Canary

by Tijan

We were on the front lines in that world, the mafia world.

There was nothing soft or glamorous about it.

Who you were before no longer mattered. Names didn’t exist.

I joined anyway. I had no other choice because they took my sister.

Join. Find her. Try and make it out alive.

Then he won me in a poker game.

I hated him instantly, thinking he was like my other bosses before him.

He wasn’t. He was worse.

He wasn’t just cold. He was dead inside.

It didn’t matter that he was gorgeous.

He was the most lethal thing I’d ever met.

He was also the only person who could keep me alive, if he didn’t kill me himself.


A/N This is a 102k mafia/cartel standalone.

This is the most violent book Tijan has ever written.

Trigger warning: references to sexual violence

“Canaries sing to save lives. I sing and people die.”

Genres: Romance, Dark, Dark Romance, Mafia Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, New Adult

434 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 4, 2021

Reviews

[♂️Must Have Book Boyfriends ♂️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You’re in my bed every night.”
I held still. Was that...? Were we bargaining here? “What?”
“I’ll spare him, but you’re in my bed. I want to fuck you whenever and wherever I want. Got it?”


Canary is one of my fave books of the year! I've read it twice and I could read it again!

Holy shit, Raize is pure FIRE!!! He's what book boyfriend fantasies are made of. A sexy, dangerous, killer. An alpha asshole (my weakness), super hot, swoony and protective. I die. I'm so in love with him. I could go on and on...

This mafia/cartel romance was refreshing, suspenseful, emotional, mysterious and kept me on the edge of my seat! A page turner! I needed to know what was going to happen next. So many scenes had my heart was racing! The chemistry between Raize and Ash was insane. The banter was epic. And omg I just needed them to get it on already!! I also adored the secondary characters so much! Ahhh writing the review has me wanting to re-read again! I have loved all of Tijan's stories, but there is just something about this one!

I highly recommend this mafia/cartel romance if you love dangerous, mouth-watering book boyfriends who'll light your e-reader on fire and bad ass book girlfriends who you'll want to become besties with!


Canary by Tijan Meyer is a dark, standalone mafia/cartel romance!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3mM2cgO
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3DsgHvY
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/canary

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY REVIEW AND OTHERS: can also be found on my blog:
➽ KITTY KATS CRAZY ABOUT BOOKS

📚CANARY 📚 Is a full length mafia romance book by Tijan, spoken in 'dual perspectives.'

To say I inhaled this was an understatement. I read this at a speed which is unknown to me, like an adrenaline junky my pulse and heart rate was spiking all over the place, this book had me sitting on tenterhooks with it's twists and turns, and it's fast paced goodness I couldn't put down, this was beyond unique to what we've come to expect from this author and I loved everything she threw at me.
She has such an uncanny knack of pulling me in with every book she releases.

I'm not going to divulge much in this review because I feel its one that you need to go in blind, to be able to experience everything I felt as I read this.

Our heroine who goes by many names only found herself in this life because she wanted to save her sister from a life neither of them were subjected to previously. She has seen the ugly side from being traded and bartered for because she has a unique ability which many want to exploit, her last boss who we meet is Raize who won her in a game of cards.

Our hero is a cold, good looking ex military man, the best at what he did, and only has a select few who work for him whom he trusts embedded deep within the mafia, he's a ruthless coldblooded killer, who kills without remorse. To kill or be killed always had them on the run, never staying in one place too long.

The body count is numerous, the sex is hot, and Gus even has a spot in my heart. I really hope we get to visit this world again..

                  

[Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put it down!



The following ratings are out of 5:
Romance: 💌🥂🌹💍💋
Heat/Steam: ☕️🥓🍳🔥🥵
Story/Plot: 🔪💣🧨⚔️🩸
World building: 🌃🏞🌆🌄🌅
Character development: 👱🏻‍♀️🧔🏻‍👩🏼‍🦰👱🏼‍♂️👩🏻

The heroine: Girl (a.k.a. Brooke, a.k.a. Carrie, a.k.a. Ash…) - She got into the “life” to find her sister who was apparently sheltered and fell in with a dodgy boyfriend, drugs and ended up disappearing. Girl has gone through a few bosses, been traded, sold and her current boss, Raize won her in a card game. She has a talent and that makes her valuable to Raize.

