I enjoyed reading it! Unrequited love always brings out the emotions.

The red thread of fate was an interesting concept to be integrated into the story, which features a love triangle of a guy and two brothers. The art style is nice as well.

It is a 4.5/5 for me! I would consider reading volume two.

⭐ Rating: 4/5 stars
🗓 Publish date: May 21, 2024
🌈 Representation: gay MCs, Korean characters & author

CW/TW:
Alcohol use, age gap relationship, abandonment (minor)


I ended up really enjoying this manhwa, despite going into it with some reservations. I generally have issues with the fated mates trope and plotlines based on characters who are “meant to be together,” but I must admit that it was interesting how it was handled in this story.

I felt kinda bad for Wooseo and Jigeon being forced together by the rings, but it did serve as an interesting catalyst for them to spend time together. I like romances where the characters choose each other, because to me that's what love is about, not “fate.” So while the story does set up these two as “soulmates,” all it means, practically speaking, is that they now need to sleep in the same space. Their feelings towards each other still remain complicated and ever-changing. They still have agency over their choices, and the messiness of love has not been smoothed by some universal force. So I really did enjoy the story as it progressed.

The love triangle being set up is pretty intriguing, as well. So much drama! And the chemistry between Wooseo and both Jiseok and Jigeon is great. Wooseo is a sweetheart cinnamon roll, so I hope he finds his happily ever after.

Thank you to Ize Press and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Tied to You is a thread of fate manga in which Wooseo discovers his fated partner is his crush's older brother when they both wake up with a ring on their finger. There is a fun amount of world building, in which those whose ring appears lose sleep if they don't sleep with their ring partner. This causes different pressure and dynamics between the boys, while they're also keeping it from the younger brother. We also get to see some of the older brother's perspective on the past which I also enjoyed. Overall this is a cute Korean BL and I'm excited to see where the story goes in the next volume.
Thanks to IZE press and NetGalley for the arc in trade of an honest review.

Wooseo, a college student, has been in love with his best friend Jiseok forever, but Jiseok is straight and doesn’t even know of Wooseo’s feelings. Things get even more complicated, when a ring indicating a fated partner appears in Wooseo’s finger and it connects to Jiseok’s brother, Jigeon, who knows of Wooseo’s feelings to his brother. Keeping apart from one’s fated partner is bad for one’s health, and so the men come to an agreement: they’ll live as roommates and keep everything hidden from Jiseok.

But what Wooseo doesn’t know is that Jigeon has been in love with him for a long time. He has no intention of doing anything about it though, as he knows Wooseo wouldn’t feel the same. It’s an odd sort of triangle drama where one partner has no feelings, but is part of the equation anyway.

This was a lovely, slightly sad story and a good start to a series. Illustrations were full-colour and beautiful. I’ll have to read more to find out how things will turn out.

The fated mates trope usually gives me the ick, but I loved this twist to the story of the red string. When it also includes an age gap, unrequited love, and my best friend's brother tropes... 😍

I am so here for the angst. I will definitely be adding this to my personal collection.

I received a digital ARC of this manhwa from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There were some boxes that did not have text, which for me felt like I was missing some important information. I’m assuming it was intentional for this version and they would be visible in the release of the series. I did have to make some assumptions about what was happening with the information we were given and where it felt like it was headed. Overall I enjoyed the story and can tell Jigeon is scheming something.

Finding one’s fated pair can seem almost impossible, once individuals reach adulthood they can have an encounter with someone and within 24 hours discover they met their fated pair when a red ring forms on their finger. Wooseo had hoped that his fated pair would have been his friend, Jiseok, but that was not the case and ended up being Jiseok’s older brother. Wooseo figured it out pretty quickly since he did not have physical contact with anyone else, but he tries to hide it. Unfortunately for him, that is impossible between fated pairs. Wooseo and Jigeon have an agreement so they both can get some sleep while also hiding it from Jiseok. Jigeon is already aware that Wooseo has had a crush on Jiseok since high school, but Jigeon is also hiding a secret.

Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for the e-arc!

Tied to You is a story of fate that follows Wooseo Shin as he receives a ring of red thread signaling that he has found his soulmate. Unfortunately, this soulmate turns out to be his best friend's older brother. Now Wooseo is stuck between his fate and his feelings. I think the Red String of Fate plotline was perfect for this story. At first, Wooseo struggles with his unrequited crush on his best friend. Then he finds out his soulmate is not him, and he is forced to deal with his feelings head-on while dealing with this new truth. I am intrigued to see where things go and if the relationship will develop. I would recommend checking this out if you want to read BL with a bit of fantasy.

My thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press for letting me reading this eARC.


I was pleasantly surprised by this story, I liked that it had such a cozy story. It's a fairly standard love triangle, Wooseo has forever been in love with his best friend, Jiseok, and it turns out his best friend's older brother, Jigeon, is secretly in love with him. But where this story sets itself apart is the red string of fate. The first time, when you're of an appropriate age, that you're in the presence of your fated match a red ring appears on your finger. You also can't get a good night's sleep without your match. When rings appear on their fingers Wooseo initially freaks out and assumes that Jigeon will reject him. Jigeon, who has gotten very used to hiding his feelings because he knows they aren't reciprocated, proposes a solution. He hires Wooseo to just meet him for naps so that they can both finally get some sleep. It's literally just that, no strings attached naps.


It's a sweet story, and you're definitely rooting for Wooseo and Jigeon to get together. I'll look forward to the next volume.

Tied to You was a sweet BL romance about unrequited love and fated connections. The story follows Wooseo, a quiet and serious type. His best friend is Jiseok. He is also secretly in love with Jiseok who is not into him. He decides that he still wanta to stay by his side as his friend. After a brief run in with Jiseok's older brother Jigeon, the urban legend of a fated ring shows up in him and Wooseo finds that he is a fated partner with Jigeon. Basically they have to sleep by each other every night otherwise, they will be unable to sleep. The only way out of a fated partnership is death.

This was a super sweet story. Wooseo is the most adorable character who makes you want to protect him from the world. Which is exactly what Jigeon wants to do. This is an age gap romance with Wooseo in college and Jigeon in his 30s. I really enjoyed the connection and growing relationship between Wooseo and Jigeon. Jiseok doesn't know about their connection but he is also seeing the changes in their relationship.
I couldn't put this story down. I will 100% be waiting for the next volume to come out and I would recommend it.

I read this a while back on Tappytoon and loved it so I was really interested to see if this would be a direct copy of the web version or if, like some others, it would be changed. Welp, turns out I don't remember the fine details enough to tell you because there was definitely some Jigeon backstory stuff I didn't remember. but I can at least report that they didn't change the characters names! I may need to do a reread of the webcomic because I can't wait for vol. 2 to come out in August. I should also find the original webnovel to read at some point too.

Thank you Netgalley & The publisher for a copy of this title in exchange for review.

What happens when your unrequited love turns out to be your soulmate?

Wooseo is a college student in love with his best friend, Jiseok. They live in a world where once two soulmate physically touch for the first time, a pair of rings appear on their fingers, tying them together for the rest of their lives. The rings are only seen by your other person, so what happens when Wooseo wakes up one day with a ring on his finger? He's quick to process that he hadn't come into contact with many people in the last 24 hours; he tends to be quite the introvert and only comfortable around his best friend. But wait- he visited Jiseok's apartment yesterday and ran into his older brother, Jigeon! As it turns out- Jiseok is not Wooseo's fated soulmate, but his older brother Jigeon!

As the newly formed pair navigate their newfound relationship in secret, we get to see Wooseo struggle with the fact that his best friend is not only NOT his soulmate, but has a crush on a old childhood friend. As Jigeon battles his side of unrequited love, readers will be immersed in this red string theory story. 5/5 stars- it was so good!

