Bound to Him by M.D. Gregory

Bound to Him Reviews

• 
  Imme van Gorp

  || 4.0 stars ||
  
  Ugh, I loved this!
  
  Was it perfect? No. Do I care about that? Also no.
  
  I just genuinely enjoyed this so freaking much.
  
  Seriously, I am quickly discovering that these types of books are my new weakness. This trope just has me in a complete chokehold!
  So, if anyone has any more recommendations with dominant alpha-men completely obsessed with a beautiful and sweet boy (no doormats, though), who they develop an immense soft spot for: Yea, I'd appreciate those recs!!! Please. I need them! They're so good!
  
  Anyway, back to this book in particular; obviously I loved the premise with Alton forcing Noah to marry him after Noah's dad stole a bunch of money from him. Alton really wanted revenge, but also wanted to have Noah badly, so this was his great solution. He just didn't expect to fall completely in love with the guy to the point where his happiness depended on Noah.
  (Are you swooning already?? Because I sure was!)
  
  I mean, as we all know, a book needs more than just a good premise; it also needs good execution. And luckily we definitely got that here. Of course, if it were up to me, I might have changed some things, but my complaints truly are minor and, in the grand scheme of things, totally irrelevant. I did wish there was a little less sex, though, because it took up quite a lot of their interactions, whereas I would have preferred something more meaningful.
  
  Noah and Alton had amazing chemistry, and there was a great build-up to their relationship. It might have been lust at first sight for both of them, but it is clear that the actual 'love' part builds over time, and their relationship dynamic changes right along with it.
  Alton changes his behaviour towards Noah more and more after he starts to care about him deeper and deeper. He also becomes a sweeter person in general because of it; at the end, I actually quite liked him and thought he was a good partner for Noah!
  Noah was someone I actually already loved right from the beginning and I grew to like him even more as the book went on. He was a great character, and although he could have stood up for himself a little more, I'm glad he at least decided to not take any of Alton's shit after they actually started to form a real bond and were way past their little games.
  It all led to them developing a softer, caring and eventually even almost healthy relationship. Who would have thought!?
  
  Long story short, I enjoyed every second of this, and that's all that really matters to me.
  
  
  [Read Count: 2]
• 
  Dan

  Big Older Hunky Alpha Dom takes Young Small Sub Bottom Twink…but make them wealthy.
  
  Plot, dialogue, and inner thoughts are severely disjointed. At least 75 pages, if not 100, could have been trimmed. How this is still so long yet glosses over so much is a mystery. The first three days of their relationship take up the first half of the book. Later, on the same page, we fly from December 26th to March.
  
  Countless inaccuracies. A studio apartment does not have a bedroom. People who grow up in “mansions” don’t call them “mansions.” Same issue with yachts. Noah repeatedly describes things as “classy.” Hapless attempts in trying to write affluent folks.
  
  Alton flies commercial. !!! Their carry-on luggage “goes missing.” And their entire wardrobes were in there.
  
  Alton sounds 1000% Texan…when the authors are paying attention. Then he doesn’t, at all. Then it’s like, oh crap, he’s Texan again. Oops. Alton’s been set up in this story for a perfect redemption arc—it just never happens. He doesn’t even have any damage. Alton’s a bossy douche…just cuz.
  
  Noah is a blank canvas. His non-reaction to discovering he is a multi-millionaire in his own right is distractingly off. He doesn’t ask about the finances, the company, the house, none of it. Why doesn’t Noah take online classes? Get a tutor? Noah repeatedly says he’s boring; the writers do nothing to disprove this.
  
  Ceaseless and creepy fixation on men in lingerie.
  
  The authors mentioning themselves is beyond cringe. Secondhand embarrassment abounds, but that is a…moment.
  
  There isn’t one singular Big Miscommunication; the entire novel is a Big Miscommunication. So as sweet as the ending tries to be, it comes off as abrupt and unearned.
  
  The games the writers endeavor to play with the reader are lousy. Ludicrous levels of nonsensical “angst.” Manufactured drama with ridiculous tropes. That it takes the guys 93% to say the three words, eight letters is par for the course here.
  
