A Cruel Arrangement
By: TIJAN
Series: Kings Of New York
Book # in Series: 2 out of 2
Genre/Trope: Mafia Romance
Publisher: Montlake
Publication Date: April 25th, 2023
My Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
My Reading Format: Paperback
Synopsis:
From New York Times bestselling author Tijan comes the intensely passionate story of a man trying to make amends and the woman who makes him want to keep his promises.
This was my place. My business. Easter Lanes.
Then a guy comes in, trying to rob me, daring to take it away from me.
My home. My life.
Hell no. I won’t let my livelihood be threatened.
No one knows what I’ve done to build this life for myself.
Except he might.
Ashton Walden, a man I remember from when we were kids.
Even back then I could tell how dangerous he would be one day.
He’s now the head of the Walden mafia family, and my father is so in debt to them that they practically own him.
My dad and I are estranged and I want nothing to do with him or his debt, but the day after the attempted robbery, I don’t wake up in the hospital.
I wake up in Ashton Walden’s home. And he drops a bomb on me.
If I want my livelihood back, I need to earn it back.
And thus begins our cruel arrangement.
A Cruel Arrangement is the second book in Tijan’s Kings of New York series. This novel can be read as a standalone, but in my honest opinion, this novel would be best read after reading A Dirty Business due to the Tess/Ashton conflict. These moments may leave you confused…
Anywho let’s dive into what this book is about. Ashton watched his best friend fall to his greatest weakness, that weakness being falling in love with Jess. Long ago, Ashton vowed to never use the word Love, because that’ll be giving his enemies one more card to use against him… But the first time he set his sights on Molly, all bets were off. Now Ashton is about to fight the greatest fight of his life, don’t fall in love with Molly…
Molly Easter’s life is in complete shambles. Having found out she is not the owner of Easter Lane’s and that her father literally stole money from her is the start of a shaky foundation… Now the death of her best friends’ mystery is surrounding her. She’ll do anything to find out who the perpetrators are. Even if that means teaming up with the man she swore never to get involved with, Asher Walden.
My Thoughts:
There’s never a dull moment with TIJAN’s novels! Never a dull moment, that’s for sure. I spent some time listening to A Cruel Arrangement’s audiobook during the day and at night I scrambled under my covers with the paperback in my hand. I kind of had the best of both worlds with this one. Since I don’t really review audiobooks, I’ll just say I loved the narrators and the way they told this story. Their voices had me entranced! I’ll be listening to more audiobooks from here on out.
My heart was invested in Molly and Ashton’s story. I loved the opposites attract vibe with a slow burn finesse. I loved the fact that I, as a reader, was often left hanging wondering when that special moment would occur. The moment both characters realize they had fallen hard and fast for the other. I was a sucker for Ashton and Molly!
Let’s start with Ashton. After a brutal attack on his family, Ashton has just inherited his family’s business. The leader of the Mafia isn’t something he wanted, but family obligations are family obligations. One thing I loved about his character was the fact that I never knew what his next move would be. And believe me when I say, this man is as deadly as they come. Throughout this novel, there was one constant with Ashton, he would do anything and everything to protect Molly Easter. And he proved that over and over again. Watching this man slowly fall for Molly Easter was the cherry on top of it all. NO matter how much he denied it or tried to push it down, he came to the quick realization there is no denying fate when she sunk her claws in.
And then we have Molly Easter. Molly is a woman who would rather keep to herself. She’s been used and tossed out practically her whole life. So she keeps a very tight circle of close friends and very few family members. I loved the fact that this woman was independent. I also loved her stubborn streak and her ability to speak her mind.
Now the mystery. Someone is after Molly, and throughout this novel we are left on the edge of the seat wondering who that person/group is. I had my suspicions throughout this novel. All I have to say is when this person was first mentioned… this person was my number one suspect… and as the novel continued on, I knew I had the person locked down. I WAS RIGHT!!! I love being right on my predictions, it makes me feel like one of those characters on that Law and Order show! Usually when a novel is easily predicted I tend to drop a star rating, however, I left the star due to my questioning the prediction throughout this novel. I rated this novel 5 stars because I loved the mystery, the romance, the chemistry, and the dangerous vibes revolving around Molly and Ashton! I loved everything about this novel! So if you are looking for a novel with mystery and dark vibes, don’t hesitate to pick this one up!
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Peace Love and Happy Reading,
