Customer Reviews

Fit to Be Tied (Signet Eclipse)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I thought the premise of this book was original. When I bought it, I thought I was getting something fresh and entertaining. I was not entertained by Jen's superficiality. Yes, I understood that she was going through some rough times because of her parents' divorce, but where does that mean that she can't think for herself? Because her parents divorce, must she become a self-absorbed, hypercritical, vengeful maniac?

I hated the book. I didn't like Jen, but did like Tom. Neither was perfect, but Jen was ridiculous, very much the type of woman who would marry a man then turn around two seconds later and divorce him over something that is forgiveable and understandable. The author forged the situation, but she didn't make Jen likeable, just manic. If I have a manic, idiotic heroine, I'd rather watch it on television for 30 minutes than read about it.

I kept thinking that Tom, despite his own role in the crash of their marriage, should just walk away from her until she started acting like a real woman instead of a caricature of one.

This is my first Karen Kendall book, and I am not impressed enough to buy another.

This is nothing like your standard romance plot and for that alone I was interested. This book skips the falling in love part of the relationship and takes you strait to the wedding and the wonders of actually making it work. I laughed a lot in this book and related to the characters. It didn't really make my fav list but I'm glad I didn't miss it. Sexaul Content: Mild

Adding adventure and laughter in the recipe for this morsel of a treat. Be prepared for an afternoon of pure pleasure. Fit to Be Tied is a made-into-a-movie starring Sandra Bullock fabulous.~Affaire de Coeur

Karen Kendrall has a distinct writing syle that for this book was not there. The story was from Jen's point of view, with all the characters in the story you definatly frlt half crazed. But none of the other characters had enough depth to really counter Jen. The plus side I was abble to dee an entire story though one persons eyes, which did only give you one piece of the puzzle, which is alot like real life.
The character M.E. was Jen's best friend but she really did not have a very big impact on the story, actually I am not sure why she was even there considering we have no clue how her story ened.
I do recommend this storyfor it is a good story and anyone who has ever been in a long term relationship can understand quite a lot about what Jen is going through.

Jennifer Canby's wedding day is not going well. In fact, everything is
going wrong. When Jen discovers that her groom, Tom Brookhaven, has
been sipping the scotch before the ceremony, she's had enough.

Jen's parents are getting divorced, her brother is getting into
trouble and she just discovered that Tom was hiding a big secret from
her. Jen is scared and she's convinced divorce is her only recourse,
but is it?

Fit To Be Tied is a story about lies, misunderstandings, dysfunctional
families, and true love. At first I was mad at Tom then I was mad at
Jen and by the end, I was just glad it was over. I couldn't put it
down though. I had to see what would happen next and how everything
would turn out. There is a lot of angst to get through before you get
to the happily ever after in Fit to Be tied. All may be fair in love
and war, but I like less war and more love in my romance books.

Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

In the Hartford area, this should be the happiest day of her life. Yet with each step towards the altar and the groom, Jen Canby feels like a condemned woman facing a firing squad. She wonders how she ended up on death row, as kindhearted Tom Brookhaven calmly waits apparently due to imbibing for her to exchange I do with him. Cowardly she goes through the vows rather than flee as her gut insists she do because $35,000 would go down the toilet.

At the ceremony afterward, Jen's parents are living up to what she expects from them, causing havoc as they fight publicly over every nuance. Their upcoming divorce sounds like the Paris Peace Accords to end some war. Tom is drunk when an uninvited six foot amazon arrives claiming she is the groom's former wife. Perhaps Jen needs a divorce or an annulment though she admits to herself she loves Tom, but her only concern is who would gain custody of the dog.

Though humorous, contemporary readers will want to admonish Jen for not taking the time to talk with her new husband instead of saying I do want a divorce as she insists after she feels he got drunk to marry her and hid his first wife from her, which reminds her too much of her parents. Tom tries to atone for his poor performance, but Jen refuses to listen to his apologies. Told from Jen's perspective only, the audience sees the dysfunctional relationships (there are several) from her limited tainted viewpoint. Karen Kendall provides a lighthearted chick lit tale that has amusing moments and asides, but Jen fails to obtain reader empathy.

Harriet Klausner

Fit to Be Tied, by Karen Kendall is not your average romance novel. Rather than following a couple from the first stirrings of attraction to happily ever after, it begins with an engagement. There is no cute meeting, but a thoroughly awful wedding with a drunken groom and a manic bride. Instead of tender moments on the road to romance, this novel charts tender moments on the road to divorce.

When Tom Brookfield proposes to Jen Canby, everything seems perfect. But by the time the wedding rolls around, Jen believes it can't get any worse. From the missing bridal shoes to an overly endowed ice sculpture cherub, she handles crisis after crisis until a leggy blonde appears at the reception and introduces herself as Tom's first wife. Then the drama really begins. Though the newlyweds make peace long enough to leave for the honeymoon, and to have a wild, if slightly inebriated wedding night, Jen decides the next morning that trusting
Tom again is out of the question and the only answer is divorce.

What follows is the at times light, at times dark, and always a bit mad, story of Jen and Tom and the maturation process they both must undergo before they can make their marriage more than a $35,000 mistake. The parallel story of Jen's parents and their own struggle back from the precipice gives some much-needed clarification of why Jen behaves the way she does. And Tom's best friend Chase gives a window into the reasons he didn't tell Jen about his first marriage to
begin with.

It's easy to see the screwball divorce comedies of the 1930s and 40s as inspiration for a novel like this. Like George Cukor in "The Philadelphia Story" or Leo McCarey in "The Awful Truth," Kendall explores what happens when a divorcing couple still love each other but try to get divorced anyway.

Fit to Be Tied is a satisfying read and should offer a fresh diversion for romance readers hungry for something old and something new. The borrowed and blue they'll have to find on their own.

Armchair Interviews says: Nice twist on "romance."

This is really between 3 and 4 stars.
Quick summary. Jen and Tom get married. Their wedding day is ruined when the grooms ex wife (the one the bride has no clue about and is gorgeous) shows up at the wedding to let mess with Jen's head. Tom explains it away as a marriage of convenience so that she could get US citizenship. Only marriages of convenience aren't usually consumated. Jen's furious that Tom didn't think this was important information that she needed to know. The put on a brave face for the duration of the reception and go on the honeymoon. Tom thinks its no big deal and she should just get over it. Jen is rethinking whether or not they should be married. She asks for a divorce and he readily agrees rather than trying to presuade her to work things out.
Of course by the end of the book everything is fine but I had trouble finishing this book from about half way through. I know I would be mad as can be if my wedding was ruined by the unknown exwife but I didn't feel the Tom really was sorry. And the way he acted after she said she wanted a divorce got on my nerves. He seemed to be relying on his charm to get him out of the situation rather than doing whatever he had to to fix things. In the end it seemed like Jen was the one groveling for forgivness.

It is definitely worth reading. Not everybody might be as annoyed with tom as I was. The beginning of the book was very good.