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Bound #2
Bound to Ransom
Since the death of her mother, Gloria Rawlins's life has been a series of disappointments by the people she cares about; first by her father and then in a series of disastrous relationships that have shattered pieces of her heart one after another. She's no angel and refuses to make herself vulnerable to anyone again. Until one man threatens to strip away the wall shielding her heart.
Henry Coker is not afraid of challenges. Rejected by his father and raised by a single mother, he's had to work hard from the bottom up to prove himself to his peers and the world. But Gloria, the one person he desires above all others remains out of reach until an opportunity presents itself and he has the chance to buy her.
Desire like theirs cannot be hidden and passion sizzles between them. But making someone fall in love may just be a challenge too far.
Bound to Ransom is a story about breaking the cycle of self-destruction, finding redemption and the powerful love that endures.
Henry Coker is not afraid of challenges. Rejected by his father and raised by a single mother, he's had to work hard from the bottom up to prove himself to his peers and the world. But Gloria, the one person he desires above all others remains out of reach until an opportunity presents itself and he has the chance to buy her.
Desire like theirs cannot be hidden and passion sizzles between them. But making someone fall in love may just be a challenge too far.
Bound to Ransom is a story about breaking the cycle of self-destruction, finding redemption and the powerful love that endures.
317 pages, Unknown Binding
First published February 21, 2016
17 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Kiru Taye
63 books340 followersAs a lover of romance novels, Kiru wanted to read stories about Africans falling in love. When she couldn’t find those books, she decided to write the stories she wanted to read.
Kiru writes sensual stories featuring African characters whether on the continent or in the Diaspora. When she's not writing you can find her either immersed in a good book or catching up with friends and family. She currently lives in the South of England with her husband and three children.
Kiru is a founding member of Romance Writers of West Africa. In 2011, her debut romance novella, His Treasure, won the Book of the Year at the Love Romances Café Awards. She is the 2015 Romance Writer of the Year at the Nigerian Writers Awards and 2017 Author of the Year at the Ufere Awards.
Kiru writes sensual stories featuring African characters whether on the continent or in the Diaspora. When she's not writing you can find her either immersed in a good book or catching up with friends and family. She currently lives in the South of England with her husband and three children.
Kiru is a founding member of Romance Writers of West Africa. In 2011, her debut romance novella, His Treasure, won the Book of the Year at the Love Romances Café Awards. She is the 2015 Romance Writer of the Year at the Nigerian Writers Awards and 2017 Author of the Year at the Ufere Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 21, 2016
A unique intense, heart wrenching story of love, loss and redemption.
May 13, 2021
Wow. A LOT was going on in this book. I just finished and I’m a little dehydrated from the rollercoaster ride that was Henry and Gloria. This is Book 2 in the Bound series and the heroine here is the villain from Book 1 whilst the hero is the hero from Book 1’s best friend. I found it kind of odd the dynamic of having a known villain who had done despicable things be the heroine of this romance but hey, one thing I’ve learned over the last two books is that the protagonists are not aiming for likability. There is a lot of toxic,
problematic behavior, people are sleeping with whomever, actions taken are morally ambiguous, people are just really out living wild and free and broken and this makes this a very different sort of romance from what I think is the norm.
The premise is that Henry has been in love with Gloria for nearly a decade, a passion he’s buried under contempt after she rejected him for being too poor years ago. Now a billionaire construction mogul, her father begs Henry to save her family’s failing construction business, an offer Henry only agrees to if Gloria comes with the deal.
For me, I’m not even sure what to think. This was so borderline problematic in soooo many different ways that I can’t even judge it for the things I liked or didn’t like, I can only rate it for how off-the-walls dramatic it was. This in a way is a dark erotic romance with dom-sub tones to it. There’s a lot of “ownership” type of vibes to it which has never been my favourite. That said, character development was pretty good, stupid character decision-making notwithstanding, and this felt like a somewhat psychological fiction sort of novel. The protagonists were both dealing with unresolved issues and it was hard to figure out what was kink and what was unhealthy coping mechanism. Again, like in Book 1, mental health and mental illness played huge roles in this looking at childhood trauma, manipulative personalities, severe depression and psychotic breaks. There is a lot of cheatacious intersexions, on-page traumatic graphic situations (including one sexual assault that wasn’t dealt with at all) and family drama both on Gloria and Henry’s side. You definitely need to be mindful of potential triggers of infidelity, but even more of graphic physical and sexual assault by an intimate partner. I can’t say I liked or disliked this per se, more honestly, I found it exhausting and felt consumed by it, and whether that is my taste or not, it is a sign of a good book. I would recommend this for people who like dark, messy romances that have tons of baggage and issues in them.
problematic behavior, people are sleeping with whomever, actions taken are morally ambiguous, people are just really out living wild and free and broken and this makes this a very different sort of romance from what I think is the norm.
