Canary

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.

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.

Tijan is a genius. I absolutely loved this book. Ash is a badass and Raize, yumm. I loved the twists and turns in this story and loved the way everything played out. This was recommended to me by Tijan when I need more of the Mafia life. I am obsessed and I can't wait to read more 😍

Girl/Ash got caught up in the criminal underworld in a desperate attempt to find her sister who had fallen for the wrong man. She’s soon a commodity, being traded from mobster to mobster until Raize’wins’ her in a poker game after he spots the unique talent she has and realises it could be beneficial to him and his Russian Bratva boss. What follows next is a roller coaster road trip across the USA leaving a trail of bodies in their wake while being pursued by a vengeful Mexican drug boss who wants Raize dead.This book had me engrossed from the start. I honestly couldn’t put it down and even now I’m still thinking about it. Canary is a much more darker and violent story from Tijan set in a world of Russian Mafia gangs and Mexican drug cartels where life and loyalty is cheap. Raize is the ultimate anti-hero. Cold and unfeeling but loyal in his own way. Throughout the book he never once forced Ash to do anything sexually unlike her previous employers. To be honest at times it seemed like he didn’t even realise she was female. The romance element of the story between them was definitely slowburn but when they did finally get together it was clear if she said no he would never have forced the issue. Ultimately it was her choice. The suspense and tension builds throughout the fast paced plot with the body count rising in tandem– Raize is literally a one-man killing machine, like Rambo on steroids but while this book is full of violence and death I wouldn’t say it is overly graphic or gratuitous. Raize kills for a reason not because he derives any pleasure from it. There is a strong cast of secondary characters and although this is a standalone, I’m hoping we hear more about Roman in a future book.If you want a book that will stay with you after you’ve finished reading it, I highly recommend Canary.

After months of reading mediocre novels, I’ve finally read something with substance. This. Book. Was. So. Damn. Beautiful. Whilst reading, I can feel the whole scenes playing out in my head like a movie. The attention to detail of exactly was going on, the depth of every characters, the non verbal communication between the characters that had to be worked out by the reader. Canary is incredibly engaging and just flipping real. I felt as though Tijan really knows and gets people. Their psyche, their emotions and understands all the little bits that makes us the mess that we are. And all of that was placed beautifully in this creation. Usually, when I love a book I race through it. So often I’ve read reviews of readers who “just couldn’t put it down” to they “stayed up all night to devour the book” however with this book, I read which line slowly, taking it all in and just took pure delight out of every single word. Probably the best book that I’ve read by Titan and definitely added to favourites. My only drawback is I don’t know if I’d put it under the banner of enemies to lovers. The relationship between the hero and heroine was pretty much indifference before she suddenly noticed that he was actually quite good looking (!!) and there were some characters that just faded away at the end despite having a huge presence throughout the book but to be honest that drawback could be because I just didn’t want it to end. Don’t just take my word for it. Read. This. Book!

Complex Characters & Storytelling.😎📚CanaryI really lost myself in this complex & violent mafia tale. The storyline is deep, dark & very dangerous but it holds a certain level of lightness, levity & longing for life within it too. Ash & Jake, initially, bring most of the lighter feelings, the deeper darkness comes from Raize & Ash.💔Ash is such a strange character, she's not Angel & others Demon. She has a purpose for her choices, which we don't fully understand for a long time. I think she spent much of her time during her mafia years in a state of numb shock!😔 Raize is one thing to most people, a stone cold killer. He seems cold & read eyed, but he has more going on than we realise, it's shown slowly throughout the book!🙏The world build is very good.👍 I honestly can see the Author revisiting this group of characters even though this has been written as a standalone! It definitely has the depth to support it.😍 Another great read by this author.🌟Debbie, 1970, UK

Tijan has that writing style of very short, clipped sentences which, from some authors, is enough to put me off entirely. Somehow it works ok in this book. I’d still prefer a less jolting reading experience though but that’s just a personal preference thing I think. The story was enjoyable with a well thought out plot with a few little twists and reveals throughout. I didn’t feel like the characters were as well developed as I would have liked. I think there was so much plot that the character development and their relationship was a bit overlooked. This book probably would have been better as a series so that we could have good plot and good character development.But, all that said, it was still an enjoyable story and is worth reading.

I've been a bit off reading for a few weeks. That all changed the moment Canary hit my kindle!At first I didn't twig what was going on, but as I got into the book, it slowly became obvious that I'd not be able to put the book down until I'd finished it. So that's exactly what happened.The characters are brilliant. They are all so messed up in their own way, and put together, you never quite know what's going to happen next. Will the "companions" help or betray?Raize is a baddie through and through. Or is he? As he pulls a disparate but blood thirsty crew together things are not always as they seem and I actually found myself liking this cutthroat band.Canary/Girl was so well written. I cheered her on all the way through. Determined not to be a victim, she owned her past and used it to be what she needed to be to survive.Canary and Raize were...ahhh...SO darned hot!Highly recommended read.