Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo

 * * * *

When a Nigerian woman falls for a man she knows will break her mother’s heart, she must choose between love and her family.

At twelve years old, Azere promised her dying father she would marry a Nigerian man and preserve her culture even after emigrating to Canada. Her mother has been vigilant about helping--forcing--her to stay well within the Nigerian dating pool ever since. But when another match-made-by-mom goes wrong, Azere ends up at a bar, enjoying the company and later sharing the bed of Rafael Castellano, a man who is tall, handsome, and white.

When their one-night stand unexpectedly evolves into something serious, Azere is caught between her growing feelings for Rafael and the compulsive need to please her mother who will never accept a relationship that threatens to dilute Azere's Nigerian heritage.

Azere can't help wondering if loving Rafael makes her any less of a Nigerian. Can she be with him without compromising her identity? The answer will either cause Azere to be audacious and fight for her happiness or continue as the compliant daughter.

Source: paperback borrowed from library

I'd been waiting to get my hands in this novel and did not waste any time with it as I finished it in a day!

Azere is a smart, talented young woman who has a great job, wonderful friends and a tight-knit family. As an emigrant, she's had to find a way to balance her native Nigerian roots with the new roots she had to establish in Canada. She's also had to make promises to her parents to live up to their expectations, one of them being that she'll marry a Nigerian. Mind you, this is a promise Azere made when she was a young 12 year-old. Her mother has held her to that since and continuously introduces her to a revolving door of eligible Nigerian men. One such date goes terribly south, so Azere heads to the hotel bar where she ends up making great conversation with Rafael who's travelling to Toronto on business. They close the bar and stumble into bed with each other. She just broke her promise but she can't feel sorry for that because she enjoyed herself.

While she'd like to keep this one night stand firmly in the past, everything goes awry when it turns out that Rafael is her new co-worker AND ..... she's pregnant! There's no way she can explain this to her mom - the white guy she slept with who's very much not Nigerian, and that she's preggo by said white guy - without all hell breaking loose. All of this sudden chaos brings Azere to a fork in the road where she has several questions to ask of herself before she can pick her direction: Who is she? What does she want? And whom is she trying to please?

It was so easy to read this because the story moves along at a good pace. And it was also difficult because of all the nasty stuff being thrown her way by her own mother. She's unsurprisingly angry at Azere and disappointed. There are a lot of complicated emotions tied up in their relationship and I've got to say, I was not fond of her mother at all. Yes, I admire her strength at moving to a new country and building a new life with her daughters. What got me riled up was how she treated Azere. No matter what Azere accomplished professionally or personally, it would be insignificant next to her duty to get married. At no point during all the matchmaking did her mother stop to consider Azere's feelings. Azere might have made that promise but she was a child with no experience of the world when she made it. Azere's mother was not my favorite person and her attitude made my blood boil every time. 

Azere and Raphael's relationship goes through several tough hurdles between the surprise pregnancy and their families and work. There's also Raphael's own painful past that he hasn't shared with Azere that causes a rift between them. It's not the only thing working against them but they definitely have an uphill battle.

I liked the realness of this story and how both their strong cultural backgrounds felt like a third main character in here. Having strong ties to one's cultural heritage is important and admirable, and for those of us who don't have that, enviable. How Azere and Raphael come to a resolution and find what works for them, their equilibrium, was fascinating to me. I also liked Igharo's writing which went smoothly from the first page. I enjoyed reading Ties That Tether and hope to read more from Jane Igharo in the future!

~ Bel

Faker by Sarah Smith

* * * *

Debut author Sarah Smith nails this fun and sexy multicultural romance where two office foes hammer out their differences to build a love that will last...

Emmie Echavarre is a professional faker. She has to be to survive as one of the few female employees at Nuts & Bolts, a power tool company staffed predominantly by gruff, burly men. From nine to five, Monday through Friday, she's tough as nails--the complete opposite of her easy-going real self.

One thing she doesn't have to fake? Her disdain for coworker Tate Rasmussen. Tate has been hostile to her since the day they met. Emmie's friendly greetings and repeated attempts to get to know him failed to garner anything more than scowls and terse one-word answers. Too bad she can't stop staring at his Thor-like biceps...

When Emmie and Tate are forced to work together on a charity construction project, things get...heated. Emmie's beginning to see that beneath Tate's chiseled exterior lies a soft heart, but it will take more than a few kind words to erase the past and convince her that what they have is real.

Source: advance egalley provided in exchange for an honest review


My favourite moment in any enemies-to-lovers romance is when the switch flips and the two characters find themselves in the unfamiliar position of have feelings for the other. They're so used to being hateful that they're thrown off and don't know how to behave anymore. That's what happens here when Emmie without warning, is reconsidering her long-held opinion of her mortal enemy, Tate.