The premise is that Henry has been in love with Gloria for nearly a decade, a passion he’s buried under contempt after she rejected him for being too poor years ago. Now a billionaire construction mogul, her father begs Henry to save her family’s failing construction business, an offer Henry only agrees to if Gloria comes with the deal.
For me, I’m not even sure what to think. This was so borderline problematic in soooo many different ways that I can’t even judge it for the things I liked or didn’t like, I can only rate it for how off-the-walls dramatic it was. This in a way is a dark erotic romance with dom-sub tones to it. There’s a lot of “ownership” type of vibes to it which has never been my favourite. That said, character development was pretty good, stupid character decision-making notwithstanding, and this felt like a somewhat psychological fiction sort of novel. The protagonists were both dealing with unresolved issues and it was hard to figure out what was kink and what was unhealthy coping mechanism. Again, like in Book 1, mental health and mental illness played huge roles in this looking at childhood trauma, manipulative personalities, severe depression and psychotic breaks. There is a lot of cheatacious intersexions, on-page traumatic graphic situations (including one sexual assault that wasn’t dealt with at all) and family drama both on Gloria and Henry’s side. You definitely need to be mindful of potential triggers of infidelity, but even more of graphic physical and sexual assault by an intimate partner. I can’t say I liked or disliked this per se, more honestly, I found it exhausting and felt consumed by it, and whether that is my taste or not, it is a sign of a good book. I would recommend this for people who like dark, messy romances that have tons of baggage and issues in them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2016
Reviewed on behalf of 2 Girls Who Love Books Blog
Gloria had sworn off men after a few disastrous relationships. Her father was a wealthy CEO. Until he begins to have money trouble. In order to save his family home and the money he does have, he has to take drastic measures and sell anything that has to do with his company. But there is a catch to complete the transaction. He has to sell his daughter.
Henry Coker is a very wealthy businessman..He takes the offer to help Gloria's father. He can save the company that's being sold but he wants the daughter too.
Gloria makes a grave mistake by sleeping with somebody. What she doesn't realize is, the man she sleeps with is Henry's brother. Now there is more in jeopardy that just her father's business.
This book had me biting my nails. And definitely blushing from the sex scenes.
Some of the sections in the book were a little confusing to me. But I just went back and read the chapter again. I got it that time lol..
4 stars.
Gloria had sworn off men after a few disastrous relationships. Her father was a wealthy CEO. Until he begins to have money trouble. In order to save his family home and the money he does have, he has to take drastic measures and sell anything that has to do with his company. But there is a catch to complete the transaction. He has to sell his daughter.
Henry Coker is a very wealthy businessman..He takes the offer to help Gloria's father. He can save the company that's being sold but he wants the daughter too.
Gloria makes a grave mistake by sleeping with somebody. What she doesn't realize is, the man she sleeps with is Henry's brother. Now there is more in jeopardy that just her father's business.
This book had me biting my nails. And definitely blushing from the sex scenes.
Some of the sections in the book were a little confusing to me. But I just went back and read the chapter again. I got it that time lol..
4 stars.
February 20, 2018
Bound to Ransom is a Taming-of-the-shrew themed story that starts off way outside my comfort zone. Fuelled by unrequited love and a desire for revenge, Henry purchases Gloria in a bid to humiliate her as she had done to him in the past. This starts off with Henry asserting his dominance through sex play (remember what I said about my comfort zone?).
The story is well written, full of tension and passion. Ms Taye's writing style is fluid as she wrings the last drop of emotion from her characters. There is a good mixture of modern and traditional African culture, which adds to the story's allure. I found the characters to be well-rounded and interesting although my favourite character was a secondary character (whom I was happy to note gets his own story soon).