  I do love Alton’s pet names for Noah. And the cover does actually look like how the men are described.
• 
  Mariam ; reading slump :(

  3.5 stars ✨⭐✨ : everything was nice and peachy until the last 20% because REALLY?
  
  (don't mind me not liking Noah and LOVING alton instead)
• 
  alicia

  Honestly, this book gets the distinction of being the only book I’ve ever rated one star. This was absolutely abysmal. One of the worst things I’ve ever read in my life.
• 
  Iman

  DNF at 51% - it’s not the book, it’s me
  
  after 2 months holding this off, i finally decide to just DNF this. I’m a fan of forced marriage trope, but this one, not so much. Even if I read mafia in MF or MM i always have trouble accepting the way they talk about women or about man who bottom or even people who have lower standards than them. arrogant and possessive how can i not like that? well, there are some characters in some books who can be arrogant and asshole, but still know how to not be rude or have such a stupid head. but ofc we all know mafia, arrogant and rudeness with no boundaries are just well put together. i know it’s not reality, but can’t help being bothered by it :( here’s a receipt that made me scream my lungs out:
  
  

  “God help him if he’s normally a top because he isn’t getting near my asshole.”

  
  
  FUCK OFF! HAHAH WHO DO U THINK YOU ARE HAHAHAHAHA sorry, but i really hate this kind of “strict top mentality” at that point, i just had to pull myself together but what’s the point of going on if you can’t stop thinking about it even after two months? i mean, it’s fine if you normally top, or if you don’t enjoy bottom, people obviously have preference, but to put it that way, that’s just fucked up. like i said, not my cuppa. I know some people love fucked up men in books, so if you do, never stop on my account ;)
  
  overall, it’s not the book, it’s me. i’m fine with mafia and dominant guys, but that kind of personality and attitude that are written just for them to underestimate other people, definitely nope for me ://
• 
  JAN

  I can't even.
  
  
• 
  Pingmg

  My first from this amazing writing duo and I loved it! (I’ve read a book by M.D. Gregory but not Ki Brightly though.) I’m so glad there are many books set in New Gothenburg, I’m definitely reading those. (My next will be The Boss, Killough Company- the first book in the reading order on their website). Also, it's so typical of me to start at the end of the list, good thing this is standalone.😅
  
  This book!🔥 I couldn’t put it down! I won’t spoil anything because the blurb says it all but It has forced marriage, an age gap trope, and I’m all for those. The beginning grabbed me with Noah’s pov and when Alton came into the picture (being an infuriating douche) sparks fly between them, (the hostile and steamy kind). The first half had angst with equal amounts of steam, which I loved. Noah and Alton didn’t have much in common but they fit and completed each other, even the side characters were a delight. I adored how Alton just couldn't resist Noah’s innocent charm. The passion they had when they were together was explosive and a little bit kinky. Yum! Especially how they called each other ‘Husband’. Their journey from a shady beginning to true love was one wrecking ball of a story. That epilogue was the perfect end.😍 Now, I’m off to read more books in the New Gothenburg universe.👋🏼
  Do yourself a favor and read this, you won't regret it!
  
• 
  yaishin

  Nooooooooooo. What was that. I liked the other mobster book wayyy better than this so I was honestly expecting more. Awesome smut as always though.
• 
  vrstal (Ezra S.)

  4/5.
  

  ”He tasted of a hint of gin, and it only made me crave him more. I couldn’t get enough of him, and now that we were dating like normal people, he treated me right and still spoiled me and made others aware I was his. The media didn’t know what to make of it, but we didn’t care what they thought. We only needed each other.”

  
  
  
  Bound to Him is a forced marriage age-gap romance, with angst and hot scenes to take you along for the ride. Alton Bouchard is a tall glass of Texan bent on revenge and having things just so he could have them, and Noah Divine is a rich boy who was often neglected and unfitting for the world he was raised in.
  
