Blood Ties: The Bonds are Permanent

The Magnolia Series, Book 1

By: Ashley Fontainne, Lillian Hansen

Narrated by: Rebecca Roberts

LiAnn Tuck and her daughter, Karina Summers, are settling into their new life, enjoying the small farming community of Sheridan, Arkansas. The slower pace, compared to the craziness of Los Angeles, is a welcome distraction for them both. Taking care of her aging parents and their small farm is just what LiAnn needs to forget her 25-year career as a detective. And Karina's new love interest brings back the smile she lost from years of undercover work and her cheating ex-boyfriend.

The bonds...

Their idyllic lifestyle changes the minute a family friend, Cecil Pickard, pays a visit. He lives at The Magnolia, an independent living facility in Hot Springs, and believes someone is stealing from him. LiAnn and Karina offer to investigate, and they suddenly find themselves inside a living nightmare.

...are permanent.

Theft isn't the only criminal activity taking place inside the historic, stately walls of The Magnolia. Organized crime has infiltrated Hot Springs, and what they're after is not only money but life itself. As LiAnn and Karina dig deeper, they might just be digging their own graves.

©2015 Ashley Fontainne (P)2015 Ashley Fontainne

Horrifying, yet gentle... In true southern fashion

Where does Blood Ties: The Bonds are Permanent rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top five, for sure. It would have been first, but for some reason it took me about 20 minutes to warm up to the narrator. Don't get me wrong, she is completely awesome!!! But... The dichotomy of the initial chapters being read in a southern drawl, yet quickly as though a Yankee clipped accent, threw me off, initially. Now, I understand that if she had done this in a lackadaisical true south way, it would have been over 24 hours long, and I probably would have messed with the speed settings in Audible, anyway, so her delivery was perfect and appropriate. It just took me a second, as a new englander, to get used to it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Blood Ties: The Bonds are Permanent?

The naming of a fan/fellow author as a character was pretty memorable. Also, the crematory scene and the scene immediately afterward, are indelibly stuck in my head.

Which scene was your favorite?

The tractor running out of gas!!!! Om nom!!!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were tons of scenes that made me want to laugh and cry. I don't know if I can pick one. The mother/daughter drunken porch scene, where they talked about relationships, was pretty emotional.

Any additional comments?

This book is awesome ! You should read it!

Wow! You won't be able to put it down!

Any additional comments?

Rating: 5 Stars
Title: Blood Ties: The Bonds Are Permanent
Series: The Magnolia Series – Book 1
Author: Ashley Fontainne & Lillian Hansen
Genre: Mystery/Thriller/a touch of Romance
Audio: 11 Hours 39 Minutes
Length: 446 Pages

I’d like to start this review out with the fact that this was my very first audio book. I’ve heard people talk about them before, but never really had an interest in listening to them. Hearing the author’s words come to life was really amazing. I’m hooked.

BLOOD TIES: THE BONDS ARE PERMANENT by ASHLEY FONTAINNE and LILLIAN HANSEN takes organized crime to an all new high. This book has a little bit of everything in it from loving mother/daughter relationship, friendships – both new and old, broken hearts, healing hearts and crazy knock-you-on-your-butt plot twists that you’ll never see coming.

This is a book that both men and women will enjoy. I know this for a fact because my husband is not a reader, but as soon as I started playing the audio version of BLOOD TIES while we were on a cross-country trip, he was hooked. The only thing I would have changed when it came to listening to BLOOD TIES on this trip was: I would have started listening to the book as soon as we turned the truck on to leave.

Listening to this book made the endless hours in the truck enjoyable for both of us. So much so that at the end of the travel day, rather than going to a nice restaurant and relaxing after thirteen hours cooped up in a truck, we picked up burgers and ate in the truck so we could continue listening. We had so much fun discussing BLOOD TIES as it was playing, trying to figure out what the next move was going to be and who was going to be the next victim in the twisted plot.

I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys adult thrillers and mysteries. BLOOD TIES is an excellent read and I can’t wait for Book 2 in this series to come out!

Interesting story.

Boy this one starts out gruesome and ended with a bang! LiAnn Tuck and her daughter, Karina Summers are moving to the country from the big city of Los Angeles. LiAnn is worried about her aging parents and both mother and daughter are in need of a new place to start over.

While there Karina meets her a nice country man though for one who is not sure about starting a relationship has no problems steaming things up. Even LiAnn goes on a date but her mind is on a former boyfriend.

Then they find out some bad things are going on at a senior facility and nothing bothers Karina more than someone messing with seniors as she worked undercover in a senior facility. They soon find out that something very sinister is going on and it involves organized crime. Karina ships her grandparents and Cecil along with her mother off to Branson while she checks into things and that is when things start to get a bit intense.

The beginning started out great with a lot of gruesome mob stuff and I thought this is going to be a great one but then it sort of slowed down and I knew they were suppose figure things out about the organized crime and I kept waiting and waiting. I think this one could have been cut down a bit in length as I started to get a bit bored waiting for something cool like the beginning to happen. Then the ending it was just bam, packed full of stuff and happens all very fast.

It was an interesting story and I loved the banner between LiAnn and Karina but I just thought it was to long. It hasn't stopped me from checking out book two so it's not that I didn't like it there was just parts I thought were a bit slow.

I thought the narrator did a great job with this one!

Frighteningly good

Southern Gothic horror thriller. Not my preferred style, but if it is yours, you will be riveted. The publisher's blurb is semi-adequate, and personally, I don't care for spoilers in a review. The writing is solid, the mystery aspect is good, and all flows along seamlessly and well.
For me, it was the narrator whose audio personifications really made the difference. A Southern drawl, but not the excessively slow cadence that just doesn't work well in an audiobook, nor the elides that can be difficult to relate to when not in print. A good work was done by all.

Blood ties

Any additional comments?

"Blood Ties" by Ashley Fontainne and Lillian Hansen is a creepy Southern thriller. Having read some of Ashley's other wonderful novels, I've come to expect an enthralling story from this this author. This book does not disappoint.