I was gifted a copy of this debut book by SK Fordham.
I enjoyed the plot with the terrible heartbreak over the loss of Stella’s murdered husband and father of her two sons; bits of the police work and trial; her two close friends, and meeting Coach/Dr. Dean. Stella gets lost in her memories and it was easy, for the most part, to tell when something was in the past, since the majority of her conversations with her husband Jack are in italics. Some of these past conversations are heartbreaking and I felt a little teary at times.
Stella is still struggling so much with the loss of her husband, and the counseling helped to a certain degree, but she would just get lost in thought, and forget about the present. I could understand the loss, but she seemed to need additional help – she needed more appointments, a different counselor, prescription, or something, as her grief was just overwhelming at times.
Since this is a romance/mystery story, certain details are not yet provided. What is Dean’s story? What about her friend’s husband, Steve? What about her psychologist and his temporary replacement? If someone received threatening notes, most people would contact the police but Stella decided they were just a prank. You’re never quite sure who is just weird, overwhelmed due to loss, controlling, or just keeping secrets – which is okay since it adds to the suspense, but some of it is unexplainable.
I enjoyed that Dean is so crazy about Stella from the beginning, and understands that she lost her husband and love of her life. He is willing to do whatever Stella needs just to be with her and they have great chemistry. You would think for a handsome wealthy man, that it would be easier to find someone with less baggage (murdered husband, 2 children, ill friend, etc.), but Dean wants Stella. He admires her strength in trying to overcome the loss of her husband and protecting her sons. He also spends time coaching the boys in soccer and becomes close to them.
The story takes a while to get into, but includes some twists and turns, and then it ends in a definite cliffhanger.
Issues: This story definitely needs some good editing, spell check, correct words used vs incorrect (taut instead of taught, definitely instead of defiantly), etc. I’m certainly not capable of being the grammar police, but all of the errors were distracting. It was difficult to tell when there was a conversation or if I was reading Stella’s thoughts. The plot jumped around and many details seem to have been left out such as when she went out of town with her friends, then wakes up in another state with an unknown man, and no memory of what happened.
I didn’t have a problem with the many Aussie related terms as I’ve read a few books with Aussie or British terms. I did have to search online for Celsius and Fahrenheit temps since 30 degrees was mentioned and noted it was hot outside.
Chained is currently listed for Free on Amazon, so I would recommend downloading it and you may find a new favorite author. I look forward to the second book and hopefully some of the mystery related details will be included. The story seemed to be about feeling chained to memories, etc., and then the end of the story hits – I was left scared, wondering what happened? The story left me intrigued enough to want to read the second in the series, and I am fortunate that I have the second book, Chained to You, ready to read next.