Epic Love Rollercoaster

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher. That said, I'm not obliged to endorse the book, though I do, nor am I forbidden from panning it, which I don't. Overall, it's fairly strong and it was worth my time, though it has flaws.

"Tied Together" is the epic of love between two young men, Ryan Keller and Brandon Ford. It starts as first love but steadies as each young man discovers the other is the love of his life. It's not a smooth story. If it were, the book wouldn't be span 15 years and be divided into parts with years between.

The troubles are inevitable. The two characters are from families as opposite as imaginable. Ryan's home is accepting and supportive when he comes out as gay; Brandon's is so violent and full of homophobia that he can't come to terms with his sexuality, much less come out.

We're introduced to the families in the first few chapters where Heller sketches Ryan's family situation and poses it against a typical evening in Brandon's family.

The book is told in the first person, alternating between first-person Ryan and first-person Brandon, divided by chapters. This way, we get a feel for the two worlds and the two young men.

The first chapter, told as Ryan, begins with his father walking in on his son's first sexual encounter, followed by a very anticlimactic coming out scene. Brandon's chapter ends with him being beaten for an imagined slight by his drunk, good-for-nothing father. The contrasts are so stark that it felt I was seeing caricatures rather than characters. (Later on, other characters feel like caricatures, too. But they do their jobs, and the scenes progress as they need to. )

When Ryan and Brandon meet and fall for each other, when they misunderstand and separate and reunite again and again, the problems originate in the clash of their two different worlds. It's quite the roller coaster with slow, steady hauls up and sudden, steep plunges down.

Both the internal and external dialogue is snappy, funny and well-written, and the narrator does a good job with it. Ryan, the happy gay one, gets more of the fun dialogue. His conversations with the good and bad angels in his head, Brad Pitt and Steve Buscemi, are a fun touch; they can provide color commentary even if they only sometimes provide Ryan with useful insights into his own behavior. Brandon's inner dialogue is darker and more fearful, as we might well guess.

I'll declare the story well-told because I was rooting for both the young men, feeling their gains and their losses, and I was annoyed at their defects and errors, and proud of their growth. I liked them and wanted to see them happy and together.

I'll acknowledge occasional continuity problems, but they don't detract much from the story. And I'll say I thought that the snappy, funny dialog sounded pretty much the same from too many of the characters; the lines spoken hadn't been well fit to the speaker. And, as I said earlier, some characters are simply too stereotypical to be more than props illustrating points.

I'll finish by noting that in later chapters there are a lot of (somewhat long) male-to-male sex scenes. This may serve as a warning to some potential readers and a recommendation to others.

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Fantastic Narrator

Which character – as performed by Derrick McClain – was your favorite?

I enjoyed all Derrick's characters. He did a fantastic job with changing the MCs voices especially. I had no problem whatsoever knowing who was saying what. And whose POV we were currently listening to.

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. Being in Ryan's head was a lot of fun even though he had a lot of growing up to do. What he did to Brandon was horrible and my heart broke along with Brandon's. I don't blame Brandon for leaving and never looking back. I just wish there wasn't such a time lapse from that scene to their reunion 12 years later. I'll definitely be reading the sequel.

**This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast**

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started off good...

I really enjoyed the first part of the story, there was even humor in it, and I found myself laughing at some parts.
From there, it kind of lost luster. like the story was forced.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

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2 people found this helpful

Friends first!

Where does Tied Together rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Probably somewhere in the middle.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Tied Together?

When Ryan finds Brandon after being apart.

What about Derrick McClain’s performance did you like?

I like how he brought each character to life. Especially Moxie.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed at times, but i did not cry. It was a fairly light book that dealt with serious issues. The issues were handled well and I believe the author did a great job describing how different lives can be.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

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Good story, awful reading

I really enjoyed the story. Definitely a good juxtaposition of one guy having an easy time of it coming out while the other is in literal danger and terrified of anyone knowing his secret. My only issue is with the narration. I absolutely cannot stand this reader. every character comes out sounding super campy like an 80's movie stereotype of a gay man, and he ends EVERY FRICKIN WORD with a "uh" or what I call an 'up breath' like a bad TV preacher. This is my third book with him as narrator and I'll have to pay closer attention in the future and not choose books that feature him. His reading is like a cheese grater on my eardrums and makes me want to stab myself in the ear canal until deaf.

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Love eventually conquers all..

I enjoyed listening to most of the struggles this couple had to endure to finally get to to that sweet spot of HEA.
The beginning of the book was a hard pill to swallow because of Brandon's parents.
Brandon's father was such a unlikable character that I could go off on a tangent and rip him a new one but I won't because..
it was a nesasary part of the story to show why Brandon was completely different than Ryan about being his true self.

I did love the ending of the book but wish it wasn't so rushed.
Because this book had so much sarcastic humor.. I could see this couple going into a series about the funny struggles of demestic bliss.
This book also had its share of steamy sex scenes in it.
Not so much that it overshadowed the story line though.
The narration was good but, I didn't care for the winey tone he used at times.
I think this book is worth buying outright and saving the credit for something more expensive.
I was given gifted this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review.

