I was provided an ARC via Netgalley, however I opted to listen to the final version of the audiobook. As always all opinions are my own.
This book was published in September 2022 and is available in multiple formats via multiple retailers. This is the third and final book in The Insiders series. Unfortunately this didn't work for me. The Insiders was intense and suspenseful, The Damaged had some suspense towards the end, so I was hoping that this would end with a bang. This was lacking in the suspense and intensity I was looking for. This book was kind of all over the place, there is dialogue that is hard to follow and doesn't really make sense or add to the plot. Some of the actions of the characters after big traumatic events don't make sense, and in general I'm not a fan of how the author has the characters deal with emotions, grief, and trauma in this series. Despite all of the maneuvering and dangerous players, this was kind of slow paced and the big show down between Kash and Calhoun was not very action packed.
This book cannot be read as a standalone. This picks up where book 2 leaves off with Bailey completely shut down after events in book 2. She slowly comes out of her stupor and begins to reintegrate into her family and life. While she is grieving and basically suffering from PTSD, Kash is making moves against his grandfather. There are alot of other players involved to throw Kash and Bailey's plans off track, but it really just made the storyline messy in my opinion. I don't want to spoil anything, but I was hoping for more action and suspense. I was kind of bored despite the author throwing in some unexpected twists.
The enemy is closing in and everything is on the line.
THE REVENGE, the must-read finale to The Insiders Trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Tijan is out now!
The Revenge is the taut, edgy, sexy, explosive conclusion to The Insiders trilogy by New York Times and USA Today bestseller Tijan!
Bailey and Kash were used to living in the shadows. Now they are thrust into the public eye. Together, they can do anything, but undeniable danger and seemingly insurmountable challenges threaten the love and passion that binds them.
1. Bailey is reeling from the greatest loss she has ever suffered.
2. Enemies are closing in.
3. Even bigger secrets and twists are coming to light.
Win or lose, for Bailey and Kash, everything is on the line.
I didn’t recognize the night guard, but he straightened from the wall where he was positioned when I stepped into the hallway.
“Where is he?” I asked, before he could say anything.
His hands came together in front of him and he stood even taller. He nodded forward. “In the basement gym, ma’am.”
Ma’am.
I grinned at that, literally hearing Chrissy chuckling next to me. “You’re just like me now, girly. Ma’am. What a hoot.”
Yeah. A hoot.
I padded past him and headed for the elevator that went past the main section of the house. Going inside, I hit the basement floor, and there were two guards waiting for me.
I paused, seeing Josh as he was eyeing me. “Don’t you ever sleep?”
He grinned. “I sleep when your man sleeps.”
I narrowed my eyes.
His grin deepened. “So that’s rarely, ma’am.”
I bared my teeth. “Don’t you start with that ‘ma’am’ shit.”
He just laughed. “Would never entertain the thought, ma—”
I growled.
He amended, still chuckling, “Bailey.”
I scoffed, “Better.”
If anyone had asked me where the gym was on the Chesapeake estates, I wouldn’t have had a clue. I would’ve rolled my eyes and said something sarcastic like, “Of course there’s a gym; it’s alongside the Olympic-sized pool,” but now I knew exactly where it was, and it was right next to an Olympic-sized pool, though the pool was only two lanes wide. It wasn’t built for playing and horsing around, not like the pool outside, which had a complete slide with it.
Heading farther toward the gym, I was shocked to not hear sounds of grunting and punching from inside. Instead, the door to the pool was open.
“He had some extra energy to work off.”
I glanced sideways, not having heard Josh walking beside me.
“I honestly don’t think he’s human.”
Josh’s mouth twitched. “You might be on to something, Bailey.”
We came to the door and he stepped forward, checking the room before nodding for me to go ahead. I stepped inside, feeling the humidity and breathing in the chlorine before I noticed Josh shutting the door. A second later, I met his gaze through the door’s window, and he gave me another polite smile before pressing a button. The window frosted over.
