coz-en (kuz-uhn) verb1. trick or deceive.• obtain by deception.She was named most appropriately.Cozen Taylor has more than earned her place as one of North America’s most successful thieves. Her name is whispered amongst criminal elite as the go-to thief when someone needs a heist.She has never failed.A call from the Miami-based Astor family could change all that with a job that seems almost … all that with a job that seems almost impossible to complete. The mark should be simple—a stolen family heirloom, the man who has kept it hidden for over twenty years, and six months to return the piece to its rightful owners.
Nothing is ever that easy.
Three-hundred million for a successful heist. No smart thief would turn the offer down. Cozen didn’t expect a complication like him to put a kink in her plans, though. Sargon Makri—tall, dark, gorgeous, and entirely dangerous. For her life, her heart, and for the success of the heist.
The last thing Cozen needs to be thinking about is Sargon, and how she can get him into her bed … especially when he just happens to be her mark’s bodyguard. The thrill of the job has never been more addicting to Cozen, and she will risk everything to make the heist a success.
But at what cost?
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From author Bethany-Kris comes a whole new world. A North American network full of criminals battling to stay on top, and painting the streets red in war as they dabble in the game of betrayal. Malicious, cunning, forbidden, and violent—welcome to The Empires and Badlands.
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What a wonderful new world from our favorite mafia queen! The suspense and surprises in this book had me on the edge of my seat, waiting for more and more to come. I loved Sargon and Cozen’s story very much… Seeing their interactions and feeling the tension between them made the story even better.It’s not your typical love story, it’s very different from other books of our queen. I bow to her. Amazing job!
In a world of thieving, a pretty face, a quick hand, a cool temper, and a background of contacts and identities is a must.
There’s one thing you should know about Bethany Kris, when she does a novel, it’s all or nothing.
Cozen is a beautiful thief and a ghost. She gets in and gets out and quickly as the wind. The mark never sees her coming or leaving, but she leaves with what she needed to get and right under the mark’s nose.
This time the stakes are higher, the game is more dangerous and the temptation is too close.
Cozen is a different scene than Bethany’s mafia world. It’s a world where anyone can be anyone, for a price.
The set up of Cozen is a thrilling ride that leaves you surprised at the end and wanting to re-read it again.
From California to Miami to New York, we follow Cozen as she shows us a woman can be as powerful and beautiful and as dangerous as she wants to be.
I think this will be the simplest review I’ve ever written for a book I’ve read by Bethany-Kris. If you haven’t read anything of hers before, this is a perfect example of her exemplary prose and a wise choice to get your feet wet with. And if you’re a mega fan like me, you’ll love how seemingly flawless her segue from mafia romance to plain old romantic suspense is.
Cozen is a thief looking for her last job and it happens to land in her lap at just the right time. Her skills are highly sought after because she doesn’t just steal what you’re looking for. There’s no smash-and-grab. She has the unique ability to insert herself into her target’s life, identify the mark, take the mark, and exit without anyone being the wiser. Perfect. And her tactics should have worked just as effortlessly as ever before except for one snag – an irresistible man named Sargon. While trying to seduce her target, she was also seducing him, and from first sight, she was seduced by him. And it was sexy, incredibly hot, and absolutely beautiful.
I loved so much about this story and I wish it didn’t have to end. I loved Sargon’s frustration over Cozen’s pretense. I loved how Cozen couldn’t help herself when it came to Sargon. And I loved the twists and turns that this author fed me right up until the end. I admit that I was pleasantly surprised that I was intentionally left in the dark about so much and yet I felt that the surprises only validated how much I loved these characters.
Cozen was a great female character. She was smart and bad a$$. So much pressure from so many different angles. High intensity story with some crazy chemistry with the bodyguard. I never saw the twist at the end coming. Absolutely loved it. This story will stick with me for awhile! Excellent narrator!!
#AudiobookObsessionReviewer
I have read everyone of Bethany-Kris’ books. This is book was a great introduction into a new world.
Cozen is a thief hired by the Astor’s to retrieve a family heirloom and During her time planning and working the job she meets Sargon. The relationship between Cozen and Sargon is just plain HOT! This book is a standalone but will make you want more. The Astor’s is a powerful family introduced in this book and will definitely have its own series once BK gets to it. The ending will leave you speechless. This book is full of sexiness, suspense and surprises. You won’t see it coming. The characters are fire!!
I give this book 5 stars and I would highly recommend it!! Kudos to Ms. BK!!
