From
New York Times bestselling author Tijan comes a raw, tempestuous romance
between the criminal underworld and a parole officer that paints a thin line
between right and wrong.
When Jess Montell meets Trace West at a hockey game, she doesn’t know his name
or occupation. What she does know is there’s an instant attraction that’s
impossible to ignore—or forget. And forgetting is exactly what she wants to do
when she learns he’s not just a successful Wall Street suit but the heir to one
of New York’s biggest Mafia families.
The last thing Trace needs is a romantic anything with law enforcement,
and parole officer Jess has trouble written all over her. Too bad he likes
trouble. Especially when it’s a brunette bombshell with attitude and legs for
days.
She’s an absolute spitfire, and he wants to stoke that flame.
Trace didn’t ask for the Mafia life. Jess doesn’t want any part of it. They
both know it’s safer to stay away, but the temptation is too hard to resist—no
matter how great the danger.
Book
1
Buy Links
Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Amazon Au ~ Amazon Ca
Audiobook (US) ~ Paperback (US)
~ Also Available with KindleUnlimited ~
Reviews by the
Wicked Reads Review Team
Avid
Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger
warnings.
CLIFFHANGER
Jess loves her job. She is a parole officer and is good at what she does. She
is also a bartender at a popular bar and she's just as good at that job. Jess
has not had an easy life. She has a brother who did an unthinkable thing, but
she still loves him. Her dad was not the best person either, but he's gone. Her
mom, the most abusive person in her life, is someone who Jess can't seem to let
go of, despite the abuse she endures.
Jess' boss is a family friend who has loved her since she was small. He has
helped her look after her mom too. Also, Jess has a friend who runs a bar who
has also helped her with her mom. They have been her surrogate dads. With
things turning up the heat, everyone around Jess is suspect.
Trace is a businessman who is incredibly successful. When he first meets Jess,
he's intrigued by her ability to be tough and feminine at the same time. She
isn't afraid of him. She doesn't know him. Trace gets information on her and is
even more intrigued.
Trace's family life is less than ideal too. Family comes before everything.
That also means that when someone threatens the family, it's Trace's job to
"take care of the issue." With Trace needing to take over more of the
family, his uncle, who Trace sees as more of a father, is relying on Trace to
keep the family safe and solvent.
Trace and Jess have an uphill battle. Tijan makes the characters interesting,
relatable, and complex. I couldn't put the book down and am really looking
forward to seeing more. You won't be disappointed in how this story develops.
Erica
– ☆☆☆☆
A Dirty Business is the first installment in the new series, Kings of
New York, by Tijan.
Cliffhanger warning.
Jess and Trace have a clandestine meeting in the stairwell at a hockey game,
changing the trajectory of their lives. Jess, who daylights as a parole
officer, carries her badge even when she's off duty to keep the parolees on the
straight and narrow. In her free time, Jess bartends to barely scrape by to
take care of her alcoholic mother. By day, Trace works on Wall Street. By blood,
Trace is high up in one of the most notorious crime families in New York.
With the glint of her badge, Trace goes from interested in Jess to disgusted.
Let's be honest, Trace – you ought to direct that disgust inward, instead of
being upset that there are those out there who catch you in the act. Just
saying. Weariness of law enforcement would make sense. Disgust is another
beast. It's not as if the entitled, privileged Trace is an innocent party being
targeted for things outside of his control like many demographics. Eye roll.
As you can see, I wasn't a fan of the loathing aspects. Not pro or con
anything, just felt it was unwarranted. Weary, yes. Loathing, no. As the novel
unfolds, moral lines blur, just as Jess was afraid would happen, while it has the
opposite effect on Trace.
Annoyed with himself, Trace cannot stop thinking of Jess. Do I believe Jess
could have moved on after a few stray thoughts toward Trace? Yeah, I do. But
Trace was instantly obsessed to stalker degrees. I mean, it was creepy shenanigans
to read, and the pages turned at a rapid rate. But it did make me feel empathy
toward what Jess was going through too.