Looking to the corner, I saw the camera’s light switch from green to red. Josh was giving us complete privacy, and only when that was all done did I seek out where Kash was. He was at the far end, turning, flipping, and coming up a few paces away, heading my way. I went to the edge and sat down, putting my feet in the water.
I didn’t have long to wait, enjoying the view as Kash’s arms were cutting through the water, his shoulders and biceps bulging from the motion.
I forgot how he was a fish in water.
His head was perfectly in alignment with his shoulders, and every fourth arm swing he raised his mouth up for air and went back down. He went past me. I thought he was going to keep going, but at the last second, his hand snaked out. He latched on to my ankle and tugged me into the water.
I shrieked before I was eating chlorine. “Agh!”
He grinned, the water pulsating between us, and he maneuvered me back until I was against the pool wall. “What are you doing down here?” His eyes were alert, taking me in as he placed both hands on either side of me, trapping me.
The buoyancy kept me floating, but then Kash was moving his legs under me and I was completely resting over him. My legs straddled his, and he hooked one ankle around the other, tugging me to open even wider for him.
Heat flared in me, boiling my blood, but when I thought Kash would bend his head, finding my throat, he didn’t. He moved his head back, sinking so he was on the same eye level as me, and he tugged at his sweatshirt. “Nice shirt.”
I grinned, feeling a laziness intertwining with the warmth in me. “It was this or a robe. This was closer.”
“Really?”
I nodded, enjoying the teasing look in his eyes. It was dark, but it was there. “Really.” My voice hitched on a soft sigh with that one. He grew sober, his head moving back so he could take me in more fully. “You look good.” His eyebrows dipped down. “You look like you again.” His hand moved, and he touched a wet finger beside my eye. “I see you again.”
My throat swelled up, my chest filled with an ache that was bittersweet.
“Woke up.”
“I can see that.” His head cocked to the side, but he didn’t say anything further. He was still holding me in place, and as he settled back, I knew he was waiting for me. He was waiting for whatever I was going to say or do, for whatever path I was going to put us on because that’s what I felt in that moment.
I was awake.
I said, “I know you’ve been waiting for me.”
That somber expression settled back on him and his hand went back to the pool wall, trapping me in again.
“I’ll never forget what they did to her, what he did to her, but I wasn’t myself. You gave me that time. You knew I would come back to me and I did. I’m here. Me. And I’m ready for the next chapter.”
Hunger licked my insides, lighting that fire again.
It grew, jumping up, and it was engulfing me.
I sunk down on Kash’s legs, and the higher that blaze built in me, the more I wanted him. But I wanted more.
I wanted blood.
About Tijan
Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that 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 later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing a new series from north Minnesota where she lives with an English Cocker she adores.
THE REVENGE, the sizzling and thrilling conclusion to the Insiders trilogy
from New York Times bestselling author Tijan is now available!
The Revenge is the taut, edgy, sexy, explosive conclusion to The Insiders
trilogy by New York Times and USA Today bestseller Tijan!
Bailey and Kash were used to living in the shadows. Now they are thrust into
the public eye. Together, they can do anything, but undeniable danger and
seemingly insurmountable challenges threaten the love and passion that binds
them.
1. Bailey is reeling from the greatest loss she has ever suffered.
2. Enemies are closing in.
3. Even bigger secrets and twists are coming to light.
Win or lose, for Bailey and Kash, everything is on the line.
Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that 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 later in life
and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers
including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and
Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing a new series from north
Minnesota where she lives with an English Cocker she adores.
"Tijan delivers on the fun, edge, and angst. Her books never fail to please!"―Kylie Scott, New York Times bestseller
The Damaged, the next unputdownable romantic suspense in The Insiders Series from New York Times bestselling author Tijan, is now available!
No longer an outsider, Bailey has a family and love that she never could’ve imagined.
