Author: Brandi Leigh Hall
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Pages: 273
Goodreads Rating: 3.98 Stars
My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
My Content Rating: PG (Nothing more than kissing)
Summary from Goodreads: A Sweet Young Adult Paranormal Romance, perfect for fans of CHARMED, THE SECRET CIRCLE and WITCHES OF EAST END.
No matter how you try to fight it—destiny has a mind of its own!
Since foreseeing the imminent death of her parents six years earlier, Chloe has lived a simple, not-so-charmed-life away from her remaining Wiccan family.
Zero magic.
No close friendships.
While struggling to bench-press more guilt than any nineteen-year-old ever should.
But fate intervenes and forces Chloe to return home. As if being an in-the-closet-Seer wasn’t bad enough, now she has to spend summer break with the snarky sister who hates her—and the magical birthright she was hell-bent on denying for all eternity.
Luckily, meeting Mr. Perfect takes the edge off her endless family drama. Hunter’s twenty-five, sometimes old-fashioned in a Jane Austen hero sort of way, and more delicious than molten-lava cake. But the more she tries to hide her family’s magical secrets from this ever-present stranger, the more quickly she realizes he’s hiding a few doozies of his own.
Will the lies and betrayal destroy their relationship before it really begins? Or will learning of their tethered future create an unbreakable bond neither can deny? Either way, their hearts will be forever entwined by destiny.
The first line of the synopsis of Tethered actually sums it up pretty nicely. "Sweet" describes the book pretty darn well and I often found myself thinking of the TV show Charmed as I read it. Chloe is older than many YA heroines (at 19), but the tone of the book definitely puts it squarely in the YA category.
The negatives:
- A little too sweet sometimes. The conflicts in this book were all tied up with a nice pretty bow and sometimes accompanied by slightly sappy dialogue. It's not that I wanted everyone to stay miserable, but I did think that sometimes everything worked out just a little too easily and a little too perfectly. I like to work a little harder for my happily ever afters.
What I loved:
- Family dynamics. Despite what the synopsis of this book says, this book didn't really feel to me like it was all about the romance. I actually think that Chloe's family took center stage just as much as (if not more than) her relationship with Hunter. The book really focuses on Chloe's grandfather being in a coma and how the family has to come together because of it. Because the family has been split up since Chloe's parents' deaths, the family dynamics are interesting - Chloe loves her little brother to death (even though she hasn't seen him in person in many years), but she has a very strained relationship with her sister, who never forgave her for leaving. Meanwhile, Chloe's aunt is dealing with the fact that her adult twins' father never knew that he had sons - she's been gone for over twenty years, but coming back means she has to face him and that he will have to learn the truth. I loved the family dynamics and the pull that Chloe feels toward her family! (IF only the conflicts weren't solved quite so easily!)
- Hunter. I was definitely a fan of Hunter. It was obvious that something more was going on with him than he let on, but I didn't guess the actual final revelations about him - I liked being surprised! Hunter and Chloe's relationship was sweet - there was definitely an instant attraction between them, but the relationship was formed throughout the book (they didn't jump right in) so it didn't feel too terribly much like insta-love.
- The magic. Like I said, this book reminded me a lot of Charmed - mentions of The Book of Shadows always bring back fond memories of one of my favorite shows from the early 2000's. I enjoyed the magical scenes in this book and loved that Chloe's powers developed as the book went on. The introduction of the prophecy (toward the end of the book) definitely has me intrigued and I'm eager to find out what happens next!
Overall, I'd say that Tethered is a great YA read. Fans of paranormal who aren't looking for anything too edgy will love this one! I give it 3.5/5 stars.
Watch for book #2 in this series, expected to be released in May - Tempted! Brandi Leigh Hall promises that this next installment gets a little darker - I'm looking forward to it!
About the Author
Brandi lives in central Pennsylvania with her fur-ball cats (Onyx and Klepto), where she spends most of her time attached to her laptops, reading books, appeasing her sweet tooth, and watching TV for motivation.
Growing up in a haunted house inspired Brandi’s fascination with the paranormal, so it only made sense that she’d write Urban Fantasy books for both teens and adults.
Brandi hasn’t been lucky enough to meet her soul mate (yet), so she writes paranormal tales of those who have. Her stories combine magical elements with real-life issues, strong female characters, semi-old fashioned men and family values, woven together and told from an emotional, first-person perspective. She enjoys writing sweet stories that teach girls it’s okay to speak your mind and be independent, career-driven, and not worry about fitting in to society’s mold.
In addition to the BirthRight Novels, she also has four additional adventures she’ll be writing over the next few years, so stay-tuned.
Author Links:
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
Watch for book #2 in this series, expected to be released in May - Tempted! Brandi Leigh Hall promises that this next installment gets a little darker - I'm looking forward to it!
Growing up in a haunted house inspired Brandi’s fascination with the paranormal, so it only made sense that she’d write Urban Fantasy books for both teens and adults.
Brandi hasn’t been lucky enough to meet her soul mate (yet), so she writes paranormal tales of those who have. Her stories combine magical elements with real-life issues, strong female characters, semi-old fashioned men and family values, woven together and told from an emotional, first-person perspective. She enjoys writing sweet stories that teach girls it’s okay to speak your mind and be independent, career-driven, and not worry about fitting in to society’s mold.
In addition to the BirthRight Novels, she also has four additional adventures she’ll be writing over the next few years, so stay-tuned.
Author Links:
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