We have to say that this is our first book by this author and we throughly enjoyed the story from beginning to end.The story engaged us from the very first pages.We loved the characters that the story had and the magnetic pull that went on between Sargon Marki and Cozen Taylor.I loved the complication that this posed for Cozen because this pull between her a Sargon is making her job only ten times harder to do the job and the fact that they can’t keep their hands off one another isn’t helping matters especially when she is suppose to be seducing her mark yet, doing the dirty with the witching bodyguard who is never far from her thoughts.What complicates matter’s even worse is Sargon is having trouble keeping his jealousy at bay endangering both their lives even more.
Cozen’s and Sargon’s entanglement up the suspense level on a daily basis and keeps you on edge the entire time throughout the story.The chemistry between the couple was super hot and their sexual encounters even hotter.
Jett aka the mark was the typical arrogant businessman and with his obsession and jealousy he feels for Cozen makes him dangerous and unpredictable and it doesn’t help the man by nature is not a patient man but, used to getting what he wants.Cozen for him poses the perfect challenge. Jett on the surface seemed like a nice man but, I found him to be anything but.
I loved the banter,the intensity that went on between Sargon and Cozen their love scenes super hot,explosive,exciting and very intense.The chemistry this couple had was Hot! Hot! Hot!I loved the cat a mouse game they had going on between them as it makes things exciting a you never new what was going to happen next.I loved that it should have been a forbidden romance between the two but,the pull was indelible between them.I liked the fact Cozen was doing something that was out of her character for once in her life and that just spiced things up making the game even more intense and even more dangerous.
Overall we loved the story from beginning to end as it had the perfect mix of all the things we love to read about we loved the drama,romance, it had a great cast of characters that were engaging and fun, but, most of all we love that the story engaged us on an emotional level which we loved the most.The story made us laugh as well as cry.And last but not least we loved that ending as we never saw that ending coming which made me love the story even more.
I am so looking forward to our next read from this author.
Recommended read to all!
Cozen… Her name suited her. She knew how to play the game and win. The author painted a picture of what the life of a thief entails and how they go about getting their mark.
Sargon… the man had a I don’t give two f*cks attitude. I loved it. He knew what he wanted in and out of the bedroom. The description which the author gave for him made me fan myself. I was like hot damn. I wanted him. I wanted more what he was going to give. Sargon had so much control but only lost it when it came to Cozen.
Everything involved around the Astor Family. I wonder what else the author has up her sleeve. I want to know more about Fourth and his great grandmama.
A thief – a heist -and Bethany-Kris’s mind and words. A departure from the Mafia world but such a pleasant surprise.
Cozen, a female thief, is a very methodical thief. She gets the job done while no one ever knowing what she’s done. So when the Astor family needs a job done quietly, Cozen is asked. A job to end all jobs until Sargon Makri comes between her and the job. A job that involves another man, Jett Griffin, his bodyguard Sargon, and the ruby ring that he has that belongs to the family who hired Cozen. An interesting dynamic in play between Cozen and Sargon, Cozen and Jett and Sargon and his boss Jett.
Cozen and Sargon have a cat and mouse relationship. And boy is it off the chart hot. Their chemistry is undeniable but Cozen is working and working does not involves relationships with men outside of her mark. But their banter, their intensity and the dangerous game they are playing with one another is addicting. This triangle….. Cozen, Jett and Sargon, is not a true triangle. While the three are involved with one another, the only meaningful connection is Cozen and Sargon.
I will say that this story has an absolute wonderful ending. I loved it and it was nothing like I was expecting. Who know a story about a thief could be so freaking hot, sassy and wickedly diabolical…..Cozen is a must read!!!
Bethany-Kris is becoming one of my new favorite authors with the Mafia romance theme. I love her shocking twist and the romance is always smoking hot. Cozen was a little different than the focus of the mafia life, but stayed in the world that she normally focuses on. This time the reader is pulled into the world from an outsiders perspective, a thief and a bodyguard. I loved it!
Cozen follows a well known thief named Cozen, she is an expert and getting in and out without notice, that no one would ever pin the theft on her because she is either unseen or so far into the world that she wouldn’t even be considered a suspect. She gets hired by a very well known and dangerous family, the elder of the family wants a ring back that was taken from them when a daughter of the family passed away and it was left with the husband. However the husband and now target is very closely protected and has a name for himself. Cozen has to get close to him, seduce him into having her around and try to find the ring and bring it back. However her target is protected by someone who makes Cozen lose track of her main goal, she’s never had a distraction and Sargon the bodyguard is way more than she bargained for.
This was such a good story, the tension between the family and the target is obviously intense and what makes matter worse is that the target is mocking the family, knowing what he has. Cozen wants this to be officially her last job, with the amount of money they will pay her she can be done. Cozen meets her targets guard who reads her too well for her liking. Its an interesting game between the two and Cozen falls more and more for Sargon, but he doesn’t know her true intentions and the jealousy with her is off the charts.
