Bound by Threads

by N.E. Stevenson

They pushed me to the edge, and now they think I’m dead because of the things they did.

I thought I was getting a new beginning.

A promise of a new identity.

A new college to finally start my life states away from the people who were set on destroying me.

What do I do when they show up two years later?

And how do I escape when they are determined to make me pay for the pain my disappearance caused them?

-

We never wanted her to die.

We were only doing as we were told to make her parents pay the debts they had made.

Now, we’re not the same boys she knew.

And when we find out that she’s alive... well, we’re determined to make her pay.

This is a why choose contemporary Enemies to Lovers Romance.
This is Book one of the duet.
Series is now complete!

Genres: Enemies To Lovers, Romance, Why Choose, Dark Romance, Contemporary, Dark, Second Chance

330 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 25, 2025

Reviews

[𝐸𝓁𝒾𝓏𝒶𝒷𝑒𝓉𝒽₊˚✩ · Rating 2 out of 5]

No rating yet!

God I hate half of these characters. WHY DIDNT SHE JUST EXPLAIN IT TO THEM. Roman could do NOTHING to make him likable he’s too far gone, and Elijah is MARRIED. Crew is just pathetic and she only took him back bc of the guilt trip and she’s soft & gullible. The miscommunication made me feel like I got shot instead of Roman. Also not the author about to gas light me into thinking Roman has always loved her. Now will I read the second book? Yes. Yes I will.

2.75 stars!

[Rach · Rating 1 out of 5]

Girl what the hell

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise had potential, but I found the character motivations somewhat frustrating.

There was this ongoing expectation that Lottie owed the guys an explanation for disappearing out of their lives even though they’d spent over a year bullying her nonstop. I was having a really hard time understanding why they weren’t comprehending her desire to cut ties. I get that they had previously been close, but that relationship had long been severed.

Then there was zero accountability on the guys’ part. They just kept saying that they were told to do it as if that would make it better.

Elijah also had valuable information that could have cleared things up and prevented some very repetitive interactions, but he didn’t feel it was his place to share (I disagree). I spent most of this book wondering if I was finally in the chapter where everything would be revealed. It took an unnecessarily long time to get there.

Despite all this, I still want to know how this ends. Unfortunately, I likely won’t finish this duet due to my intense dislike of Roman.

[Outchi · Rating 1 out of 5]

lol nope. what a mess.

[dyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

sickkk i thought part two was out

[St.Peaches · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ARC Review ✨
🌶️:0,5/5
RELEASE DATE: 25/05/25

GUTTED....
LEFT TO BLED OUT..

THAT IS HOW I FEEL ....
The ending was BRUTAL ...
THE WHOLE GODDAMN BOOK WAS BRUTAL ....

If you love a gut wrenching story with a balanced dose of reassuring comfort and a sprinkle of female rage.
THIS ONE IS FOR YOU MASOCHISTIC BYTCHES! (Respectfully)

This book has SO LITTLE SPICE.
Not gonna lie I WAS SURPRISED that i really really enjoyed it!
(Considering i ENJOY my smut, SO THIS IS SAYING ALOT)

A small shout out to Daddy Will 😍😍

⚠️WARNING⚠️
This book is pretty heavy and dark, it has a lot of things on and off page that might be triggering.
SO PLEASE CHECK YOU TRIGGER WARNING BEFORE HAND!

Can't wait for the second book!! 💖💖

Book Contains:
- Why Choose
- Friends x Enemies x Lovers
- MMC Marines
- MMC Deaf Rep
- FMC Mute
- Stripper
- Child SA (off page)
- Bullying
- Drugs & Addiction
- Suicide Attempt
- Violence & Blood
- Found Family
- Hurt & Comfort
- Parental Abuse
- Mention of Parental Death
- Spitting

🍑 HAPPY READING YALL!!!! 🍑

[Angelica Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got 8 chapters in and was bawling my eyes out, god did this book hit hard! The ending……..😭😭😭 cannot wait for the second book!

[M Janee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, first off Roman - you stupid boy 😆 iykyk.

Okay, now that that's out of the way 😅

This story sucks you in immediately. You really feel for Scarlett as she struggles more and more.

Lottie is such a strong fmc and I loved that she got her payback.

Great. Now I need book 2 like yesterday because I loved this.

