This was a wild and hilarious ride! We love a feisty slightly delulu FMC over here. Combined with a burn the world down for her MMC? Team Sawyer and Jake forever in this thrilling, but definitely not your typical, mafia romance. This was my first book by this author and let me tell you, did not disappoint. The characters inner monologues, very quippy, slightly crazy, not at all demure 😂

I really enjoyed this third installment in the Kings of New York series, which works perfectly as a standalone. Sawyer’s journey from heartbreak to finding herself caught in a dangerous mafia world kept me hooked from start to finish. Jake’s protective nature and their sizzling chemistry made for an intense and compelling romance. The story strikes a great balance between fast-paced action and emotional depth, with plenty of steamy moments to keep things exciting. What truly sets this book apart is how it blends raw danger with genuine vulnerability, making the characters feel authentic and relatable. The unexpected humor from Sawyer’s family added a lighthearted charm that I appreciated. This isn’t just a mafia romance it’s about finding strength and unexpected connections in the chaos. I couldn’t put it down.

The mix of suspense, romance, and quirky family dynamics makes this a standout read for fans of both mafia dramas and passionate love stories. If you enjoy forced proximity tropes with a side of heart and humor, this book is definitely worth your time.

This is not your typical mafia romance! If you in the mood for humorous antics with spicy natures then this is the book for you. Sawyer is trying to recover from a “wasted” relationship that has gone bad, but on a trip to the Big Apple she gets more than she bargained for as her simple life gets entangled in the web of the mafia. I received an advanced reader copy of this book for free from NetGalley , the publisher and the author and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts are my own.
So let me start by saying Sawyer is hilarious ( I act enjoyed her talking to herself) yet a bit of a stalker as she’s overcoming her personal life “crisis.” Her first met up with Jake is probably one of the most unique yet insane introductions that I’ve read in a while. I love that while she thinks of herself as plain and simple she’s so much more than that. She’s funny and sweet with a loving nature, but quite strong and at times fierce , especially when it comes to those she considers family.
Now I wasn’t sure that I was going to like Jake, having met his slightly abrupt self in previous stories and especially with his somewhat higher than others attitude ( maybe the ex-cop mentality was hard to let go at first), but you quickly learn that there’s more to him than meets the eye. While not traditional in any shape, way or form their relationship is actually an nice blend as they each balance the craziness of each other.
This is a bit of a insta romance between Sawyer and Jake with lots of heat,right from the start, and plenty of action, both in the bedroom and with the mafia dealings. This is part of a series so those familiar with the Kings of New York books will be happy to see familiar faces, but the author explains enough so those of you new to it won’t be lost. My only issue was the beginning seemed a bit quick, but dealing with life and death scenarios, it’s not that out of place. 4 stars

Sawyer is in New York for different reasons, but the main one is she needed to escape the catastrophe that was her previous relationship. She spent too many years on a man that was not loyal and a bid dirtbag, but she has plans in her mind and yet those seem to go sideways. She is a hot mess through the majority of this book and when Jake first meets her, he legit thinks she is a lunatic. Jake has had his fair share of horrible things happen to him and more is yet to come, but he wasn’t prepared to have Sawyer being a part of it and they are forced to spend time together which intensifies their attraction. This story was intense and I enjoyed the mafia aspect of it, the family dynamic was a lot to take in. At times Sawyer and her family were too overwhelming and tried to steal the show which I didn’t think we needed, but other times I enjoyed the crazy aunts. I loved Jake with his broody attitude because he was sick and tired of taking orders, but Sawyer made some very questionable decisions that had me wondering if she wasn’t truly certifiably insane which annoyed me. She is 36 years old and acting as if she half that age at times. Overall, I loved the twists and the way that Jake handled everything.

2.5 stars

Mafia
Instalust
Lots of kidnapping


Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me. Sawyer is 36 but I would believe 18 more. Her boyfriend got her best friend pregnant so she's running away to find a cousin in New York she's never met before and ends up in loads of trouble. I think she's kidnapped 3 times?! throughout this 1 short book. Twice by our MMC even.
Their chemistry is non existent and I honestly was hoping they didn't end up together in the end and something else happened. The story was very choppy and repetitive.

I did enjoy the narrators and thought the audio itself was enjoyable and fast paced.

Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio for access to the ALC + ARC

Dark romance has never really been my thing, including mafia romance, but the way Tijan writes it? I've always loved it, I can never put them down, no matter how dark, how twisted, she writes these tropes in a way that I will eat them up and rate them five stars. Tijan is the one who I would try any trope, even ones I otherwise wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole, and I love when I find authors I can trust.

Jake repeatedly kidnaps Sawyer to save her life, and she continues to not believe the risk of being killed so it's a fun game of cat & mouse, stalking, and more that is inherently so fun! Jake is in the middle of a massive mafia family war when his family puts a hit out on him, and a new crime boss is trying to take over.

One thing I loved about this book is that Sawyer's family is the crazy, fun, elders from a small town book and I gotta say, I'd love to see Tijan write a romantic comedy because she'd excel at it! I loved how crazy they were and the lengths they would go to save Sawyer. This book kinda left off on a cliffhanger so I cannot wait to see what comes in the next book!

This book is very typical Tijan. If you are already a fan, then you will like this book. It rounded out the series for me but book 2 was the best in my opinion.

Fun Facts/tropes: This is a mafia romance with forced proximity, touch her and die, anti-hero vibes (anti-hero may be a little redundant given its mafia but Jake is objectively a bad dude.

The pacing: Fairly decent pacing for this one. I feel like you really need to read the other two to really understand this book but it is pretty action packed from the beginning.

The characters: Sawyer is pretty great. I love her. She is going through something and really lets the stuff happening to Jake sweep her up. If she wasn’t in a hard place, I doubt this book would have worked because the plot is wackadoodle in the best way. Jake is a pretty standard grumpy, tortured mafia guy. If you are looking for lines he won’t cross, you won’t find them.

Sawyer’s family is minorly annoying, mostly because I was interested in seeing more of Jake and Sawyer. But I understand why they did what they did. If I had a family member I thought was in crisis, I would fly across the country too.

The romance/relationship: We start off the first chapter with insta-lust for both characters which is the only way a high tension plot works because you have to have something driving the relationship. Do I think people are in love at the end of a book that takes place over the course of a week, probably not, but I def enjoyed the ride. But they are both strong characters and I loved the push and pull of them trying to establish boundaries.

The future: I’m not sure if I want what could be the fourth book of this series. The MMC would probably be the villain of this book and he was a terrible asshole. But Tijan took great pains to say he was super-hot and his presumptive love interest is a really interesting character. I’ll probably still read it if it happens lol.

This is book 3 in the Kings of New York series but
I was easily able to pick up and read as a standalone and my first read by Tijan.
The premise of this book - a bold romance about two people wrestling with emotional trauma, thrown into a deadly--and heated--power dynamic when the mafia comes after them both.
I found this story to be action packed and spicy! ! loved the heavy family dynamics and the strong personalities.
I may have yelled no!! Once or twice at some of the decisions, much like I have while watching a movie. I appreciate how quick paced the story was and the clean ending.

𝖨 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗁𝗈𝗈𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖾𝗀𝗂𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀! 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖿𝖺𝖼𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝗆𝖾𝗍 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗂𝗇 𝗋𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗋𝗎𝗇𝗇𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗐𝖺𝗒 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝖺 𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗎𝗆𝖺𝗍𝗂𝖼 𝗂𝗇𝖼𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗇𝗍 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗇𝗈 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗂𝗇 𝗌𝗎𝖼𝗁 𝗉𝖺𝗂𝗇 𝗆𝖺𝖽𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝗅 𝖺𝗅𝗈𝗇𝖾. 𝖠 𝖼𝗋𝖺𝗓𝗒 𝗆𝖾𝖾𝗍 𝗌𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝗌𝗂𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗎𝗋𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖨 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝖽 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝗌𝖾𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖽 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄. 𝖣𝗈𝗇’𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗂𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌!
#𝗍𝗂𝗃𝖺𝗇 #𝖼𝖺𝗉𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗌𝗂𝗍𝗎𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 #𝗋𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 #𝖽𝖺𝗋𝗄𝗋𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾 #𝗆𝖺𝖿𝗂𝖺 #𝖿𝗈𝗋𝖼𝖾𝖽𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗑𝗂𝗆𝗂𝗍𝗒 #𝗏𝖺𝗅𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗇𝖾𝗉𝗋

A Captive Situation by Tijan has a gripping and emotionally charged storyline. This one follows Sawyer who finds herself in a city far from home, trying to escape the heartbreak of seeing her best friend marry her college sweetheart. The betrayal from them both really cut Sawyer deep and she struggled with it.

She finds herself riding the subway, seemingly on the verge of a breakdown. I did find this rather unusual, given she was expecting people to break out into song. I was quite surprised when I found out her age. Her behaviour was that of someone who was much younger.

It is on the subway that Sawyer sees Jake. Right away she is intrigued. I did find their insta-attraction a bit unusual, but I did push through.

Tijan's writing style is unique, with vivid descriptions and a strong sense of atmosphere that brings the story to life. She weaves a tale of love, danger, and suspense as the protagonist becomes entangled in a series of events that lead to her being kidnapped by Jake.

The way in which she was kidnapped also, felt a bit odd. Sawyer finds herself in the police station after stalking a cousin she has not yet met. This is where she runs into Jake again and his cousin.

The chemistry between Sawyer and Jake is palpable, and their interactions are filled with tension, humour, and undeniable attraction. The plot is fast-paced and full of twists and turns that keep the reader engaged.

Overall a decent read for readers of contemporary romance and romantic suspense.

A fun, mysterious, romance! Sawyer and Jake had an interesting meeting. From there, these two struggle to navigate the situation they are in.

I loved this book. I love how Jake and Sawyer met. And everything that happened after was hilarious. Poor Sawyer goes to New York for one thing and ends up entangled in something else completely.
Sawyers family is something else. The way Jake describes them is hilarious. The way Sawyer’s family text is out of control. Jake’s cousins are exactly how he describes them. The things he says to his uncle when he’s trying to get answers is something else.
I love how things heat up instantly, all the action and every twist and turn.
I highly recommend this book.

A Captive Situation by Tijan continues her King of New York series about warring mafia families. Jake Worthing is an ex (dirty) cop and de facto head of the Worthing mafia family, and he is begrudgingly (and temporarily) allied with the other two local mafia families. While picking up his cousin from the local precinct, he meets Sawyer, a tourist who has come to the city to escape after her fiancé dumped her for her best friend. To make herself seem less pathetic, she's also in town to try to connect with a cousin she's never met, to try to mend the rift in her family, only she wound up in a police station after a semi-public meltdown. But now there's a problem--Jake has a bounty on his head, and after she's seen with him, her life is now in danger, too. So Jake does what any good mafia boss would do in that situation--kidnaps the beautiful woman for her own safety.

Is it dark? A little. Violent? Sure. But it was just as addicting, propulsive, and sexy as the first two books. If you love mafia romance, this series is a must read. I've loved every installment.

4.5 Stars 🌟

This was a complete rollercoaster. A story packed with suspense, mystery and an awful lot of questions….

It took me a while to settle in to the characters…especially Sawyer. However once I did and started to understand the dynamics of Jake’s lives I really got into the story.

Jake is a wonderful surprise, I loved how protective he was of the two most important people to him. Sawyer’s family is completely bonkers but in a great way…they had me chuckling although it did get a bit chaotic at times!!
This is another gritty trawl through the mafia world of New York. The suspenseful moments were written really well…you could see the drama unfold with such brilliant story telling. My only quibble would be some of the inner ramblings from Sawyer did drag out a bit.

I’m really excited to see if we get back to these Kings of New York as I feel there may still be a couple of interesting characters stories to come…..here’s hoping!!

I love all of Tijan’s books! This one was a little different because you had the female who had a loving, if not semi crazy, family behind her. Jake on the other hand does not have that so she helped him in that regard. He definitely opened her eyes to what true love & happiness is though. I will need to do a reread for the 3 books in this series together. Cannot wait for her next book.

This was a great read. I enjoyed the connection between Jake and Sawyer.

"You're not a woman that a guy leaves. l know that much."

Sawyer was a woman who'd lost everything. Jake was a man who was on the brink of losing everything. When Sawyer gets caught in the crosshairs of his life, there's nothing he won't do to keep her safe. I really liked Sawyer and how she gets swept up in the events of Jake's life. I swooned at what he was willing to do to put Sawyer first and keep her safe.

Not going to lie when I first started reading I wasn't sure about Sawyer. She had me a little confused but I'm so glad I went with it because she sure grew on me. She made the story line just that more enjoyable. I loved how even though it's a mafia romance how there where times you just couldn't help but laugh. I would've love to have seen a little more into there future but over all it was a great book with a great story line I highly recommend.

This is the first book I have read by this author, overall, I liked the story, most of the characters, the words did flow. However, the FMC had a hard time getting into her story line, just something about her, and I believe maybe this was planned, to make us question it, lol. She is 36 years old, and she didn’t see the signs around her for 20 years of what was going on around her. But at the same time, I understand it.
.
Some of what you will get in this read:
#emotional trauma
#mafia situation
#deadly & heated
#insta love

The FMC her name is Sawyer, 36 years old, she’s a strange one and really struggling mentally, she is lost. She just moved to New York to get a fresh start after she found out her finance of 20 YEARS was cheating on her with her best friend for a very long time. She never saw the signs. Well one day she was on the subway, and she met a man, his name is Jake, they were talking, then he was gone, chasing some guy. That’s just her luck another one ran. She encounters him again, witnesses something she shouldn't have seen, and ends up at the police station where she sees Jake once more. Something about that man, she leaves and then she is kidnapped, by Jake! Who is this Jake?

Well Jake Worthing, only good thing about this man is he is loyal to his word when given and loyalty to those he cares about. Otherwise, he is a hot corrupt cop, in with the mafia. Just someone you want to date after a 20-year breakup. He kidnapped her to protect her; remember she witnessed something she shouldn’t of seen. You need to read, if I keep talking, I will give it away. However, I have a couple favorite quotes I saved from the book:

I was a cougar, a total cougar. “I’m the older than you, “I’d never been the older woman. I was now the older woman. I didn’t know how I felt about this. “Mi like your sugar mama.” A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “You’re a year older than me. And that is not a sugar mama situation.”

Jake gave Sawyer the perfect nickname. “Little Lunatic.”

“I was taking her whether she wanted to go or not. She was mine. It was that simple. My captive. My cross to bear. My woman, mine.”

This one was an interesting team and took a while to settle into. This is my first book by Tijan though they have been on my radar for a while. It was not a hooked from the first page read, however the start did intrigue me enough to carry on and once the main portion of the story kicked in, I became fully invested in this plot and this duo.
I enjoyed the book and the pacing was good, the characters were interesting and sawyers family are great with the added comedic elemen. I will need to go back and read the first two books and see the stories for previous couple that make an appearance in this story. All in all it was enjoyable and entertaining and I look forward to reading more.

Such a great read. This book focuses on Justin's older brother Jake Worthing(formerly a cop). After his brother's death, Jake has a contract on his head and he is willing to do anything to be remove from the list and try to find out who's responsible for it. Along the way, he unexpectedly meet Sawyer(the lunatic a nickname that was given by Jake) on the subway train. Sawyer on the other hand, left Montana because of the tumultuous situation that she was dealing with. She ended up in New York because she wanted to see her cousin, to do tourist things so she can cross it off from her bucket list and most of all trying to escape the harsh reality of her failed relationship with her ex. However, it wasn't her plan to end up getting handcuffed and taken to the police station, get kidnapped, and worse of all, her name ended up on the contract as well. Jake and Sawyer are trying hard to stay alive together, protecting their love ones and also at the same time, trying to take down their enemy. Betrayal, sacrifice, and love comes with a price. A deal was made and a war was already happening. Can't wait to find out what happens next in book 4 - Creighton and Blake.