Customer Reviews

Ties That Bind (Berkley Sensation)

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Kate Renado and Reese Bishop used to be married, they also used to be partners in a law firm. Now a Judge, Kate is stunned when a client from their past accuses them of being unethical; a charge that could ruin both of their careers. Kate and Reese are forced to work together in order to clear their names; a fact which Kate's boyfriend and Reese's girlfriend are very much against. It seems that there may be a good reason, because the more time Kate and Reese spend together, the more they begin to find the love that they thought was gone forever. Even with the love they feel for each other, can they overcome the betrayals that destroyed their marriage, betrayals that they both are guilty of?

Ties That Bind was a hard read for me. I have continually found Kathryn Shay's books to be steeped in realism, with characters that have true human failings. This trait has always makes the story enthralling and gives the emotional connection between the characters a depth that can be felt. With Ties That Bind the realism for me was too stark. The betrayals that both hero and heroine were guilty of made it hard to truly connect with them. Ties That Bind was still a compelling story that evoked strong emotions and I still found that I was compelled to turn the pages. However with all honesty I have to say that Ties That Bind is the only Kathryn Shay book that has left me dissatisfied.

NOTE: I was thrilled to discover that Kathryn Shay is coming out with Close to You a story which features characters from Someone To Believe In. Readers of contemporary romance would do well to pick up a copy of Someone To Believe In, in order to get a true taste of Kathryn Shay.


Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

I had a really hard time getting into this book. The first couple of chapters had 5 separate POVs, and a lot of backstory, and it was hard to attach to any of the characters and care about them. Which bothered me, because I generally love this author's books, and find them intense and emotional.

Part of the problem, admittedly, was that the book is about a divorced couple, and that immediately made me less sympathetic. Without that, the backstory and multiple POVs might not have bothered me so much.

Then, too, the heroine... I really could not relate to her. But once the story kicked in, I did get hooked.

A divorced couple of lawyers is named as the reason for a prison inmate's suicide, and the allegations could ruin both their careers, so they're forced to work together to figure out who implicated them and why, causing latent sparks to burst into flame and a lot of resistance from their new significant others.

Kathryn Shay never hesitates to tackle tough subjects in her books, and this is no exception--we see how the divorce and subsequent reunion affected all 5 people involved, and they're all realistic, 3-dimensional people: no caricatures, or anyone who's all good or all bad, and they all have very human, very believable reactions.