THE TIE THAT BINDS

by Laura Gale

When she walked out, Rachel thought she was through with Lucas Neuman and his high-society family forever. But that was before her little girl became deathly ill...before the man who'd so cruelly betrayed her became her only salvation.Five years apart hadn't eased the pain of Rachel's leaving...or the fierce desire that coursed through Lucas when he saw her again. But it was desperation that brought her to his only a bone marrow transplant would save their little girl--the daughter he hadn't known he had. Now time was running out. Was it possible to heal the pain of the past and start over with this woman he had never stopped loving?

Genres: Second Chance, Harlequin, Contemporary Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Family Drama, Nursing

Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

Reviews

[Saly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I HATED this book, hate is the word, I despised the cheating selfish hero. He was a sniveling coward who didn't deserve the heroine and his daughter and NEVER faced up to his actions. He let his wife the woman he confessed to love, be treated like dirt by his parents and SEXUALLY-HARASSED by his father and pretended not to notice, he was REPULSIVE. Not only that he brought the OTHER WOMAN in their life, ran around with her publicly and then derided his wife for nagging and then when he came home with love-bites proudly says I didn't have sex with her, what a CREEP.

She walked out on him and that also didn't make a difference he became a full grown CREEP, moved that other woman into his house and continued until she walked into his life, asking for help with his daughter's health(he didn't know he had a child). He then again became a CREEP, not accepting his responsibility in their marriage disaster and he thinks why not fall into bed.

I wish the heroine had never taken him back, his so called APOLOGIES and REMORSE came way too late.

AVOID the BOOK.

[Tia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely had to read this book simply because of Saly, my goodread friend. I've read a lot of books that she has and I've never seen her once make such an emotional review, she was really pissed about it. So I just had to see what all the fuss was about.

The hero was a fricken idiot! I need to say this, he has a beautiful enchanting wife who gave him everything and instead of embracing that wife and the love she freely gave, he had a childish fit and cheated on her. It was disgusting to read it all unfolding! I was sitting here cringing most of the time thinking "omg, you are the BIGGEST idiot ever!" Like seriously, the heroine was GOLD. She was everything you want in a heroine, strong, courageous, lovely, bold, etc. but all the hero does is think about himself and hurt her, repeatedly. When the ending of the book came, I was like "THANK GOD!!" because the hero had somewhat shaped up but I need to tell you, I wouldn't of taken that man back if he had millions and the light shined out of his ass. He was despicable and what he did was devastating to the heroine. What a turd!

[Vintage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read this with so many reviewers hating on the hero. Yep, he’s no bueno as the Mexican-American characters in this book would say.

Bottom line, Rachel hunts her weak Peter Pan of a husband down as she needs his bone marrow for the daughter he never knew he had.

Rachel is a long-suffering saint, and Lucas is the man-boy who’s tied to his father’s cigar butt. Idiotic and selfish behavior on the part of hero as well as OVER-THE-TOP hateful behavior from the in-laws broke the marriage up. The father is a pig, a PIG; he raises the nastiness of racism and sexism to a pretty extreme degree while still being believable. The evil OW isn’t the worst evil woman ever, but, my goodness, she just may be the skankiest. She even makes the hero sick. Literally.

Set in Scottsdale/Phoenix, an area we escaped left for the cleaner cool climate of itsy-bitsy Flagstaff, it was fun reading about specific areas like Encanto Paradise Valley, and Filiberto’s Mexican Restaurant which is not the best Mexican food in Phoenix.

Fun for some over-the-top characters, a weak hero who knowingly works hard to redeem his own character, and some retribution for the evil doers.

Checked out Laura Gale, and this is her only book and she now lives in Australia which is quite a jump.

A just scraped-in-the-three-star zone for me.

