Jane Igharo

At twelve years old, Azere promised her dying father she would marry a Nigerian man and preserve her culture. Her mother has been vigilant about helping her to stay within the Nigerian dating pool ever since. But when another match goes wrong, Azere ends up at a bar where she meets Rafael Castellano, a man who is tall, handsome, and... white. When their one-night stand unexpectedly evolves into something serious, Azere is caught between her feelings for Rafael and the compulsive need to please her mother. Can she be with him without compromising her identity?

Ties That Tether

One of Betches' 7 Books by Black Authors You Need to Read This Summer One of Elite Daily’s Books Featuring Interracial Relationships You Should Read In 2020 One of Marie Claire’s 2020 Books You Should Add to Your Reading List When a Nigerian woman falls for a man she knows will break her mother’s heart, she must choose between love and her family. At twelve years old, Azere promised her dying father she would marry a Nigerian man and preserve her culture, even after immigrating to Canada. Her mother has been vigilant about helping—well forcing—her to stay within the Nigerian dating pool ever since. But when another match-made-by-mom goes wrong, Azere ends up at a bar, enjoying the company and later sharing the bed of Rafael Castellano, a man who is tall, handsome, and…white. When their one-night stand unexpectedly evolves into something serious, Azere is caught between her feelings for Rafael and the compulsive need to please her mother. Soon, Azere can't help wondering if loving Rafael makes her any less of a Nigerian. Can she be with him without compromising her identity? The answer will either cause Azere to be audacious and fight for her happiness or continue as the compliant daughter.

Rebecca Hurd

Love love love this book!! Nothing soothed me more than a great love story that is well written and authentic!! Absolutely recommend!!

Bria

i really struggled with this read. it was moving so slow 20-60% in then barreled toward the end. idk how to feel tbh

Belle

It was really relatable for me and a great read!

Joy Bush

Easy simple modern romance, would be a good beach read

Connor 

** spoiler alert **
           4.5! I’m not usually one for pregnancy plotlines, but this was lovely.

Cheri McElroy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Azere’s father is dying, she makes him a promise to marry a Nigerian man. 

Fast forward ten years and Azere is living in Canada and falling in love with a white man.

This was a heartwarming rom-com, exploring family dynamics, loss, love, and interdependence. I liked this story.

Chimwekele Okoro

Excellent book! It got me crying in all the right places, and laughing even when I was supposed to feel sorry for Azere. All in all, a wonderful book. I couldn't put it down.

Pauline J

3.25 ⭐️

In this book, you’ll find an interracial couple, a clash of cultures (Nigerian and Spaniard), an office romance, and a surprise pregnancy trope.

Some aspects I didn’t quite enjoy in the book:

The start of their relationship—it didn’t captivate me at all. in fact, while the “romance” was there from the start, I didn’t truly feel it until halfway to three-quarters of the way through, and even then, I wasn’t wholly invested. Their “love/romance” was written to be told more than it was written to be felt. That, in and of itself, made it a bit slower for me to get invested.

I wasn’t a fan with the unfolding of the dialogue and I thought there was quite a bit of inner monologue.

BUT there were some parts where I caught myself smiling. Here’s an example:
“Does he think the word will generate memories of who we once were? Does he think it will make me open the door? If these are his thoughts, he’s absolutely right. I turn the lock and pull the door open.”

The representation of cultures clashing was great. I liked that she dove deeper into how Azere felt with not only being Nigerian, but also Canadian, and to add on top of that, what her future with a non-Nigerian man would look like—a Spaniard. I also liked that she shedded light on how difficult acclimation is for children who immigrate at a young age—how they feel to be immersed in an entirely new culture where they could be mocked or bullied or excluded for not being like everyone else around them. That was a great part to relate to, and I think that’ll resonate with immigrant readers—personally, for me, it did.