  Alton and Noah’s journey is tumultuous, starting out with dubious consent and Noah feeling rather heartbroken from his relationship status changing because he has no choice. Yet even in the beginning we see how possessive and protective Alton is, and how he ultimately instills confidence into Noah when it comes to ruling his own life. Alton fucks up often in this story, the raw issues he’s clearly ignored rearing their ugly head more than once. It’s through Noah’s kindness and grace he looks past them — and even then I don’t think Alton groveled enough, which is partially why this isn’t a five star read for me. Yet in many ways this couple was just so good for each other, as they realized one another’s strengths and weaknesses fill in for each other. Alton will feel unlikable at first, but hang in there, because we see growth from him too and an underlying tenderness.
  
  The last 15% of this book did feel a little anticlimactic. I don’t mind a repair of a relationship at the end but it saddened me we didn’t see more on-page growth together after the big issue, and I genuinely don’t think Alton did much in the way of apologizing like he should have with his words and communication. Of course I love them together, but I would’ve liked a bit more growth on that end for Alton. There were also some ‘loose ends’ I would’ve liked to see, such as with Noah’s parents or how the media reckoned with the change. As for the epilogue? OMG. Amazing. Everything I wanted. Will reread just for that.
  
  Culturally, Gregory and Brightly hit the nail on the head when it comes to white southern families. I could hear my own family’s voices and dynamics around the home as it was occurring within the book, and swooned over the sweet southernisms or laughed at phrases I understood. But are we surprised? These authors know how to write well and clearly research when it comes to writing different characters, and they don’t shy away from it. I also liked that they wrote them as both two rich characters, because while one is richer than the other, I do think it helps balance out the dubious consent issues in the beginning of their relationship, and if Noah had been from a poor family it would probably be more pronounced and harder to reckon with as a reader.
  
  Let me just talk about the sex scenes in this. While they are not hardcore kink, wow wow wow. Absolutely amazing. Husband becomes a naughty word, the edging, the exhibitionism, punishments, the lace and jewelry… every bit of it I ate up. Such a hot dynamic between these two that I would read more of any day, even if I did also feel sad as Noah did about some things. Seriously, you won’t regret reading this just for them, although plenty of pacing is done with plot and feelings.
  
  If you like some forced marriage angst, I highly recommend picking this up.
  
  **I voluntarily accepted an ARC in exchange for my review.**
• 
  ♡ c a l ♡

  it was okay-ish for me. it was this right amount of 'likeness' for me to keep going. overall, it was a fun time. somehow.
• 
  Ellie Ellie

  "Did I have him all wrong? The idea wasn’t a pleasant one. What if he was actually a half-decent person who didn’t fucking deserve this? I scrubbed at my face with both hands and growled. Too late now. I can’t wait to hear him call me husband again."
  
  I’m between a 3.5 and a 4 on this.
  
  This started great! Noah was such a great character, an artist who feels like he doesn't belong with his rich family who doesn't approve of his choices. Because of this loneliness, he was very relatable to me, and I felt for him a couple of times. The relationship dynamics made me think of The Boss by the same authors, with one character being forced into a relationship by a powerful and obsessed MC, and both of them reluctantly ending up becoming attached to each other. Which is a thing I apparently love. This one ended up being sweeter, in my opinion (and without, you know, the whole mafia thing). The sex scenes are REALLY hot, I loved the forced exhibitionism and all the “husband” that were used kind of like a BDSM honorific. So much lingerie and jewelry too! (Is forced wear of lingerie a thing?). There’s also a little discipline and all kind of orgasm control in there (edging, forced orgasm, ruined orgasm...) which was fun!
  
  What I loved the most about this, is all the underlying sweetness and tenderness, that were there from the beginning, even with the initial dubcon. There’s so much cuddling and lap-sitting, which may be a thing with those authors? Not complaining. What I liked less though, and the reason why I didn’t rate this 4 stars in the end, is the final conflict and its resolution. I didn’t like the whole miscommunication thing that escalated SO quickly, nor that they needed their friends meddling to reconcile. I thought Alton kept fucking up and didn’t really redeem himself in the end, so the love confession ended up being underwhelming to me. I still liked the couple and were rooting for them, I just would have liked something... more?
  