There is a whole lot of character development particularly for Gloria, who starts out as a Class A bitch. We see her fall from her high horse and learn many lessons in humility as the story progresses. As much as she has grown, I also couldn't shake the sense that the transition had left her broken. Sadly, I couldn't relate to her - neither to her bitchy self nor her humble self at the end.
Henry is relentless and a whole lotta sexy. As the story progresses you see exactly where he is coming from and why he took the actions he took. At the end of the story, I am sold on the fact that Henry loves Gloria. He proves himself to be honorable where a lesser man would have rejected Gloria after everything life had put her through. Unfortunately, I still find myself unable to accept his initial humiliations meted on Gloria's person. He may have demonstrated his love, and he may have been shamed by some events in the book, but he still didn't suffer the kind of humiliation/punishment that would have made my satisfaction complete.
The story is well written, full of tension and passion. Ms Taye's writing style is fluid as she wrings the last drop of emotion from her characters. There is a good mixture of modern and traditional African culture, which adds to the story's allure. I found the characters to be well-rounded and interesting although my favourite character was a secondary character (whom I was happy to note gets his own story soon).
There is a whole lot of character development particularly for Gloria, who starts out as a Class A bitch. We see her fall from her high horse and learn many lessons in humility as the story progresses. As much as she has grown, I also couldn't shake the sense that the transition had left her broken. Sadly, I couldn't relate to her - neither to her bitchy self nor her humble self at the end.
Henry is relentless and a whole lotta sexy. As the story progresses you see exactly where he is coming from and why he took the actions he took. At the end of the story, I am sold on the fact that Henry loves Gloria. He proves himself to be honorable where a lesser man would have rejected Gloria after everything life had put her through. Unfortunately, I still find myself unable to accept his initial humiliations meted on Gloria's person. He may have demonstrated his love, and he may have been shamed by some events in the book, but he still didn't suffer the kind of humiliation/punishment that would have made my satisfaction complete.
July 25, 2023
So I decided to give this author another try. The redemption of a villain is always interesting type of stories. But there is just some thing weird about how this author presents her stories. I get that she is trying to deal with heavy issues in this series but the execution seems to fall flat. Characters motivations are not well thought out and the main stories seem to meander a lot. Plot point are stretched beyond what is needed and the resolutions seem to be wrapped up in a very off handed manor.
The story starts with what appears to be a revenge theme that Henry has for Gloria, and has a dash of BDSM. Within a few chapters the revenge theme was totally forgotten as Henry acted like a SIMP for Gloria. From then one the story devolved into a Nigerian soapy, with oops I (Gloria) slept with a guy, who turns out to be Henry’s brother plus the baby am carry is his, therefor I now have to marry him. Oh no am now going to be his 3rd wife because I didn’t know he was married when I slept with him. Yet the story wants us to believe that Gloria is a social media influencer, yet does not google the guys she sleeps with she is clever when the situation calls for it and utterly stupid at other times, why? I guess it convenient for the story at that moment.
Then the author remembers oh, this is an abuse story so Gloria needs to be physically abused to the point of death. But she gets up the next day and leave the hospital without anybody stopping her. Then Henry breaks his crazy brothers’ legs to the point that one has to be amputated and faces no criminal charges. Gloria resolves her trauma by writing a blog post. This book was just too silly and excessively long.
The story starts with what appears to be a revenge theme that Henry has for Gloria, and has a dash of BDSM. Within a few chapters the revenge theme was totally forgotten as Henry acted like a SIMP for Gloria. From then one the story devolved into a Nigerian soapy, with oops I (Gloria) slept with a guy, who turns out to be Henry’s brother plus the baby am carry is his, therefor I now have to marry him. Oh no am now going to be his 3rd wife because I didn’t know he was married when I slept with him. Yet the story wants us to believe that Gloria is a social media influencer, yet does not google the guys she sleeps with she is clever when the situation calls for it and utterly stupid at other times, why? I guess it convenient for the story at that moment.
Then the author remembers oh, this is an abuse story so Gloria needs to be physically abused to the point of death. But she gets up the next day and leave the hospital without anybody stopping her. Then Henry breaks his crazy brothers’ legs to the point that one has to be amputated and faces no criminal charges. Gloria resolves her trauma by writing a blog post. This book was just too silly and excessively long.
