I loved Tor and Kenzi's love for animals and loved that they were part of animal welfare. I thought how the story was told with small flashbacks and then jumped back into the present was really creative. I wanted to like this book, but I got the ick so many times while reading it. I have no problem with age gap, father's best friend/daughter taboo romance. But I read the whole book with a grimace as soon as I realized she was underage. I really couldn't get past the grooming vibes the book gives off. Even if that had been excluded though, I didn't feel like there was great chemistry between Tor and Kenzi, and honestly felt like Tor was kind of a hypocrite (SPOILERY! but he lectures her about demanding a guy use a condom no matter what but then he doesn't?!???).

Kenzi was raised by her fifteen year old parents and their best friend, Toren. Toren and Kenzi have a life-long connection that morphs into best friends, and then into a deep romantic relationship.

A few thoughts I had while reading this:
-The relationship between Kenzi and Toren was terribly unrealistic. They were so loving and kind to each other in an not-relatable way. Most of their conversations felt forced or just weirdly worded, as if they were speaking up and being fake; trying to be overheard.
-the uncle vibe gave me the ick immediately and I could NOT get over it. This guy babysat her and took care of her for her entire life. She calls him Uncle Tor until like one minute before she dry-humps him.
-the last 10 percent of the book felt like it was in fast forward, whereas the first 90 percent felt like the same repeating information. Would have loved for Kenzi’s mom to have an actual return and her storyline be more tied up. The epilogue was not enough!

I didn’t inherently dislike the book, but I would not recommend it to a friend, unless said friend had an uncle kink.

I would be willing to read more from this author in the future, I think the uncle vibe just really wasn’t right for me.

Many thanks to Forever, Carian Cole, and NetGalley for this ARC.

2 stars for Torn by Carian Cole.

I didn't hate this book by any means, but I realized I just had a lot of negatives that just don't outweigh the positives.

The age-gap aspect of this book is not bothersome to me, what IS bothersome is the fact that Toren is Kenzi's godparent, and a step further than that, she refers to him as "uncle", "Tor" was her first word as a kid, and Tor was essentially a stand in for her father from the moment she was born. Asher didn't seem to be a very involved father, but Tor stepped right into that role. It feels very icky to know that the same man that changed so many of Kenzi's diapers as a baby is now having sex with her. Gross.

The book feels very slow paced and uses a little bit too much filler. The flashbacks only added to the icky feeling of Tor essentially being Kenzi's second dad. The descriptions of Tor rescuing dogs were a bit too frequent. One or two instances of rescuing the dogs would have been enough. And then the last 5% of the book just went SO fast. It flashes forward to 1 year later and indicates in that time Toren and Kenzi hadn't spoken other than letters. Which is crazy to me because Toren was ready to marry her and then he just let her go and they barely spoke for a year? And then the accidental bump in after she had already been in town for a month is wild to me. I don't understand why she wouldn't have told the literal love of her life that she was back.

Why did Chloe get so mature by the end of the book providing Kenzi with advice, when in the first part of the book which happened just a few months earlier, she was super immature and forcing Kenzi into having sex with people she wasn't interested in. Her character was a bit of a flop for me.

While no under-age sex occurs, there are two instances of intense kissing (one with clothes on grinding) that happened before Kenzi turns 18, which is gross.

When I first read the Synopsis I was intrigued, I kept thinking about it. I knew I needed to read it right away. It starts as a slow burn and it starts getting spicy near the end. I had to put the book down when my kids returned home from school. 🥵😉

The forbidden romance caught me and had me cringing in some parts. But overall the love and romance between the two is heartwarming. I really enjoyed this book.

I wish there was more information about Asher and Ember.

Tied was a great, touching and beautiful read that blew me away. I love the writing style and the plot is refreshing. Overall it was an intense and quite a heartwarming story for me. I really enjoyed reading it

Holy shit this was.... intense. I came into this blindly and just woah. This is very heavy on the taboo and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I hated the flashbacks to when she was a child, it felt very ick.

Torn by Carian Cole is book 1 of the All Torn Up series. If you like a dads best friend, age gap, forbidden romance, then this will tick every box for you. It wasn’t just a taboo spicy book, it was emotional and romantic and an unforgettable read. The relationship between Toren and Kenzi is beautiful even if Toren is Kenzi's dad's best friend. She has always loved him growing up and now that she is 18 she wants to act on it. Toren is one of the good guys and every woman wants him. I love his heart and how he is so protective of Kenzi. This book is beautiful in all ways.

There's taboo romance, and then there's taboo. I wanted to give this one a go as I don't mind my romance sliding into that forbidden zone, and don't really have too many issues with big age gaps from a young age (18+), but Torn just felt completely off and gross. It read like some sort of conservative, white woman's manifesto thinly veiled at feminism because the main character gets to "choose" the life she wants to lead, and at 17, she's somehow decided all she wants is to be barefoot in the kitchen being the housekeeper for a man 15 years older than her and slapping the "wife" label on it. The author ramps up the ick factor by inserting the "romance" scenes with flashbacks of the main characters pasts in an attempt to intertwine how deep their love supposedly goes for each other, but instead gives off creepy grooming vibes. Nobody needs to have a "finally they've done it" sex scene proceeded by a flashback of the main love interest holding her in his arms when she was a newborn. It's gross, and I'm surprised and disgusted Forever wants to be associated with this book. Definitely giving Colleen Hoover walked so Carian Cole could run vibes, very disappointed.

This is a classic taboo romance that I highly recommend to all forbidden romance lovers. It may make you uncomfortable, but it is so worth the read. I wish Cole wrote faster, because I know there are supposed to be more stories in this universe and I’m getting very impatient!

This did not destroy me like I though it would. I thought I was going to ugly cry like I did with the Ribbon Duet but alas, it did not happen. I think this is one of those situations where you need to read the physical book instead of listening to it. Still really enjoyed it though. The book was another taboo romance; the H was the h’s godfather / “uncle” and basically helped raise her. But they started having feelings for each other and it came to a breaking point once she turned 18. I’m looking forward to reading Tied next. I love how all of Carian Cole’s books are interconnected. I can’t wait ti read Ember and Asher’s story as well!💕

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

Torn is one of my favorite reads from Carian Coke. This is a taboo, forbidden romance with a 15-year age gap. Kenzi falls for Tor, her father’s best friend and someone who has always been a presence in her life.

I loved so many moments in this: Tor’s dog rescuing, Kenzi’s calligraphy, their penny fountain wishes, Kenzi’s dreams and wanting to be married and have kids, lots of Kenzi taking care of Tor (cleaning his house, making him dinner, some caretaking). I just really appreciated the time they spend apart in this read as well and how it only strengthens their relationship in the end. If you love age gap and forbidden romances, this is definitely one to grab!