Review: Stalking His Mate by Dianna Love

Stalking His Mate by Dianna Love
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided and audible code in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy this series.  This is book 3, and follows Rory who is a member of a black ops shifter organization.  Shifters are out in the public, but this group has abilities and power above and beyond normal shifters.  Rory can shift into a jaguar who he calls Ferrel, and he hasn't really come to terms with the fact that he has this power and can shift.  The Gallize as the group is known, suffer from a curse if they don't mate by a certain age, and Rory has decided that even if he is lucky enough to find a mate, he won't.  This causes a major problem with his ability to heal, which becomes a real problem as he is always diving head first into dangerous missions.

Siofra was captured at age 6, and held as a slave for most of her life.  She only knows what she has been told by the Cadell's (enemies of the Gallize), and her adoptive brother who is another captive.  Siofra is not a shifter, but she has power of her own, and it chooses to show itself at odd times.  When she is attacked by one of her captors, her powers surge and she is able to escape with her "brother's" help.  While on the run, she encounters Rory, and they connect in an unexpected way.  From that point forward they are both connected to each other lives whether they like it or not.  Siofra needs help finding her brother, and Rory is committed to helping her.

This was a fast paced, entertaining installment to the series.  We get updates on the characters from the previous installments as well as meet characters from future books.  You can read them all as standalones.   I've read the series completely out of order and I'm following along just fine.   Dianna gives a recap on how the Gallize came to be and their mythology in this book so you aren't completely lost.    I really appreciate that in series, especially with standalones or books in long running series.  

This has a little bit of everything.  It has a nice paranormal aspect with the shifters and magic, it has romance, good character development, action, and great pacing.  The characters have to face internal struggles as well as external struggles.  Rory and Siofra had to deal with their trust in each other as well as their ability to rely on others.  They both had to come to terms with their own abilities while also dealing with a ton of stressful situations.  

I have both read and listened to these books and can't recommend them enough in either format.  I really love the premise of this series and can't wait to read the next one!

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Review: The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer

The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided a copy of the audiobook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this. I loved Saving Meghan, and this has a very similar structure and characters to that book. The plot develops in much the same way, you aren't quite sure if Penny's medical condition is made up or all in her head. We also have the strong-willed, devoted mother character who wants to advocate for her daughter and we have the doctor who has some of his own struggles. There is some family drama that takes you off the scent of the case and throws you for a loop. What I thought was different and and an interesting choice was to narrate the book from the perspective of the older brother Jack and the mother Grace. Jack is a film student and using his sister's story as the basis for the movie he is writing. I felt that both of the narrators did a wonderful job with the book. January LaVoy is an outstanding narrator and amongst my favorite audio narrators. She did a wonderful job with the characters, giving voices and accents to each one as appropriate. She always give such emotion to each scene. Dan Bittner was a great addition to Jack’s chapters; his chapters genuinely felt like he was writing letters to his kid sister through the entire ordeal. You could really feel the emotion from his vantage as Penny’s case developed.

I've always been quite fascinated by the multiple personality or disassociative identity disorder diagnosis after having watched Sybil many years ago. It makes for a great plot device in books and movies, but I do know that it is still a very controversial diagnosis amongst actual professionals. I thought it made for a great basis for this medical thriller, especially if you are looking for an unreliable narrator character in a murder investigation. I thought the mental health aspects of this book were portrayed respectfully and well researched. I can't speak to how realistic it is, I'm sure some things were fictionalized to keep things moving in the book. I also thought the author did a great job with the reveal at the end. I didn't see it coming until it happened. I love that in a thriller. I was thoroughly convinced several times that I knew what the ending was going to be, despite the fact that those endings would have been predictable and unsatisfying. I was pleasantly surprised when we were led down several different paths meant to mislead and confuse the reader.

I loved the audiobook version of this. I had a hard time taking my headphones out while I was listening to this. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next in Penny's case and if she really had DID or if she was making it all up. I also wanted to know if she was innocent or if she couldn't remember committing this horrible crime. If you liked Saving Meghan, I think you would like this as well.

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Blog Tour: The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff

 

About the Book:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris comes a riveting tale of courage and unlikely friendship during World War II.
1942. Sadie Gault is eighteen and living with her parents in the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate the ghetto, Sadie and her pregnant mother are forced to seek refuge in the perilous tunnels beneath the city. One day Sadie looks up through a grate and sees a girl about her own age buying flowers.
Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother, who has developed close alliances with the occupying Germans. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street. Upon closer inspection, she realizes it’s a girl hiding.
Ella begins to aid Sadie and the two become close, but as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds. Inspired by incredible true stories, The Woman with the Blue Star is an unforgettable testament to the power of friendship and the extraordinary strength of the human will to survive.

