PINE RIVER by Tijan-review and tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 24, 2023

Pine River was supposed to be a new start for me.
And it was, especially attending school with my three overprotective cousins, who were the triplets at the top of the social hierarchy.
Except they weren’t alone there, and the first day when I came to school, I saw him.

Scout Raiden.
Tall. Lean. Tattooed. Mesmerizing.
He was a golden god with dark and piercing eyes-looking like he wanted to eat me up.

The feeling was mutual, and that was a problem.
It was lust-want-must have-loathing-hate all at once. I was affected.
And I couldn’t have that. No way.
Not after what I’d just left in Cedra Valley.

I didn’t care how much money his uncle had.
I didn’t care that it seemed every girl wanted him.
I didn’t care about his reputation as an up-and-coming fighter.
Or the promise of how those hands would make me feel.

What I did care about was staying as far away from Scout as possible.
Because the promise of his presence, the heat that was going to turn the light back on in my world wasn’t a promise at all.
It was a threat.

I wasn’t going to survive Scout Raiden.

•••••

REVIEW:  PINE RIVER by Tijan is a stand alone, contemporary, new adult, dark romance focusing on eighteen year old high school students Ramsay Williams, and MMA fighter Scout Raiden.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there WILL be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives, using present day and memories from the past, PINE RIVER follows eighteen year old Ramsay Williams as she embarks on a new school year, in a new town, with the support of her widowed mother, and three over protective triplet cousins: Clint, Trenton and Alex. After a harrowing year, Ramsay and her mother wanted a fresh start, and moving to Pine River meant getting reacquainted with her cousins but Ramsay never expected to find herself facing down the hatred in the eyes of fellow student and underground MMA fighter Scout Raiden. Scout, and the triplets are at the top of the caste, the school hierarchy, and as such Ramsay is a member by association but all is not well in Ramsay’s life, as issues from the past refuse to let go. Always at one another’s proverbial throats, it was only a matter of time before Scout and Ramsay took their tempestuous relationship to the next level, a level from enemies to frenemies to friends with benefits, of which , everyone suspected but no one knew. Always the protector, Ramsay’s cousins were constantly at odds with Scout Raiden until Scout’s past made a move, threatening the status quo of everyone involved. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Scout and Ramsay, and the potential fall-out as secrets will reveal a long history of darkness that is threatening the future of our story line couple.

The world building follows several paths including issues of domestic violence, murder, abuse and betrayal. The requisite high school gossip, mean girls, betrayers and bullies come and go but the social media fall-out is about to destroy the weak and the fair.

The relationship between Scout and Ramsay begins acrimoniously. Ramsay is on the defensive from the outset as Scout sets his sights on our story line heroine. The back and forth between Scout and Ramsay is but a prelude to something more especially when Scout becomes guardian and protector of the woman with whom he is falling in love. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of energetic and complimentary secondary and supporting characters including Ramsay’s triplet cousins, their embattled parents, Ramsay’s mother, Scout’s uncle Miles, as well as several friends, fellow students, acquaintances, extended family and many others with questionable intent. I am hoping the author has plans for Ramsay’s cousins-Trenton, Clint and Alex need their own stories.

PINE RIVER is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, obsession and madness, abuse and coercion, acceptance and love. The angst-ridden premise is detailed, complex, multi-layered and fascinating; the slow building romance is heart breaking and emotional; the characters are broken but struggling to heal.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

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 later in life and once she started, she was hooked. She’s written multi-bestsellers including the Carter Reed Series, the Fallen Crest Series, and the Broken and Screwed Series among others. She is currently writing a new YA series along with so many more from north Minnesota where she lives with a man she couldn’t be without and an English Cocker she adores. 

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