[Jac K · Rating 3 out of 5]

After years of listening to my friends bitch about Lucas; I had to finally track this down… AND… they were right… he sucks. He’s such a spineless wimp following his vile parents every request, which typically was giving his wife, Rachel the shaft. How bad is he? Let’s just say I’d rather be married to Patrizio Trelini than this yahoo. Need more?? I’m not a fan of the “secret baby cuz he broke my heart” plot device, and Rachel hiding Michaela for 4/5 years didn’t bother me…like at all!!

I’m torn on how to rate this one, because lint-licker Lucas aside, Rachel was pretty awesome, and L.G. tackled both racism and a sick child as plot devices pretty effectively. Honestly, I feel bad for Rachel, because she's already stuck in HP HEA-ville with a sniveling man-child… so, I just can’t give her an awful rating on top of that. 😁


There was potential for this to be an angsty-dramafest, but all the conflict occurs before the book starts, so we just hear about it, rather than live it. I think it would have been better had we suffered the heartbreak alongside Rachel as she dodged her grabby vile father-in-law, while being excluded for Alana. Here’s one example…

His father had called it a combined graduation and welcome-to-the company party. That was his explanation for including Alana, and everyone else from the office, while excluding Rachel. Lucas had never explained that to Rachel. She’d never known just how many people his father had seen fit to invite while leaving her off the guest list. Lucas had felt awkward about it all, maybe even a little ashamed. But explaining the details to Rachel just wasn’t something he felt capable of doing. He’d have needed to confront his father first, and he wasn’t about to do that. So he’d followed his father’s wishes and gone to Cancún, with Alana and not Rachel. That trip set the pattern from then on. Alana was good company. The two of them had ended up staying in Cancún for a full week, while the others had returned home after a few days. Lucas couldn’t explain why; it just happened that way. Travel of that kind, staying at a resort where everything he could possibly want was readily available- it had been a new extravagance to him and he’s decided he’s earned it.

Now in his defense 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ he didn’t cheat, and was never with Alana until AFTER the legal separation. Well, I used some of my super sleuth detective skills and it appears our Little Boy Wonder was indeed correct. According to Arizona law (at least in 2012) infidelity is a class 3 misdemeanor, and intercourse is required. He merely made-out in the bed getting love-bites. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Bottom Line- Not bad, but it’s really hard to be good when half the couple sucks ass. L.G. did try to redeem him, and he did grow up a lot, but the whole “man-child” image was hard to overcome.

[Aireen Lim]

I can't even force myself to give it a -9999 star. This is the worst book I've ever read.

The hero had ZERO, LITERALLY ZERO redeeming qualities. Not only was a b*stard,a cheating asshole, a coward but he was an idiot, too.

I tried so hard to finish this book. I really did, especially through the parts where the hero just "realized" the gravity of his daughters sickness (really?!?!) and spent about 2 minutes lamenting having been not in her life. Then he sees (ex) wife and suddenly he gives it his all trying to get into her pants. Get your priorities straight, idiot. Leave your relationship woes for later and actually try to give f*ck about your daughter. It was like, out of sight, out of mind.

Don't even get me started on him getting all SHEEPISH when the wife finds condoms, lipstick stains and sees the lovebites on his neck. He didn't even show any form of guilt.
Why?!?
Well apparently he didn't sleep with her. It should count for something. He stopped himself even if he wanted to! *round of applause*

Sigh. I could go on but it was literally in his every appearance that his idiocy showed in one form or another. His stupidity was off the charts. He couldn't understand why the heroine would refuse him physical touch. What is he? Twelve? Five years of separation meant nothing to him, their fight and the heroine leaving him apparently signifies getting it on is a-okay years later!

The heroine was a trooper. Her only fault is her inability to see how stronger and better off she was without him. I can't believe she immediately agreed to allow the hero in her daughter's life when she, herself, witnessed how careless and callous he was about their relationship. Sure he donated his marrow, but would you really let your kid get attached to someone who was so easily swayed by the high-rolling lifestyle (and etc) that it was the reason for the end of your marriage? She stated it herself, that the hero was so used to following his parents orders he didn't know how to form his own decisions.
I would have understood if she allowed him later on or when he proved to her enough he has changed (i.e. when he quit his job, faced his father, etc.) It's like she was determined to forgive him already when he hadnt even realized his mistakes nor actually ask for forgiveness.