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1 person found this helpful

I HATED one of the characters.

I started this book in the Audible format, which I received through AudioBoom. The narration was fine, but I basically hated the story. I stepped away from it for a while and then finished it in ebook format. I can read faster than listen and I just wanted it done.

Mechanically, the writing is fine. But Ryan is a total douche bag and he never redeemed himself. I was further infuriated that he was so horrible, but it was Brandon put in place to apologize before they got their happily ever after. Sure, Ryan, had a minor apology too, but it was too little too late for me. He was horrible, start to finish and I hated him so much it ruined the book for me.

Then there is the pacing. OMG, the pacing. The book starts out pretty well. It's funny and Ryan had an interesting voice. But it quickly devolved into forced humor and actions that MADE NO SENSE. Then 12 years pass. 12 years people! Two characters who have known each-other and been best friends for years, who are in love with each-other have one fight (because of one does something that I couldn't believe he would actually do) and they walk away without ever speaking again. WTF? They still go to the same university, you'd think they might pass on campus. And who gives up love that easily? No one, that's who. (Not that Ryan deserved any better.)

But 12 years pass. From a literary point of view, that's a lot of important time to lose. Then when the two get back together, the reader isn't given the getting to reknow each-other scenes either. They go from 0-bed instantly, then 3 weeks pass. What? More important lost time? They have another ridiculous fight, make up and 3 years pass. MORE TIME GONE, time that I as a reader needed to see.

At 65% new characters were introduced, characters who became important but the reader is not invested in because they are new at 65%. Apparently they are characters from other books, but that doesn't help much in the grand scheme of things. There is slut shaming, the characters are vile towards women in general and the representation of the nice, accepting, middle class family versus the poor, homophobic trailer trash family was cliched and predictable.

This was an all around fail for me.

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1 person found this helpful

Overcoming adversity and finding love

I enjoyed this story that centers on two gay men from their meeting at age 18, when attraction first sparks between them, through the trials and tribulations of accepting who they are and the betrayal that eventually separates them, and into their reunion and a second chance together later in life. The journey is easy for Ryan, but not so much for his friend Brandon. Ryan has an understanding, supportive family, and is financially comfortable; Brandon has a homophobic, abusive father, an uncaring mother, and no money. Ryan and Brandon's friendship and blossoming love is strained by misunderstandings and fear, and then one night and one selfish act breaks them apart. They meet again by chance over a decade later and find a second chance at love, but poor communication, an old boyfriend, and a quick judgement once again threaten to destroy their love. I loved this story, and nearly cried in frustration every time circumstances or their own foolishness tore Ryan and Brandon apart. However, I also laughed out loud at Ryan's good and bad "consciences" embodied by the personas of Brad Pitt and Steve Buscemi. This is one I will definitely be listening to again!

The narration was excellent! Mr. McClain provided a different voice for each character, and flawlessly matched his tone to the mood at each point in the story. I always knew who was talking even without the vocal prompts.

I was voluntarily provided a free review copy of this audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

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A sweet romance spanning 15 years

Would you listen to Tied Together again? Why?

Yes, I enjoyed the story and the characters. The story flowed nicely. Although a cliché of gay romances now being the couple that meets in high school, has a major break-up and is separated for 10 or more years, then meet again by accident. It's all in the delivery and the characters to make the story work and worth your time. And overall, Heller succeeded. It was well written, but had a lighthearted approach to the whole thing, considering one of the characters grows up being beaten and called "faggot" by his father, leading him to be afraid of coming out and then only getting help after the big break up.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Tied Together?

When Brandon and Ryan meet again in the delivery room where Brandon is the doctor and Ryan's foul-mouthed best friend is giving birth.

What three words best describe Derrick McClain’s voice?

Gasping for air. He did this for all characters. If the last word in the sentence ended in a hard consonant, he did a little gasp making the characters comment sound nervous and going up on the end of the sentences. Don't get me wrong, overall he was decent. He kept Brandon and Ryan's voices distinct, but some of the more minor characters blended together. And he doesn't do females that well.

If you could rename Tied Together, what would you call it?

Maybe "Meant to Be"? I wouldn't really call it "Tied Together". They meet in high school (senior year) and both go to college (different schools, but close together) in Chicago. They are best friends, but Brandon has kept his past and the fact that he is gay hidden from Ryan, even though he is in love with Ryan and Ryan is in love with him. They get together finally and immediately break up and don't see each other again for 12 years. They meet again by accident and quickly break up again. Both of them's stubbornness kept them from trying to salvage things after the first break up. They could have been together if they had just talked it out. So, it's more of a "Mean to Be" than "Tied Together".

Any additional comments?

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

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Beautiful

Wonderful just wonderful-- sometimes in life we don't do justice to what we have -- sometimes life alters we grow up and then we do justice ... I was lost in this beautiful story plus the narrator Derrick McClain is superb.

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