The Ties That Bind

An Ariel Kimber Novel, Book 4

By: Mary Martel

Narrated by: Melissa Schwairy

The Ties That Bind is book number four in the Ariel Kimber Series.

Ariel Kimber isn't like most 17 year old girls. She's different because she's a witch with magic and it's rare for females to hold magic anymore. She's settling into her new place amongst her coven of guys while she's settling into her new home at the same time.

The Council's appearance into their lives has put everyone on edge. With good reason. Ariel is forced to meet with one of them on a regular basis so that they can learn from each other. Really, though, they just want to get to the bottom of where Ariel came from and she is more than happy to comply with them.

Because there is one thing she wants more than anything else in the world, and that's to find the man who has been searching for her for years. Her biological father.

And Ariel is willing to go through any and every thing to find him.

©2018 Mary Martel (P)2021 Mary Martel

Plot and narration helped confusing character dev

Shocked and confused by change in one of the guys and angered by Ariel's easy forgiveness throughout book.

So book 4 had some really great moments and some really frustrating ones haha. The author is really doing a number on us, not gonna lie haha. So in part 4 of this amazing world has us learning more about the Council and their evil and disgusting ways, meet a certain character that Ariel has been dying to meet (I am kinda on the fence about him so far, but the further I get in the series I bet I will like him more, more to follow), and we get another confrontation that leads to someone getting hurt.

In terms of the plot, I enjoyed this one. We got a lot of answers to questions, more insight on what was going on, etc. I wanted to rip Annabelle's and the diner's staff a new one, but karma will be just and swift I hope haha. I loved getting some happy memories from the new character regarding Ariel's family. I am intrigued how Ariel's family legacy will come into play. Also whaaaaaaat the cr@p was with the news about one of our favorite guys earlier in the series. I was shocked and I hope it's explained why he is treated the way he was (by the newbie character being introduced). OH and Binx is my fav (did I mention how much I love all the Halloween and Hocus Pocus references are in this series so far ❤️).

Gonna do a recap of the guys in this one because there were a lot of developments (good and bad). So overall I liked seeing Quinton's softer side and cannot wait for him and Ariel to come together. I don't like that he is hypocritical and keeping stuff from Ariel but some arent his fault so I will give him that. In terms of the twins, we don't get a lot with them this book because we get some of the other guys as spotlight characters. I loved getting to know Damien more. He isn't my favorite, but I definitely can see why he did stuff the way he did earlier in the series and he is adorable when it comes to Ariel and her needs and dates. That date was amazing and made me smile the whole time haha. I loved that we got to see more of Julian and his personality come out too. Dash is an awesome cuddler and I liked his protectiveness when it came to Ariel. Now my biggest issue with the guys is Tyson. I absolutely loved him in book 1 and 2 but he has gone downhill really fast for me and I sometimes want him out of the harem and that has never happened to me while reading. He really shows his age and immaturity in this book. I couldn't get over his rollercoaster emotions and how he would lie, treat Ariel so badly, and force her to keep secrets from everyone and like turn on her every chance he got. I honestly wouldn't be as forgiving as Ariel and it didnt keep to her character from earlier in the series when she kept forgiving him over and over again, tried to reason why he was doing things. It was mind games bordering on emotional abuse in my opinion. Treating her horribly, apologizing but never learning from his bad behavior and lashing out, trying to manipulate her into seeing his "reasons", so its borderline and one of the main reasons I am not a fan of him anymore. Hopefully he can redeem himself because I am about done with him.

Now for Ariel. I didnt like her as much in this one as I have in others. Like I enjoyed her walls coming down more and learning to see the guys as more than friends and starting the VERY SLOW BURN with some of them haha. I just was confused why all of a sudden she was super forgiving, had to keep convincing herself they were doing the right thing. Some things were so bad, she just let it go or forgot and didnt put up a fight. I just thought some interactions/developments were a little abrupt and not fully fleshed out, even to set the reveals/new info to come in later books.

Overall I would give the story 3.5 stars, the narration helped bring it up to a 4. I think Tyson and Ariel's shift are the main reasons I can't praise this from the rafters, like I felt with earlier books (esp book 2). The narration was fabulous and really brought these characters to life. I still think Melissa could improve her male characters and making them more distinct, sometimes when they were all in a room it was hard to tell who was talking (if the dialogue didnt mention who was talking for example).

Alrighty, gonna have to take a break on the audio because I need to read the novellas in the right order. I tried listening to book 5 on audio and I was pretty long. I do wish the novellas were on audio in like one big package, maaaaaaybe someday 😊

So very good!!

Every audio book in this series is beautifully done! Can not recommend it enough!! I look forward to each new one that comes out!

best books

this is my favorite witchcraft series love the characters and the story line it is not over the top and there are many funny moments. buy all the books!

Loved it!

Another great installment of the Ariel Kimber saga. Her relationships with her coven continue to grow and danger and intrigue surround her. Her father has been found and she now has one more overbearing man to watch over her, keep her safe and boss her around.

Back on Track!

After enduring the last book, I'm happy to report that this one is a worthwhile addition to the series. I'm enjoying that the author is giving us time to know all characters, but at the same time I'm getting sick of Ariel pushing everyone away. This is the cleanest reverse harem series I've ever encountered which seems like it should be an oxymoron (slow burn? no burn? I don't know). I'm hoping our girl will finally learn to use her magic and start taking charge in the next one (I mean after all the trauma the author has put her through realistically she deserves to be whiney and in therapy for life, but it's getting tiresome).