All Chained Up is my first #COYER read for the winter! Go me! I love the forbidden romance twist of a convict and a prison employee. Its fascinating to me for some reason (I won't explore that too much because I'm not sure I want to know why...) Knox is in prison for murder. He killed someone and he took responsibility for it, so its not like a "Oh I'm an innocent, good guy in prison". Briar is a nurse who agrees to go into the hospital with her boss to help provide medical services to the inmates. She meets Knox on her first day. Terrified of the prison in general, she is intimidated by Knox. But, he is a hottie.
Knox gets paroled and runs into Briar in the real world. Both of them have been thinking about the other and Briar invites him back to her place for sex. Their relationship is pretty much him, showing up late a night for sex, then leaving, sometimes after saying something mean to push her away. That was pretty much the entire story. Knox couldn't stay away, then got all 'woe is me' and says something hurtful, and the cycle begins again. It was irritating because Knox's reasons were dumb.
I was pleased with how the story ended though. It was certainly a huge character growth moment for Knox. I was happy to see it and its well written. However, I wish it didn't take so long to get there.
All Chained Up was a good start to the series. I will continue reading because I want to know what will happen to Reid and North! Overall, it was a good book, but nothing amazing.
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: forbidden romance, ex con
- Triggers: 2 inmates attempt to rape Briar. It doesn't happen, but it is close and could be a trigger for some readers
- Series/Standalone: stand alone
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes with an epilogue
A Pound of Flesh by Sophie Jackson, Ride Rough by Laura Kaye, Ruthless by Gillian Archer...then you will probably like All Chained Up!
See full review on The Book Disciple