The Hero(es): Raize - He is a mobster that leads a crew of people. He is stone cold and kills without remorse. Though he always has a reason when he kills someone. He entertains women on the regular at his home, always the same type of girl. They like him and like to party and are gone come morning.

The Story: Raize acquired “Girl” as he refers to her, for her special talent. He treats her like any of his other men, and she has learned to keep quiet unless asked and to not get too close to anyone because they might be dead before long.

This was a very different kind of book than Tijan usually writes. Though she has been moving this way for a while, First with Carter Reed, then the Crew series and especially with the Bennett Mafia. Though this book definitely has the highest body count attached. It is a wild adventure and a road trip across the country leaving bodies in their wake.

There is a terrific cast of characters in this book, including mafia kingpin Roman, enforcers Jake and Cavers, Marco from the Cartel, and the dog Gus. I really liked this book, though I do tend to like dark books like this with a lot of killing. I guess some people like violent video games and I like violent storylines in my mafia romance novels.

I really enjoyed the fast pace of this and literally read it straight through overnight. I liked how they went from one situation to the next seamlessly and how the heroine was solid and strong, yet fragile. She has been through so much on her own and finding a family in these people she got thrown in with was a perfect storyline.

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

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[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I’ve been looking forward to reading Canary for quite some time, as I’ve seen lots of great reviews… but here’s the thing- personally, I like a little mafia with my romance. This was the opposite, a little romance with my mafia. I felt the romance was so weak, and the majority of the story was mafia based with a ton of violence and kills. I think I was more in the mood for mafia-lite and didn’t get what I was looking for. Objectively this is not a bad book and it kept me intrigued throughout, so that’s something!

Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Narrators: CJ Bloom & Connor Crais
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Mafia Romance
Length: 10h 53m

[↬ Ⓛ]

dnf @52%

tijan stated its enemies to lovers trope, but that;s cap. more like employee & boss situationship with benefits type of shit. no chemistry and their relationship is lacking. tijan is overrated, i really dont care and relate to her writing at all. thank you, next <3

[Kate V · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 50%

I'm not sure if I am reading a different book than everyone else that have reviewed this but there is literally ZERO romantic connection between the MCs. Throwing in the towel.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

The women in most books of this genre usually lie somwhere in the range of a doormat to a fucking carpet. Ash Canary Raize was a refreshing character and I stan a queen who knows her self worth. Raize was just chef's kiss. The plot was interesting and kept me on the edge till the end and the cover is fucking awesome.

[Antonella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Carter Reed undefeated!!! it is the best mafia book by this author..
because this was something else ...

[❤️ Nanda ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh boy... Where do I start?
I really liked this book, and I'm one of those who loves Tijan's writing style.
It's really different and the way she put out thoughts and ideas, it's pretty unique in my opinion.

Girl/Brooke/Carrie/Ash/Canary.
The FMC here used a bunch of different names in her crusade to find her sister, and I think that she lost herself along the way...
She has a skill that attracted the attention of a few mafia's bosses, and after a year, she ended up working for Raize.

Raize was THE guy in this particular mafia/cartel world... He was not the big boss, but he was the most cold, heartless and skilled killer.

I'll be honest and say that I loved the world, the action, the betrayal between bosses, the fights and the twists and turns in the story.
I also loved Raize, Gus, Abraham and Roman. 😁😁

I really enjoyed the pace and the changes and also the chance to have both POVs... Not only the FMC.

But...

This is suppose to be a mafia romance, and as a romance, i missed a loooot of things! Don't get me wrong here... Ash and Raize start their "relationship" around 35/40% but there's nothing to explain their connection... There's basically no sex scene described on page,  they barely exchanged a couple of words here and there before they start to have (faded to black) sex. And she worked with him and lived with him for more then a month, seeing and listening to him "partying hard" with other women. So it wasn't a love at first sight either

I don't know you, but to me it's hard to connect with the couple if they didn't talk, or if their connection start as a physical one (which is the case here), but you don't see the details of said physical connection. And yep... I want all the dirty sex talk here! Sue me! 😂

Near the end there's a couple of more detailed sex scenes, but to me it was a little too late at that point...