Leah | @LeahsLittlePleasures

What a beautiful, rich story! I am in awe. I loved it so much! It will not leave me for a long, long time. This is a story about grief and loss, hope and love, family and heritage, all rolled up into one amazing happily ever after. WOW. We follow Azere, a Nigerian woman, as she falls in love with a man who her mother disapproves of and navigates through pleasing her family, honoring her culture, and finding her voice. My favorite aspects: the strong women & female friendships, the fierce family ties, the underlying theme of fate and destiny tethering, tying, and pulling people together (and just how much the title plays a role throughout the story), the Nigerian culture and way of life infused and woven throughout, all the movie references! Jane Igharo beautifully and effortlessly evokes in words common human interactions and experiences that come with so much depth of feeling and individual intuition that I've only ever felt. To see them written in words had me momentarily stunned multiple times! I felt reflected in the pages just by the way she matches words to real-life experiences. This story is beyond what I was expecting; heartwarming yet gut-wrenching, tragic yet filled with so much hope. I feel so whole and complete after reading it! Potential content warnings: surprised/unplanned pregnancy, temporary mother/daughter estrangement, death of a spouse and unborn child, traumatic birth.

What a beautiful, rich story! I am in awe. I loved it so much! It will not leave me for a long, long time. This is a story about grief and loss, hope and love, family and heritage, all rolled up into one amazing happily ever after. WOW. We follow Azere, a Nigerian woman, as she falls in love with a man who her mother disapproves of and navigates through pleasing her family, honoring her culture, and finding her voice. My favorite aspects: the strong women & female friendships, the fierce family ties, the underlying theme of fate and destiny tethering, tying, and pulling people together (and just how much the title plays a role throughout the story), the Nigerian culture and way of life infused and woven throughout, all the movie references! Jane Igharo beautifully and effortlessly evokes in words common human interactions and experiences that come with so much depth of feeling and individual intuition that I've only ever felt. To see them written in words had me momentarily stunned multiple times! I felt reflected in the pages just by the way she matches words to real-life experiences. This story is beyond what I was expecting; heartwarming yet gut-wrenching, tragic yet filled with so much hope. I feel so whole and complete after reading it! Potential content warnings: surprise/unplanned pregnancy, temporary mother/daughter estrangement, death of a spouse and unborn child, traumatic birth. Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced ecopy of this book!

Tatyana

This book was amazing. Literally had me on a love rollercoaster. It is a perfectly written love story. The little bit of drama in the story makes it even more interesting. It definitely kept me wanting to read more. I recommend this book to anyone who loves romance with a bit of drama.

cossette

find this review & others on my blog 🤍 

Trigger warnings: Death (including mentions of a parental death), cancer, mentions of a car accident, surprise pregnancy, traumatic childbirth, loss of a child

All her life, Azere has known she must marry a Nigerian man in the hopes of persevering her culture. After her father’s passing, Azere’s family emigrates to Canada and is taken under her uncle’s wing. With the help of her mother, Azere fully intends on solely dating within the Edo community — something she promised her dying father when she was twelve. She patiently goes along with every date her mother sets her up on, regardless of compatibility, or how disinterested she is. After another date goes horribly wrong, Azere finds herself at a bar, where she catches the eye of Rafael Castellano: a man who is charming, captivating, and white. When their one-night stand turns into something more, Azere must decide between continuing to live the life that pleases her family, or her feelings for Rafael. 

The opening line of Ties that Tether is “Culture is important. Preserving it, even more important”, which I think truly sets the tone of the entire book. How far would you go to preserve your culture? What would you give up to stay connected to your roots? And more so, how do you learn to stay connected to your roots while intertwining them with other roots and building your own home?

“My mother didn’t understand the struggle of trying to reconcile my heritage with my new environment at such a young age. She didn’t understand I had to survive middle school and high school, not as a Nigerian, but as a Canadian. To her, I compromised and lost parts of my identity. To myself, I made room in my life for two distinct worlds. I redefined myself – created a new identity. And my mother resents me for that.”

I found Ties that Tether to be a quick and easy read. At times, it felt like watching a rom com, and I found myself gasping and laughing along with Azere. While I don’t typically love “love at first sight” as a trope (I tend to find it underdeveloped), I loved how it played out in Ties that Tether, and the way we got to see their feelings develop past that first night. As a main character, Azere was really easy to root for. As a daughter of immigrants (and also an immigrant myself), I found myself empathizing for Azere and her experiences with acculturation. The struggle between wanting to please your parents who have sacrificed so much for you, and trying to figure out how to be your own person was all too relatable. Having to learn which parts of yourself to shed in certain settings, and when, was something heartbreaking to read as it reminded me of my own experiences. I could so easily picture 12-year-old Azere learning “What does it mean to be Nigerian? What does it mean to be Canadian? What does it mean to be Nigerian-Canadian?”, and trying to simply survive. And what I appreciated most, was that she was still grappling with that same question at 25 — a reminder that we’re never done learning and discovering ourselves and our identity. 

