While I want to love every single ARC I get, I sometimes don't. Unfortunately this book was not for me at all. I think a lot of it was just the writing style. I however did finish this book which I was surprised since I am quick to set down books I am disliking so I can move on to others I love.

Its a good story that will make you escape from the real world but it felt a lot superficial. The couple fell in love quite easy and it wasn't enemies to lovers as it was marketed. There were so many elements that it felt like all of them were plot fillers.

I loved Nick for how he was as a man and didn't really have a mafia vibe around him!! Ava could have acted as a grown up a lot of times. I didn't like how addiction was shown and there should have been more focus and attention to that as well!!

All in all it was a single time read for me.

2.5 ⭐️ (round up to 3)

I love a good mafia romance and this one had some good points. It had classic scenarios of arranged marriages and family tiffs. Nick has a history with Ava’s late brother that is a bit heartbreaking.

The writing just wasn’t for me. There was a lot of cliches that simply did not work. It often would say that these families were big and bad but it was never shown. In fact, they were nicer to each other most families I know. Whenever there was a conflict created the author resolved it almost immediately and it didn’t allow for them to have any sort of turmoil or really develop their character.
The way things were worded sometimes didn’t feel like natural conversation and instead felt more like a fanfic or an early draft. But the part that got me the most was the lack of consistency between the characters. She really liked him in the beginning and as soon as she discovered she was marrying him she didn’t want him (even though she knew she would have to marry). And the way both of their dads just agreed to his plan so quickly was…. Odd.

I’ll end my thoughts here to remain spoiler free.

All in all, it was not a bad book. It was just not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Ties that Bind Us by Nicole Knight
To me, the book was very interesting. Who doesn't like an arranged marriage that has Mafia Romance included with it. Loved the beginning of the book and the introduction of the main characters. Loved Nick and Ava. Overall, the book was predictable , but it was an entertaining read. Definately for those who are into this type of Mafia Romance.

I just want to give a big Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!!!]

thank you netgalley and wattpad for the free arc, but at what cost??? bc i ended up paying for it. i did not enjoy myself one bit. i couldn’t even find some laughs and joy in a hate read, which i shockingly did not set out to do this time. and this is how i'm rewarded for my good faith??

besides the really weird formatting issues (going to assume that’s just what the arc is like and it’ll be fixed) and the misspellings and incorrect word choices (also going to hope that these will be fixed) and the terrible writing (not as hopeful about this one), this was just so generic

i am so convinced this was written by ai bc as the book went on, it was just hitting bingo spot after bingo spot of melodramatic events that happen in soap operas and stories set in ~mafia romances~. unfortunately, i don't think the model was fed enough data about mafia stories even, bc the mafia portion was SO BAD LOL it wasn't even salad dressing; it was like ordering fresh orange juice and being served la croix

every single ‘issue’ is swiftly dealt with - as in, in a few sentences or paragraphs, it would be resolved, so there were 0 stakes even though they live in such a ‘dangerous crime filled mafia world.’ and as a result, nothing hit! they would also contradict themselves almost sentence to sentence. they would say one thing, and their IMMEDIATE action would be so incongruous to what they just said, i was getting whiplash

the thing that annoyed me most, though, if i really had to rank them, was that a major plot point was that ava's twin andrew's death led to the fallout between the spaghettis and macaronis, but for some reason, it felt like only ava was affected by his death?? she has all these other siblings, but they barely mention him outside of one conversation in the beginning of the book

i can’t tell you anything specific about nick or ava, but i guarantee they are exactly the stereotype you already have in your head about them. like, i'm not going to think their love is so strong and enduring if you keep throwing plot points and obstacles every few paragraphs to fill in the bingo spot

spoilers (but are they really?) but all the bases are covered here: death of a sibling, controlling parent, addiction, relapse, ava is shot, surprise pregnancy and swift car accident resulting in miscarriage, they go through a hard time, dad was involved in nefarious plot, she is lured away by rival mafia family, nick is shot, adoption, pregnant again, the end! keep in mind that none of these topics were dwelled on in any meaningful way. i think we’ve all seen this film before, and i didn’t like the ending, which was me being baffled, flabbergasted, feeling like a silly annoyed goose

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC. I was excited because I love mafia stories, and the book started off great with Nick and Ava’s meeting and their fun “cat and mouse” game. But I had trouble enjoying it because of grammar mistakes and a messy plot. After the wedding treaties part, the story got confusing and didn’t focus enough on the mafia drama. The ending felt too rushed after Ava was rescued and Nick woke up, and the adoption storyline didn’t make sense after everything they went through.

I loved getting to read Ava and Nick's story so much that I binged it in one setting! This book was steamy, fast paced, and entertaining. My only complaint is that it was pretty predictable at times.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group | W by Wattpad Books for the arc!

3.25 ⭐
3🌶️
Rival families, second chance (ish), alpha male, mafia romance. This had all the classic mafia romance tropes and personalities with many dramatic and antsy scenes. Easy to read and a fun time. There were multiple times where I had to suspend my belief and ignore the faulty logic that Ava had but that has been pretty common for me while reading mafia romances.

