Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Sometimes the ties that bind are also chains that weigh you down.

All Chef Liam Walker ever wanted was to be the best, but climbing to the top of the culinary ladder in a place like New York City isn’t possible without a few slips along the way. After an attack from a restaurant critic on his culinary skills and his personal life leads to a public confrontation, Liam has to take a step back to cool down and regain his perspective.

At the Overlook Resort in North Carolina, Liam meets owner Carter Galloway, who has a passion for the hospitality business that rivals Liam’s own, and it’s not hard to see where their shared interests—and attraction—could lead. But pressure from Carter’s critical parents has left him with no interest in a fling, and Liam’s ambition and sense of duty to his mentor mean he has no intention of walking away from his career. If they want a taste of happiness together, they’ll have to find the strength and courage to break the bonds that threaten to keep them apart.

 

 

First edition published by Dreamspinner Press, June 2017.

 

Book Review

‘Breaking Bonds’ is an entrancing look at what can happen when achieving a goal becomes so all-consuming that any other considerations, such as a social life or personal happiness, no longer seem relevant. The author takes a look at the work-life balance of two men who are each driven to be successful for different reasons, and both have ended up unhappy on a personal level – if they even let themselves think about it between all the hectic activity to further their careers. For both men, it is essential to break those bonds of their own making if they want to be truly happy, and only meeting each other and changing their priorities will make that happen.

Liam is a successful New York chef, but he faces critics trying to break him and all he knows to do is redouble his efforts – never mind that it means he has to give up on finding love. On top of this personal need to succeed, there is his mentor, Marco, who helped him get to where he is. And while Marco is not intentionally cruel, he is somewhat self-centered, cynical, and manipulative. His own reputation will improve if Liam becomes a success, and Liam’s happiness is not a consideration. Watching Liam struggle with these emotional bonds that he wasn’t initially conscious of was painful at times, but it was very rewarding to see him begin to put himself first once he met Carter and understood what true happiness meant for him.

Carter is a resort owner in North Carolina, and making it a success is the only way he thinks he can escape his homophobic parents and their attempts to make him obey their rules – and aside from the professional strain that causes, it means he can’t have a fling. Even though he has formally defied them by buying and running the resort rather than becoming a lawyer, he still lets them dictate how to run his life. Different from Liam, Carter recognizes the bonds that hold him back, but that doesn’t mean it is any easier for him to break them. Years of conditioning and the idea that “you have to respect your parents” hold Carter back, but Liam’s perspective helps him refocus on what is really important to him.

Liam and Carter have much to deal with before they can be together. Their attraction is clear, and I had no doubt they’d make a relationship a success once they put their minds to it – but they have a lot of internal and external obstacles to overcome. With the descriptions of the resort, all the wonderful food, and the suspense around “will they or won’t they” manage to figure things out, this is a marvelously entertaining novel with a lot of depth and an emotional pull that made it hard for me to put it down. Oh, and I loved the references to book one – Liam is Beau’s cousin and, more than once, mentions the barbecue competition I enjoyed reading about so much in ‘Striking Sparks’.
 
If you like stories set in the restaurant and hotel business, if two tortured men battling inner demons and external obstacles are your thing, and if you’re looking for a read that is emotionally suspenseful, intense, and offers a wonderful slow-burn romance on top of all that, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. It’s touching, entertaining, and has a very rewarding ending.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novel, 167 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	17-August-2020
Price	$4.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Bonds-Walker-Boys-Book-ebook/dp/B08F9JM12J