Just like Azere, I have a major love for rom-coms, and loved every reference in Ties that Tether. In all honesty, Ties that Tether felt like a rom-com itself. It very much followed a rom-com storyline and pacing, to the point where parts of it felt a little predictable, but I was still incredibly charmed by it. While I’m sometimes turned away from books that feel too predictable, Ties that Tether was predictable in a way that felt natural. That being said, I do wish that Igharo had dug deeper into the story and into Azere’s journey of self-discovery. I held my breath when Azere learned how to stand up for herself, and told her family that they didn’t actually know her; just the version they wished to see. 

Some other aspects of Ties that Tether that I adored were the underlying themes of fate (cue Taylor Swift’s invisible string), the strong women and female friendships, and the fierce family ties. Ties that Tether boasts a rich and complex cast of background characters, and I found myself wanting to know more about Azere’s family members, her coworkers, and her best friend. I’ve never met an immigrant family that isn’t filled with their own history and stories, and Azere’s family is no different. 

As a love interest, I found Rafael to be a little too perfect. A little too charming, too pretty, and for that matter? A little unlikeable. I wish we’d gotten to know more about him, and more so, that his backstory was revealed earlier in the book. Miscommunication and dishonesty are two of my least favorite tropes. While I understand why it made sense for Rafael to hold off on disclosing his past until near the end, I still found myself a little fed up with him for doing so. 

Igharo uses a lot of montages, and while those often work in movies, doesn’t always translate as well on paper. I often found myself wishing that there were less time-skips, and that we got to know more about how Azere was processing the moments and feelings in her life. By using so many time-skips, it felt like we missed out on the smaller details of Azere and Rafael’s relationship, and it also felt like we were simply being told what was happening, instead of being shown. 

Overall, I would recommend Ties that Tether to anyone looking for an easy read, or any fans of rom-coms. A wonderful debut for Jane Igharo, and I’m incredibly excited to see what she writes next. I would also highly encourage you to seek out own-voices reviews, such as this one as I am not Nigerian.

Lisa W.

Speed reading at its finest! 
To be honest I felt like I read past certain key details that were necessary but the reality is I didn't. The book just had an unrealistic insta love. Oddly enough there was a juxtaposition that I found interesting. The two main characters lived/loved in a cloud 9 bubble of insta love that was immersed in the real world. 

I truly enjoyed the diverse cultures aspect. I knew the basics of Nigerian culture and enjoyed getting a deeper glance into it. I found myself reciting the words of Azere's mother in the voice of Yvonne Orji. I smiled when she discussed one of her favorite movies, Isoken. I felt somehow connected due the Nigerian culture, even though I am not a part of it. I wish I would have more seen more glimpses into Rafael's Spanish culture. 

There were two plot twist in this book that weren't necessary but provided additional drama to an already drama filled story. One that completely took me by surprise and another one that was spoiled before I started the book. Both were trauma inducing that should have resulted in therapy, which would have helped them tremendously. 

Ultimately this wasn't a bad book. It was high on my TBR but I wished for more. 3/5.

Alexis 

2.5/5 Stars

** I was provided an E-ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review** 

I have some mixed feelings about this book. There were parts of it that I really enjoyed but there were more parts that I didn't care for. The romance was alright and I did like them together. However, the part that made me rate this book so low is all the side characters. For the life of me, I couldn't stand the mother or the other "love interest". I've never wanted to punch a character so much in my life, I'm not even kidding. The mother alone almost made me DNF this book. The mother seemed to have a complete disregard for her daughter's feelings. As for the other love interest, it seemed like he didn't take the word any for an answer. I really didn't like how everything wrapped up very quickly at the end. It left me unsatisfied. Overall it was an okay book. The writing was okay and If this author wrote another book I might pick it up. I recommend at least checking it out, it might be the book for you.

I liked it a lot! The characters were all pretty well rounded adults, which is very nice to see. I think there was a good balance of levity and seriousness, though personally the "secrets" bit really got old for me. It did play up not communicating well as a relationship issue, and drama that could have been prevented was instead bottled up, but for once I think it was a realistic portrayal and that the reader could understand their motives and what was happening. 