It would be easy to ignore Tate were it not for the inconvenient fact that he works across the the tiny hallway from Emmie. She has to see him every single day and when they do have to interact it's minimal at best which always leaves her raging anew at him. She can't fathom why he's always given her the cold shoulder, answering in clipped sentences, reacting as if she's ruining his day, and generally trying to pretend she's not there. But she's taken aback when he suggests at a meeting with their boss that they work together on a social media project for their company. This should be interesting. It could change things around for them but it feels like more of the same just that now she has to speak to him. Then she's involved in an accident and overnight she's seeing an entirely different side to Tate that she never imagined possible. The change in their dynamics is confusing.

So what is it about Faker? The little things. When Emmie is laid up Tate steps in to offer her support and comfort in his own Tate way. She realizes how much he has noticed about her -- her interests, her likes and dislikes, her temperament and most impressively, details about her culture. It's a big part of who she is and he takes the time and opportunity to show her that he pays attention to what's important to her. Can we please take a brief moment to swoon here? Emmie also notices how much she's picked up on him all along. How cute is that when someone shows you that they think about you and get you? On a deeper level, Tate knows how much of a show Emmie puts on at work because she works with mostly men who'd seek to undermine her. He doesn't try to fix things outright for her but does look for ways to have her back. I've been leaning away from the alpha-hero types because I can only take so much of the possessive and quick-to-react personas. Tate is the antithesis of that. He's the kind of guy who would rather stay under the radar and can surprise you when you give him the opportunity. He gets what matters. 

On a more personal note, I've never before felt such solidarity with a character. Various details in Emmie's family and school life hit so close to home for me. It's clear from her recollections how events and incidents shaped her life and attitude, and I truly understood her. It felt as if a bit of my life was lifted and inserted into this story, and I can't begin to explain how good it felt to see those words on paper that echoed so many of my own experiences. It was cathartic and affirming. 

Emmie and Tate's relationship journey is a little different from some of the romances I've read recently and I liked how theirs evolved. As I said, I felt a special kinship with Emmie and seeing her get her happily ever after with someone who is just as amazing as she is, makes Faker an absolute joy to read!

~ Bel

That Thing Between Eli and Gwen by J.J. McAvoy

* * 1/2


Source: advance e-galley from NYLA on Netgalley

**A multicultural new adult romance from bestselling author, J.J. McAvoy**

Eli Davenport thinks he’s found the perfect woman to be his wife. She’s a doctor, like he is. She’s brilliant, like he is. And she’s wealthy, like he is.

Guinevere 'Gwen' Poe thinks her fiancé is the perfect man. He’s handsome, successful and he was her first…

But when Eli’s bride runs off with Gwen’s fiancée on his wedding day, they are left to pick up the broken pieces of each other...

Source: advance e-galley from NYLA 

Two people wronged on the same day by their lovers. One is a jilted groom who’s left alone at the altar. The other is a stunned fiancé who sees her man run away with the bride. On the wedding day. At the wedding. Talk about messed up! 

Everything between Eli and Gwen starts off acrimoniously. The animosity doesn’t lessen when they wind up being next door apartment neighbours. How much does the universe hate these two because they’re both painful reminders of their humiliation and heartbreak. Eli is unreasonably harsh towards Gwen which ticked me off because it’s not like she wasn’t just as destroyed by what their fiancées did that fateful day. He is a successful doctor and dives into his work after his wedding debacle. He is extremely gruff with people. Gwen is a complete opposite. She is a highly sought-after and successful artist in her own right but you wouldn’t know it on the surface. She’s humble by nature and doesn’t brag about or display her success or wealth. The fact that she gets to be an artist and express herself is reward enough for her. Eli disregards her work while she wonders why he’s so arrogant. Their opposite natures clash but since they’re neighbours who run into each other often, they begrudgingly learn to tolerate each other. It’s just a matter of time before they accept the inevitable.

There are aspects of the story I liked. For example, Eli’s professional persona and his interactions with the hospital interns reminded me a lot of Dr. Cox from the tv show Scrubs. His rants and various nicknames for them had me giggling from time to time. I also enjoyed that Gwen was so passionate about her art, deriving pure happiness from it. She’s proud of her work and not even Eli can make her think it isn’t important. Actually one of the best scenes involves him seeing her exhibit for the first time and finding himself immersed in those pieces. Even with these few things, I still couldn’t connect with the entire story. I found certain situations where they were thrown together to be manufactured and I couldn’t get the flow of their conversations.

I really wanted to like this novel given that it had a title that teased of things to come and a cute cover. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. 

~ Bel