In the end I was surprised by the shocking twist, it was very unexpected and seriously perfect. I was so not ready for what happened but loved how it all cam together. I cant wait for more stories from Bethany-Kris, she’s a fantastic writer and knows how to connect you to this world and her characters with ease.
Mind officially blown, Bethany Kris has done it again, while her genre is Mafia she went outside the box with this fresh, sexy suspenseful story.
The women we are introduced in Cozen are incredible. Beginning with Pearl Aster. Wow! What a character. I feared her just from the introduction. But Cozen is every woman’s idol. She’s a unique woman in that her career is in heists. She goes in and takes what she wants (literally) without anyone even giving her a second glance. Cozen is an adrenaline rush of a couple that shouldn’t be together but most of all the intensity of this storyline. Cozen is unlike any other work of this author but that doesn’t mean it’s not as good as her mafia romances. If anything, Ms. Kris has made a turn into a new genre and I am a fan. The writing, the words and the passion are everywhere in this latest novel.
Cozen “Zen” Taylor doesn’t like to stick out. Loved how the author set up the plot first before meeting the other main character. It was a pleasant surprise and a great way to build anticipation. Sargon Makri seems to have a hard time staying in one place for too long. There’s a scene where you might find it ironic but he says something that could very well pertain to this author – I stand in awe. These two seem to have one thing in common. They seem to be very self-assured.
These two both have secrets and they both have jobs to do. It was interesting to see how these two started after they first met and the things that happen as they banter back and forth. They’re also blunt but tight-lipped when they have to be. There are those that are secondary characters but could easily fight to be more. It must have been tough for the author to not let them take over the story. What I love about this author is that she doesn’t reveal anything until her characters are ready. It’s a great way to create mystery and a great page-turner.
There’s no previous book you will have to read. There’s no series so it’s a book that can stand on its own. But there are plenty of surprises that start at the beginning and don’t stop until the end. That’s what will keep you reading to see what else the author reveals about her characters. And those characters let us know when they’re finished telling us their story.
I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
And this is my Audiobook review:
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Cozen “Zen” Taylor doesn’t like to stick out. Loved how the author set up the plot first before meeting the other main character. It was a pleasant surprise and a great way to build anticipation. Sargon Makri seems to have a hard time staying in one place for too long. There’s a scene where you might find it ironic but he says something that could very well pertain to this author – I stand in awe. These two seem to have one thing in common. They seem to be very self-assured.
Some people have certain expectations when it comes to the narrator of the book they’re listening to. I found Mr. Goff to be very enjoyable. I may not have thought of Cozen while listening to him but he did help with Sargon. He made me glad that I now have both an e-book and an audio version of this story. I can now read it when I want to or I can have Mr. Goff read to me when I’m out and about. It’s also the reason I gave this a higher mark than the rating I first gave when I read the book.
I still find this book to be a great mystery and page-turner. I hated having to turn it off when I was at work but the first chance I got I was right back to listening once again. When reading the story I loved the fact that the author didn’t reveal anything until the characters were ready and it’s the same here. Just like the print copy, this left me surprised by the ending. The author left me wanting more of our couple. I wanted another adventure with these two. I can’t wait to listen to more by both the author and the narrator.
I voluntarily reviewed an Audiobook copy of this book.
This was a really fun book to read! Cozen was a female master thief, with a spotless record of getting in, getting out and never being caught…never even under suspicion. This last job though is the toughest she’s ever had to do. The suspense and the romance are perfect thru this. I absolutely fell in love with Sargon…he was SO hot, so intense. The cat and mouse game thru this book was so entertaining! I loved the ending, it was perfect! I can’t wait to see what this author has in store for us next.
Cozen:
verb (used with or without object)
to cheat, deceive, or trick.
Cozen Taylor is a thief. She makes a living by putting herself in a mark’s life, getting what she’s contracted to get, then leaving as quietly as she came.
So when the Astor’s contract her to steal back a ruby ring, she will stop at nothing to get that and cash out a three hundred million dollar paycheck.
What she didn’t expect to find was Sargon Jones, who’s the bodyguard for her mark. She didn’t expect to fall in love and she definitely didn’t expect him to get so close to her.
Once you get past the weird names, this book was actually pretty good. The sex was smoking, that’s for sure. And there’s a twist that I didn’t see coming–I didn’t even expect there to be a twist, but there is one. It made me do a double take and be like, “Did I just read that right?”
I also absolutely love the cover of this book, it fits who Cozen is perfectly. This is my first Bethany-Kris novel, and I will continue reading more of her.