  Also the meta-reference to themselves as authors should be a crime IMO
• 
  Shelba

  This book was an excellent example of how on paper, a book can have all your favourite tropes and still not work out. This only gets 2-stars instead of 1, because I did like the first bit.
  
  The first 40-45% of this was really good, 4-star material (minus the casino scene, because WTF?!). But from the point of the wedding onward, this just kind of flat-lined for me.
  
  The pacing was a big issue. The first 50% of this book is the first 3 days of their acquaintance. Then a month happens off page, then another month, and we are giving a bit of on page time that isn't sex & lingerie. Then three months go by and we're given an on-page conflict, then three months go by and HEA... a very rush, unsatisfying HEA at that. This is a 350 page book, and yet there is so little plot and so little on-page time of Alton getting to know more about Noah than how he likes his holes filled.
  
  Character-wise, it felt to me like Alton was originally planned to be some billionaire with mob ties... he did do an awful lot of threatening bodily harm & death (not to mention the casino scene, WTF?!). And then it was like the authors decided to just make him a less literal version of a cutthroat. Meanwhile, Noah is whining about how bland his personality is... me, too, Noah. Quiet, but enjoys a spanking is not a personality, IMO.
  
  The absolute worst element of this book, was when the authors had their characters not just reference the authors, but have a conversation about them. Very cringey. I'm embarrassed on their behalf, because clearly they were too full of hubris to see how cringey this exchange was.
  
  And what kind of billionaire flies commercial?
  
  And why are his house-staff referred to as servants, who bow to Alton?!
• 
  Ziezie

  Love love love
  
  RTC
• 
  Maya

  AM I getting too old for Harlequin like books where someone falls in love with someone blackmailing their family? I'm leaning towards yes. Even without that I hated how despicable Alton was and how weak Noah never managed to grow a backbone.
• 
  Lauren

  Books that start off with the main character acting against the wishes of the other (like kidnapping or forcing a marriage) need really strong redemption arcs or character growth for me to come out with a positive opinion, and this did not have that.
  
  I like the possession vibes but I think I would have liked this one better if Alton wasn’t such an ass. The narrative also felt very unbalanced time wise, like a majority of the books takes place when they are in their first week or two of their arrangement and Alton is being super controlling and not caring about Noah’s well being at all, then there is a bit of a time jump and then they are all of a sudden slightly bonding at Alton’s parents house but Alton is still a jerk. And then another time jump and now they are in their final weeks of the arrangement and acting like they are lovers and actually together, before the huge blow up. There was not nearly enough growth on page from Alton so I can’t say I really enjoyed it.
  
• 
  haletostilinski

  ⭐︎3.5 stars rounded up!⭐︎
  
  Overall, an enjoyable read by these two authors.
  
  When 20-year-old Noah gets a call from his father to come home immediately, he's weary. He doesn't have a good relationship with his father, and mother. But his father especially. His father is a business man and hates that Noah wants nothing to do with the business and wants to be an artist instead.
  
  Noah wishes he could separate from his parents entirely, but he has his 4 younger siblings to think about. Noah is too kind, caring and compassionate to just leave them to the wolves, so to speak.
  
  Which is why, when a man named Alton comes along, and demands to have Noah as his for 6 months, Noah agrees. He wouldn't have if his siblings weren't put in the line of fire. Because Alton has Noah's father by the balls, metaphorically speaking.
  
  See, Alton is a billionaire, and very good at making money. And also because he has a lot of money, he's able to hire many lawyers to look into Noah's father and find where he's made shady dealings and use that to fuck the man over. Which we don't feel bad about because Noah's father is a big prick.
  
  Noah is resistant to Alton at first, understandably. But Alton has an Alpha personality and when Noah signs the contract for 6 months, that means, to Alton, Noah is his who he can do what he wants with.
  
  Although there turns out to be more to Alton than he seems at first. Because at first there's just lust for Noah, but Alton also feels guilty at times when Noah gets upset or angry at the position he's been forced into.
  
  But that doesn't stop Alton from being bullheaded anyway.
  
