Charged (Saints of Denver #2)
by Jay Crownover
Release Date – May 24th 2016
Publisher – William Morrow Paperbacks
Buy – Amazon | Book DepositoryFrom the New York Times bestselling author of the Marked Men books comes the second installment in the Saints of Denver series featuring a bad girl and a by the book attorney who could be her salvation…or her ruin.
Avett Walker and Quaid Jackson’s worlds have no reason to collide. Ever. Quaid is a high powered criminal attorney as slick as he is handsome. Avett is a pink-haired troublemaker with a bad attitude and a history of picking the wrong men.
When Avett lands in a sea of hot water because of one terrible mistake, the only person who can get her out of it is the insanely sexy lawyer. The last thing on earth she wants to do is rely on the no-nonsense attorney who thinks of her as nothing more than a nuisance. He literally has her fate in his hands. Yet there is something about him that makes her want to convince him to loosen his tie and have a little fun…with her.
Quaid never takes on clients like the impulsive young woman with a Technicolor dye job. She could stand to learn a hard lesson or two, but something about her guileless hazel eyes intrigues him. Still, he’s determined to keep their relationship strictly business. But doing so is becoming more impossible with each day he spends with her.
As they work side-by-side, they’ll have to figure out a way to get along and keep their hands off each other—because the chemistry between them is beyond charged.
Jay Crownover has been my go-to NA read for ages and I was once again ecstatic to start reading the next venture into some serious hot tattooed bodied males. Built was an incredible start to the series and it never broke away from the Marked Men series. Saints of Denver is the baby of the Marked Men, still chasing the bad guys and girls who appreciate bold art and talent.
What I loved more about this book was the secondary storyline especially with Brite Walker. Ever since Book 1 of the Marked Men series Brite has been their in context, behind the scenes of each of the books and of the men that were the starring role. But Brite is the King of the Marked, he’s the father they never had, the role model that believed in every single one of them. So when your faced with his very own daughter – I felt you saw the real Brite, right through him, down to the bare bones of him, how he really ticks, his life and the way these men have impacted not only his life but also Avett’s and his wife Darcy.
I think that Avett’s story although has to be told it wasn’t really one of my favourites. If I’m going to be honest here I think that the secondary storyline and characters especially with Asa and Rome was the highlight of the book for me. And I loved the fact we had a glimpse of Church the brooding, quiet bouncer in Rome’s bar. I really, really hope he gets a story of his own soon! Please Jay, pretty PLEEEASE!
“Like recognized like. And while we had both been lost and floundering on our own, when we were together it felt like we were exactly where we were supposed to be.”
Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men, The Point, and the Saints of Denver series. Like her characters, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she’ll settle for writing stories with interesting characters that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.
Read more for an excerpt….
tapped the edge of my thumb on the black-and-white mug shot photo and couldn’t
stop the grin from tugging at my mouth.
tried to fire me.
was five-foot-nothing, a lifetime younger than me, had multicolored hair that
had seen better days, wild eyes that couldn’t decide if they wanted to be
green, gold, or brown, while dressed in convict orange and obviously scared out
of her ever loving mind, yet she still tried to fire me. If it had been any of
my other clients—the cop accused of sexual battery, the frat boy accused of
manslaughter over a bet on a football game gone wrong, the middle school
teacher accused of pedophilia and having an inappropriate relationship with
several of her students, or the pro football player accused of domestic abuse—I
would have tipped my proverbial hat, wished them luck while I cut my losses,
and walked away without a backward glance. People always committed crimes.
People always needed a good defense, so it wasn’t like I was hurting for
clients, but there was something about the girl. Something about the defiant
tilt of her chin and the raw desperation in her tone when she begged me not to
call her father.
anything from you.” She sounded like she meant it when she said it, but I
figured she was too young and too scared to know exactly what she wanted or
needed. Regardless, it was still refreshing to hear.
always wanted something from me and my help was usually the least of it.
tapped the picture again, wondering why I found it so easy to believe that she
really hadn’t been a part of the boyfriend’s plan to rob the bar. She wasn’t
anyone’s idea of a model citizen and she had the shady track record to prove
it. She was too young, and frankly too adorable, to have a file this thick.
From what I could see, she had a set of parents always willing to ride to the
rescue when she got herself into trouble. She looked like some kind of colorful
woodland fairy from a Disney movie with her odd hair and delicate features.
None of it added up, but the sincerity in her tone when she said she would
never have gone with the boyfriend if she knew his intent and the fear in her eyes
when I mentioned her father seemed genuine.
learned long ago to treat everyone like they were guilty of whatever it was I
was paid to defend them against. I didn’t want to know the truth. I didn’t want
to know the circumstances. I wanted my clients to listen to me and let me do my
job as I tried to convince the rest of the world they were innocent, regardless
if they were or not. But this girl with her faded, rose colored hair and
turbulent eyes oozed innocence through the cracks of a very guilty façade.
I was intrigued and actually believed the girl might be innocent, I wasn’t
going to let her fire me. I was going to call her father and hope that he would
help me keep her out of the slammer while I figured out how to plea bargain her
charges down or get them dismissed altogether. Again, because a cop was
involved in the robbery and because the boyfriend, junkie or not, was offering
up a pretty plausible explanation for Avett’s involvement in the crime, nothing
was a slam dunk, yet. I was going to help her whether she wanted me to or not.
Can you believe that I've never tried this author? I really should, maybe not with this one since it wasn't your favorite but definitely one of her's. Great honest review!
I haven't read any books by this author so probably I should get on that soon! Thanks for putting this author back on my radar, Emma! 🙂
I have to admit that I don't really read NA if I can avoid it, but I do love series that somehow connect and old characters that get a secondary storyline like here. It does sound good.
Looks interesting! I haven't read much from Crownover but I will keep an eye out for more from here. Interesting that the main storyline isn't what grabbed you
Good review 🙂
Oh, I've enjoyed her Marked Men series as well. I need to check this one out, too!
I've enjoyed Jay Crownover as well, but Avett doesn't sound like a girl I'd really like. Glad to hear you ended up liking the story even if it wasn't your favorite, Emma. Wonderful review! 🙂