Tied up in Knots

Love this series!

This series is one of my favorites! I liked how she included characters from Rhys Ford's 'Sinners' series.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

This series just keeps getting better!

What made the experience of listening to Tied up in Knots the most enjoyable?

Every damn thing! Seriously. Mary Calmes is an amazing author with the ability to literally bring emotions to life with words. Tristan James is a fantastic narrator with the ability to breath life into those words and emotions.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Miro, always Miro. I do love Ian, but there is this little quirk with Miro's personality that makes him so endearing and almost... naive in a way, when it comes to Ian, only with Ian. It's hard to explain, you'll just have to listen.

What does Tristan James bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He adds dimension to the story. I read this book and loved it, couldn't put it down. Same thing with the audio book, I didn't want to stop listening the story, plot and characters are just so engrossing. James really brings out the emotions of the characters with subtle nuances and tone inflections.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was and I tried, but I had to sleep at some point.

Any additional comments?

Love this Author and this narrator, perfect marriage of words and sound. If you are a fan of the Author, Narrator or series, it's a no brainer. Lot's of action, suspense, comedy, tragedy and Ian and Miro tug of war in the bedroom.

My e-book review....

Miro Jones wants his happy ever after with his partner both at work and at home, Ian Doyle. Problem is, Ian is a soldier through and through, and Miro is starting to wonder when just loving him will be enough for Ian. Left alone more than he cares to be, Miro is adrift without Ian there to ground him. Ian doesn't hide Miro, their relationship or the way he feels about his partner. So why isn't it enough for Ian to stay put and be the constant Miro needs him to be?

I think this series gets better with each new book. I really enjoy the way Ian and Miro are written as these alpha male personas, and yet, when they are together and alone it is always about them and only them. Miro is forever getting his ass handed to him by criminals, suspects and a certain psychotic serial killer that is convinced Miro is his soul mate. Ian is forever loosing his shit because the love of his life is battered and bruised... again. But lord, when they come together it is this raw, animalistic, electric connection that radiates off the pages like lightening.

The secondary characters in this series are just as vital and elaborately written as Ian and Miro. From Miro's gaggle of gal pals that think he hung the moon, much to their husbands and boyfriends dismay, to Chickie, Ian's beloved dog that is one third dog, one third wolf and one third horse! I didn't think Calmes could ever bring another fictional couple to life and make me love them as much as Sam and Jory (Matter of Time series) but she's done just that with Ian and Miro.

I seriously hope this isn't the last we see of Ian, Miro, Chickie and the wide variety of other characters that make this series so amazing.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

5+ Stars!!

Any additional comments?

You know how sometimes when you want something really, really badly and you have to wait a really long time for it, and you keep getting assured it’s “coming soon”, but you really want it now and then you get it and you’re disappointed with the final product?

Yeah, you don’t have to worry – the wait was worth it because Tristan James once again rocks this out!

The narration for Tied up in Knots was incredible and so entertaining that I immediately re-listened…to all almost ten hours of awesomeness.

THIS. This is what perfection is. God! The cameos, the action, the sex, the romance, the suspense…it was all on point. So many things that happen in this story are awesome and Mary Calmes just delivered on every promise of greatness made. This series just keeps getting better!

So what do you need to know? The story is once again told entirely from Miro’s POV. There are cameos aplenty…some of which will probably shock you (in the best way), a ton of suspense, some humor, and even some *gasp* worthy moments.

This story grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. Tied Up In Knots is an absolute gem in this series, polished to a brilliant, glittering shine and contains just enough setup to know the continuation of the series will be just as badass and kickass as the first three books.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

SO draggy and with...

TOO MANY UNNECESSARY CHARACTERS.

I read the first book at the begining of the year and didnt bother to follow the series because it bored me. But since I'm a Tristan James fan, I decided to listen to the next books. I did check and there were many 5 stars reviews. So I said why not, lets give this series another try. Yea well, i'm quitting it here. I dont see a point in the 4tth book since I've read enough summaries to know how it ends.

I'm probably among the few who didn't like this series. People commented about how good the 2 MCs's progression was but honestly, after 3 books i didn't see much. Especially in book 3 when Ian was only in 50% percent of the book. This series book 1 -3 was 60% Miro and his inner feelings, 25% glimps of Ian, 13% of everyone else, and 2% case solving with the most important case of the psycho Hartley never getting solved. And from comments i read the Hartley thing doesn't get solved in the last book either. This series was not about case or action. And the romance/relationship felt like a side plot. Because if one actually looks closer, this whole series was about jut Miro.