PS - Oscar, you're my favourite 🤫

[Brittany Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. What a freaking masterpiece. It’s taken me several days to try and find the words to use in this review and honestly I don’t think anything I say will do justice to how good this book is. I have read almost 200 books this year already and this one is by far the best. N.E. Stevenson you have outdone yourself with this one. I have read it at least 3 times since I’ve gotten it and it just seems to get better and better each time. No one truly knows how to break me like you do but you do it in such a beautiful way. I connected with this book on such a personal level and I believe so many others will as well. Scarlet/Lottie is such a powerful FMC who really takes what has been thrown at her and comes back stronger for it. She hits rock bottom but still manages to come back and take her life back. She learns what it is like to truly be loved and cherished. That cliffhanger though…. I am not okay. I am in desperate need for book two.

[Montana · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review: My heart breaks at the beginning of this book for how helpless Scarlett feels and how horrible everyone is in her life. But the way she changes everything and becomes such a strong character made me so excited. I found out I love a man on his knees after this book. Thank you for that new knowledge. Oh, and fuck Elijah and his little wife and still pinning over our fmc. We hate an unfaithful man that also keeps his wife hidden.

I have this kindle book preordered and patiently waiting to get the physical book because there were so many lines that made me stop and fully giggle. Oh and those kissing scenes! I went feral over those scenes! Excuse me while I get on my knees and ask N.E. Stevenson to spit in my mouth. She has her pretty little author hands wrapped around my throat and I’m saying thank you.

[rozie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF im incredibly frustrated. The 3 guys were idiots and acted like scarlett owes them shit. When she doesnt. She has a shit home life, was sexually assaulted by the guys' dads, and they bullied her constantly just to top it off, and they still blame her for dying and "leaving" them behind to wallow in their misery. Im sorry but this aint it. There's no redeeming these characters for me no matter how much they grovel.

[Julie Schulz · Rating 1 out of 5]

F*#% those guys! I can’t even consider reading the next one. This one was annoying. Archer and Oscar were the only highlights and even then we didn’t get much.

[Kattikuss · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those books that didn’t let up with the grief of a shitty life. Even if Lottie left the disaster that was her life behind, it ended up catching up to her. Now she needs to face her demons, literally and figuratively.

There we so many men in this book that it doesn’t end up making sense that Lottie would ever include her heinous bullies into her harem, and let’s face it, everyone has to agree that Roman is basically unforgivable. What a prick!

Archer and Oscar are wonderful. That’s all you need babe.

The cliffhanger was good if a bit predictable. The plot was unbelievable and light in details in parts, but let’s overlook them, this was a book about emotional trauma. Onto the next one!

[Susan Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book worth the read

This book had me in a choke hold for most of it. The emotions felt real and raw throughout the entire book. Scarlett/Lottie was an amazing, strong fmc who went through so in her short life. Lottie had dark hidden secrets who didn't trust easily. But her growth and finding her voice again was powerful strong. Archer was her saving grace and gave her a reason to live. Oscar was her protector and always saw her for who she was. Crew,Elijah, and Roman were just broken people but needed a good slapping for all the harm they caused Lottie. This book will put you through an emotional roller-coaster but so worth it.

[Chele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok...I didn't think you would top Whispers of Salvation, but you certainly have! This book is amazing. Lottie/Scarlet has been through so much that it took her voice. Silence was how she survived. Her friends became her tormentors. Her parents sold her for their addiction. Archer saved her, Oscar sees her, she has fabulous friends. There were tears (from me, whilst I read). There was a gasp and me almost throwing my tablet at the ending! I am already ready for Book 2 and re-reading Book 1, even having just finished. You know how to dig deep, tell a story, and make us feel all the feels! Dive in people and just hit pre-order. You're going to want this duet!

[J.L. Cres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book overall and found the main character likable. I have a deep respect for someone so strong and I felt the author did a good job of highlighting her inner strength. Good character development. I’m def a fan of this author and her style of writing. I however—did not want to read about her getting involved with her bullies again. I loved Archer and Oscar. The fact that the FmC would even have any feelings for the men in her past when she has those 2 amazing BFs is unbelievable to me. I get the revenge but then let them go. I had mixed feelings on whether I wanted to read the next book but in the end I didn’t continue…

[x.o-St3fani3-o.x · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bound and Broken

I devoured this book and I can’t wait for book 2 ending threw me for a loop.

Scarlett/Lottie has a very troubled and abusive life. Her best friends turn on her, her parents are more concerned with drinking and drugs. After the unthinkable happens she losses her voice.

While trying to end it all she is saved and runs away to another place with the man.