  I understand how Alton was characterized and his character is consistent throughout this book, even when it makes me angry - the way he acts near the end of this made me want to smack him upside the head.
  
  But what I don't get is that Alton turns out to have amazing parents, who are perfectly kind and wonderful. There's no real explanation for why Alton can sometimes be a bastard, when he had such a great home life in Texas.
  
  I mean, if that's just the way he is as a person...I'd get that more if he wasn't so great around his parents and if he didn't love them so much. Because underneath all his bluster and Alpha Male-ness, is a softer, kinder person than he lets on.
  
  he even, near the end, says how this is who he is and the guy at his parent's house was killed a long time ago, which suggests that something happened to him to make him a bastard sometimes - and I'm like...okay, then what was it? Was it just the business world? If so, what exactly about it "killed" who he used to be? I'd have liked to have gotten an answer to that. Otherwise it was just this unanswered question throughout this and it bothered me. A big reason for me star off of this.
  
  As well as for the drama near the end. While it's in line with Alton's character, I felt it was so stupid how he didn't try to reach out to Noah until months later, and while things don't get 100% better with one convo, Noah is willing to date him after this one conversation, so he gets forgiven fairly easily.
  
  Also what kind of bothered me was the time jumps. We get a lot at the beginning, then about 1 or 2 months go by, we get great material when they go to Alton's parents for Christmas, they reach a turning point in their relationship, then all the sudden 3 months go by and we just get an overview of the best part of their 5 month relationship.
  
  I just wanted a little more of the good stuff. Which we did get, and these two had great chemistry, and I enjoyed what we got of them a lot. I just wanted more with them. It felt a tad rushed to have such big time skips during their initial relationship.
  
  Then they get together for good and we get more time skips - which is fine for the end of the story, honestly, but after several other time skips it just annoyed me that we got some more time skips.
  
  So overall, there could have been a few improvements, but I still enjoyed the majority of this story. It was a fun read, and hot and steamy. These two definitely were not lacking in chemistry. I just needed a little more in some other areas.
  
  So fairly solid overall, just needed a few improvements, in my opinion. Still two thumbs up from me, though! 😘
• 
  Rebecca

  4.5/5 stars
  
  This grew on me more and more as I read it. At first Alton was so cold that I didn't see how anything real could develop between him and the absolutely precious Noah, but alas it did. And the journey there was filled with emotion, character growth, laughter, and plenty of sexiness. I loved how even though there was an instant attraction, the romance itself was a slow burn. By the end I was rooting for these two so much. My only wish is that more on page time was given both to the time period between Christmas and March, when the feelings between the two fully blossomed, and the time at the end where Alton had to do some groveling before fully having Noah back. The last chapter and epilogue made me so happy though.
• 
  Kat

  Given the summary, I was surprised by how little happens in this book. The writing was fine but I wasn’t super interested but in the characters and there wasn’t enough of a plot to keep me invested. Not a bad way to spend 3 hours but I’ll probably end up forgetting about this by the end of the week.
• 
  LateciaJ

  **ARC Review**
  
  OMG!...I was so happy that I was given a chance to read this. From the start you get pulled in with the obsession and revenge Alton has and with Noah dealing with the consequences. This forced relationship was hostile with a lot of misunderstandings then gradually things became much more sweeter but always HOT. Alton and Noah had that push/pull, up and down, love/hate whirlwind thing that sometimes had me wanting to pull my hair but I was always rooting/cheering them on for their happy ending. Oh I forgot to mention one of the best part about this steamy/volatile relationship...the lingerie....mannnnnnnnnnn I loved it. It made this all the more entertaining...just imagining whats going to come up/chosen next for Noah to wear...LOVED IT! This was so good...Alton and Noah ultimately got that HEA and it was fantastic...I hope to read more with these guys in the future...5 STARS!!!
• 
  Mirjam

  
  
  
  This was somewhat okay... and maybe I could have given it 3⭐, but then I read “Maybe someone will write our love story into a romance novel turned chick flick. I can imagine it now—gay romance written by Ki Brightly and M.D. Gregory.”
  No, just no. It's too tacky
  
  
  
• 
  firnag

  DNF @23%
  
  Ugh.
  