He was a fierce protector of her and she remembered me a loooot of Mac  from Ryan's Bed, with her detachment of everyone else and her turned off feelings. I loved Mac, but here seemed out of place.

I don't know how to explain this review better, because as I've said, i did liked the story and the plot but something was missing and I think it was the connection between them.

I loved Gus though!
Team dogs all the way! 😂

And the final chapters and epilogue were just perfect to me!

[Jessica Alcazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book just a few hours ago but I’m not ready to review. Don’t worry, it’s a phenomenal 5 STAR read, but it’s a big story. There are things I want to say but more importantly, there are things I don’t, because, spoiler. Did I say this is a big story? So I have to think …

I’ll be back, but in the mean time ... http://mybook.to/canary

Okay, I’m back, and I have thoughts. I’ve listened to the audio and read the book and now I’m blinking even more. There are details that sometimes slip thru a reading that one might catch when listening to a story and vice-versa. That isn’t exactly what happened with me, but I did come to the realization that when I told you this was a big story, I didn’t know the half of it until I was done with the audio. And, if I’m being honest, I’m going to go out on a limb and say it might have been a bit too big.

This story is in constant motion. There are moving parts at every turn, which means there are plot points coming at us left and right, least of which is a romance plot. That last part was disappointing as heck for me but it’s a Tijan trait that is constant in her writing as of late. So I can’t really fault Tijan for writing exactly how she always writes but I can cry about it in my corner LOL That’s why I say it’s a phenomenal 5 star read but I need to add the disclaimer that it’s a Tijan read so if you don’t know her writing, good luck. Okay, so that’s that on that LOL

Now, the rest of it. It’s a lot kids and some of it is literally thrown at you and not developed fully, imo. I have never paused and restarted a chapter so many times in the history of reading than I did for this book. I even did it with the audio after I’d already read the book! The amount of people to keep track of was staggering and then the end/reveal >>> #fuckery (I kept thinking “what am I supposed to DO with all of this??” as I cried for the girl who was then AND is now!! #doublefuckery)

None of this changes my stance on this book’s 5-star rating. I know there are tons of you who might read this and think I’m crazy but that just means you don’t know Tijan and how she writes. Which brings me to the last thing I want to say. I think Tijan is a unique writer, more than that, she’s one of a kind. That being said, her style and voice are uniquely hers. There are no authors out there that I could say “if you enjoyed so and so, you’d love Tijan”, so tread carefully if you are new to her. I would hate for you to pick up one of her more Tijan(y) books as your first one :) Do with that information what you will!

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars. This started off really interesting for me, but it got old kind of fast. Tijan gave a warning on how violent this book was and while it was violent, it was done in a pretty generic way. There were just lots of repeated scenes of Raize shooting someone in the head or him shooting a whole bunch of people who were attacking him. It was tedious, which isn't something you should be saying about gun violence. I also never really got into the romance and Ash's whole backstory was pretty anti-climactic. The other thing that bothered me was that the book was told through Ash's first person POV for, like, half the book and then all of a sudden we got a few first person Raize POVs and they sounded EXACTLY the same. Overall, this was slightly entertaining, but definitely not a book would read again.

[FallingInBooktopia · Rating 5 out of 5]

**May contain spoilers**
Rating: 5 stars
🖤🖤Dark Mafia Romance 🖤🖤

I've been itching for another Tijan read for a while now and let me tell you, this one came right when I needed it and was everything I hoped and more. I had no doubt that I was going to love this book and Tijan did not disappoint. I believe this one is even better than her previous mafia novels with a lot more darkness, bloodshed and emotional turmoil.

Plot:
The story has to do with a girl known by many names, depending on who Mafia boss you ask. She is either Brooke, Carrie, Ash or simply Girl as she is introduced in the first chapters of the book. She has entered the Mafia circle for the sole purpose of finding answers for her sister's disappearance.
After moving from boss to boss she ends up under the employment of Raize, also known as Clay or "The Scooper", who uses her for the special talent she possesses. He is a ruthless, cold Mafia boss who has no remorse about killing anyone that gets in his way.

