About BETTER WHEN HE’S BAD:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crownover returns with a heart-stopping new series… Welcome to the Point.
There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who’s bad . . . meet Shane Baxter.
Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way.
Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced.
Bax terrifies her, awakening feelings she never thought she’d have for a guy like him. But it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize . . . some boys are just better when they’re bad.
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Review
Shane “Bax” Baxter – he’s a 22 year old ex con whose life in The Point is as reckless, dangerous, and dark as the place itself. Bax wears his badness like a badge; it’s a testament to all that he’s survived. He’s done what he had to do in an area where “clean living” does nothing but drag you down, and he’s never regretted a single act. He’s a bad guy, and everyone knows it, but as Dovie Price explains several times in Better When He’s Bad, we are “more than the sum of our parts.” And if one thing is clearly illustrated in this book, it’s that goodness can be found even in the darkest places – all it takes is a little “warmth” and “sunshine.”
If there’s one thing I can always count on in a Jay Crownover book, it’s the depth of her characters. She has a way of creating such multi-dimensional characters that readers can see them down to their core. With Bax, Jay doesn’t sugar coat anything. We see him in his rawest and grittiest form; 5 years in the joint has hardened him even further, and revenge on those who have betrayed him is his main focus. Bax is nasty, intolerant, and impulsive. He acts before thinking, but that’s what’s allowed him to survive in this hell hole on his own for all these years. Bax’s first step towards retribution is to hunt down his best friend, Race Hartman, and get answers to what the hell happened the night he was put away. The problem with this task is that Race is off the grid, so the information he needs can’t be easily acquired, so now he has to work around the problem and find other people who can help him, which leads him to an unexpected informant, Race’s sister, Dovie.
Dovie Price is one hell of a heroine. Her life hasn’t been any easier than Bax’s life, but the way she has chosen to get through it is completely different. She’s a confident woman who uses her street smarts and common sense to survive life in the Point. That place owes her nothing, but she still tries to give back, and she’s working towards a career that will help kids like her deal with the hands they’ve been dealt. At Dovie’s core is pure goodness, but her life has hardened her as well, so there’s an edge to her that allows her to survive and carry on despite the hurdles she has to jump to keep moving forward. She doesn’t trust Bax, but she needs him to help find Race and ensure their safety, so she endures Bax’s wrath and asshole comments because the end game is all that matters to her. But then she starts to see Bax a little clearer; she sees through him to the depths of his black eyes and realizes that behind the bad boy…behind Bax the criminal…Bax the asshole…Bax the badass is Shane – a man who definitely doesn’t have all good guy vibes, but he at least as some redeeming qualities and that’s enough for Dovie to work with and hold on to.
On paper, Bax and Dovie can’t work; they shouldn’t work, but life’s not black and white, especially life in the Point, so if Dovie can bring a bit of lightness to Bax’s fucked up existence, why the hell shouldn’t she? Sure, her heart may get broken; it’s almost a guarantee that it will happen, but Dovie knows heartache. What she doesn’t know is what it feels like to be safe and that’s what Bax gives her.
Man, I loved this story. It consumed me. Jay’s storyline is seamless, and as the plot slowly unravels and details are revealed as to what happened all those years ago and how it all fits together with what Race is working on now, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the fall out. This book has it all – complex characters, well developed scenes, suspense, mystery, and damn hot sex. The atmosphere and dynamic players Jay Crownover creates in the Point rival her Marked Men series, which is saying something because I adore Rule, Jet, Rome, and Nash. I will be waiting on the next book in the Welcome to the Point series as eagerly as I’m anticipating Rowdy. They’re completely different series, but both brilliantly written. Well done!
A complimentary copy was provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
5+ poison apples
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About Jay Crownover:
Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men series. She will also be introducing the dark and sexy world of The Point in a new series this summer starting with Better When He’s Bad. 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.
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Fairest Of All Book Reviews 
I love bad boys that are so fiercely protective of those that they let get close.