As soon as I finished volume 1, I read the ENTIRE series online, the full 64 chapters. Does it tell you how much I liked it? Probably :) Have a ever read an entire manga series? Once, and it was Paradise Kiss from Ai Yazawa, twenty years ago. Why did Tied to You become so addictive? Probably because it was weird and a little bit creepy... haha

I picked up this ARC because of the sweet BL cover, and it pretty much became a page turner from the very beginning. It is kind of weird that you have a love triangle with two brothers, a major age gap, and some serious manipulative behavior, but if you are okay with that, I think you will enjoy it! The red flags are serious, and it is manipulative throughout the series, so if this is a trigger, please avoid this manhwa.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review*

This is a solid premise- I like the fated mates aspect, but I think the love interest comes off as manipulative and selfish. I wanted to see more of his love being selfless and wanting to take care of Wooseo, not as much getting what he wants. Plus the age gap didn't really do it for me. I did enjoy the writing and the story.

I always love a good "fated" storyline. I think the red string of fate is one of my favorite manga tropes, especially when it connects an unsuspecting duo. The "ring" system in this manga seems pretty similar but has a more unique take with the inability to sleep and the pros and cons of what that can cause on a society.

I really enjoyed the dynamic of them not being total strangers but having contact over the years via the MC's best friend (love interest's younger brother). While the MLI does give off vibes that he could get too possessive or controlling none of that happened in book one and Ill have to keep reading to find out where it goes! So far I really like them and the story!

They are both connected by the red rings, and are decided by fate. I loved the premise, and I think the story has potential, but unfortunately it wasn't a book for me.
The characters/love interests, are very similar visually and also in name. And sometimes that takes me a while to understand who is who.
And I didn't appreciate the love triangle that was starting to develop too much, with the brother saying "but".
Also I think it was too much for me to have all of them live under the same roof. Yes, I understand why, but still. It was too much.
I didn't like it, but I think other people will.

Tied to You is a fun spin on the soul mates/soul mark trope, with the "there was only one bed" twist thrown in with how neither of the pair can fall asleep without the other. Fortunately, in this case, our main character already knows their soul mate, since he's the older brother of his best friend. Unfortunately our main character has also been pining away for his terribly straight best friend. If that's not angsty enough, yes, the brothers do have a strong resemblance to each other. It's got the same ingredients as an addictive K-drama, but in book form, and with a same sex couple. You're either into this or absolutely confused by the paragraph I just wrote.

I really enjoyed this book. The magic system of the rings was really interesting and a good plot device. I liked the characters and that they had history with each other. Occasionally, I was confused about the timeline, if we had gone back in time for a flashback or something like that, but eventually I would figure it out.

I'm so excited to see more webtoons, and especially LGBTQIA+ ones, getting translations and physical publications! This is the perfect length for a first volume - enough to set up the premise and really get you hooked on all of the relationships and interpersonal drama. It's a really interesting setup for fated soulmates and the red string, that once you've found your fated partner, you can't sleep well without them, and it gives a perfect excuse for all of the unrequited love feelings and bed-sharing tension!

I feel like we've only just scratched the surface of plot and everyone's motivations, so I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more!

A very interesting premise! Wooseo Shin is head over heals for his best friend Jiseok Kang. But when the magic red thread ring appears on his finger, it connects him to Jiseok's brother, Jigeon Kang.
The art was great! I loved the shenanigans Wooseo and Jigeon were forced into due to the ring. And you find out something about Jigeon halfway through that just made me melt! There is so much longing though out the book from multiple sides. I especially love Jigeon. He's so respectful and sweet and I just want him to be happy!! I loved this story and will definitely be grabbing the next one when it comes out!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I read this whole volume in one sitting. Both Jigeon and Wooseo are complex, interesting characters that are immediately relatable.