been involved in a scandal and a former cop went bad and committed suicide. The man Brad was also married and had a young family. Brooke felt guilt she didn’t know he was married she had been the one to bring Brad to Sweetwater and he had ripped off people she had known her whole life and loved including her parents. Too late she found out Brad had few scruples and little compunction about fleecing people who knew and trusted her. Brooke met Luke at a coffee shop She was attracted to Luke and ge to her but they were determined to nothing would be done about it.Luke worked as manager of Whitby Downs. Luke and Brooke agreed he would bring the kids to her father's where she would have their sessions and then she would drive him back to the ranch. The kids had serious emotional problems one of them being survivors guilt. Luke is trying so hard to do everything right as he doesn’t want to lose guardianship of otto and Rose to their grandparents as Ian hadn’t wanted his kids to grow up with his parents where appearances mattered more then anything to them. Then there's a chance that Jenn and Ian had been murdered and not just an tragic accident. When Luke had grabbed Brooke she had went into almost a catatonic state of shock.scarred Luke. Luke couldn’t understand himself other than he deeply resented his attraction to Brooke. Brooke told Luke the kids needed a balanced diet as they needed to build muscle mass. Luke talks brooke with her father to move to Whitby Downs to give the kids stability and support. Ashe had hired a male -Rio to be housekeeper and cook and that too many males would hurt Rose’s already fragile psyche.
I loved this book. I felt it was well written I loved the pace and plot of this book. There was intrigue, lies secrets, betrayal, guardianship fight, kidnapping, orphaned traumatized kids, bachelor guardian, bad cops and so much more. I loved Brooke and Luke together but even more so how Luke was determined to take care of his charges, how much he loved them, and protective he was. But he also became very protective of Brooke. I also loved how both Brooke and her father came to love Rose and Otto. I loved how Brooks father fiercely loved her and was her rock. I loved the characters and the ins and outs and I highly recommend.

My review is 4.3 stars.

This is a very strong book I could hope for. The starting was so good & from then the book took over me completely and since the first page, every page of the book added a beautiful turnaround event, marvellous storyline and compelling words. The author is very versed how to grope the reader and never let them slip from the grip. I really loved the writing style of the author.

The plot chosen was so good and the best thing about it is that plot keeps developing as the story progresses. If you have started guessing that this is going to happen next, then please don't. You'll be surprised by the book in every coming paragraph. I had my moments in the book where I laughed, I cried and I felt emotionally drained. I loved it.

The characters of the book are incredible and I felt my connection with them. Either you talk about Luke or our beautiful Brooke, I felt a special connection with both of them. The way Shirley chose to play with the words is commendable. I would say she has her way & she did a great justice in the book with whatever you ask about.

I really do recommend this book to all to read this. This is a great book and can sweep you away off your feet.

Lies the Bind by Shirley Wine

Romance is the last thing Luke and Brooke have on their minds as they undertake bringing Rose and Otto back to physical health after the automobile accident they were in…the accident that saw them also lose both parents. Luke promised his sister Jenn he would raise her son and daughter and that is just what he plans to do. Hiring Brooke as their physiotherapist then moving her and her father into his home were the first steps he took but he took more as the story progressed. There is instant attraction between Luke and Brooke but both are leery of a relationship having been burned in the past. With a mystery unfolding, the potential of relatives trying to get guardianship of Rose and Otto, a huge operation to run, a cook and housekeeper to hire, the possibility that the death of Jenn and her husband not an accident but actually murder…the plot thickens.

This was a well plotted story that I felt invested in. I was hoping for the HEA everyone managed to find and look forward to reading more books by this author in the future. I could not tell if this book is part of a series or not – it stands along easily and was an enjoyable read even if there are previous books or ones to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Escape Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

I haven’t read any other books in this series, and at times I knew I was missing something. I’m not going to leave a review anywhere else because the version I read still has a long ways to go in editing. It seemed like I was reading two different books at times. I enjoyed the basic storyline. A woman with a past comes back to town to help her father recover from a stroke because she is a physical therapist. A man in town hires her to help with his niece and nephew. Their parents died in a car crash and the two kids were seriously injured. There were a lot of things that didn’t make since to me, like the reasoning behind when she went to go live with him. Why doesn’t he just hire a female housekeeper/cook? Also, you seem to be reading a reasonable story and then there are sentences like this thrown in “sexuality oozed from him and hit her like a solid roundhouse punch.” Lots of information and phrases are repeated.
I think this book is promising after going through some major editing, including making Luke a much more likable character.

I enjoyed this book, it was a light read for me. There were some very cliches happening throughout the story but those are what it make good.

I loved Brooke and Luke. They were passionate, and their was chemistry between them. They tried fighting it, but their love won. The children also helped with their relationship including Brooke's father. This was such a good family oriented book including tons of romance.

This story sorta broke my heart. If you really want a book you can cry with well this is a real tear jerker. Luke is a former police officer, we meet him on the day his sister dies in a terrible car accident. Her husband does too and her children survive but are terribly damaged. Some physical and some emotionally. As I said tear jerker.

Then we meet Brooke. Brooke is home taking care of her dad after a stroke and she has an extremely nasty past. But she is also very strong because her past did not break her. But she also has a bad experience with cops and Luke is a former cop. So when they meet and Luke needs to hire her to help out his niece and nephew after the accident its hate at first sight.

The sparks are there but these two don't really like each other. The kids are wonderful and thats really why I kept reading. I did not love Luke or Brooke but Brooke's dad and the kids I loved. That said it is well written and is a story I enjoyed but it is a more emotional and heavier romance than I am used to.