  Questa storia, almeno fino al punto a cui io sono arrivata forzatamente, è inquietante, cringe e molto problematica. Nei trigger warnings di questo libro viene detto che è presente del dub-con e che Alton, uno dei due protagonisti, è un personaggio privo di morale, almeno inizialmente prima di “redimersi”. Bene, secondo me Alton si è rivelato un personaggio molto peggio di così, è disgustoso e riprovevole. Ciò che fa nei confronti di Noah è tremendo e ingiustificabile. L’eccitazione che Noah prova nei suoi confronti per me si può giustificare solo con un mix di inesperienza e sindrome di Stoccolma. Una piccola parte di me - piccola, per fortuna - era anche curiosa di vedere come la storia sarebbe andata avanti e come avrebbe provato a “““redimere””” Alton per l’HEA (ma come si può con queste basi di partenza?), però davvero non ce la faccio più.
  Tra l’altro, a me di solito piace il trope dell’arranged marriage, ma non così. Non quando è uno dei due protagonisti a forzarlo sull’altro con ricatti e minacce, tra le altre cose.
  È tutto così triste e avvilente e sconfortante e non voglio saperne più niente.
• 
  Maria Charalampidi

  One asshole MC, one doormat MC. Nope. The doormat put up with the asshole because he's got a great bod and a nice dick. Like, no. Have some respect for yourself.
• 
  Bibliophiler Booknerd

  Der Anfang war schon echt heftig und ich hatte Angst um Noah... 😬🥺, aber es wurde immer besser. Ich fand es nur schade, dass ihm so lange etwas aufgezwungen wird, was Noah gar nicht ist. Diese ganze "sexy" Unterwäsche, die er fast schon auf unangenehme, runtermachende Art tragen muss, er darf nicht zur Schule gehen, nur im Haus bleiben, ihm wird vorgeworfen ein ververzogenes brat zu sein, etc. Mein Herz ist gebrochen als alle seine Wünsche bezüglich der Hochzeit und seiner Jungfräulichkeit ignoriert wurden. Er hatte sich alles so schön und romantisch ausgemalt und dann kommt dieser Neandertaler... 😭😭😭
  Außer das "Drama", das hätte durch ein bisschen mehr Kommunikation definitiv verhindert werden können. Aber danach war es wieder richtig gut 😊
• 
  P Leslie

  Fantastic book and I really enjoyed it.
  
  Alton wanted Noah so he put the chess pieces in place to make sure he succeeded in getting him. He made a lot of assumptions about Noah but he soon learned that he was wrong. Alton started a chain of events but somewhere along the way, something changed - he changed. When did the sham become to feel so real?
  
  Noah was an absolute sweetheart. His fiery moments showed he had some backbone especially, at the end - he didn’t run back to Alton, he stood his ground.
  
  I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
• 
  Brey (lil Sebastian)

  I really liked this book. I love me a possessive man who is also morally ambiguous. I was not expecting the lingerie fetish, but I actually really ended up liking how it fit into the story. Though there was a bit of 80% drama that led to a separation I feel like it actually worked for this book because the couple needed a new beginning. I’m usually super not a fan of miscommunication drama but this one wasn’t too bad and there was no sleeping with others during the separation. Great read that is mildly kinky.
• 
  Reflections of a Swede

  Juicy juicy juicy!
  Completely over-the-top and implausible. But in all the right ways.
  It would have gotten a 5-star from me if only it hadn't lost a bit of steam in the end (no pun intended). And also, the whole drama and eventual resolution towards the end felt very rushed.
  But otherwise a great, steamy and deliciously juicy story.
  Highly recommend!
• 
  mimireads

  dnf 14%
  idk just wasn't feeling it
• 
  thabo

  I never fully got sold in this Alton guy....like yeah Noah's acts stupid in some parts of this book but god does Alton irk my soul, everytime he said something I was moments away from dnf'g. I still feel like Noah deserves better but oh well