Review: Chained Hands by T.L. Smith

Chained Hands
(Chained Hearts Duet #1)
by T.L. Smith
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication date: Oct. 5, 2021
Genre: Dark Romance
Rating:

Sailor

My husband sold me.
Not only did he sell me, but he told me he loved me while doing the deal.
What lies he tells.
Only fools believe him.
Unfortunately, one of those fools was…
.. me.

Keir

Not in the habit of buying women.
I didn’t need to.
I was a king of my realm, the devil you whispered about in your sleep.
So when his debt fell due, he sold me his wife.
And I was happy because I wanted to play with her like any fool would.
And play with her, I did.
Pity, in the end, I would have to kill her.

Imagine you’re me. Just scrolling through tiktok because you’re bored, when you see a video that catches your eye. This lady says that she went to a sex club with her husband. However, upon their arrival, he says that he sold her to some guy. A guy that turns out to be the head of the mafia, and now she “belongs” to him. I was HORRIFIED! Then she goes and flashes a book cover on the screen. Now, I don’t know about you but my jaw went from hitting the floor to a smile of “Ooo! I am so adding that book!” That author got me with that video. I’m so glad I saw her video because I wouldn’t have known about this story otherwise, and that would have been a shame.

This was one of those books that was so taboo and crazy, that you just couldn’t stop reading. I mean, Sailor’s husband sells her to the mafia when he can’t pay a debt he owes?! There’s this lust/hate between her and Keir. However, even though you know Keir is not a good guy, especially when he goes around killing people who make him angry, you can’t help but be drawn to him. Am I as screwed up as Sailor? Maybe. However, I can’t sit here and deny that I wasn’t rooting for Keir.

Even though Sailor is “sold” to Keir. She’s basically collateral damage. So if her husband can’t pay off his debt in a certain time, she dies. However, without giving anything away, there is a good portion of the book where she’s not his prisoner. Now, that doesn’t mean that she’s free, because he still keeps tabs on her, but she’s not stuck in his house. Plus, he does care in his own way. When she’s in danger he goes charging in to save the day… by killing people. When she is clearly not having it and at her wits end, he exits the building instead of pushing. Now, don’t get me wrong. This guy is not a GOOD guy. However, this is the only life he’s known. He’s been groomed to take over the mafia. He had his wife chosen for him when he was just a baby. This is the life he knows. Except, over time you see him to start to look at things slightly differently, as he develops a soft spot for Sailor.

Chained Hearts was one heck of a dark style romance. I mean, what do you expect when a married woman gets sold to the head of the mafia as collateral damage by her husband. I mean, that’s just something you don’t read about every day. It was one of those books that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and when the last sentence dropped, I had a huge grin on my face because I knew things were only just starting to get interesting. Needless to say, I already purchased the next book and will be reading it the moment I finish typing up this review.