Review:

The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.  This book was publised on May 4, 2021.  Purchase information can be found at the bottom of this post.

I enjoyed the alternating perspectives of Sadie and Ella.  They both had very different experiences during the German invasion of Kraków.  Sadie's family is Jewish and is of course treated terribly by the Nazi's.  Her family went from living a decent life, to being forced to move into the Jewish Ghetto where her parents were employed as hard laborers until they went into hiding in the sewers.  Meanwhile, Ella comes from a wealthy family and her stepmother decides to befriend and entertain the Germans.  Ella wants nothing to do with them, and when she notices Sadie at the sewer grate one day, she decides she will help her as a small act of rebellion.  

I haven't read Jenoff's previous books, though I do plan to.  This has more of a YA feel to it, as both Sadie and Ella are both a bit immature and impulsive given the gravity and impending doom of their situation.  It was hard to believe given some of the actions that they took that they weren't discovered earlier.  Then again, teenagers are impulsive and often act without fear of consequences.  It is hard to say what anyone would really do given the life and death circumstances people actually were forced to deal with during WWII.  I do appreciate that this is inspired by real people that survived the Nazi occupation of Poland in the sewers and those who helped them.

Overall this is a good book and I liked it.  I liked that it was told from different perspectives and that it was set somewhere different.  I also really enjoyed the ending.

Excerpt:

Kraków, Poland

June 2016

The woman I see before me is not the one I expected at all.

Ten minutes earlier, I stood before the mirror in my hotel room, brushing some lint from the cuff of my pale blue blouse, adjusting a pearl earring. Distaste rose inside me. I had become the poster child for a woman in her early seventies—graying hair cut short and practical, pantsuit hugging my sturdy frame more snugly than it would have a year ago.

I patted the bouquet of fresh flowers on the nightstand, bright red blooms wrapped in crisp brown paper. Then I walked to the window. Hotel Wentzl, a converted sixteenth-century mansion, sat on the southwest corner of the Rynek, Kraków’s immense town square. I chose the location deliberately, made sure my room had just the right view. The square, with its concave southern corner giving it rather the appearance of a sieve, bustled with activity. Tourists thronged between the churches and the souvenir stalls of the Sukiennice, the massive, oblong cloth hall that bisected the square. Friends gathered at the outdoor cafés for an after-work drink on a warm June evening, while commuters hurried home with their parcels, eyes cast toward the clouds darkening over Wawel Castle to the south.

I had been to Kraków twice before, once right after communism fell and then again ten years later when I started my search in earnest. I was immediately won over by the hidden gem of a city. Though eclipsed by the tourist magnets of Prague and Berlin, Kraków’s Old Town, with its unscarred cathedrals and stone-carved houses restored to the original, was one of the most elegant in all of Europe.

The city changed so much each time I came, everything brighter and newer—”better” in the eyes of the locals, who had gone through many years of hardship and stalled progress. The once-gray houses had been painted vibrant yellows and blues, turning the ancient streets into a movie-set version of themselves. The locals were a study in contradictions, too: fashionably dressed young people talked on their cell phones as they walked, heedless of the mountain villagers selling wool sweaters and sheep’s cheese from tarps laid on the ground, and a scarf-clad babcia who sat on the pavement, begging for coins. Under a store window touting wi-fi and internet plans, pigeons pecked at the hard cobblestones of the market square as they had for centuries. Beneath all of the modernity and polish, the baroque architecture of the Old Town shone defiantly through, a history that would not be denied.

But it was not history that brought me here—or at least not that history.

As the trumpeter in the Mariacki Church tower began to play the Hejnał, signaling the top of the hour, I studied the northwest corner of the square, waiting for the woman to appear at five as she had every day. I did not see her and I wondered if she might not come today, in which case my trip halfway around the world would have been in vain. The first day, I wanted to make sure she was the right person. The second, I meant to speak with her but lost my nerve. Tomorrow I would fly home to America. This was my last chance.

Finally, she appeared from around the corner of a pharmacy, umbrella tucked smartly under one arm. She made her way across the square with surprising speed for a woman who was about ninety. She was not stooped; her back was straight and tall. Her white hair was pulled into a loose knot atop her head, but pieces had broken free and fanned out wildly, framing her face. In contrast to my own staid clothing, she wore a brightly colored skirt, its pattern vibrant. The shiny fabric seemed to dance around her ankles by its own accord as she walked and I could almost hear its rustling sound.

Her routine was familiar, the same as the previous two days when I watched her walk to the Café Noworolski and request the table farthest from the square, sheltered from the activity and noise by the deep arched entranceway of the building. Last time I had come to Kraków, I was still searching. Now I knew who she was and where to find her. The only thing to do was to summon my courage and go down.

The woman took a seat at her usual table in the corner, opened a newspaper. She had no idea that we were about to meet—or even that I was alive.

From the distance came a rumble of thunder. Drops began to fall then, splattering the cobblestones like dark tears. I had to hurry. If the outdoor café closed and the woman left, everything I came for would be gone.

I heard the voices of my children, telling me that it was too dangerous to travel so far alone at my age, that there was no reason, nothing more to be learned here. I should just leave and go home. It would matter to no one.

Except to me—and to her. I heard her voice in my mind as I imagined it to be, reminding me what it was that I had come for.

Steeling myself, I picked up the flowers and walked from the room.

Outside, I started across the square. Then I stopped again. Doubts reverberated through my brain. Why had I come all of this way? What was I looking for? Doggedly, I pressed onward, not feeling the large drops that splattered my clothes and hair. I reached the café, wound through the tables of patrons who were paying their checks and preparing to leave as the rain fell heavier. As I neared the table, the woman with the white hair lifted her gaze from the newspaper. Her eyes widened.

Up close now, I can see her face. I can see everything. I stand motionless, struck frozen.

The woman I see before me is not the one I expected at all.

Excerpted from The Woman With the Blue Star @ 2021 by Pam Jenoff, used with permission by Park Row Books.

Q&A

• Why did you decide to write this story?

While looking for an idea for my next book, I discovered the incredible story of a group of Jewish people who had hidden from the Nazis by living for many months in the sewers of Lviv, Poland.  I was struck by the horrific circumstances which they endured, as well as their ingenuity and resilience in surviving there.  I was also moved by the selflessness of those who helped them, most notably a sewer worker, and by their search for human connection in such a dark and isolated place. 

After twenty-five years of working with World War II and the Holocaust, I find a story that makes me gasp, I know I am onto something that will make my readers feel the same way.  This was certainly the case with the true inspiration for The Woman With The Blue Star.

• How much research went into your story?

Immersing myself in the world where my story is set, whether the circus in The Orphan’s Tale or the sewer in The Woman With The Blue Star, is always one of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of beginning a book.  I had so many questions:  What did the sewer look and feel like?  How was it possible to eat and sleep and even see in the dark underground space?  Fortunately, there was an excellent non-fiction book, In The Sewers of Lvov by Robert Marshall, that explained so much of it.  I learned that there were so many dangers beyond getting caught by the Germans, from drowning to floods.  Every day was a battle for survival.  

When I decided to move the story to Krakow, Poland (where I had lived for several years), I planned a research trip there.  Those plans were scuttled by the pandemic, but I am lucky enough to still have good friends there who put me in touch with experts on the sewer and the city to help me (hopefully) get it right.

• What takeaway message do you hope readers get from your book?

Sadie and Ella, two women from completely different worlds, form a deep bond that has profound and lasting consequences.  I hope readers will see in them the ways in which we can transcend our differences and connect.  I also hope readers recognize the ways in which reaching out to someone, even in the smallest or most fleeting way, can have a tremendous impact on that person’s life as well as his or her own.

• What can you tell me about your next project?

My new book is set in Belgium and inspired by the incredible true story of the only Nazi death train ever to be ambushed on its way to Auschwitz.

• Do you have any specific writing rituals, such as a certain pen, drink, outfit, etc?

I find that my writing routine has evolved over the years.  For example, at one point I went in to my office to write, at another I went to a coffeeshop, now sometimes I am on the couch.  I have written in castles and mountain getaways, but I have also written in my doctor’s waiting room and in my car.  There are certain constants, though.  I love the early morning and I would write from five to seven every day if I had the chance.  I just love getting that first burst in before the day gets hectic.  I am a short burst writer, which means I have no stamina.  If you give me eight hours in a day, I don’t know what to do with that.  I would much rather have an hour seven days per week.  And as much caffeine as possible!

• Which character is most like you and why?

In this book, I suppose I relate to Sadie because her sense of isolation in some ways reflects what we have all felt during this pandemic.  

• Readers can't get enough of WWII stories. Why the interest?

Personally, m love for the World War II era comes from the years I spent working in Krakow, Poland as a diplomat for the State Department.  During that time. I worked on Holocaust issues and became very close to the surviving Jewish community in a way that deeply moved and changed me.  More globally, I think World War II has great resonance for authors and readers.  There is a drive to capture and tell stories from survivors now while we still have a chance.  There is also a great deal of archival material that became available to authors as researchers after the Cold War ended that provides new ideas for books.  And as an author, my goal is to take my reader and put her or him in the shoes of my protagonist so she or he asks, “What would I have done?” World War II, with its dire circumstances and stark choices, is incredibly fertile ground for storytelling.

• Your stories are always Jewish related. What is the universal idea that captures readers of all backgrounds?

I would not describe my stories as “always Jewish related” but rather predominantly set around World War II and the Holocaust.  This era is not only important in its own right but has many uniersal themes regarding human rights, prejudice and hate that are very relevant for our times.

• Where do your stories come from? Do you do research?

I do research for new ideas and I am generally looking for two things.  First, I would like to take a true bit of history and illuminate it so that readers can learn.  Second, I am looking for an incredible, untold story.  I have worked with World War II and the Holocaust for twenty-five years and if I find an idea that makes me gasp with surprise, I’m hopeful readers will feel the same way. 

• Do you work from an outline or do you write from the seat of your pants?

Well, I’m a “pantser” and that means I write by the seat of my pants and not from an outline, at least most of the time.  So I don’t have a neat idea of where the book will wind up.  I have an opening image and some general idea of where I will wind up and if I am lucky there are one or two high moments that I can see along the way, like lighthouses to guide me.  But I am sometimes surprised by the end and that was certainly the case with The Woman With The Blue Star.  That moment when you realize it is all going to come together is just one of the best feelings ever.

• You are a bestselling author. How many books are expected from you per year? How many edit passes does your novel go through?

I used to write a book a year, but I’ve slowed down and now it is more like 18-24 months.  I really prefer that creatively.  My manuscripts go through many rounds of edits.  The first round of changes are usually big picture and then it goes back and forth with the feedback getting increasingly more granular with each round of revision until my editor, agent and I are all satisfied.

• Is there anything about you or your work that you'd like to share with readers?

I consider my books that are set around World War II and the Holocaust to be love songs to the people who lived through that most horrific period.  I try to approach it with a great deal of respect and do them justice.  On a very different note, I’d like to share that I always love connecting with readers.  I invite each reader to find me online – through my website, Facebook author page, Twitter, Instagram or wherever they are hanging out.

About the Author:

Pam Jenoff is the author of several books of historical fiction, including the NYT bestseller The Orphan's Tale. She holds a degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a degree in history from Cambridge, and she received her JD from UPenn. Her novels are inspired by her experiences working at the Pentagon and as a diplomat for the State Department handling Holocaust issues in Poland. She lives with her husband and 3 children near Philadelphia, where she teaches law.

Social Links:

Website: https://www.pamjenoff.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamJenoffauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PamJenoff

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pamjenoff/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/213562.Pam_Jenoff

Mailing List: https://pamjenoff.com/mailing-list/

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Blue-Star-Novel/dp/0778389383/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-woman-with-the-blue-star-pam-jenoff/1137387567

Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/books/the-woman-with-the-blue-star-9780778311546/9780778389385

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780778389385

Libro.fm: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781488211706-the-woman-with-the-blue-star?bookstore=betweenthecovers

Books-A-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Woman-Blue-Star/Pam-Jenoff/9780778389385?id=8140224153967

Target: https://www.target.com/p/the-woman-with-the-blue-star-by-pam-jenoff-paperback/-/A-81225916

Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Woman-with-the-Blue-Star-Original-Edition-Paperback-9780778389385/304633554

Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-woman-with-the-blue/9780778389385-item.html

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-woman-with-the-blue-star

AppleBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-woman-with-the-blue-star/id1524947358

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/The_Woman_with_the_Blue_Star_A_Novel?id=De_yDwAAQBAJ&hl=en&gl=US

RELEASE BLITZ: Brentwood Boys Boxset by Meghan Quinn

   

THE BRENTWOOD BOYS by Meghan Quinn

Box Set of The Locker Room, The Dugout, and The Lineup

Release Date: May 6th

ON SALE- $3.99- FOR A LIMITED TIME!

The Brentwood Boys have come together in a three book box series, WITH an extended epilogue!! Over 300,000 words of delicious baseball players with a mouth-watering epilogue of where they are now. Marriage? Maybe. Babies? Possibly. Abs? Oh yes, they still have abs.

          

THE BRENTWOOD BOYS IS NOW AVAILABLE IN BOTH EBOOK AND AUDIO!

Universal Link: mybook.to/TheBrentwoodBoys

The Brentwood Boys have come together in a three-book audio collection for the first time ever! More than 30 hours of delicious baseball players brought to you by your favorite narrators including Sebastian York, Savannah Peachwood, Stephen Dexter, Rock Engle, Felicity Monroe, and Maxine Mitchell.

Audio Universal Link: https://amzn.to/33gWpEM

AVAILABLE NOW FOR ONLY $3.99! FREE in KU!

On sale for a LIMITED TIME!

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3vItcis

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3dZDVip

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2R76f9s

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2Pwkpk1

Audio Universal Link: https://amzn.to/33gWpEM

(Narrators included are Sebastian York, Savannah Peachwood, Stephen Dexter, Rock Engle, Felicity Monroe, and Maxine Mitchell.)

BLURB:

The Locker Room

Have you heard the rumor around campus about the locker room?

Legend has it if you bring a girl into the sacred after-game domain of the baseball locker room, it will end with a walk down the aisle.

So when the girl I've fallen for brushes me off, I start to question if I need to switch my way of thinking. Maybe it's time I finally hand out a coveted invitation to the locker room.

The only question is, will she accept?

The Dugout

Let me ask you a question:

If someone is vying for your spot on a team and just so happens to injure you during practice, would you believe it was on purpose?

Word around campus is . . . it was no accident.

That injury has cost me everything. Now, I’m a senior fresh off recovery, struggling to find my groove, until the day I run into The Baseball Whisperer, Milly Potter.

Little do we both know, she’s about to become more than just my fairy ballmother.

The Lineup

Want to know a secret?

That boy over there, the one with the spectacular backside, yeah, I first saw him in college, talking to his friends. Tall, broad, sculpted by his many hours in the weight room. His personality was larger than life and I was too shy to approach him.

Now he’s a professional baseball player, I’m a confident CEO, but my crush is still strong. yup, massive crush.

I have a chance at winning a date with him.

Should I enter?

The Brentwood Boys have come together in a three-book audio collection for the first time ever! More than 30 hours of delicious baseball players brought to you by your favorite narrators including Sebastian York, Savannah Peachwood, Stephen Dexter, Rock Engle, Felicity Monroe, and Maxine Mitchell.

Audio Universal Link: https://amzn.to/33gWpEM

     

About the Author:

USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

Connect with Meghan:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7360513.Meghan_Quinn

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormeghanquinn/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorMegQuinn

Website: http://authormeghanquinn.com

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/meghan-quinn

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LitE4x

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authormeghanquinn

 

Blog Tour: The Insiders by Tijan

"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!

Start reading today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ddgG2e
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TheInsiders
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/34Xbz2H
Nook: https://bit.ly/33Ix9s5
Apple Books: https://apple.co/30Ugtfw
Google Play: https://bit.ly/3dkxBzV

Add The Insiders to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2GJn59t

Excerpt

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.

Connect with Tijan
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Review: The Insiders by Tijan

The Insiders by Tijan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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.

View all my reviews

Release Blitz: The Insiders by Tijan

"Tijan delivers on the fun, edge, and angst. Her books never fail to please!"
--Kylie Scott, New York Times bestseller

The Insiders, an all-new not-to-be-missed, intense and emotional 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…

Get yours now!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ddgG2e
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TheInsiders
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/34Xbz2H
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Add The Insiders to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2GJn59t

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 YA series along with so many more from north Minnesota where she lives with a man she couldn’t be without and an English Cocker she adores.

Connect with Tijan
Amazon: https://amzn.to/30oxe0f
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2vreAub
Facebook Reader Page: https://bit.ly/32hsdsq
Twitter: http://bit.ly/2Vx4DpD
Instagram: http://bit.ly/2PyLhwy
Reader Group: http://bit.ly/38bz8nQ
Audiomen Group: https://bit.ly/3bFFKgB
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2EcGBqB