Bad Boy Brody by Tijan is …unexpected. The very good kind of unexpected!

Synopsis

The loss of his brother sends Brody Asher from Hollywood Golden Boy to Hollywood Bad Boy. When he might lose a blockbuster movie role because of his new reputation, he agrees to first do a small indie movie to clean up his image. Arriving on location, he’s not ready for the family politics and mystery surrounding the movie script that was based on a real life murder. And he’s most definitely not ready to fall in love with the person that was the reason for the murder in the first place, or the fact that no one is supposed to know about her.

 GOODREADS  AMAZON

Review

I was overjoyed when I got this ARC from the author but it has no impact on my honest review.

4,5 stars

Bad Boy Brody by Tijan is …unexpected. The very good kind of unexpected!

Honestly I dove in this story completely blind. I had requested the advanced reading copy as soon as I had heard about it because I love Tijan’s books. Mason is one of my top book boyfriends and earlier in the year Tijan turned my world upside down with Ryan’s Bed. I needed another fix!

I expected the bad boy act from the up and coming actor.

I did not expect Morgan.

She was THE unexpected factor to take this story from good to really unique!

But let’s have some structure in this review.

The plot

Brody was about to become Hollywood’s next best thing when his brother died in a car accident. Brody heard it all and was traumatized. You have grief and grieving Brody is an @hole. Fighting, drinking, sleeping with everyone with a skirt …you get it.

What can be tolerated for a time soon became insufferable and he was endangering his career. That’s why his manager had him film an indie “Oscar worthy” movie in the middle of Montana.

“Overnight, I had gone from Hollywood’s heartthrob to their bad boy. And that brought us to the whole reason I was being driven to somewhere I didn’t want to be to work on a movie I didn’t want to be a part of. “

The storyline is around Karen Kellerman’s murder.

His manager will dote on him like a mother and will pray he stops his shenanigans.

No manager wants to see his protégé sinks into an abysmal well and be forgotten by adoring fans right?

Unexpectedly a life altering encounter with a wild girl will take Brody out of his self-destructive path.

The girl is like a ghost.

Silent. Riding horses bareback nearly invisible when hidden in the mane of her four- legged sister.

Never seen if she does not want to. She sees all and ears everything.

The girl will visit Brody in his sleep. Never to be caught if she does not want to.

Who is the mysterious girl? The one he feels a deep connection with. The one Brody just needs to meet.

Why does Brody feel like Mathew one of the property’s owners is hiding something?

So many questions, so much secrets for what should have been only work but will soon feel much more personal.

That’s it for the plot as I don’t want to spoil your fun!

The characters

Morgan just added a poetic dimension to this story. She is half human and half horse. She is untamed. She rides horses and lives among them to be free, to be safe. They never abandoned her. She has an inhuman quality with a heightened sense of smell and acute hearing. She also has a “super hero” tinge and can jump balconies from several stories without breaking a leg. She is like a creature of legend in this part of Montana. A story you tell on cold winter’s nights around the fireplace face filled with wonder.

“I was given human privileges, ones that I never took for granted. My mother’s inheritance granted them to me. I was able to stay where I was. I could avoid humans as much as necessary. Some knew about me. Some whispered about me.”

Innocent and pure in many ways she won’t play coy. She is real. She doesn’t play games.

If she wants something she’ll go for it. And she wants Brody…

Brody was not really a bad boy. He was far from some egotistical heroes with an ego the size of the earth. No Brody was a good buy at heart he was just grieving in his own way. Once he saw Morgan he’ll do everything he can to know her and to protect her. His biggest problem will be not to fall in love because Morgan’s life and his life can’t work together.

She is living with the herd. Free, untamed. While he will be touring the world to make movies.

The angst and the suspense

Well you have a villain in the story. Or rather several villains. One in shades of grey but you thought he was black and a second one really well hidden, lurking in a dark corner.

There is a secret around the murder of Morgan’s mom.

Something nasty and threatening.

The angst does not come from bad communication and misunderstanding between the main characters thanks to Morgan’s bluntness. It comes from the uncertainty around their future together. Morgan will never be happy without her horses, without the wilderness. Brody’s future is all set and is taking him on every continent to make movies.

“She is wild in her heart. You cannot tame her. You will never be able to take her with you on your next acting gig. You travel constantly. You go everywhere, all over the world. You’re from two completely opposite worlds. You’ll never fully fit in with hers, and she’ll never fully fit in with yours.”

So what will happen?

Bad Boy Brody is an original story filled with loveable and unusual characters wrapped in a light shade of angst with a zest of suspense.

Recommend it?

Of course if you already love Tijan and if you don’t know her yet this would be a perfect book to begin your love story.

Are you a fan of Tijan?

Thanks for reading!

Sophie