I was so enamored with Oscar and Archer. I was totally annoyed with Crew, Roman and Elijah and wouldn’t be upset if they sat on a cactus.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I loved this! I went in basically blind and I’m shook. That ending!!! So many emotions. This book hooked me right away and it didn’t let me go till the last word of the last page. I loved these characters as flawed and cracked as they all are. Each one had so much depth and I really felt for each of them even when I wanted to talk sense into them. This book has romance, friendship, steam, family love, betrayal, groveling, grief, and so much more. I can’t wait for the next one and see where they all end up. I highly recommend this one!

[Morgan]

DNF… I can’t finish this book. The bullies push the main character to try to kill herself. Then when they find out she’s alive they get mad at her, because after they found out she killed herself they were “grieving”. They all used to be friends and then one of their dads raped her, and so she stopped talking to them. They get their feelings hurt and they start bullying her because their dads tell them too, but they also like it because she “iced them out”. Give me a freaking break! I don’t usually like bully books, but this one took the cake. I hated it.

[Simply Stina]

Ehhh, how could they not know??

I dont know if this is valid or feasible. We're they truly that disconnected that they didn't know their father's were frickin evil? I just find that so hard to believe.
Anyway, the pacing was odd in some parts and I dont like how Scarlett/Lottie refused to tell them what happened to her out of concern for THEM.! That blew my mind! Like, excuse me?! So she resorted to childish pranks. I truly don't know how to feel about this book. It wasn't great but it wasn't horrible either. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Danielle Mund · Rating 2 out of 5]

The premise at the beginning is interesting but the bullying and abuse is the best part of the book; when Scarlet/Lottie disappears, her whole recovery is glossed over. She ends up in the orbit of 2 additional men not included in the blurb which bothered me that they were unexpected.

The second half of the story is poorly developed, telling instead of showing, repeated arguments over and over, miraculous recovery, characters not fleshed out, love without showing any of the work, insta polycule. I just didn't like it. Average length but felt too long

[shazza · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Sometimes a bully enemies to lovers just goes a little to far that it becomes uncomfortable and I need to take a break. Thankfully this little gem has the balance just right ! I flew through this book in a day and loved every bit of it.

How she can even think of taking them back (don’t know yet if she does) would be beyond me after what they done. But I guess that’s the whole point of enemies to lovers all logic goes out the window and selective memory is engaged😁 enjoy!

[Lauren Sowerby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs more editing, storyline feels forced

Was a DNF for me, only got 1/3 of the way thru before I had to stop. The storyline was hard to follow with lots of important things left out so you didn’t know which way a character was facing or where they were standing. Weird paragraph breaks, almost every other sentence was a double spaced paragraph break, felt weird. The characters and writing felt forced. Don’t recommend, sorry

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

FMC continues to be bullied by MMCs because she "can't" tell them the truth and MMCs bully her because she suddenly stopped being their BFF. All of the characters are stupid, but the bullies are the worst. You can't tell me they don't know or didn't bother to research selective mutism and that trauma can cause it. They could have offered support or even stayed away, but no, their wittle egos couldn't handle it.

I did like the writing and the emotional nuance portrayed.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

What dark hole did the author drop us into? This story tore me up and spit me out in pieces. How am I going to survive until the next book? 😬OMG, what does it say about me? 🙄I loved the book! 🥰 If you enjoy stories that will tug at your heart and have you screaming at the author because of the ending, you will have to read this book.

[Vivi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Painfully overwrought.

The main character is a perpetual victim whose main talent is Being Pathetic. If you're someone who likes to wallow in self-pity and fantasize about all the ways you can get people to feel sorry for you, this book might be for you. For everyone else, there are much better books out there.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got sucked in from the first chapter. Scarlett is traumatized, mute and really gets put through it. Even after that ending I don’t know how you’re going to make me like Roman. This is dark, so check your triggers. I ate this up. Dark why choose, mental health rep, disability rep and lots of bullying.

[Hannah Brooker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal!

Quite a bit wrenching read and I'm so glad I can go straight into book 2. Unfortunately I stayed up until 3 am reading this is one night so book 2 will have to wait. Lottie and her power that she chooses to take back makes for a powerful read. Cried with and for lottie, I felt her pain in every word.

[Steph B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book - I just had really expected more character growth and less immaturity for the age. I get that this was trauma and obviously everyone handles it differently, I just expected a bit more growth instead of so back and forth. It was a decent read just a lot of repetitive conversations that took up more pages than I felt was necessary to get to the monumental moments.

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bound by threads

Gone in blind and glad I did! Wasn’t sure what to expect but loved every minute of it! Started it last night and havnt been able to put it down! Love the tropes and excited for part 2 🫶🏻🥺