Some love stories start with sparks. Creighton and Blake’s starts with bruises. Both products of the foster system, they carry that bone‑deep sense of being unwanted—the kind that stains every instinct, every reaction, every belief about themselves. And in Creighton’s case, that ache is amplified by his own self‑diagnosed “psychopath tendencies.” By fourteen he’s already a young criminal, numb to right and wrong, convinced he has no soul. And then an eight‑year‑old girl with a bruised face steps out of a car and jump‑starts the dead organ in his chest.
From that moment on, Blake becomes his axis.
His purpose.
His line in the sand.
Creighton protects her with a ferocity that terrifies everyone else. If someone hurts her feelings, he reacts. If someone threatens her, he eliminates the threat. The world calls it obsession. I call it devotion—because Blake is also his conscience. She sets one rule: “No one good and no one innocent.” And he follows it for years, not because he believes in morality, but because she does.
Blake’s dream has always been painfully simple: a normal life. Normal people. No foster‑kid stigma. No shadow of Creighton’s world. So they strike a deal—she can leave, study in New York, live her life, as long as she accepts a disguised bodyguard and the occasional financial help she pretends she doesn’t need. Creighton stays in Cincinnati… until he doesn’t. Because where Blake goes, he follows, even from a distance.
And then come the territorial clashes with the Kings of New York—Tristian West and Ashton Walden—and suddenly Blake’s quiet brownstone life with her four housemates collides with Creighton’s underworld. Parties turn into danger. Coincidences turn into chaos. And the mayhem is delicious.
What unfolds is a roller coaster of mafia politics, kidnappings, torture, threats, and turf wars. Through it all, Blake proves she’s no fragile flower—she can handle herself. But with Creighton? She melts. And that contrast is everything.
Her resistance to him finally makes sense: she wanted him to change. To be better. To be normal. But Creighton only has a heart where she’s concerned, and once she accepts that, she adapts. She grows. She realizes the power she holds over him and uses it—not manipulatively, but lovingly—to shape the life they can actually have.
Creighton’s devotion is absolute. He would burn the world for her.
Blake’s love is quieter, slower to bloom, but just as fierce.
And for a man who claims he has no soul, he shows more integrity than half the “good” people in his world. No sex trafficking. Children protected. Employees’ families cared for even after death. He says it’s about loyalty. I say it’s the soul he swears he doesn’t have.
The action never stops.
The romance is slow burn but emotionally loaded.
And watching Blake come into her own—accepting what she can’t change him and bending the rest to her terms—was incredibly satisfying. Watching Creighton be tamed by a girl who is beautiful inside and out? Even better.
My only gripe: seeing West and Walden at war with Creighton hurt my heart, because I loved them in their own books. Walden especially got a little too intense at times. But peace eventually comes, so I forgave it.
Tijan always delivers: riveting characters, twisty plots, humor, emotion, and flawed people trying to be good enough for the one person who matters. Creighton embodies that perfectly. He knows he’s not good—but he loves Blake too much to ever let her go.
Sigh.
Purchase links
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Listen to the audiobook!
Narrated by: Benjamin Sands & Mia Madison
Audible: https://bit.ly/3MUJSkB
About the author
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 after college 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 an English Cocker she
adores.
Connect with Tijan
Website: http://www.tijansbooks.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4851199.Tijan
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Tijan/e/B00DJG52QE
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tijansbooks/
Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/tijansreadergroup
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tijansbooks/
X/Twitter: www.twitter.com/tijansbooks
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@tijan_author
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tijan
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