My main problem:

How dragging all the unnecessary scenes and some charecters were. An example is when Miro calls all of his girl-friends and the group is all three-way/speaker call and they go on talking about one of the girl's pregnancy. My thought, "Why, just why, how are scenes like this relevant to this story's progression?" Are we supposed to relate to these women even when they have so substance in the plot? Or relate to Miro that he's an orphan who built his family with these women? There were many 'Do Nothing For Plot' scenes like this through out the books. The thing is, an author can still create these outside charecters and give them life, only rather than keep throwing them in to be plothole fillers, make them background noise and fade them out. There are editors who do these things for writers. And this series could have used a really decent plot editor to take out the trash while adding on gems that would have made this series more fluid. Oh and of course there are steamy sex scenes but sex only sells so far before a story becomes flat. This series was a really dull version of other better formulated series like:
-cut&run
-death&destruction
-fish out of water series

Overall: it was not the worst. And the premise/base of this plot was interesting. I don't dislike Miro and Ian either. But it's not enough and this series up to here is a mere 2 stars for me.

Narrator: Tristan James *****

miro jones by Tristan James is hot

the story had me laughing out loud at the idiosyncrasies of the character Miro Jones. Tristan James sounded especially sexy as the voice of Miro. Liked the storyline.

It's pretty good

I'm a big M. Calmes fan and really love the marshal books.
Tristan was an ok narrator. i had to speed up the recording because he talked slower then i liked. and some of the choices made for how voives sound were odd. but he wasn't bad. could definitely check out more of his books

The love for this series continues.........

Love Miro and Ian. Love how protective Miro is for the boys. Over Ian.s strength. Most importantly love the love, friendship and hotness between these 2 amazing men. Tristan is an amazing narrator. Keep listening over and over.

I need to take a break and so the plot thickens.

This is a very VERY unforgiving listen. It's going to seize your attention and drag you through every possible unpleasant thought you might want to ignore while desperately trying to drown in the love fantasy that is Ian and Miro. It definitely plays hard to get--or better yet is explicitly denial. You'll long for the simpler days that Ian and Miro shared to lose yourself in that fantasy in their fantasy...but there will be no rest for the wicked (in a sense).

Again because I don't like discussing details:

Personally I've come to dislike Miro and I'll stick to what I am saying, he's misguided. However his ignorance is astounding here and I unfortunately have to give the story only 4 stars even though I love, love, love this series. Why?

Miro makes incredibly dumb choices close to the end of the story. And even a few at the halfway mark. These are not transgressions against himself but transgressions against himself as a US Federal Marshal! The situations he finds himself in again is no ones fault but his own. It was at this moment I recounted all his mishaps: Getting shot, being with Hartman, stabbed, beaten, jumped. Simply because he refuses--sorry no because I am seeing the bad characterization in this entry.
At no point in this entry does Miro stop to appreciate when Ian is home but when he's away he complains and drones on. I get that this is a symptom of military spouses but in one particular jarring instance. Miro really should have come unhinged because he really isn't the strong stoic type, that's Ian. Miro is an extremely lucky damsel. Or that's what he's been reduced to...a trope homo.

I do not enjoy character stupidity to advance a plot however in this case I was just completely turned off Miro. My mind is made up...Ian deserves better. Well not that he deserves better but I don't think it's fair to Ian how much he has bent for Miro. Miro has given very little to Ian. Their love is not quid pro quo but the stupid shit Miro does is turning old and if Ian is true to his character. I suspect he'll catch on before long. Speaking of Ian his character is dynamic and changing and we are getting little peeks into him,he appeals to the part of me that likes to tinker, to know what makes him tick.

I don't know what it was but this entry just didn't do it for me. It's not bad but, there were critical moments where Tristan just didn't shine through here. There are some very emotional breakthroughs that take place and maybe during this recording...he wasn't feeling it? There were really good moments for some very overheated exchange and it just seemed lost on Tristan his narration is flawless.

