A Cruel Arrangement by Tijan

Tijan makes a thrilling and fantastic comeback with her Kings of New York series in A Cruel Arrangement featuring Ashton Walden and Molly Easter—two characters we previously met in Trace West and Jess Montell's book, A Dirty Business. The story immediately picks up after the devastating and shocking events of the previous book so I would not consider this a standalone. While the author does shift the tone and point of view of the story to Ashton and Molly, Trace and Jess still play significant roles in the plot and mystery behind the deaths of Justin Worthing and Kelly as well as the brewing mafia war between the Walden-West families and the Worthing family. I appreciate how Tijan is able to craft a story that is not only interesting and unpredictable but the romance, while understated yet intense, shines through quite beautifully. Molly is the light to Ashton's darkness.

"Molly was mine. She was either my target, my mark, my woman, or my cross to bear. Any and all ways I split it, she was mine."

In the end, Ashton and Molly's story was one that I never expected but it had everything I loved most in a romance—an anti-hero who embraces his darkness but turns soft with his woman and a heroine whose happy-go-lucky and practical outlook on life exasperates her man but he still loves her anyway. I never expected their union but after learning their history and past relationship to each other, everything made perfect sense. While Ashton was not a good man by any means, his growing love and concern for Molly—the light of his life, was beautifully explored and written. Molly herself was a quirky and endearing character who tells it like it is. She lived a hard life but survived it nonetheless. This series has solidified my love for Tijan's beautiful prose and multi-dimensional characters. You absolutely won't regret giving this series a try if you love reading mafia romances.

*This ARC was generously provided by the author and publisher for an honest review*

Rating: ★★★★★