🎧 Berls Reviews Ties that Bind

I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Ties That Bind by Colleen Helme
Narrator: Wendy Tremont King
Series: Shelby Nichols #16
Published by Colleen Helme on October 28, 2022
Genres: Science Fiction, Cozy Mystery
Length: 11 hours and 7 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Author
Goodreads

What do explosions, murder, and cryptocurrency have in common? You guessed it – Shelby Nichols.
Who knew that dabbling in cryptocurrency could be life-threatening? In a game of cat and mouse, it’s not always obvious who is chasing whom, especially when it involves a mind-reading soccer mom like Shelby Nichols.

It’s hard to fool a mind-reader, but that doesn’t mean finding a killer is easy, especially when the killer disappears into thin air. But threatening her family changes everything. Now, nothing will keep Shelby from finding the truth, and it soon becomes apparent that it’s never a good idea to mess with Shelby Nichols.

My top thoughts:

I always am excited when it’s time for another Shelby adventure. This was particularly fun because of the crossovers with Ella St. John. I love seeing what we missed when reading her story, and I also love knowing how to fill in the blanks that Shelby is missing now. I look forward to more crossovers between these two series (even if I think Shelby will remain my favorite).

What I liked/didn’t like:

In this adventure, we get to meet Shelby’s brother who is just as gifted as Shelby at landing himself in trouble. He’s stepped in it, real good. And I really enjoyed watching him shift from doubting Shelby and her “premonitions” to counting on her. And, of course, his mess mixes him up with Uncle Joey, to keep things extra interesting. I love how now that we’re 16 books in Shelby is so intertwined with Uncle Joey that she is basically family. How things have changed! And that definitely makes things a bit more complicated with her brother 🙂

Ramos definitely has his hands full keeping Shelby safe this time – there’s the cryptocurrency doublecross with Uncle Joey and her brother, there’s the problem with Ella St. James (if you read that series you may remember her calling Shelby for some help), and there’s also a police investigation with Dimples. Somewhere in the middle of keeping Shelby alive (safe may be generous– there was one or two moments I was severely holding my breath), Ramos and Shelby manage to flirt with the lines in their relationship just the right amount to keep her from crossing any lines but to keep us drooling after Ramos. I love that ultimately both Ramos and Shelby respect that line and won’t cross it. She loves Chris and her family too much and he cares too much about her to put her in that position (I think).

This book had everything I’ve come to expect – plus maybe a bit more? We got some really fun glimpses of Ramos outside of his normal element with Uncle Joey that were particularly great. And Shelby scared me more than once.

Narrator thoughts:

The narration by Wendy Tremont King has become my expectation for Shelby — she IS the voice I hear when I think of Shelby and I think I would be very disappointed to have anyone else narrating these books. I really enjoy her (even if I’ve given her a hard time on some of her accents) and love that I can easily listen at 2x speed. Can’t wait for more!

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