There was a noticeable lack of embellishment during these moments. Everything, exactly everything else is on point and I still feel some kind of way when Ian is around however. I thought it was more important to the story that when those moments came about they really needed to be nailed. But...I'll say this I think maybe perhaps not even Tristan understands what Miro was feeling because his character is actually more submissive and then magically gets this iron will when faced with danger?
That's not Miro, with or without Ian. In every other way he is submissive in the sense that he's very bitchy and subversive and in my opinion very ungrateful, I don't mean sexually I mean in his character hes a damsel in constant distress...But he's not portrayed directly that way to the listener even though that's what he actually is inside his environment. So when his poor decisions bare their fruits; while he is a US Federal Marshall I know there are many instances he's not the strong silent type, he's very much a rookie in many instances in this entry. I thought about docking a star for performance but, I'll let it slide because it's not Tristans fault for Miro's poor characterization in this entry.

I'm just not into Miro being a damsel in distress when he started off pretty intelligent. I don't like that Ian by consequence has had to give up a lot because Miro can't seem to get his shit together. The number of attempts made on Miro's life should have Ian in a rage becasue Miro does it to himself. Miro's Characterization was definitely a back seat while the overall plot was focused on. What I don't like is that Miro's poor character has caused some pretty serious plot changes...via the dumbing down of his character to a helpless damsel. No longer do I see the Twisted Tango of two strong willed men. I see an ungreatful subversive bitch and a chivalrous man. We've heard that story...and with this a lot of that nuance was not present in this book...at all.

I sincerely hope Miro is not this helpless and explicitly stupid in the next entry. Cause I already bought the next entry...so yes it's that damn good!

Worth listening to

The beginning of the story is really slow and I almost quit listening. But the rest of the story is what I’ve come to love with this series with all the characters and twists and turns.

The narrator is the same: good but not excellent.

An action packed, romantic thriller.

Tied Up in Knots is the third novel in Mary Calmes’ four novel Marshal series and should not be listened to as a stand-alone. There are too many characters and vital backstory that would interfere with the full appreciation of this novel. This series makes for a superb listening experience so having four audiobooks to anticipate and enjoy is no hardship.

In Tied Up in Knots, Deputy US Marshal Miro Jones finds himself left alone for four months and struggling with loneliness as his partner Deputy US Marshal and Green Beret, Ian Doyle, leaves for his longest deployment yet. While he’s away Miro is sent to San Francisco to assist the DEA and finds himself entangled with a corrupt officer. A cameo by Kane Connor from Rhys Ford’s superb Sinner’s Gin series makes for plenty of action and laughter as they work together to bring down the bad guys.

Ian is home barely a day when he is called in to discuss a former team mate in special ops who appears to be murdering his old team one by one. Alone again, Miro is sent to Las Vegas to pick up a young man who has made himself known whilst in the WITSEC program and needs relocation to Chicago. Enter Josue, a young man alone and needing Miro’s help. Of course Miro ‘adopts’ him and introduces him to Cabot and Drake and they all become fast friends. Miro also returns home to some terrifying news. Dr Craig Hartly, the vile serial killer with an obsession with all things Miro, has escaped and will no doubt be in a hurry to pay him a visit.

As the tension rises, Ian returns home again, and it’s not a moment too soon. New neighbour Barrett has been providing Miro some much needed friendship and company during Ian’s absence, but Barrett’s reaction to Ian’s return seems off, and we’re left to wonder if Barrett had hoped for more from Miro. Time will tell. The next few days are packed with all their friends arriving for thanksgiving and serial killer worries go on the back burner. Two FBI agents outside and their protective dog inside seem deterrent enough. Naturally everything goes sideways from there...

Tied Up in Knots is one heck of a ride. There’s action aplenty, some sizzling reunions and lots of interaction with all the people in both Ian and Miro’s lives. This novel gives the listener so much more than just Ian and Miro. We learn more about both of their past lives and the reason why Ian has been unwilling to leave the green berets. The secondary characters add humour and depth to the story and all things Ian and Miro. It’s a fast paced and riveting listen.

As usual Tristan James takes Mary Calmes’ extremely well written story and makes it something more. Great characterisations add to the humour and drama and I was so engrossed I didn’t want the story to end. If you haven’t tried audiobooks before then I highly recommend you do. It’s a completely different experience from reading a book and, with a narrator like Tristan, I actually think it’s even better. I’m thrilled to be able to go immediately to the last audiobook in the series and can’t wait to see where Mary takes us next.
Highly recommended.