Ash (Brooke/Carrie/Girl):
I loved Ash and how strong and resilient she was, but at the same time she had this vulnerability that she tried to hide from everyone else. I really felt for Ash's emotional turmoil throughout the book. Her everyday life involved violence, bloodshed and death. She constantly struggled to control her emotions because showing weakness was surely to lead to her death. The key to her survival was to keep quiet and follow orders, which usually involved using her special ability. Due to this ability she acquired the street name "Canary".

Raize (Clay/The Scooper):
Raize was the ruthless killer who took down anyone in his path and the cold mafia boss that did not forgive even the slightest indiscretion from the people under his command. However, a slight softness was evident from the beginning toward Ash, which made him more human and showed his own vulnerabilities later on in the story.

Secondary characters:
Tijan included amazing secondary characters to the story that helped showcase and support the main couple.
Jake and Cavers were among the few trusted soldiers of Raize, even though it took some time and heartbreak to get to the loyal crew that they are in the end of the book. Jake the more witty and easygoing and Cavers the more serious and quiet of the group.
And I definitely cannot forget to mention Gus, the adorable doggy that made every scene feel like there was so much cuteness overload.
Also, I really liked the relationship between Raize and his old associate Abraham, as well as Raize's dynamic with his boss Roman Marakov. Both recognized the strength and ability of the other and they showed their mutual respect, which was something unusual between a Mafia boss and his soldier.

Romance:
The romance between Ash and Raize did not happen instantly which was something I appreciated. In the beginning Ash didn't even acknowledge Raize as anything other than her Mafia boss and a man with a dead soul that terrified her. Later on she started questioning herself about the growing attraction she felt for him, because one day he was murdering people in cold blood and the next he was saving her life and showing softness towards her.
Let me tell you I fell in love with Raize right along side Ash. He is a hot alpha male who is so protective of the people he loves, in this case Ash, and will stop at nothing to keep them safe.
I really loved the way their relationship developed throughout the story and the ending was the perfect icing on the cake that completed their romance for me.

Tijan is the absolute best! I can't recommend this enough! 5 star read!

[Corina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started strong, and I loved the dynamic between him and her. Canary had a different feel to it which I liked, but the last quarter of the book started to sizzle and I skimmed at times.

In the end it's more like 3.5 star

[Mindy Lou's Book Review · Rating 5 out of 5]

So freakin good! The minute I started this book I was hooked. The way this author writes just sucks me in every time. I notice she can have things about a book that normally would make me hesitate but when I do read them, those hesitations don't even exist anymore. I think it's time I do a binge read of all her books I haven't read yet.

I'll mention a few things that made this book a top favorite of mine. First is both the main characters. Raize is the kind of hero that I find fascinating. He's in the mafia, so he is obviously very dangerous. Not only is he dangerous, he's one of the most dangerous members. Sorry, I find that extremely appealing. I don't even want to try and dissect why that is.

He's kind of closed off, so you are left trying to dissect his actions at first. I also like that part because I can twist his actions to the way I want when we are left guessing. If you don't like that? Don't worry, later you get to see him open up to Ash. When he does...swoon!

Ash is one of my favorite types of heroines. She plays it pretty cool. She has her issues with things that happen, but she still plays it cool. She's the kind of heroine that other men pay attention to but in a good way. That's probably vague but you'll understand when you read it. I found myself on the edge of my seat waiting for these two to start something and I had no clue how that was going to come about. I liked that.

A few of the inner circle side characters also made this book more. I think they added a lot to Raize and Ash's story. Honestly, I don't think there was anything I didn't like. There was one thing that happened in the start that I didn't love, but found out later it wasn't what I thought it was. NO spoilers so that's all I'm saying. This book was bloody and fantastic!

[Marina Jauregui · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh pushed to get to 65%. This was a flop for me. Characters were dull and robotic. The female and male lead were awful. Spicy scenes needed more details. Felt rushed and plot was boring!!!