All in all, a fantastic read. I definitely recommend it. I'll be picking up the next book published!

Laura

I finished a book and sat down to start this one, next thing I know it's been 3 hours and I'm done....

Anika | @chaptersofmay

Ties That Tether is the story of 25-year-old Azere feels wedged between two worlds. While living in Nigeria, Azere promised her dying father she’d marry an Edo man. But now she’s living in Canada, and that vow is harder to keep as she finds herself falling for Rafael, a man of Spanish heritage. 

In all honesty, this book made me sad. I picked this debut because I liked the promise of insight into Nigerian culture, and it certainly delivered on that front. I also liked the concept of an interracial romance, and the love story is enjoyable. But sadly it failed in a lot of other areas, and didn’t meet the high expectations I set. 

Firstly, the protagonist is irritating. Azere is still young but her level of naivety and inability to stand up for herself became exasperating very quickly. I understand the author was trying to convey the weight of the pressure family expectations can create, but there are some parts of the story that are simply disheartening. Plus, I strongly disagreed with some of Azere’s actions in the narrative which made it difficult to like her. 

Similarly, Azere’s mother is…awful. Her disputes and exploits are manipulative and continually contribute to Azere’s identity crisis instead of to her development. While it can reflective of immigrant parents, the majority of her behaviour was unpleasant to read. 

Azere is the primary narrator, however Rafael does have the occasional POV chapter in-between. This really affected the depth of his personality, and for long stretches of the book he felt one-sided. Azere and her family have plenty of personality, but Rafael seems too perfect to take interest in. I also found that Azere had way too many inner monologues which slowed the plot to a sluggish pace. 

The romance between Azere and Rafael is sweet, but the description of the intimacy made me cringe. Still, I like the characters together and their one-on-one dialogue is an entertaining highlight. The relationship develops well, and they’re an easy duo to root for. Ties That Tether comes with plenty of drama, but in some it reads more like enthusiastic fan fiction than an adult contemporary romance. A misunderstanding between characters can be entertaining, but in this book it lacked excitement and grew tiresome. 

However, I love the way the book highlights the complexities of interracial relationships, even in the modern day. There’s plenty of insight into Nigerian culture, tradition and the morals and ethics of immigrants such as the way they view success, how hard they work, how much they have to prove to those they leave behind. Additionally, the author sheds a thought-provoking light on the burden of familial roles and struggle of trying to find your place between two worlds. 

A level of the book feels autobiographical, especially in terms of Azere’s inner conflicts. Her anxieties are authentic and realistically portrayed, even if they do become frustrating after 40 chapters. I really enjoyed the beginning, and flew through the first half, but over time my zeal for the story and characters dwindled. Overall, Ties That Tether has potential to be a perceptive and relatable diverse romance, it just slightly missed the mark.

Teresa Schultz

Really like the first half, although the second half sadly relied on the two main characters not telling each other important things for plot, which always annoys me. But overall, a good book with a great look at the experience of an immigrant woman.

Emily Christensen

Ties that Tether is the cute romance that you need! It blends the light and cheesy parts of some romance books with the deeper content that we all crave. There is a lot more to this book than the initial description.

Quick synopsis: Azere is a mid-twenties Nigerian immigrant living in Canada with an incredibly successful career and a close relationship with her family. Her father’s dying wish was that she marry an Edo man and she intends to do so, through the help of her mother’s set ups. That is, until she meets Rafael.

Culture is incredibly fascinating to me, which is one thing I loved about Ties that Tether. The book follows Azere, who values her Nigerian culture, and already feels as if she gave part of that culture up when she immigrated to Canada, and Rafael, a Spanish-Canadian man, as they fall in love but start to realize there are complications when it comes to the blending of cultures. Igharo combats the complications and rewards of cross-cultural relationships in Ties that Tether.

Was it cheesy at times? Yes! Did I still love it? Yes!

Ties that Tether was a quick read, but a rewarding one. I think it’s the perfect read over this holiday season for when you want to read a cute page turner (because we’re all watching those Hallmark movies right now, amiright?) but also something with a little more depth and meat to it (that won’t contribute to your quarantine-anxiety).

Ties That Tether

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