Blood Ties: The Bonds are Permanent

The Magnolia Series, Book 1

By: Ashley Fontainne, Lillian Hansen

Narrated by: Rebecca Roberts

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

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

I highly recommend this audiobook

One retired detective, one retired PI; both are a mother and daughter team with tempers and a loyalty that many have come to fear. LiAnn Tuck and Karina Summers are moving from California to Sheridan, a small intimate farming community in Arkansas. Expecting to care for LiAnn’s aging parents; both women are expecting quiet sunny days after having worked a joint investigation into the vile and evil thievery from invalid old folks in nursing homes.

The two women are enjoying themselves – new love interests and a blood bond so strong and complete, no one can break it. Someone tries, someone with a different set of blood ties and a will to do evil and murder for profit. The women find themselves knee deep in a conspiracy that could get them killed.

Ashley Fontaine and Lillian Hansen have created a story that is close and dear to most people’s heart – aging parents. They have crafted a tale woven of words and emotions that will hook the reader completely and have them sitting on the edge of their chairs until the end. Vivid and rich in details, the readers cannot help but feel placed in the story. Fontaine and Hansen skillfully tug on heart strings, eliciting gasps of horror and fear from the reader. Well written with excellent character development, Blood Ties is a must read!

Blood Ties: The Bonds Are Permanent (The Magnolia Series Book 1) is the first in a series. Given Fontaine’s past successes, I have no doubt that this series will be popular and remain breathtaking.

Rebecca Roberts did an excellent job of narrating, capturing the personality of the characters and the thrilling plot.

RMSW Press did an excellent job on production – there were no errors, distracting noises or issues.

I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone who enjoys suspense and thrillers.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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A great thriller.

Any additional comments?

I have loved every book I've read or listened to by Ashley Fontainne and while this was really good, it wasn't my favourite one of hers. All of her other books had a uniqueness to them that was mesmerising, but I just found this to be a little predictable. Now don't get me wrong, I still flew through it, I just didn't love it.

Anyway, character wise we have mother and daughter LiAnn and Karina whom are moving back to look after LiAnns parents. While there, they agree to look into some happenings at a retirement home. Karina isn't looking forward to this because her last job involved abuse at a similar home and it hit her hard. But this job is different and both of their lives are in danger
as they delve into the world of mobsters.

I loved both these characters! Both are strong females who take no prisoners. They have such a strong bond and, for me anyway, that was a plus. My own mother wants nothing to do with me so I love seeing a proper mother/daughter bond in books, the way it should be. These girls are tough, strong and sassy!!

The plot was something I've heard a lot about lately, mistreatment of people in assisted living. It's horrible, but unfortunately something that does happen. The authors do a great job of showing compassion for the characters and showing Karinas passion for stopping this from happening. It's a fast paced and intense read though predictable at times.

I did enjoy the mobster aspect of it and Caesars' descent into madness, though in such a small town, it was hard to see that level of mobster activity.

In all, while it's not my favourite, it's still an incredibly well written and developed story. This author never fails to deliver and she is an automatic buy for me. She captivates with every word and I'd highly recommend her work.

Rebecca Roberts did an amazing job with this book. She brought each character to life and gave her all to the performance. This is my first book narrated by her, but it won't be my last.

*I received this in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

LOVED IT!!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Blood Ties: The Bonds are Permanent to be better than the print version?

Always is!

What other book might you compare Blood Ties: The Bonds are Permanent to and why?

Well its a mystery....but I dont want to compare it...it was super great on its own!

Which character – as performed by Rebecca Roberts – was your favorite?

Karina!!! she rocks...she is a kick but detective and her mom Liann!!

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

I did laugh quite a bit...and I cried a little when Karina's dog got hurt!!

Any additional comments?

** I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review **

Karina is a detective and her mom Liann is a retired police woman....they move south form Ca to help her grandparents....while there a friend of theirs in a retirement home needs help and they decide to investigate...well they uncover a whole mob conspiracy that almost ends up deadly for them all...the narration is awesome and I loved it! I will continue this series and recommend it highly!!!

Thank you Audiobookblast(dot)com

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.

Great Narration

Would you try another book from Ashley Fontainne and Lillian Hansen and/or Rebecca Roberts?

Rebecca Roberts, yes. The rest, no.