And I didn't the side-characters. Rick and Diego especially. They were all "Stay away from her!!! You've hurt her enough" then suddenly "she lost that spark she had before blabla, it's like she's missing something in her life even with her daughter there" *wink wink*. Why didn't they just offer her on silver platter to the douche?

[Lidia's Romance]

DNF
His reaction to finding out about the secret baby (4yo daughter) was so anticlimactic. He didn’t believe the news initially, calling the h a liar, but right after he just accepted it. He wasn’t angry that she hadn’t told him. He was calm and collected. Maybe he has a late reaction in the following pages/chapters. Idk 🤷🏻‍♀️ The only reason I read secret baby books is for the dramatic/angry reaction to the revelation. 😆 I also want to feel her angst. None of that happened in that scene.

The h is speaking in Spanish and as a Mexican-American myself, I’m picky about how it’s spoken in books. I usually find it doesn’t sound natural, which only makes me cringe. Like in this book.

[Alexis-Morgan Roark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy was a POS!! He redeems himself, mostly, but it is a long, painful road that we all travel along with him.

[Tmstprc · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is horrendously bad, 3 stars for an amazing heroine, zero stars for the loser husband and 2 stars for pulling off the sick child storyline.

With the opening scene, you think you’re getting the typical Harlequin/Silhouette hero, OTT alpha, oh no, not the case—that would have been preferable to the pathetic, passive loser that he proves to be—his improvement as a human being is triggered by his child’s need, otherwise he would have continued on as he was.

Until the heroine shows up needing his help to save their sick child, he is passively lead around by his misogynistic father and enabler mother. The things he did while married go way beyond cheating.

I like cheating stories, I want to believe in forgiveness and redemption. He does all the right things, but can it compensate for what he did, doubtful.

[Latte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did like this read. Redemption is the storyline. Yep. Our hero was an ass. And yes, it took him a long road to recognize and come to terms with it. But that's what make this very real without a lot of pat situations you often find in this genre of reading. I also appreciated the research the author put in to being able to describe the symptoms and treatment of leukemia without making it seem glossed over or too textbook like. I found it a very satisfying read - the kind you finish then put down with a feeling of contentment.

[Dinjolina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A horrible situation with the worst SOB out there as the hero.
Still, the writing was very good and the plot flow, resolutions and pacing was very well done.
It was a hard ride, and I did feel the situation was somewhat salvageable in the end.
Still, I am unable to fully like a book that has that IDIOT as a main character and not hate him with utter passion.

[Beeg Panda · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best written heroes I've had the misfortune to read about.

I'm only giving this book a 3 (normally I'd do a 1 or 2 when I find the MC and all his crap to be as repugnant as this one) because the writing was superb, the heroine was a strong woman and the content well researched. Kudus, Ms Gale.

Nothing makes up for this "hero's" cowardly, weak and waste-of-space-and-oxygen existence.
No amount of groveling, (of which he did zilch) no apologies, no insipid platitudes, no excuses (of which he had many).

His story is SO well written that I can understand why he is what he is. His age, upbringing, parental influence, and so many other factors, all contribute to the feeble, inconsequential excuse of a man.
But I don't like him any more for it because he could've risen above it; he could've made positive changes if he really wanted to. And it's because he didn't WANT to be a better husband that I dislike him so intensely.

Cant wait to try the author's other books.

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 1 out of 5]

O herói é um imbecil, cafajeste, traidor, sem vergonha, idiota, mandado pelos pais, racista, mulherengo, irresponsável, idiota e etc...
A heroína é maravilhosa, mas aceitou o FDP novamente e ele fez coisas imperdoáveis... merecia um pé na bunda!
Fogueira ou delete nele!!!!

[Adrianamae · Rating 1 out of 5]

-0 crap.

[Corandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this. It shows the real difficulties that can be encountered in a relationship, especially involving young adults, with little experience of life and from different cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. This is exacerbated when the person with the greater perceived power doesn't see or get what their loved one experiences (so-called privilege). Teamed with Daddy and self-esteem issues, it can be easy to be overcome by material and hedonistic temptations, and easy to take the line of least resistance, which our "hero" did. The story brought up some other important issues - that of how one views our own actions vs. how others perceive them; and how easy it is to justify our actions when things are made easy for us.

The h herself, could have asserted herself some more during their marital difficulties. Her inexperience of persons from his background, however, would not have prepared her for people like them. Her own supportive familial and cultural structure, as well, were totally different to his.

The H was a TPOS at the beginning, and had a job ahead of him to redeem himself, both to the heroine, and to me. Given his immaturity at the time of their separation and his slow growth-rate until he re-met his estranged wife, who provided somewhat of a catalyst to his change, the story took a satisfying journey of redemption.

I found this a very enjoyable read. Would love to read more from this author, especially Diego's story, but this appears to be a one-off.

[Margo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that will not engage except at a level, but is an entertaining read nonetheless. The H is awful and if you weren’t told otherwise, it would be reasonable to think he was about five years old because he seems to be completely uninformed about things that grown adults take for granted. He’s definitely an example of someone having an unexamined life. The OW and his parents are also just complete cartoons. No subtlety there.

No matter what the H is saying now, there’s no possible way that he was not cheating on her, and here’s why: he had condoms in the jacket pocket that she found. Why would a faithful man have condoms when he’s out on the town? I don’t know if the author was just lazy about this, or is deliberately trying to leave some ambiguity, or was trying to show that the H was gaslighting the h. In any case, though, there’s no other conclusion you could come to based on the circumstances. Unfortunately the h never asked that question, so it’s left to the reader to make note of the fact that those condoms were evidence of infidelity.

Anyway, she (the h) is amazing and admirable and really would be much better off if she had just waited until her heart healed. However, if you want to use a glass half full viewpoint, I guess you could say that now that she’s finally trained the H to think like a normal human being, he’ll probably remember this lesson.

[Layla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not as bad a cheating story as I thought. Not perfect, by any means, but not totally awful. It seemed like the main problem was that the guy was an idiot---both emotionally and in his dealings with literally EVERYONE. And while that was more palatable than cruelty, it made me wonder why they were together in the first place.

Oh and I definitely think he cheated in a worse way than he let on--- condoms in your pocket and scratches on your back don't seem as innocuous as the heavy petting that the H admitted to.

What made it work was that she made him grovel/work a lot to get him back.

[Nikki · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a bit hefty, like a lot of writing. And a lot of plot, despite not much happening. The story would work EXCEPT for the hero. He is crap trash pile. For this story to be good he has to be replaced. He is just awful. Like he says he doesn’t think…for years!!! Simply because it was easier…who would want to be with someone like that?! He is lazy and dumb and cruel. He doesn’t deserve the heroine or his daughter. Glad his mom had a small redemption arch! But he has NONE, just saw the heroine again and just wanted her. And seemed to only to want to sleep with the heroine, it was so boring! Skip, but the writing is good but the hero sucks the life outta the story.

[rm2h · Rating 3 out of 5]

The hero needed to grow up and he did but it was a long road but I did enjoy the read.

[Crystal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lucas. What a 🤡🤡🤡.

What a spineless, horrible excuse for a husband. What husband gets caught at home after a trip with "love bites" all over his neck and shoulders, two shades of lipstick on his shirt and a third on a napkin, and his wedding ring in a pocket full of condoms and "smiles sheepishly" at his wife. The wife who was not on the trip. But it's okay, folks, he didn't sleep with OW on the trip. He was able to stop himself, even in bed with the OW, before going all the way so his wife should be thankful. The OW who he'd been on countless trips with, who'd been at his side during events in place of his wife. None of that counts as cheating. Not at all. 🤡