Used to living in the shadows, Kash will now do anything to protect his family and his woman.
They will take on the world together…
In the meantime, stunning motives, lies, and explosive secrets continue to unfold.
1. Quinn is in jail, awaiting trial.
2. Friends might actually be enemies.
3. And what is Calhoun plotting? More importantly, will Kash discover it before it’s too late?
Everything will come to a head as passion and danger ignite in The Damaged.
Excerpt
Swish, swish. The windshield wipers were busy at work this morning. It’d been raining since late the night before, and now there was just a whole dreary feel to the day. Dark and gloomy, matching my mood. It was perfect. Swish, swish. “Are you nervous, miss?” I wasn’t responding, because this isn’t how things were supposed to be. I wasn’t supposed to wake up in the middle of the night and find the bed empty. And I wasn’t supposed to have to be escorted by one of our guards down to the apartment building’s gym to find my boyfriend , the guy I loved, the guy who was so not a secret from the entire world anymore, pummeling a boxing bag so hard that his knuckles ripped open every night. It was not right that I had to stand on the side, waiting for him to fight through his haze before he noticed I was there, and then watch as blood dripped from his hands to the floor. But all of that was happening. Because three weeks after there’d been a kidnapping attempt on me, after he had saved me, everything was just, simply, not okay. To be more frank, everything was shit. And here I was. In the back of an SUV being driven by one of my two personal bodyguards, to a school that I used to daydream about attending, while my boyfriend, that guy I had come to love so much, was heading into his own personal nightmare. Fitz, my guard, clued in on my state and didn’t ask again, but his eyes were on me . He saw. He more than saw, and I knew I’d be getting a call from Kash about two minutes after the first chance Fitz had a moment to text his boss that I was not okay. Because I wasn’t. Today was the day all my dreams were supposed to come true. Instead, I was a week late going to my graduate program and I wanted to be anywhere except where I was going. And I had no say, because the world found out in a big way I was the daughter of Peter Francis, a tech legend that I’d grown up idolizing until I found out myself, this past summer, that he was also my father. And then there was my boyfriend, Kash Colello, whose grandfather was one of the richest men in the world, but that came with strings and dangerous alliances with the dark underground of the world. My boyfriend, with his inherited wealth, now that he had come out of the shadows to the world, and whose “coming out” was even bigger than mine because of his connections and his family, was now the ninth wealthiest man in the world. Life as Peter Francis’s daughter, life as Kash Colello’s girlfriend, was a whole lot different than life had been as Bailey Hayes. There were rules and expectations and lots and lots of people watching you. So no, I was not okay.
About Tijan Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that 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 later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing a new series from north Minnesota where she lives with an English Cocker she adores.
“I can always count on Tijan to write an action-packed, intense, emotional story that will have me invested until the very last page.”—Helena Hunting, New York Times bestselling author
The Damaged, the next highly-addictive romantic suspense story in The Insiders Series from New York Times bestselling author Tijan, is now available!
No longer an outsider, Bailey has a family and love that she never could’ve imagined.
Used to living in the shadows, Kash will now do anything to protect his family and his woman.
They will take on the world together…
In the meantime, stunning motives, lies, and explosive secrets continue to unfold.
1. Quinn is in jail, awaiting trial.
2. Friends might actually be enemies.
3. And what is Calhoun plotting? More importantly, will Kash discover it before it’s too late?
Everything will come to a head as passion and danger ignite in The Damaged.
About Tijan Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that 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 later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing a new series from north Minnesota where she lives with an English Cocker she adores.
About Tijan Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that 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 later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing a new series from north Minnesota where she lives with an English Cocker she adores.
I was provided an audio ARC via Netgalley and Macmillan Audio, all opinions are my own. This book comes out tomorrow, February 8, 2008.
This was ok but it was missing the intensity and suspense that The Insiders had. The suspense kicked up towards, but I would have liked a bit more throughout the entire book. Much like the first book, this has the feel of Tijan's other mafia themed books. This installment reminded me alot of Canary, especially when it comes to how the characters deal with trauma and emotions. Our main character Bailey has been pretty traumatized after teh events that took place in book one. She has been raised to not cry or show emotion as it is a sign of weakness. She is doing everything she can to push down her emotion and avoid dealing with her trauma. As you can imagine this is not going well for her especially as she is starting a challenging masters degree program at her dream school and her life as Peter Francis' daughter and Kashton Colello's girlfriend is now public information. She is social media fodder and that is stress she doesn't need. Much like her emotions, Bailey's character is kind of all over the place in this book. She's still insanely smart when it comes to her school works, then in the next second she is completely insecure when it comes to her relationships with her family and Kash. That being said Kash while part of the story spends alot of time off of the page making moves and keeping Bailey in the dark. Matt and Bailey are building on their relationship and I liked that they are getting closer and can lean on each other.
As with book one there are some graphic sexual scenes, alcohol consumption, and violence. This was a fast, easy read. It is full of drama, and sets us up for what is sure to be an epic showdown between Kash and his grandfather.
"Obsessed from page one! Another addicting read from Tijan." -- Jennifer
L. Armentrout, #1 New York Times bestselling author
The Insiders, an all new page-turning and addictive romance from New York
Times bestselling author Tijan, is available now!
Bailey is as normal as could be, with a genius IQ and a photographic memory.
But still, normal for her. Then, things happen -- a guy breaks into her house
in the middle of the night to take her hostage. She learns her father is
billionaire tech genius Peter Francis, the same guy she’s idolized all her
life. She finds all this out when she meets dark, mysterious, and electrifying
Kashton Colello. He’s also an associate of her father’s, and he gives Bailey
two choices—go with him and meet her father or survive on her own because
those kidnappers are going to try again.
It’s a no-brainer.
After this, three things become clear for Bailey:
1. She has to live at her father’s sprawling estate, complete with bodyguards
and the best security that money can buy.
2. She’s no longer an only child. She has three siblings and has no idea what
to do with them and vice versa.
3. She is being guarded by Kash himself. Personally guarded. And there is a
lot of guarding going on there and some of it is going to drive her crazy.
A complete outsider in a world of wealth and decadence, Bailey has to find her
way within a family that has more secrets than she could have imagined. One of
these secrets could be deadly…
You can read my full review of The Insiders here. I really enjoyed this. If you enjoyed Bennett Mafia I think you will love this!
We were heading out of Chicago, and maybe another half hour or so from the
small town where my mom and I lived.
Wait. Second thought—where we used to live?
What would my mom do now? Could Chrissy Hayes remain in that house after I was
just attacked, almost taken hostage? I called my mother by all kinds of
names—Chrissy Hayes, Chrissy, or Mom. Or, well, a whole other kind of names
too, because to say she’s a character is putting it mildly. And we have an
interesting relationship to say the least.
I might be deflecting here.
Numb. I was numb. I should be pissing my pants, but instead I’m ruminating
over how I refer to my mother.
Could I stay in that house after what just happened?
I’d been planning to spend time with Chrissy, helping with the house and
working at the local computer store to make some extra money before I left for
school. But now . . . fuck if I knew.
Myriad curses went through my mind as I realized Chrissy would have to
move.
Shivers pierced me as I went over what had happened tonight, but then we were
pulling into a driveway, next to a booth. A large gate barricaded us from
moving forward.
Official police business, my tech ass.
Then again, nothing seemed official. I was told that I was being taken to my
mother, but I left with two detectives. Bright and Wilson. They introduced
themselves, then said she couldn’t see me in the hospital. They didn’t explain
why, but I was to go with them to see her.
I went.
I was in the backseat of their unmarked car a few minutes later.
Bright’s window rolled down. She flashed her badge. “We’re expected.”
The attendant nodded, hitting a button. The gate opened, showing a campus of
buildings behind it. Some made of dark red brick. Some seemingly made of
reflective windows, top to bottom. Some painted totally black. A large parking
lot sat in the middle of the buildings. “Phoenix Tech” was on a sign in front
of the first building, but we went past, heading around it and toward a
smaller building on the opposite end of the lot.
My tongue was glued to the back of my throat. We were at Phoenix Tech
headquarters.
I had yearned to get an internship there every year since fifth grade, and
then through college. I kept applying, but they kept denying. Some might say I
was being desperate. I prefer determined. It’s a quality that I feel is
honorable. Plus, I wasn’t above hoping they’d take pity on me one day. It
worked, because while I might not have been good enough to walk their
hallways, I was good enough for them to give me charity. They awarded me the
majority of my grants for undergrad, so I’d been able to go to college debt
free. I’d been expecting that to change for graduate school, but it hadn’t.
Or, well, it kind of had.
I was hired as a graduate assistant, starting in the fall, which gave me a
stipend, but the rest was covered by another scholarship from Phoenix
Tech.
Phoenix Tech was one of the world’s leading companies on cyber security. I was
going into information systems, which was close enough. A job here would be a
dream.
“My mom is here?” I asked, when Bright parked, and both her and Wilson got out
of the vehicle.
Neither answered.
Bright opened my back door and motioned for me, slipping her sunglasses over
her eyes. “It’s time for you to find out some answers.”
About Tijan
Tijan is a New York Times Bestselling author that 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 later in life
and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers
including the Fallen Crest series, Ryan's Bed, Enemies and others. She is
currently writing many new books and series with a couple English Cockers she
adores.
That was intense! I wasn't sure what to expect from this, as it is a bit different from Tijan's other books. It reminded me alot of Bennett Mafia in the sense that it is dark and suspenseful, and it has that crime family vibe as well. If you liked Bennett Mafia, I think you will really enjoy this. There are some pretty graphic scenes in here involving sex, drugs and alcohol use and trigger warnings for things you would associate with mafia and crime families.
We have Bailey, who is ridiculously intelligent and the product of a single mom. Bailey was raised not knowing who her biological father was until she is kidnapped. Her true parentage is revealed and she is given a choice to live at her father's estate under his protection or go back to her life and wait to be kidnapped again. Bailey knows everything about Peter Francis, he was her idol growing up, so naturally she is shocked to find out she has an entire family. Unfortunately, for her protection and theirs she is not being introduced to them as part of the family, but as a family friend of her personal guard Kashton Colello aka Kash. Kash is our mysterious, broody head of security who basically takes charge of every situation. As Bailey gets to know more about him she finds out that there is more to him that just the security details and cleaning up the messes of the Francis family.
The character dynamics were really interesting in this. Bailey is taken from her life and forced into a situation she didn't ask for. Her presence is not wanted by many of those involved in the running of the Francis family daily schedule, but as she gets to know them they begin to warm to her. Bailey just wants a place to belong and wants to be accepted by her new found siblings and of course her father who she has spent her life idolizing. She quickly realizes that she is very protective over her siblings, but she wants nothing to do with the glitz and glam of their posh lifestyle. Her relationship with Kash develops in an interesting way as well. They are definitely attracted to one another, but nothing happens right away. They are always getting interrupted by some shenanigans with Matt, or Kash is pulled away for work, or something happens. When they finally do get together is is steamy, but not over the top. Kash has issues opening up to Bailey, but she is determined to make it happen. Overall, I thought Tijan did a good job with the character development. I think there is more yet to come in the future books from these characters, and I look forward to seeing where she takes them.
The ending was left a bit open-ended for my tastes. I do believe this is a trilogy, so I can forgive that knowing we are getting more books. We end with a mini-cliffhanger which sets us up nicely for the start of the next book. Overall, I really enjoyed this and had a hard time putting it down once I got started.
I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Revenge by Tijan