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5🌟

My fav part of this book was definitely the action. One thing it didn't lack was the tension, the twist and turns, the extra bloody murders, the secondary characters and one adorable dog named Gus. I mean they kidnapped the poor dog after he bit the h but he made up for it and was extra cute and protective🥺

My least fav part was the romance between the MCs bc i just didn't feel their connection.

The h(or girl,she has so many names through this book) works for the H (or Raize) who works for the Russian mafia and is one of their hitmen. She is also called Canary bc she can tell when someone is lying, she has a gift(kinda like the Mentalist)and is also looking for her missing sister which is the whole point why she is working for the H.
Their romance starts out of nowhere tbh, they have strictly professional relationship and then bam one day they have sex so after that there wasn't any development, they are just together and saying iloveyou 🙄 I felt like there wasn't much balance between the romance and the side plot with the mafia stuff and Raize's history so the romance took a backseat and all they did was having sex.

But i didn't mind that much because they did have some cute moments and the secondary characters+Gus were hilarious.

“Hey, man,” Jake said, gesturing around the room. “We’ll help. We’re like the Criminal Squad. You know, we’re elite and tight and…” Gus lifted his head from where he’d jumped up on one of the beds, his tail thumping on the blanket. “We have our own Rocket, except he’s not hella smart and he can’t assemble weapons, but he’s the literal dog to beat in a fight. Which might not be a good thing, but you know, works for us.
Gus woofed.
      “Gus knows I’m right.” Jake went over and sat on the edge of the bed.
      Gus wiggled close, putting his head in Jake’s lap. So much petting. Gus was in heaven.

Did i mention how much i loved Gus?😩😍

There was a mention of the Bennet family and i got so excited bc i thought we'll get to see Kai again😭 still waiting for his brother's books tho😖 and also Roman was such an intriguing characher i really hope we'll get a book about him.👀

[The Romantic Rush Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

My love for Tijan stories is more than just a guilty pleasure- it’s pretty much an obsession. Not only do I love Tijan for all the yummy story traits I’ve come to expect, but more so, I love Tijan’s stories just for all the things I CAN’T expect. Sure, Tijan has a “very particular set of skills” that always enchant me- her propensity for addictively high angst new adult romance, the ways in which she weaves the highly familiar first love saga with highly original, bold and gritty contexts, the quirky heroines she writes and the mysterious, edge yet super devoted and swoony heroes she pairs them with, and the over the top drama infused with just the right emotional complexity. All of those things make me love Tijan- I expect them. But what keeps me coming back for more are stories like Canary- because Tijan has an uncanny ability to deliver on her trademarks while also also surprising me at every turn. Delivering something DIFFERENT every single time. And while I’ve read and loved Tijan mafia before, Canary still feels like that Tijan unpredictable something-different. It’s Bold, disorienting and mysterious, dark and twisting- Canary is as much suspense as it is romance, a complicated puzzle to dismantle and reassemble, one with a surprisingly emotional punch, and I adored every word.

The beginning of this story is both disorienting and intriguing- we’re thrust straight into the mystery of our heroine, first to us known only as “Girl.” She’s involved in a dangerous world, with dangerous people, and she’s full of secrets- her identity, her purpose, even her name aren’t yet known to us. She’s currently in the employ of the dark and alluring Raize- a cold mafia killer and the man who acquired her in a poker game. And Tijan holds nothing back from their world. Though not the darkest articulation of mafia violence I’ve read, this is certainly a deeper dive from the likes of Tijan. We soon learn no one or nothing is as it seems- as we’re immersed in a high stakes game of chess between various rivals, all while figuring out just who we can trust. And just what is behind our Canary’s story.