What husband parades a string of different women over the years after OW and thinks nothing of his estranged wife's feelings because, in his mind, not taking them to bed meant all was good. 🤡

What kind of husband allows OW to pick out a home for him to live in with his wife, who didn't get any input, then allows OW to move into said condo when the wife has had enough and leaves? Totally fine, it ended up being a nice little love nest for OW and H's pig of a father. 🤡

What kind of husband allows his parents to constantly throw out racist remarks about his wife? To repeatedly put her down and remind both her and their son of her "place," which was not as his wife. Oh, and he was completely blind to the multiple instances of sexual harassment by his father towards his wife. 🤡

I wish she had taken the opportunity to ask him how he would have felt if the roles had been reversed. If he had found love bites all over her after a trip with another man. How he would have felt finding her wedding ring in a pocket full of condoms. How he would have felt if she'd been going on trips and dates with another man while he sat at home waiting for her. What a tool.

Honestly, throw the entire man away and get a new one. He was clueless almost the entire time on how his actions impacted his wife. He was so pushy about her getting over the past and moving on. No grovel, which is why my rating is low. And because he's a 🤡. He showed up as a dad once he learned of his daughter, but that's really it. She was eager to jump back into bed with her husband with no protection, even thinking he'd slept with all those women. Ewwwwww.

[Diedre · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me, the poor reviews are so unjustified if you read the story objectively and not put your personal likes or dislikes in it. Yes, the hero was an oblivious asshole. But that was how he was raised. And being cloistered in his "elite" prejudiced upbringing, always cowing to his father, you see how he had to grow up. He was incredulous at how his wife's family saw him. To him, circumstances just happened and he fell into them. That's all. Little did he realize how selfish and self serving he was. And from the reader's point of view, naive. That's what made the story! He realized that he took on the impression of his immoral father that others thought was him too. He was actually just dumb! But the heroine was such a warm, beautiful, without guile woman. A very moving story with their daughter's illness.

[Nightwitch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up on this one in the first chapter when the heroine has to spend several pages outlining her proof of their secret baby's parentage to the hero - when she has already told him that the reason she's shown up is to ask him to be tested as a bone marrow donor for the kid. Why on earth would she do that if he hadn't fathered the child? Also, none of this is how real people talk, or act, or are... and the book proceeds from there, with some random platinum blonde temptress stripping down in his office in an attempt to sex him up to distract him from his "trashy little" wife and his rude racist father being mean to the heroine. Just didn't feel like it was worth bothering to proceed further.

[Book · Rating 2 out of 5]

The H is a self-centered, adulterous jerk who is overly dependent on his mommy and daddy. The heroine develops “trust issues” because of him and goes into sexual shut down so after their separation, he’s sampling other women, she’s dealing with her ill daughter and has no interest in other men *rolls eyes*.

He didn’t grovel and she was stupid for taking him back.

[A · Rating 3 out of 5]

The h was definitely kick ass with great comebacks yet is super dumb to not move on when she should have divorced him rather than just serve separation papers and leave it at that for 5 years! The H was a clueless @*$**** who didn't deserve any forgiveness or redemption. I love how the h refers to cigars as adult pacifiers!

[Windwalker2015 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love angsty books. Heartbreak. Not much for fairytale romances but the ones that make you feel.
At times I was disgusted at the hero and wondered how he could come back from his mistakes.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

[GerReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the FMC but my god what a sap sap of a MC, and 🤢 the father was just disgusting, decent story, nice writing would read this author again

[Nerissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 stars. THe plot was good. He was redeemable due to his realisation, growth and consequent remorse. He was brought up in an environment that cultivated his actions. I dont in anyway condone them, but i could understand how he let things go the way he did. I really liked both characters in the end. The reason for the low rating was because the book dragged. I ended up jumping huge chunks cause i got bored. SUch a shame as the book had great qualities.

[Minnie chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS AWESOME. It is intense, painfully realistic, full of angst, the writing is amazing. All the characters are fully fleshed out, the romance is bittersweet, the story is mesmerizing, a gem.