Cole

“Something pure among so much tainted”

As soon as I saw the blurb, I was excited to meet Cole Mauricio. I’m a sucker for Mafia books and Cole had just about everything I like in them. Gorgeous Mafia boss? Check. Deceit? Check. Mafia “business?” Check.

Addison “Addy” Bowman tragically lost her husband two years ago and she’s been a mess since then. The ghosts of her husband’s death has been taunting her so when she has a chance to move out and potentially move on from her grief, she decided to take it. What she didn’t know is that she is now in the world of Cole Mauricio, THE MAFIA.

“He isn’t in the Mafia, he is the Mafia.”

When Addy meets Cole, she knows that he is dangerous but she doesn’t know who he is or what he does. As they pursue each other and get closer to one another, the truth comes out and she is forced to decided if she can handle such a dangerous world. Especially after the major secret that she finds out about her past.

I liked Cole but I wanted him to be a bit more bad ass. I like my guys acting like jerks and he was pretty sweet to Addy from the start. I think a lot of people will like the softer side of him. It is clear from the beginning that he fell for Addy and wanted to share his life with her.

There are a couple of twists in the book that really adds to the suspense of the story. There’s betrayal, deceit and violence but there is also love, vulnerability and hopefulness.

I also enjoyed Sia, Addy’s best friend. She’s one feisty woman and I adored her rants. I think ever woman needs a best friend like her. One that will fight tooth and nail for you and face even the more dangerous people to protect you. She added a lot of color to the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. If you like Mafia romances with hot, dangerous men who worship the love of their lives, then this is the book for you.

I want to start by saying this is only my second novel by Tijan and after devouring it, I WILL be reading the other books that connect to this novel asap! (CARTER REED 1 & 2). We get a smidgen of Carter Reed’s character in COLE and I, for one, was completely mesmerized by his cold demeanor and protectiveness. If he was this protective over Cole, then I can’t imagine how protective he is of his woman. But enough of that, I want to get to the important topic here….Cole himself. *fans self* Tijan brought to the literary pages the epitome of the perfect mysterious man possible and I am an ABSOULUTE sucker for enigmatic male characters in books! Once that mysterious element is spun in the story, I find myself wanting to scrutinize the character and figure out who they are, just like the heroine. I became Addison while reading this book. I put myself in her shoes and tried to envision and feel what she was feeling from page one. I literally was crying (yes, crying) within the first chapter (that never happens!) And from that point on, Tijan had me tethered, in a sense, to Addison and it was a complete bond the rest of the book.
COLE was almost entirely told from Addison’s POV, which I LOVED. That kept Cole even more of a mystery to the readers. In the beginning Cole was described as this strong, authoritative, confident, elusive, alpha male with an aura of danger around him, which Tijan translated to the pages masterfully. And then as the novel progressed, we saw a more kind, considerate and tender Cole. #swoonworthy Again, written perfectly! We got to see the progression both him and Addison had from the beginning of the book, to the end. Addison was breaking down his walls and shining some light into darkness. But the mystery remained…“Who is Cole?”
“My life I can’t talk to you about, but this—you coming to me—is like a breath of oxygen. I can breathe again.” He dropped his mouth to my shoulder. “Something pure among so much tainted.” –Cole.

The unraveling of secrets and the connections between Addison’s family and Cole’s brought a whole lot of thrill and excitement to the story, not to mention the insta-lust between them. The unknown element and suspense (and the heavy dose of hunger *wink*) throughout the book builds and has you flipping the page (or tapping your screen) at an increasing rate to get to the answers. Right when you think you know the answers, there’s another twist that keeps you guessing! And in between all the mystery, we get a love story. *throwing confetti*. The desire and the connection between these two characters was lip-biting worthy. *fans self*. It was obvious right from the beginning that these two were going to be electric together and they most definitely were.

Cole had woken me up, and now I was restless. Things had been gray before, but the world was in color now. I wanted things to be in bright lights, neon like the club. I didn’t want everything to be dimmed anymore.” –Addison.

I am not going to write a summary for COLE because I feel even the TINEIST amount of details can ruin the story for you. The element of mystery is how this book is supposed to be read and I want to keep it that way. I hope that my review persuades you to give COLE a chance, I know I am SO happy I did!

COLE is considered a standalone, but as I mentioned above, it is a spinoff of the CARTER REED novels. I believe Cole is introduced in CARTER REED 2. I hope if you read COLE and you loved it, you would want to read those two books as well…I know I do!

5+ stars!

Check out my Pinterest novel board for COLE here: https://www.pinterest.com/vgrey14/cole-by-tijan/

Goodreads for other books in the series: (Carter 1 & 2): https://www.goodreads.com/series/143677-carter-reed

Secrets, betrayal, lust and friendship, this story has it all. Cole is a man of mystery and keeps himself distant from anyone that doesn’t work along side him, Addison has been through a heartbreaking tragedy and is trying to move forward. I don’t want to give ANYTHING away but I was engaged with this book from the beginning to the very end. The twists and turns that take place throughout the story are jaw dropping. Phenomenal story and I highly recommend you read. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.