Time after time, their lives intersect. Jess is struggling with her uncles
(parents' best friends from back in the day) and her mother. Jess's mother is a
drunk, but it's the mental instability that takes a toll on Jess. The mental,
emotional, and verbal abuse was hard for this reader to stomach. While I felt
this dynamic was realistic, there were parts of Jess's backstory that were
never explained, as if there was this huge twist that was going to drop out of
the air at any moment, but it never happened. So while there was a resolution
between Jess and her mother, there was no closure for the reader, since the
rage and abuse, along with all the things said and that which was left beneath
the surface, was never explored let alone explained. Perhaps in the next
installment, but it felt right to give it closure now. The momentum was built,
only for it to die out with little to no explanation. Furthermore, the
responsibility was accepted by other parties, and I cannot see where Jess's mom
would think Jess should shoulder it. I still have no idea why Jess's mother
treated Jess as she did, after an entire novel.
The dynamic Trace had with his uncle and their family, his father and sister,
and his best friend and his family, along with the strife with the other
families was intriguing to unravel. This part of the story took the forefront,
thoroughly developed and intriguing, leading to a fast-paced novel.
I was able to spot the main bad guy from the beginning. It would have been more
exciting had I not, and less frustrating as well. I just kept thinking how
Trace and Ashton were all-knowing yet beyond dim when it came to the bad guy –
it was all laid out for them. The other bad guy was a slight twist that I had a
gut feeling about, so I enjoyed how that unfolded.
Ashton. Ashton. Ashton. Yes, I cannot wait to read your point of view, but at
the same time, I hope there is closure and resolution over an incident, because
what was put on the pages wasn't good enough.
The main reason I couldn't give a five-star review is on the character
development front. There were times they acted out of character, or far more
immature than their age group/education/upbringing/profession, or they
acted/reacted to things in a manner that should destroy relationships. A punch
isn't enough, let's just put it that way, making Jess go from strong to
doormat, be it with her family, Trace, or those in Trace's orbit. Same with
Trace, decisive and action-forward in one regard, yet lets things go in the
next, things that bite them later.
There were snippets introduced, shown as if important, that were eventually
just lost in the shuffle to be forgotten about and never brought up again.
These snippets may or may not come up in other installments, but they were
written as if they were to be mysteries or twists. Since they were left
dangling and barely mentioned, I'm not sure why they were added at all but to
distract the reader with a false narrative, same goes with Mom's rage toward
Jess.
While I loved every minute of this chaotic story, reading it from cover to
cover. Had I read it slower, the issues would have revealed themselves and
taken away the entertainment value. I'm a sucker for an angsty trainwreck of a
novel, with equally trainwrecked characters – A Dirty Business delivered
that in spades.
It doesn't matter how amazingly or poorly plotted, written, and edited a novel
is, the true test is if I would do just about anything to get the next
installment. In this case, gimme more. Now.
Ruthie
– ☆☆☆☆
This is the first in a new series – and I really would appreciate book two
appearing very soon as I am hooked!
What is really clever about this story is that we know that Trace is not
someone that we should like, not in any way, and we are encouraged to see his
darkness, and his utter unsuitability for Jess... but it is almost impossible
not to want them to work out the many layers of complication. Jess's career as
a parole officer excludes her from his orbit – he knows this immediately, and
it makes him incredibly angry.
I found the fact that Jess could work in a bar and wear her badge slightly
jarring – I am convinced that in the UK that would just not be allowed – but it
was quite a clever way for her to keep an eye on her parolees, even if
inappropriate to be moonlighting. I found her relationship with her 'uncles'
and their dealings with her alcoholic mother very messy and confusing, but I
guess it took a level of shine off her character which made it easier for her
to be considering Trace at all.
I enjoyed the twists and turns, which are done as always with style by Tijan,
and I just love the point where things become clearer, and unexpected plotlines
find their way to resolution – at least partially. That moment when Trace
becomes potentially a suitable boyfriend for Jess is when you know that your
mind has been messed with again by this talented author!
Enjoy, I certainly did!
TIJAN
is a New York Times bestselling author who writes suspenseful and
unpredictable novels. Her characters are strong, intense, and gut-wrenchingly
real with a little bit of sass on the side. Tijan began writing after college,
and once she started, she was hooked. She's written multi-bestsellers including
the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, Ryan's Bed, Enemies,
and others. She is currently writing many new books and series with an English
cocker she adores.
Connect with
Tijan
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ TikTok ~ Website ~ Goodreads
Facebook
Group: Tijan's Crew
ARC provided by
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided
a free copy of A Dirty Business (Kings of New York #1) by Tijan to read and
review.