Would you ever listen to anything by Ashley Fontainne and Lillian Hansen again?

No

Which character – as performed by Rebecca Roberts – was your favorite?

They were all excellently performed.

Could you see Blood Ties: The Bonds are Permanent being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

The story wasn't for me. I didn't finish it but I listened for much longer than I normally would have because of the narration.

Blood Ties 1

I liked this book for the most part.I had a hard time liking any of the characters. Liann and Karina ,an ex cop and ex detective move from California to Arkansas to help the grandparents on their far.They are also trying to forget a bad case they worked on pertaining to housing for Senior citizens.They leave men behind and find interested men in their new world.Things go bad when they visit their old friend at a senior housing apartment.There is way more going on than just stealing residents cash.There are mobsters,friends ,foes,you name it!A good read,if not great.
Rebecca Roberts does a fine job narrating this book.
I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.

Audio Drama Reviews: Blood Ties...

Book one of the Magnolia series is a thrill ride that doesn’t know how to sit still. The story changes focus throughout and does so at points where the story begins to drag. This makes interest in the text a foregone conclusion. It never decreases.

As for the characters, there are two main ones. The protagonist and her mother. All the other characters are side. You could make the argument that the male viewpoint of one of the subplots is a main character, but how that particular thing wrapped up felt more like a sidequest than an integral part of the plot.

The protagonist–Karina Summers–is a character with the same internal conflict Katniss Everdeen has in the Hunger Games: Mocking Jay Part 1. The general consensus is that if she’s supposed to be a strong female lead, why is she pining over someone. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, logically.

Thankfully once the inevitable sex scene happens between her and the younger man Beau, the story takes a turn for the better. The plot points from the different viewpoints begin to weave themselves together. But by the end, all the tension is gone and you’re waiting for the book to end.

All in all, the story starts off strong, loses some steam in the middle, and any hope of an awesome climax is gone after Karina and her mother find out who’s behind everything.

The narrator does a fantastic job of keeping interest in the story, even if the content itself is borderline predictable. For that I’d give this a perfect score, but you don’t see a movie based on a reviewers opinion of the special effects.

4/5 Stars

Crime, drama, action, and romance all in one book!

This book is about a mother and daughter who retire from jobs as a detective and a cop only to find themselves accidently getting in the way of some Mob business.

It's got a cute little side story of love for each of them. I cant help but love that for the daughter its an average girl with a super hot guy scenerio, its about time the roles were reversed right?

The story is told from different perspectives which has always been the best way in my opinion.

The narrorator was awesome- clear and easy to understand, no mistakes as far as I noticed and voice changes from character to character.

Southern Suspense!

Blood Tied by Ashley Fontainne and Lillian Hansen make a great writing duo with this southern monster type story. This story is mystery, thriller, suspenseful, and filled with a great plot and the storyline is perfect. This isn't my favorite genre yet I did enjoy it very much. I connected to the characters like Liann, a cop and Karina, a private investigator. I rather enjoyed the humor that the mother and daughter have and the trip moving to southern Arkansas to live with Liann's parents is rather enjoyable. It seems that the two have plenty of baggage they take with them. But the authors make sure the story I isn't all about murder, romance is included, finding new friends, and filled with action. Great duo these two authors make.

Narrator Rebecca Roberts does a really great job with her telling of this story. I enjoyed the southern accents she gives the characters. However I did have some problems with the male voices. Especially with the old male mob boss. He sorta sounded too girly for a an alpha male. Other than that she did a great job. She kept me immersed in this story and on the edge of my seat. She brought this story to life as well.
I received this audio at no charge from the author/narrator in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

The audio book was fairly good

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

I normally am drawn to the true crime genre but every now and again I'll try something different and I was pleasantly surprised with Blood Ties

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

What he was hauling around in the cooler.... Creepy

What about Rebecca Roberts’s performance did you like?

Rebecca Roberts is wonderful, I love how she switches from one character into another so flawlessly. I will look into more of the books like this

Any additional comments?

Ashley Fontaine, Lillian Hansen and Rebecca Roberts make a good team. I do recommend this audio book it was great and it kept your interest.
I was gifted this book by the narrator for a honest review. The truth is I thoroughly enjoyed it and will look into more books narrated by Rebecca Roberts. I love her voice!