A Cruel Arrangement

Kings of New York

By: Tijan

Narrated by: Brooke Bloomingdale, Jason Carpenter

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.

©2023 Tijan Meyer. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Tijan makes the criminal underworld both perilous and seductive. This is sure to scratch an itch for fans of dark romance.”—Publishers Weekly

Yess!!!

This has been one of the best series book I’ve read in a long while!! Loved the narration, they did an amazing job!!!

Who doesn't love an alpha finding love

I hated how much they referred to themselves as mafia. But I enjoyed the story.

Amazing

The story was wonderful, kept me guessing and the narrators were so good! I would recommend reading

Love and acceptance

I love Tijan books and this is no acception. it's a story of finding and accepting who you are.

A Cruel Arrangement is Great

I loved this second book following Ashton and Molly. The story was told from both of their POV's. I love the world and characters that the author created. I did find the character of Molly to be frustrating, as she tended to put herself in danger, and didn't think before acting. I like how the author wrote Ashton; the way he could do what needed to be done and yet be so sweet with Molly. The narrators both did a great job; I enjoyed listening to the story. There was plenty of action, drama, emotions, and spicy scenes.

A Fitting Conclusion to the Series

A Cruel Arrangement is the second book in the Kings of New York. Although each book focuses on a different couple, they do not work as stand-alone. Questions raised in book one are answered in the second installment. In A Cruel Arrangement, readers get a story steeped in suspense, danger and romance.

A Cruel Arrangement gives us Molly and Ashton’s story. From the moment of their introduction in book one, I sensed the chemistry between them. This, along with my need for answers to the questions arising as a result of the cliffhanger, had me eager to pick up A Cruel Arrangement.

Now Ashton was cold and dangerous. He did some stuff in the first book, which made it difficult to like him. However, he redeemed himself on this installment. One could say that love mellowed him out. However, he still had that dangerous and cold side to him which was reserved for his enemies.

Molly went through a tough upbringing. She, however, did not allow it to hinder her from becoming a successful businesswoman. I had an interesting getting to know her. Although there when moments when she did some questionable things with regarding her safety.

Their relationship started out as a business arrangement. However, when the danger resulting from this arrangement escalates, placing Molly at risk, their relationship became more. They attempted to fight the attraction between them, but they failed miserably. In addition to the danger, insecurities threatened to derail the growth of their relationship.

Now, for the second reason, the reading of this installment was imperative. The answers which I so desperately needed after that cliffhanger in book one came to light. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t at all what I expected, but it provided closure for everyone it affected.

Readers receive updates regarding the couple from the previous book. It was great catching up with them and seeing how their lives had developed. 

Overall, A Cruel Arrangement delivered a satisfying conclusion to the Kings of New York series.

Narration Review
Brooke Bloomingdale and Jason Carpenter narrated this installment. The story alternates between Ashton and Molly’s POV. I did not like the male narrator’s interpretation of Ashton. His tone was dry and emotionless. I switched speeds during his narration. Not that speeding it up helped much.

The female narrator did a wonderful job with Molly. Her male voices were good, and she did a better interpretation of Ashton than her male counterpart. While I am not sure if I would listen to Jason Carpenter again, Brooke Bloomingdale’s performance is one I would recommend to listeners.

Overall Good sequel

The story was interesting and a good plot twist in the with the head nurse and the dad. The female character was a little too silly for my taste, and the male narrator sounded a bit off or was over acting. But overall, it was a good listen.

Molly!

Loved it! Molly and her switches! Can not wait for the next book in this series!!! Tijan ❤️

Glad I didn’t listen to other reviews.

The male narrator made this a little hard to listen to at times. I’m glad I powered through though because the story was so good. *spoiler* I’m so glad we got the closure for Kelly and Justin in this book. I gasped at the end of A Dirty Business when I heard and couldn’t get to this book fast enough to see if there was anything about them. Soooo glad I did. I loved how spunky Molly is and her “switch”. LOL I love the chemistry between her and Ashton.

It was okay

I really could not get behind Molly and Ashton’s story. This book fell flat for me