Intentionally so, Tijan keeps us just on the outskirts of knowledge. Secrets, betrayal, deception, and lies permeate every corner- and even though most of the story is told through Canary’s POV, she spends much of the story being a mystery, her own internal monologue puzzling and full of misdirection as she works through her own baggage. Raize is a delicious leading man- darker than your average Tijan hero but still with so much swoon. The kind of man who protects and loves nothing- but his girl. And as Canary starts to metaphorically sing off the page, she shines. This is where Tijan feels familiar, and welcomedly so. She’s a bit quirky, reserved, mired in her own pain, closed off yet vulnerable, but incredibly strong. Her emotionally complexity, her ethos amidst the darkness of the story is the most compelling part. And her chemistry with Raize feels both consuming but inexplicable- like two magnets we don’t fully see the mechanics of. But it works, compellingly so.

Their story did take me longer than normal to dive in to, but this book has a different tone. One that aligns to the narrative, but one that felt new to me for Tijan. It’s quite stoic- subdued emotionally, reads almost like a mystery thriller more so than a romance. There are a lot of twists and turns, and you spend a lot of the book feeling just on the outside of clarity. But both the detached tone and misdirective story telling really put you into the frame of mind of our characters- and once I settled into it, I couldn’t put the story down. There’s a lot of action though, an inception like maze of mafia games. All in all, I love dipping my toe into something new from a favorite author, and Canary was a great dip.

[Ren || Reading What I Want · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️ 𝙀𝙙𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩. ⭐️

Genre/Tropes: Mafia
POV: 1st, Dual
Standalone
STEAM LEVEL: 🔥🔥🔥

Whelp, Tijan has done it. I now have another favorite Tijan man and his name is Raize. I’m claiming him so too bad. Heck, I’ll claim Ash as well, because I adored her too. Let’s just throw in Cavers, Jake, and Gus as well 🤷🏻‍♀️

Love. That’s the only thing I can think. It had everything I love in a Tijan romance but so much more. More violence. More steam. More secrets. I was so deeply immersed in this story time slipped away.

Girl, Carrie, Ash, Canary is an anomaly. She chose to enter the life and she found herself with Raize. As their ragtag team entered Cartel wars and ran from assassins, I just couldn’t get enough! Something about Raize’s intense states and Ash’s uncanny ability to detect truths was just phenomenal. This one was heavy on emotions and I FLOVED it. We also get quite a few chapters from Raize and I was here for it.

Seriously, Tijan is my obsession. Her FMCs are quirky and odd and her MMCs are strong and unforgiving. That combination is addictive. And the cover? Gorgeous. I need this one on my shelf!

[Priskah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,0 ✨✨✨

[Sabi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unpopular Opinion
There are far more better mafia/cartel romance out there!



The thing I liked: The Cover. It is simple yet pretty.

The Things I Didn't Like:

⚫ The most boring intimate scenes I've read. There wasn't any spice.

⚫ No enemies to lovers vibe whatsoever.

⚫ The Male Lead was so... Meh. 😒😑 I was excited for his pov but it only made the novel longer, not interesting.

⚫ The lead was kinda naive and not that tough, as she thought she was. She was supposed to be in the mafia for a year when the story starts. But, at every little thing, her reaction was "I didn't know this". Also, yes, we know the male lead makes you feel secure, you don't have to repeat it in every chapter.

I was leaning forward going on with 2 stars, because even though I didn't like it, I thought maybe others might. But, then the epilogue happened and I lost it. So freaking cheesy!

[Bookgasms Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tijan is the Queen of writing that kindle crack that keeps you turning the page until the very end. Canary was a very compelling read. There was SO much going on that it felt like one fast paced adrenaline ride from beginning to end!

I really enjoyed Raize. He was so addicting and sexy. I feel like this author writes her male leads with that special something where the minute they come on the page, the reader sits up at attention not wanting to miss a beat. Without revealing any spoilers the heroine in this story has a hard life with a very unique skill. But with Raize at her side, and a team she can call her own, she finds her place and a sense of purpose.

Overall, this was a different kind of book from this author but one that was very memorable. 4 stars! ~Ratula 

[Ainhoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not going to make sense to anyone, not even me, but I enjoyed the book and didn’t enjoy the characters so much.

I loved Gus.

I liked the writing style so much.

I didn’t like her.

I didn’t even like Raize tbh.

Until the last moment I was wondering how Tijan was going to deliver a hea with the plot. She gives zero fucks about it, she just delivers 🤣🤍

I don’t know how I ended up liking this, despite so many things making me cringe.

Thanks for coming to see my nonsense folks ✌🏻

[Luisa KJTJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

People may kill me for this review but I have to be honest I love tijan ive read every book several on my kindle that I read and read again I’m on Facebook groups of people that love her and her writing, i still get the same joy out of a few of her books I’ve read several times! And honestly mason sam and Logan made me love reading again after years of reading the odd book!
This was just so so boring….I’m sorry 🤦🏼‍♀️ I loved Carter Reed and Cole….was expecting good things from this being another mafia book of hers….. I love a mafia book I even love really really dark books but I felt like the first 12/13 chapters was just all over the place she didn’t make me fall in love with the characters the story was boring. I put it down I picked it up I put it down I picked it up everything distracted me if it were any other author I would have deleted it and gone on to something else but I kept at it because I love her books! I hate leaving bad reviews or very little stars this would have been 1 star but I bumped it to a 2 because it’s tijan
Sorry! 🥱🤦🏼‍♀️😖

[Jac K]

DNF @ 48%
This had potential but was boring. The blurb is a smidge misleading… Girl/Carrie/Ash is undercover working for the mob to try and track down her missing sister when she’s “sold” to Raize…. But she’s not really sold… it’s more like she’s reassigned to his crew because she’s one of his “soldiers”.

My problem is nothing is really going on and the characters are all flat. We’re told how cold/cruel Raize is but not shown that at all. It’s obvious he’s interested in the h but doesn’t have much personality. We’re also told the h is so brave and tough, yet all we’re shown is her crying, having panic attacks, and begging for people’s lives. One in particular (Jake) immediately after she just overheard him talking to the bad guy about taking her out. IMO it made her TSTL and discredited anything badass at all.

Bottom Line- I’m bored…there’s little action, no chemistry or connection. I hate it when the badass anti-H is paired with a wimpy h. There was almost this weird PNR-feeling thing going on with… the human lie detector/psychic thing, room temperature fluctuating with emotions, eyes changing colors, growling, and her “episode” that red like an Omega going into heat… that didn’t fit the mafia theme.

[Pavlina Read more sleep less blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally!! Love her books

 

  

[Jeeves Reads Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brutal and steamy

Okay, so this is going to be a weird 5-star review, but just bear with me for a minute, lol. I wasn't sure that I even liked this book for the first 30% or so - I was more fascinated than anything, and it definitely took awhile to wrap my head around the characters. This wastes zero time jumping right in; that blurb is pretty misleading, and our couple has actually been working together for over 6 months when the story begins (she is NOT his captive). I really wasn't a fan of the antihero at the start, and there's very little overtly "romantic" content. But every time I debated setting this aside, I realized that I didn't want to. I wanted to see what happened next. And somewhere along the way, this brutal, exceedingly violent, mafia suspense novel transitioned into a subtle and unique love story... it just happens to feature a coldblooded killer as the leading man.

The story follows a woman, let's call her Ash, who has entered the mafia world for... reasons. She's on a mission, and she's put up with a lot along the way - she's been raped, she's become desensitized to bloodshed, and violence happens on a daily basis. Her newest boss is the best one so far, not because he's particularly nice (he's not), but because he doesn't treat her poorly. She mostly tries to stay out of his way, but a trip forces them to spend time together - and that changes the whole dynamic. It's not long before Ash is seeing the kinder side of Raize, and the silent killer seems to become more fond of her as well. As the two fight for survival, they bond in unexpected ways.

This is as much a suspense novel as it is a romance, with a SIGNIFICANT focus on the darker side of mafia life. I couldn't even begin to list the number of violent scenes, and there's triggering content on every page. BUT not between our antihero and heroine. Raize doesn't talk a lot, but he speaks volumes with his actions - and he's actually got a sweet side buried deep, deep inside of him. Very deep. Once this reaches the halfway point, the romance becomes more central to the story, and I loved the quiet moments between these two. It's steamy and intense and oh so brutal, but absolutely immersive and completely engrossing. I can definitely name some issues that I have with it (please, ladies, don't bang hot killers without protection when you know they had frequent drug-filled sex parties in the days before you got together), but I actually really enjoyed this. It's not a safe or easy story in any way, but its distinct vibe makes the romance shine.

Audio note: I also have mixed feelings about the audio, go figure. I switched back and forth between the ebook and audio, and it's clear that the book was edited some more after the audio was completed - there are a few notable discrepancies between the two. You also shouldn't be too excited about Connor Crais - only about 10% of the book is told from his perspective, the rest is narrated by CJ Bloom, whose peppy, upbeat voice really doesn't match the tone of the book. She also voices a few Mexican characters, and... yeah, no. Not a great idea. But it's easy to listen to and mostly well done, so I did enjoy the audio for the most part. This is steamy and violent throughout, so I'm not sure that I'd recommend it as a workday listen. The runtime is also significantly longer than a workday, so it'll likely run over two days. So, I do recommend the audio overall, but it's not without its own issues.

[Sentranced Jem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book by Tijan? YAY!!!!

UPDATE:

4.5 stars

This was by far the bloodiest and most violent book I've ever read by Tijan and I enjoyed every moment of it!
Gosh I love Tijan's books so much and this just proved why I love her writing.

[Serena Akeroyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dark, gritty, intensely passionate mafia romance—just like I love them! CANARY is one of 2021’s must reads!

[Ira · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I’m sorry Miss Tijan, you created the fantastic Carter Reed and Emma, long before this book on the horizon 😳😬.

I wish, we’ve got less Girl/Carrie/Ash’s POV and more Raize’s, because her silly inner dialogues made me bonkers, also the story plot is rather weak 🥴.

Oh well, still nice to get another Miss Tijan’s mob story 😘.

This book on KU 😍.

[lia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhere between 2-2.5ish ⭐

Errmmm… I kinda struggled with this I’m not gonna lie. It’s not bad, per se, and I’m sure a ton of people enjoyed/will enjoy this and might even love it. I guess this just didn’t work out for me the way I thought it would. I love my mafia romances and I love them gritty, dirty, suspenseful, and hawt and this did touch on those things but still left me unsatisfied in a way. The MCs personalities were borderline dull, the conversations monotonous (the few that were in this since this book is probably 80% inner monologues — snooze), the romance lacking (like where was the build-up of their relationship?? They went from cold and all business-like to screwing each other to confessing their love with no real build-up, it didn’t make sense to me), the spicy/sex scenes were undone/unfinished (like they would just fade to black right in the middle of the sex scene like wtf lol which leaves you highly unsatisfied), and the plot/twist/h’s big reveal was anti-climactic and kind of a letdown. Also, these characters go through a personality transplant along the way, with no real development to it. And there were scenes that I wanted to see fleshed out, but were just told instead of shown (like the scene gets cut abruptly and then next scene is already a different setting with the H/h just explaining what happened and what they felt etc. during the previous scene — if that makes sense. Idk about ya’ll, but I’m a show rather than tell kinda gal and would’ve appreciated actually experiencing certain scenes instead of being told about them after they happen). Yeah, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was expecting this to be, but this ain’t it.





**MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW**


Safety Gang:
-TW: murders (like, a lot of it), violence, sexual assault/rape of h (off-page), drug abuse, sex trafficking, prostitution, kidnapping, death of side characters, coercion, kidnapping, explicit sex
-Safe sex: Nope — no condoms used, no STD talk, no mention of birth control
-H age (?), h age around 20
-No virgins; H supposedly used to sleep around a lot, h was mention to have had lots of sex with her ex bf (her form of coping mechanism before) and she was raped by her first boss
-No cheating
-No sex/intimate scenes with other people, although at the beginning the H would have a few women around at his place (where the h also stays since she works for him) whenever he partied and the h would see the women go home the next day; it was implied he’d have sex parties with them (although when the h mentioned it to him after they got together, he said that he had to have a certain reputation at that time and that the women were just cleaning his room, but it was unclear if he was joking or not since I feel it was said in a joking manner? Idk)
-No major OW/OM drama
-HEA with epilogues (marriage and babies — although again, they were just told of and not shown)