This book was definitely entertaining, I love a good dark mafia arranged marriage romance. When it came to the main characters. I really liked Nick, his character had depth, and I just loved him, and his kind soul. I thought him and Ava had good chemistry, so I was rooting for them. Ava on the other hand was an okay character, sometimes she got on my nerves, but I enjoyed her sassy personality. Overall, I did enjoy this, however I thought some parts of the book dragged as it went on. The beginning was very good though and grabbed my attention. I would recommend this to people who are fans of Mafia romances and arranged marriage tropes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was okay for me. I was intrigued by the premise and honestly really enjoyed the beginning of the book. The 2nd half of the book I feel like there was just too much going on and the plot lines got messier, and then the ending felt rushed. I also wasn’t a fan of the timing and everything that happened in the epilogue, which I think left me feeling a little more negative about the book as a whole.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 but I’ll round it to a reluctant 3⭐️
I went in to this book with some assumptions based on the description and boy was I wrong. You’ve got a super tropey book- which I usually love- and a premise that could have been a lot of fun and instead I thought it was kind of boring. I hate to say it, but I was disappointed. I was excited for some mafia action, maybe a little dark, maybe some angst, alpha MMC etc. And what I got was insta-love from a golden retriever mafia “boss” MMC who lightly stalks the rival mob daughter FMC followed by some pretty baseline plot. And the miscommunication trope… my least favorite of all the tropes and this one had a big one. The plot seemed kind of all over the place and whatever happened with the Russians? Overall it was just- fine(ish)?? A lot of telling instead of showing- definitely could have used more descriptive language and less exposition. For example the shooting at the dress store- it would have made for a dynamic scene and instead we just get a conversation after the fact. Also, there was no drama/ tension. Ava gets kidnapped and is almost immediately rescued. Supposed to marry the wrong sister? Fixed! Your father is the reason you get kidnapped which results in your husband getting shot 3 times? No worries about the trauma- let’s adopt a baby! 😵‍💫 What?! I wanted tension and got gift wrapped easy peasy solutions instead. Maybe I came in to it with the wrong expectations, but it just wasn’t what I wanted it to be. Also, and I’ve seen a couple other reviews mention this- the editing. It could really use another pass.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book.

It was entertaining and definitely held my attention. Lots of drama and insane things but they’re pretty predictable if you’ve ever read a mafia romance. That doesn’t really bother me but what did was the writing style. It’s just disconnected me from the story and character and made me feel like reading a book. Some of the language was also very immature and felt like it was written by a teen or someone trying to say things like a teen to relate which is not something I love in books. It honestly read a lot like a wattpad mafia romance.

Ava was okay, she was very damsel in distressy most of the time. I loved her when she was strong and sassy and feisty tho.

The three stars are mostly for Nick and Nick alone. I loved him. He could be a top tier book boyfriend had the writing been better. But with it the way it was it’s insane how much Knight got me to love this man. He is so good to Ava through all the highs and lows in this story and I just love his speech to her about all the things he knows and lives about her. I’d say read just for Nick alone tbh.

*Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the chance to ARC read this book. This review is my opinion and was my decision to write*

Nick and Ava were cute. Secretly loved that it started with a one night stand. This was a quick read. I’m always down for a good mafia romance, which is why I chose this.

So glad this book got such a cute cover! I love a nice discrete but pretty cover. Nick and Ava are adorable, if just a little corny

I'm definitely here because it's a mafia romance. I love the one night stand and the arranged marriage which are the perfect tropes for a mafia romance. It was a quick read for me and I saw where it was going but I enjoyed the journey to the end.

Ties that Bind Us was a quick and enjoyable mafia read for me! I low key love it when our characters have a one night stand, thinking they will never see each other again. And I LOVE a morally grey MMC, and Nick did not disappoint! Some of the twists were predicable, but I don't mind that while reading.

Read if you enjoy: mafia romance, one night stand, arranged marriage, found family, dual POV

Thank you so much to Nicole Knight, Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read/review an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was very excited by the premise of this book but I just couldn’t get past the poor execution. It started well enough that it caught my attention but it quickly lost it. There were several grammar mistakes and a lot of confusing plot points… I’m not sure if there was a clear resolution because I couldn’t read more after page 200. I decided to not finish it.
Since this is a indie author and the book hasn’t come
out yet I won’t be posting a negative review on other platforms.
Thank you for the opportunity to ARC review.

A Captivating but Imperfect Mafia Romance

I finished this mafia romance with mixed emotions. As a fan of dark mafia romances, I was initially swept up in the story, but as I reflected on the book, some doubts crept in.

The author's portrayal of Nick, the morally ambiguous male lead, was excellent. His emotional trauma and kind soul made him a compelling, relatable character. The dual POV narrative added depth, and the themes of found family, arranged marriage, and protective love were well-explored.

However, the plot twist, while suspenseful, wasn't particularly surprising. I also found myself wondering if the story relied too heavily on familiar mafia romance tropes. While the book was engaging, I'm not convinced it brought anything new to the genre.

Perfect for Fans of:
Mafia romances, found family themes, arranged marriage.
You may enjoy this book, but I'm unsure if it's a standout in the genre.

Thank you to Wattpad WEBTOON Netgally. 3.5

Thank you so much for this ARC
I love the pacing in this book specifically because most mafia books tend to drag the story out without focusing on the main characters but this book has a right balance of everything with great plot, fantastic characters development and the simultaneous relationship between the main characters also progresses in a nice way. Ava and Nick have an instant connection that you could just feel.

I enjoyed the story of Nick and Ava. They meet and have a one night stand. Thinking they’d never see each other again; only to find out that their families want them to get married to join their mafia families together.

If you like mafia romances with some spice, then I’d recommend this book. It was an easy, enjoyable read. I appreciate the opportunity to read this book from the author ☺️