January 6, 2018
I loved this book. I really liked the first one in the series but this one I absolutely loved.
Just like the first story it grabbed me at first he start and wouldn’t let me go. This story fooled me. I thought I knew what to expect since I had recently read the first one. But boy did was I wrong. I loved that I was not able to predict what was going to happen. So many books today you can guess what’s going to happen, how it’s going to end. But not this one.
I love the characters, and the passion that the author conveys. I started this series because I liked the cover on book 1. But now I can’t wait to see what happens next, I don’t care what’s on the covers.
I have recommended these books to my friends to read.
Just like the first story it grabbed me at first he start and wouldn’t let me go. This story fooled me. I thought I knew what to expect since I had recently read the first one. But boy did was I wrong. I loved that I was not able to predict what was going to happen. So many books today you can guess what’s going to happen, how it’s going to end. But not this one.
I love the characters, and the passion that the author conveys. I started this series because I liked the cover on book 1. But now I can’t wait to see what happens next, I don’t care what’s on the covers.
I have recommended these books to my friends to read.
February 12, 2026
3 stars
Okay. One word to describe this book. MESSY
I’m finally done with this series (thank God) and I read it in the order I wanted 🙂
All I’ll say is I am happy I started with the Essien series and not this!
Okay. One word to describe this book. MESSY
I’m finally done with this series (thank God) and I read it in the order I wanted 🙂
All I’ll say is I am happy I started with the Essien series and not this!
November 30, 2021
A part of me is still hedging about Henry's take on submission. Not sure I found it healthy. Otherwise it was an entertaining read.
April 23, 2016
This may be one of the best Kiru Taye books I’ve ever read. It had everything a romance should. A heroine who learns her lesson and changes after making lots of mistakes and going through (and giving) a bit of hell, the most forgiving (and sexy) hero in the world, and enough drama to keep those ebook pages turning so fast you don’t realize how quickly the book went by.
I did not like Gloria in book one. The woman was manipulative, mean and spoiled. A true villain. So I was wary when I read that she would be the heroine in Book 2 of the series. I love Ms. Taye’s work so I decided to give Gloria a chance. Of course the author did not disappoint. I still detested Gloria in the beginning of the book because of what she’d done, but as the story unfolded I warmed up to her. When she morphed into a different (better) person, only still her, she had me in her corner.
The hero, Henry, surprised me with his rather kinky ways. I wouldn’t have guessed it of him in Book 1. If you’re looking for a sweet read, this is not it. This book is jalapeno hot so beware.
What I liked most about the novel, other than the longstanding love Henry held for Gloria, was how Ms. Taye was able to keep me off balance with the twists and was able to delve deeper into the lives of the characters.
I did not like Gloria in book one. The woman was manipulative, mean and spoiled. A true villain. So I was wary when I read that she would be the heroine in Book 2 of the series. I love Ms. Taye’s work so I decided to give Gloria a chance. Of course the author did not disappoint. I still detested Gloria in the beginning of the book because of what she’d done, but as the story unfolded I warmed up to her. When she morphed into a different (better) person, only still her, she had me in her corner.
The hero, Henry, surprised me with his rather kinky ways. I wouldn’t have guessed it of him in Book 1. If you’re looking for a sweet read, this is not it. This book is jalapeno hot so beware.
What I liked most about the novel, other than the longstanding love Henry held for Gloria, was how Ms. Taye was able to keep me off balance with the twists and was able to delve deeper into the lives of the characters.
February 3, 2017
This was my exhale!!!
Wow!! I am lost for words. I absolutely think Bound To Ransom was the best out all of Kiru Taye books that I read so far. All of her books are filled with seduction, passion and romance. This book is the true meaning of a love story.
Wow!! I am lost for words. I absolutely think Bound To Ransom was the best out all of Kiru Taye books that I read so far. All of her books are filled with seduction, passion and romance. This book is the true meaning of a love story.
April 20, 2016
Both Gloria and Henry have been hurt in the past. Henry has wanted Gloria and finally get the opportunity to make her his with a deal he makes with her father. This is an emotional drama filled read. The story is fast paced and the sex is hot. I really liked it!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews