Thank you to Forever for this #GoodreadsGiveaway. These opinions are my own.

I first learned about this story reading Nightingale: An Anthology for Ukraine, when it was released in 2022. I was quite impressed by Carian Cole's short story that was extra scenes for Torn. And it made me want to read the original book and series. So I was quite excited to learn that Forever was re-releasing both this spring.

To start, I do want to highlight that this book features an age gap romance (15 year difference) where Toren has known Kenzi since she was born. It's very much a taboo romance. If that weirds you out, I don't recommend this one for you. But if you're okay with reading such stories, then this is a very well written book.

It's a slow burn, and both of their emotions are so well written. All of the characters are incredibly nuanced and deep. And I also greatly appreciated the love for rescue animals. I found it tough to put this one down, and I am just as excited now to read Tied for Tyler's story.

The thing I love about a Cole romance is the emotional vortex she pulls you into. From the very beginning, she has a way of grabbing the reader's heart and then masterfully manipulating the heartstrings for the most profound, evocative roller coaster ride.

If you’ve read any of her work, you’re familiar with Embers and Ashes from her rock star romances. (If you haven’t, then run, my reader friend! You have some amazing reading ahead.) Asher, Ember, and Toren Grace were the founding members. Then Tor's life blew up and he quit the band. He remained best friends with Ash and Ember, and when their daughter, Kenzie, came along when they were barely out of high school, Tor became Kenzie's favorite person.

I’m not usually one for forbidden romance, and dad’s best friend isn’t at all a turn on for me. This one though, it doesn’t feel all that forbidden. If feels natural and beautiful and inevitable. If ever two souls were destined to be, it's Kenzie and Tor. Bless his heart, Tor tried so hard to resist and do the right thing, but ultimately he can never say no to Kenzie.

This story is so freaking emotional. I had no choice but to hand over my heart, hold on for the ride, and thank these characters for the chance to live with them for a little while. Evocative, profound, and the best kind of heart squeezing you'll ever experience, you definitely don’t want to miss this one.

Kenzi and Toren!

Kenzi Valentine has been in love with Toren Grace forever as her father’s best friend as sort of an uncle but their friendship turned romantic just before she turned eighteen. But they both know that many people won’t like them in a relationship especially her father.

Age gap romances aren’t my usual type of romance to read but Torn changed my mind because the author used the story to show how the relationship slowly changed between Kenzi and Toren because both of them knew that their relation was forever but they wanted acceptance from their families.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'll explain, this was my bad. I can accept it. I did not read the bio of this book, and yeah I don't mind a little taboo romance or age gap. Falling in love with a man that changed your diapers, ick. I do think making reference to a 5 year old saying her uncle-not-uncle her valentine and that's why they are meant to be as adults, ick.

not for me.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Torn

3/5 ⭐️

You will like this book if you enjoy;
•Age Gap
•Dad’s Best Friend
•Taboo
•Forbidden Love

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Carian Cole for the eARC opportunity to read this book!

This was my first Carian read and I think I may have chose the wrong book to introduce myself to their writing.

Normally I’m all for taboo reads, but the beginning just gave me an ick feel about him knowing her since day 0, and being 15 years older than her. I kept reading and did start to enjoy the read but it felt like it was rushed. The pacing was not great, and there were parts that I felt were plot holes that lead to confusion.

Overall it was a decent read and always love a HEA 💗

𝟰 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
⁣
𝗠𝗮𝗻, 𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲! 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 “𝗶𝗰𝗸” 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁.⁣
⁣
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁. 𝗜 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴. ⁣
⁣
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

This was my first book of Carian Cole's, and I really enjoyed it. I love a good forbidden romance, and this fit the bill. It was admittedly a little much for me that they had literally known each other since Kenzi was born. However, I really enjoyed how the story and their romance progressed and it ended up being a pretty enjoyable read for me.

DNF 1% in. I don't mind most taboo romance and I won't shame anyone who did like this but I couldn't get past the fact he knew her since she was one day old and he was 15. I don't mind age gaps but apparently my limit is when they have know each other most of their lives or in this case one knew the other their whole life. I still might try book 2 as I also have a copy of that but I am accepting defeat with this one.

First thought: Not my normal trope read but this was amazing! This was a 15 year age gap, best friend’s daughter forbidden romance that gave me major Jacob/Renesmee vibes.

A daughter of two teen rockstars, partially raised by their best friend. Kenzi spent every second with her Uncle Toren, he was her world. When she was 5 she told him she was going to marry him.

Now at 18 those feelings of love she has always had for him are now shifting to in love with him. All Kenzi wants in life is to be a wife, have kids and be the person someone can come home to at the end of the day.

But a relationship can’t happen between them their family and friends would not approve of anything ever happening. Toren raised Kenzi, they are 15 years apart. It would not end well it can’t happen.

Toren has loved Kenzi since Asher put her in his arms, she is his little angel. Toren would do anything to protect her. Now that she is 18 he is starting to see her with new eyes, she’s not the little girl he protected anymore but a woman. He doesn’t know how to navigate these new feelings and feels sick about it.

But you can only put up so much resistance Kenzi and Toren were destined to be together. This new secret forbidden relationship could destroy a lot more than just them.

Literally Themes you’ll find:

* Best Friend’s Daughter
* Forbidden Love
* 15 Year Age Gap
* Possessive Animal Loving MMC
* Sweet Kind Lovable FMC
* Dual POV & Timeline
* Spicy 🌶️

💜🖤💜🖤💜🖤💜🖤💜🖤💜🖤💜

Kenzi is not like every other high school girl. Her parents were fifteen when they had her. She grew up with rock star parents and other adults. While her parents were on tour they left her behind with their best friend Toren, to give her a sense of childhood normalcy. Kenzi and Toren share a special bond and she told him she was going to marry him at five years old. She's eighteen now and their innocent bond for each other has started to turn into something more.

Kenzi is a very mature young woman. She's strong willed and knows what she wants. I loved how straight to the point she was in her communication and behaviors. There were times in her conversations and decisions you could understand that she lacks experience and confidence, but I think that's what helped in the beauty of their story.

Tor is this bad ass biker looking dude, with long hair and tattoos, but with a gentle, nurturing, loving soul. He rides a bike during the day and saves abused animals at night. I got Sons of Anarchy vibes.... wow.... I need a cold shower ASAP.

At first, I had a hard time getting passed the non-related uncle / niece relationship, but OMG...... once I did, I couldn't get enough. I appreciate the way the writer gave Toren his character morals and personality. This didnt feel like an adult using coercion at all. The spicy scenes were hot 🔥. Their relationship felt genuine and natural. I found myself rooting for them. The traditions they had from their beginning continued into adulthood and I loved that.

Thank you to Netgalley, Carian Cole, and the publishers for this free ebook. This review is 100% my own and honest review.

Torn is the first book of the All Torn Up series of interconnected standalones. This book had me hooked from the first chapter and I couldn’t put it down! The writing is so beautiful and captivating. Toren and Kenzi’s story is heart wrenching and full of angst. Kenzi might only be eighteen but she is wise beyond her years. She is the daughter of two rockstars that had her in their teens. She grew up with a lot of her parent’s friends but always had a special bond with Tor. She knew what she wanted and never backed down. Tor gave up his dreams to take care of his family and has always been there for Kenzi too. He is lonely and feels like he is never enough to be loved.

I was a bit weary going into this but loved it more than I could ever imagine! I loved how Kenzi and Tor’s relationship built from friendship to lovers even as Tor fought it hard! This was an emotional read and hit all my feelings. My heart broke for not just Kenzi and Tor but also Kenzi’s dad, Asher. I would love to have more of his story! I’m really looking forward to Tyler’s story…he has me intrigued!

I was hesitant to read about a barely legal FMC and her 32yr old dad’s best friend. But I read it anyway and was entranced by the story I could not put it down. I felt the author does a great job at easing the reader into accepting the relationship. The gradual attraction from both sides was full of tension and a lot of resistance from Tor. I enjoyed reading and looking forward to the next in the series.

I am all for an age gap romance, and especially if its the dads best friend.... Kenzi and Tor were attached at the hip since her birth, I thought that was the cutest thing ever, we go back and forth between Tor and his teen years with Asher and Ember, starting the band, Kenzi growing up and everything. Then of course things start to change between these two. I will say this I was finding it a little weird at first because he is literally like an uncle to her, but then I started to love them together. It is a little of s slow burn romance, but when the spice hit, it kept on hitting, and I loved it all, Kenzi is not JOKE!!!! lol..... I am a sucker for a great happy ending and we got that here, this book was packed with so much sweetness, I couldn't get enough of them.

Kenzi and Toren have had a connection since the moment they met. As they both grew up, their friendship blossomed and mature. As Kenzi nears eighteen, she realizes that the connection with Tor is more than just friendly. With a fifteen year age difference, Tor is resistant to do anything to change his relationship with Kenzi. At the point that they both give in to their feelings, it is evident that they were truly destined to be together.

Please note that this book is definitely not for everyone. If age gap and/or taboo romance isn't your thing, keep moving.

4 out of 5 stars.

To enjoy this book you really have to be okay with the forbidden. If some of these tropes are not your thing, I highly recommend the next in the series tide, as these really are strong standalone. This twisted an age gap, taboo relationship into more of a friends to lovers and what really sold me is the bit in the end where during the third act breakup the FMC really does some soul searching to be on an equal playing field as him. But again I totally get this is not going to be for everyone.

Carina Cole is queen of the slow burn so that’s a factor as well. This has the angst and tension of the forbidden but not necessarily the pay off you may be used to or more gratuitously leaning romances of the same tropes. But also in the same vein, a lot of this is going to be unrealistic like, for example, her parents being Rockstars. There’s just so much of us that is unrelatable I could almost see it as like some kind of alternate reality, imagination romance. I did really like the side storyline exploration of him getting left behind his two best friends making it big, and what I was like for him throughout the years with the flashbacks.

It definitely wrapped up too quickly at the end with them as a couple but I can live with it. Thanks to forever for the eARC!

I had a little trouble getting into this book as it kept switching back and forth in timelines. Once I got used to that, it was easier. I loved the relationship between Tor and Kenzi. He had been in her life since she was born and she considered him her uncle for awhile, but as she got older, that changed. Since he was 15 years older, he had a really hard time considering a relationship with her, but she was relentless. It also took awhile to figure out what the status of her mother. Her father hit the roof when he found about them and beat Tor up. Eventually, he realized that they had been close since the beginning and it really wasn't surprising that it evolved. It was a good story worth reading

I got this story from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

I really loved this book and the flashbacks at the beginning of each chapter showing Kenzi and Tor's relationship throughout the years. I think doing this really made it less taboo because you could see that their relationship didn't change until Kenzi was almost 18. I felt like the ending was a bit rushed and would've liked a longer epilogue with more info on Ember's condition, but otherwise, I think it was very beautifully written.

This book brought so many emotions! I couldn't put it down. First of all, I absolutely love Torren. I love the relationship he has. I know a lot of people question the age gap but honestly, he's loved her from the start. I love their love. The story just really got to me. I'm glad they got their happily ever after and that her dad came around.

I'm totally into the age gap trope, but I gotta admit, when they've known each other since she was a kid, it kinda gives me the ick. But if anyone can pull it off flawlessly it's Carian Cole.

This is the second book of hers I've read, and she's definitely an author I'm sticking with because her character development is just absolutely amazing. The romance, the angst, their growth... seriously, you can't help but fall in love and root for this couple.

I can't wait to dive into more of the author's books!

Loved the premise of this one - age gap, forbidden - but the execution fell a little flat for me. I didn't really find the flashbacks at the beginning of the chapters necessary. There were too many page of internal monologue and not enough meaningful dialogue between the MC's. This was very bingeable and overall I enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader.