This is one of those books that builds. At the start I wasn't sure I would enjoy this couple. Then the story built, and built, and I loved this couple! I highly recommend reading these books in order as although the main characters in this book are different, the story flows from the first book into this one.

o i got an arc of this book but all opinions are my own . so i gave this book 4 stars for the characters and nothing else .

So i liked Molly ,she was funny and i really liked how she gets Ashton to let down his walls while also learning to let her own down ,they make a great couple and i liked their relationship .

I really loved Ashton ,he is dark and dirty and i can't help but root for him ,i am so glad that he found Molly ,they really just fit well together , i loved that his relationship with Trace gets repaired ,they really are best friends/brothers now and i loved seeing them work it out :)

So as for the plot ,i didn't care for it ,we left off on a big cliff hanger from book 1 and we get it all wrapped up but i just didn't think it made much sense to me ,like who killed who and who helped ,just didn't feel like a great story line in my opinion ,it felt pretty weak to me and i just wasn't vibing with it and i really didn't like the story line about Ashton and Molly's mothers ,i just didn't think that added anything to the book at all .

and omg if i have to read about Jess one more time i will flip a table ,i hate her so much ,she thinks she's such a badass and better then others and i just can not read anymore about her again .

Overall this book was only ok to me .

A Cruel Arrangement by Tijan is the second book in the Kings of New York Series. This is Molly and Ashton‘s story. I LOVED A Dirty Business and was SO excited when I saw this on NetGalley.

Molly runs the Easter Lanes bowling alley and Ashton is the head of the Walden mafia family. It takes a minute for Molly and Ashton to go from being mafia acquaintances to lovers. Molly's character is quite quirky and I think that readers will either like her or not, and I just wasn't the biggest fan. I loved how Ashton was a protector - major touch her and die vibes. The plot was a big boring and dragged out for me as well.

Overall, A Cruel Arrangement was a good mafia romance story, but wasn't as good as A Dirty Business.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader!

I am not normally super into Mafia romance, but I requested this on Netgalley because something about it just intrigued me and I’m glad I did. I didn’t realize at the time that it was book 2, but it’s not a series that you necessarily have to read in order. I’ve figured out that book 1 is about Jess and Trace who are already together in this book. I loved Molly’s personality and her ability to just get things done even when she has a panic attack afterwards. Her life had been pretty crazy and she was not excited to have a mafia family come into her place of business and tell her she doesn’t actually own it because her dad lied to her, but she handled it well and wasn’t afraid to get up in Ashton’s face. Naturally, I knew it was a matter of time before Ashton fell for her as a result.
I loved their romance even though it was violent and crazy. Watching two reluctant people fall in love is my favorite and even though Ashton wasn’t a good guy, he wasn’t necessarily a huge psychopath, either. It seemed like he did take good care of people and even worked well with law enforcement.
I would definitely recommend this to fans of dark or mafia romance and would read more from this author.

I went into this just expecting another Mafia romance. It's safe to say I was surprised! I loved this so much.

The relationship between Ashton and Molly was passionate and full of truth, from the beginning.

This book was plot driven and what a great plot it was. It was the perfect length for the story and the writing style was also simple to follow and just flowed.

I loved the additional characters like Jess and Detective Worthing. They just completed the story perfectly.

Highly recommend.

The readers of this series will know how much we hate Ashton for what he does to Jess in the previous book so I was wondering if he will redeem himself and how his romance will flow. But do not worry, the author manages to make readers fall in love with Ashton pretty quickly in spite of his extreme alpha behavior. The way he falls hard for Molly is absolutely heartwarming. Their chemistry is on another whole level and how Molly brings in a whole new side of mafia guy Ashton. I didn't enjoy how Molly doesn't bother getting more info and has this thing called "switch". If you can ignore those, it was a fun read. If you are ready for some mafia backdrop romance, this is for you.

This book is the second in the series. I highly recommend reading the first book, A Dirty Business.

This story picks up right where book one left off. This story is about Ashton & Molly.

I was eager to start this book after reading A Dirty Business to pick up where it left off. Ashton has taken over the family business. There is a new investor trying to threaten his territory. Pretty much all the characters from book one are I'm this book. Except for a few.

This story flowed easily and had me turning each page as fast as I could. It was hard to put this book down. The suspense was great. The mystery was solved by the end. You fall more in love with certain characters, and you dispise others. It has all the feels. I'm looking forward to reading more if Tijan writes more of this series.

ARC Review of A Cruel Arrangement by Tijan
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A romance blossoming in the dark world of deals, secrets, money and power.

Molly has landed herself in a bit of a situation, partially on the fault of one moron who decided to break into her establishment...the other because her father gave her something he shouldn't have. Something that wasn't his.
Now, the head of the Walden family, had her in his grasp and was ready to make a deal. He needs Molly's assistance, and for that, he will give her what she wants. Yet, even in the mess and lies and raining bullets, he cannot unlatch his claws from her.
The craving is beginning to build between them. Molly knows what kind of man Ashton is. What he does. What he HAS to do.
Will that be an end for them, or does the enemy already have one foot in the door with a vendetta that could hurt them both?

A great read on a cool grey day, really sets the mood for a dark romance. Molly's family history is complicated, as well as her upbringing. Her father really is a nasty peice of work and karma is a-comin' for men like him. Ashton is a man of iron and steel, however, he is aware that Molly is a weakness to him. He himself also shares an interestingly tragic past, one that binds the events together. The sudden tragic deaths that haunt the entire group of lovers and friends is a wonderful wedge and glue, with the result being a fantastic shock.

Ashton and Molly.
Second series from Kings of New York. In the first book, Ashton tortured Jess (Trace's fiancee) and he seemed like an as$hole but on this book he definitely made up for it.
Ashton and Trace (1st book hero) takes over their mafia family and they are in war with another mafia from Boston.
Ashton's family has been killed, Jess's best friend and her fiancee been killed and they are trying to find who murdered all of them. While trying to find the murderer, Easter lane (Bowling alley) pops in Ashton's radar. He will do anything to protect Molly but it won't be easy.
Molly's life is in Easter lanes and it is everything to her. When Ashton shows up in her bowling alley and tells her she is not the actual owner, he is. Now she will have to work with Ashton to get her bowling alley back and it will involve her father who she loathes.
Ashton was always attracted Molly and they share a history Molly doesn't remember and know. He will have to open up to her if he wants to protect her. But it won't be easy.
Ashton wasn't favorite hero to like but as the story unfolds, he only had eyes for Molly and super protective. He definitely won my heart. Molly's quirky, witty personality was perfect for Ashton.
All the mystery regarding Jess's best friend's murder were solved in this story and it kept the suspense until the end. I really enjoyed this series so far.
Thanks to Netgalley and Montlake for ARC.

Omg a 5 star book all the way! A string alpha male who is also is in the mafia with a bowling ball alley owner who is seriously protective of her loved ones makes for a binge worthy book....

A Cruel Arrangement is book 2 in the Kings of New York series. While the overall story is a continuation from book 1, this stories centers around Ashton and Molly, who we met in book 1. They have a connected past and more of a connected present than Molly even realizes. When Ashton inserts himself back into Molly's life, he learns that his attraction to her is something he cannot control or ignore.

Ashton had a lot to make up for from book 1. He did some awful things that should make the reader hate him but reading his book, I can't help but cheer him on and want more of him. His character has a good amount of growth throughout the book, both within his relationship with Molly, and within his friendship and himself.

Molly is strong female character who doesn't take anything from anyone. She has no problem throwing down when necessary. She has worked hard for everything she has and has had a pretty rough life. She doesn't let many people in but when she does, she is fiercely loyal to them.

These two together had some fireworks going on! They are both strong-willed but were able to yield to the other at certain times. They seemed to know what each other needed and even when they were trying to fight their feelings, they still made sure to take care of each other.

I really enjoyed both books from this series and may have enjoyed book 2 a little more than book 1. I don't know if we will get more from this mafia world but I hope we do!

Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake and Tijan for this ARC!

This was an amazing read! I loved Molly and Ashton’s story! I just loved the dark protective energy that emanated from Ashton when it came to Molly, I love an overprotective MMC. This is book 2 in a series and I hadn’t read book 1 when I started reading, which I think made me a bit confused at the beginning and maybe I lost some key elements in between, however, I found this an amazing mafia story! The heat, tension and witiness in this book is just *chef’s kiss*!

So this book was WOW!
The buildup, the characters, the flow of the story, the secrets, everything was brilliant. I literally lived inside this book until the last word in it.
I expected to like it because it is written by Tijan and i love her books, but I didn't expect to be so obsessed with this story.
I enjoyed the slow burn, the suspense, the growth of the characters and their sizzling chemistry.
Amazing, amazing, amazing book 💕 i would rate it 100 stars if I could.

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This was an interesting novel. I liked the story overall and I liked the characters, but there were moments that I completely lost interest and the only reason I continued is because I shined until my interest was peaked again. I also felt like I might have needed to read book 1 to really understand the overall Mafia lifestyle and the conflicts they were having. It was a bit glossed over just coming in with no knowledge of what happened before, maybe?

I liked Molly and her no nonsense way of life. She wasn't scared of Ashton, she hated her father, she loved her bowling alley. Molly was definitely all or nothing kinda girl.

Ashton - seeing him realize how deep his feelings were for Molly was fantastic. I loved that part so much.

So yeah I enjoyed this but there are moments I felt a bit lost. Overall I'm glad I got the chance to read it!

I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was quick paced and written well. I easily followed what was going on. My first book by this author and I'll deffo go back for more.

i think i liked this one more than the first! old family rivalry, a women trying to get out of her dads shadow, & a guy who wants to protect here even when she doesn’t want it.

i loved this one! had the perfect tijan feel to it

This was good. I think I loved the first book more but that’s okay. For most of the book I would say I was in different until the last couple pages where things were being revealed & I found myself crying?? The crying did it for me & I was like okay this is good. Did I feel the love between these characters? Not really. A lot happened but I get it it’s a mafia book :)

What a fantastic 2nd book!
I greatly enjoyed the writing style and story of Titan’s A Dirty Business, so knew I was going into A Cruel Arrangement with high expectations, and a need for the story to continue. I was not disappointed. I loved exploring the relationship between Molly and Ashton and enjoyed that we still got glimpses of Jess and Trace. I am truly hoping this series continues and we get more insights into this passion filled mafia world!

Oh, Tijan! After book 1 of the Kings of New York, I really wanted to hate him, but how can you hate someone who falls in love with someone who makes him a better person? Passionate and intense, it's a page turner!

A Cruel Arrangement by Tijan is the second book in the Kings of New York Series. This is Molly and Ashton‘s story.
 
Molly grew up with a horrible father who lost everything and is indebted to the mafia. She managed to flip around the family bowling alley Easter Lanes and that is her everything. But one day Someone threatens this, and Molly isn’t having that, and the situation gets out of control. She is tough and badass, and I really liked that.
 
Ashton is the new head of the Walden family, a notorious mafia family. After events from the last book, he is still adjusting to his new role and trying to solve what happened to some things in the past. That was very enthralling, and I liked uncovering this. Ashton is a very dominant and alpha male and sometimes this just comes across as arrogant. Therefore, I needed a while to like him.
 
Ashton has the higher position and therefore the characters didn’t feel equal. For me that is important for a romance to develop and that also didn’t change. They experience some crazy things together and that definitely brings them close. However, the actual romance starts very late in the book, and I would have liked to see more scenes of them actually being together.
 
Overall, A Cruel Arrangement is a good mafia story, but something was just missing for me. 3,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)