These Ties That Bind

Ordinary, Montana #5

by Mary Sullivan

Rem Caldwell has made mistakes--there's no denying that. But he knows he can be the father his son deserves. If only Sara Franck would agree. She keeps bringing up their shared past, no matter how many times Rem tells her he's changed.
Telling her isn't enough. Rem has to show Sara that he's a different man. And he has to do it soon--he needs his mother to know her grandson before it's too late. Because the one thing Rem wants more than anything is a permanent family reunion with Sara, the woman he adores.

Genres: Romance

ebook

First published November 1, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It sounded like such a fantastic, angsty read. Full of redemption and showing change and growth in Remington to prove to Sara that he truly has changed. I was expecting it to center more on Rem making up to Sara for his lack of wanting to take on responsibilities for what happened their one night together and making up to his son in regards to that as well. Instead I found that yes, people make mistakes as they are only human; that Finn (the boy) was awfully angry at his mom for not telling him the truth – that his father didn’t want him, but guess what he wants you now when your grandmother may kick the bucket and daddy has grown up quickly; oh and all of their problems seemed to be related to an accident that happened twenty years ago and was really Sara’s fault to begin with! Really?

Okay I also felt like there was nada in the way of chemistry b/w Rem and Sara and perhaps he really should have sought something w/ the “pretty” accident victim that he seemed to be slightly attracted too. Perhaps I missed something in not reading any books that could have been part of this series, but I didn’t know there were any. Lots of characters in this book were really human and so many things made sense, but so many other things threw me for a loop. If Sara really did take things so seriously then why didn’t she take other things as seriously as she did the one reveal? That threw me. I did like the symbolism of the tree though and how she needed to do it on her own, I also liked that he came to get her out of her funk. However, I didn’t like that she left her son for six weeks w/out really going to check on him especially since she seemed so responsible before. I could NOT understand how Finn could be so upset w/ his mother, but not his father and his walking away from him. He seemed to forgive that pretty quickly, but harbored anger towards his mother for so much longer. The whole birth certificate thing bothered me as well. Did Rem really think that once he denied the child that she would stick his name on that document? And why in the world did he seem to get off w/ the whole denial thing w/ barely a slap on the wrist? There should have been more repercussions for him as well. I think I would have preferred it if that had been explored more in this story than the whole other incident that showed that Sara was to blame for so many things going wrong in her life, and once again I just didn’t see the correlation there either.

Rem was scared straight seven years ago and not once did he track her down. He had to have known her life wasn’t easy going to school, working and raising the boy by herself. Now he wants in, he threatens custody issues and is abruptly shot down when she tells him about the birth certificate which he then chalks that up to hate. Their one night was him pursuing her to help her find her carefree self again and when she was left w/ even more responsibilities and burdens he walked away w/ his carefree self. (I’m guessing he thought he had that magic stick)

Then it all comes down to her inability to realize her fault in the life changing event. It was like the whole accident was more important than Rem manning up and taking responsibility for his actions w/ her and the baby. Then Sara decides out of the blue that Rem is the only man for her and she wants another baby w/ him. So she sets out to seduce him, but he doesn’t want her to. Rem feels she is on the verge of discovering something and needs her to realize that first. Not sure how he knew that.
He wasn’t going to protect her anymore and she needed to piece it all together. Of course she does, but then she can’t seem to handle things well and goes off on a depression trip for a while. However, Rem did go to pull her out of it instead of leaving her to wallow in her despair. That was a good point.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars ~ This is Ms. Sullivan's note that appears at the beginning of the book and I think it best describes the heart of this story.

Dear Reader,

Remington Caldwell begged for his own story. He first appeared in Beyond Ordinary, as the hero, Timm Franck’s, best friend. The idea of writing about the gorgeous bad boy who had worked hard to reform appealed to me. Where would his life go after redemption? And why couldn’t he forget Timm’s sister, Sara, a gray wren who was hard to ignore?

They’d traveled a rocky road because of one incident that changed their lives forever, that wreaked havoc with their best intentions and with their futures. Sara started as Rem’s little buddy, though. So the only way this story could go, despite having difficulties to resolve, was for them to end as friends.

I wanted to explore the idea that, although every friend we make in life counts, sometimes it’s those old friends who call to us and make us feel like we’re coming home. Throughout our lives, those friends act as landmarks that ground us, that remind us about the best parts of ourselves. When Sara finally comes home, she steps straight into Rem’s arms.

Happy reading!
Mary Sullivan

Rem and Sara's journey had been sidetracked by an accident they innocently caused in their childhood. This emotional love story has so many layers. As those layers are cleverly peeled away, Ms Sullivan balances out the revelations with lighter, playful moments. I enjoyed reading this story of second chances.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Such a wonderful redemption story, I can't tell you how much I cried during this book. Rem had put his troubled past behind him and become a responsible citizen. He really wanted a chance to get to know his son. Sara was having a really hard time forgetting their past and believing that he had changed. She wanted to believe, but was afraid to be hurt again. She also had things in her past that needed to be faced. When she finally does, then she has to look at herself, and figure out who she is. Such a powerful story.

[Tmstprc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ridiculous story. Immature characters and probably the worst child character I’ve ever read.

[Becky Griffus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read. Nice story. Overall.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it felt a tad overwrought--now, after I've finished it. In the midst of the reading, I was caught fast and enjoying every angsty bit. The heroine has a lot of gunk to get over and I really liked the way the hero helped her. I liked it a lot.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Hometown U.S.A.

[Doris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this as a first read. Took a bit to get around to reading but it was a very enjoyable book. I will read more from this author.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: Hometown U.S.A.