Anthony Bear and Christy Chapman are from two completely different worlds.Anthony’s the leader of a motorcycle gang that terrorizes Florida’s West Coast. As a child, he ran away from his family and the Cherokee Indian Reservation to enter a life of crime. As an adult, he leads a multifaceted life managing his two businesses—his legitimate landscaping venture, and his loan shark and underworld dealings. Driven by anger and betrayal, Anthony begins the hunt for Christy’s father, Van Chapman, after he runs out on a loan.

Christy’s privileged life is not as it seems. She has kept painful family secrets and hidden some of her own. She’s determined to find out the truth and expose Van, but her search delivers her right into Anthony Bear’s hands, adding kidnapping to his list of crimes.


Their worlds are as contrasting as the color of their skin. The only thing they seem to have in common is their mutual disdain for Van Chapman…and each other.


They couldn’t be more wrong.

 

The Iron Tiara is a spin-off novel from The Minutes Trilogy. It can be read as a standalone, and does not contain a cliffhanger.

 

 

The Iron Tiara by Beth Flynn
Rosa’s rating: 5 of 5 iScream Cones

The criminal and the heiress…

I was beyond excited when I learned there would be a spin-off of the Nine Minutes series. That is one that blew my mind and stayed with me for years. What I wasn’t expecting, but was thrilled to learn, is that this story takes place during the same time period and many of the characters and events from that series are revisited. It was amazing to see things from another perspective, and to have even more details surrounding those events.

I had already met Anthony Bear, but I didn’t know him. It was incredible to be taken back to the beginning and to see what made him into the man he is now. I really enjoy the way the author writes from multiple POV’s and takes me back and forth from past to present and back again. It really puts me into the head of the characters and makes me feel what they are experiencing, having the history to make the connections to situations clear. I’m sure I looked foolish as I was reading. As things became clear I found my jaw dropping, my eyebrow raising, and random exclamations falling from my lips. It was a thrill a minute, and there were more than nine.

Christy gave off a first impression that was deceiving. She was frequently judged by her upbringing rather than her reality. Filled with rage, she fought her demons alone. Not trusting anyone with her pain after having been let down by so many. Being threatened by over six feet of alpha Indian was an eye opener for her. Being glared at with those black eyes was unsettling. She might be blonde and tiny, but she was not stupid or helpless. No, she would fight, even if the odds were against her. And fight she did, though the hair brush didn’t do much damage. She hurt herself more than she did him. She found herself kidnapped, and again staring into those black eyes that reflected her own image. He appeared so emotionless, empty, soulless. But was he?

Anthony had to fight for everything in his life. From the time he was a child he had to make things happen for himself, living on the streets, making his own way. Dealing with racism made it even harder for him to catch a break, making him even harder. He trusted few along the way. He fought his way to a successful life of crime that he had no intention of ever giving up. He was the boss and he planned to stay that way. When someone that owed him money dared run from him without paying, he determined to collect the debt one way or another. When he took her, he never planned to keep her. But once he had her, he didn’t want to let her go…

As the fire sparked between them I wasn’t sure who would give in first. They both had judged each other and came up with the wrong answer. Would they stop fighting long enough to see the truth? After being alone for so long, could either of them let down their walls enough to trust the other with their secrets? If so, would those secrets tear them apart or bring them together? The one thing they shared was their hate for her father, was it enough? Could they work together to accomplish their common goal? And once that was done, was there any hope for a future between the criminal and the heiress?

Well there’s only one way to find out. You won’t be disappointed. Nope, you’ll be chomping at the bit for more. More characters that have their own stories to tell. I’m really hoping they whisper in the authors ear and she decides to tell them. The line forms here…

 

 

Beth Flynn is a fiction writer who lives and works in Sapphire, North Carolina, deep within the southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Beth and her husband, Jim, have spent the last 19 years in Sapphire, where they own a construction company. They have been married 33 years and have two daughters and a temperamental pit bull named Lady , Beth enjoys writing, reading, gardening, church and motorcycles, especially taking rides on the back of her husband’s Harley. She is a seven-year breast cancer survivor.