About BETTER WHEN HE’S BOLD
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crownover, comes the second book in a combustible new series, Welcome to the Point, that is sexier, darker, and better than ever.
There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who is bad. . . . Welcome to the Point.
In a dark and broken kingdom, a ruler has be fearless to control the streets and the ruthless people who run them. Race Hartman is just bold enough, just smart enough, and just lost enough to wear the crown. Places like The Point will always have bad things and bad people, but the man in control of all that badness can minimize the devastation. Race has a plan, but can he prevent total annihilation without destroying himself?
Brysen Carter has always seen the real Race—a guy too pretty, too smooth, and way too dangerous. Basking in his golden glow is very tempting, but Brysen knows she’ll eventually get burned. She has enough problems without the risky danger and mayhem that comes with a guy like Race. Too bad Brysen faces a threat close to home that might be more dangerous than anything The Point has ever produced.. And the only person interested in keeping her safe is the one man she can’t allow herself to have.
Sometimes being bold is the only way to stay alive. But can she let Race save her life . . . if it means losing herself to him?
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REVIEW
“I’m at my best when I’m being bold.”
No truer words were spoken by Race Hartman, Jay Crownover’s newest hero in her dark and gritty series Welcome to the Point. And even though he’s Shane “Bax” Baxter’s best friend, there’s a dichotomy to Race – one that Bax doesn’t have because he was born and raised in the Point and had to deal with the desolation and deceptiveness that it holds since he came into this world.
Race’s life began on the Hill where everything was handed to him without effort and without appreciation. But that life ended swiftly when the rose colored glasses were shed, and Race realized the darkness behind the money, power, and prestige, and now Race finds himself in a lifestyle that has created, in a way, a fracture of his soul – a duality of sorts of the kind of man the Point has created/forced him to be and the man who still understands the difference between right and wrong. In order to survive, Race’s life follows a deliberate path, skirting the dubious connection of good and evil but never letting that lifestyle fully ensnare him.
This “ruthless, broken King of the Streets” never thought he would need or find a Queen willing and able to deal with what he has to do for his “kingdom,” but he just might have in the unlikeliest of places.
Brysen Carter knows a lot about existing in the middle of the Hill and the Point. Although she’s never personally faced the nightmares of the Point that all changes when she finds herself not only drawn to Race but desperately in need of his assistance when someone begins to target her and threatens to unravel whatever sanity she has left in a life that has imploded due to her parents’ actions.
Race doesn’t know if Brysen can handle the Point and all the blood and filth that comes with it, but neither of them are willing to walk away from something that just might offer them both what they so desperately need – a place to find light in all of the darkness. Race brings Brysen’s “gray world to life,” and Brysen creates a “survivable place” for Race and bridge between who he truly is and who he creates in order to do the things he needs to in the Point.
It’s a bold move on both of their parts to give into their feelings with the chaos that swirls around them, but a little hard work has never deterred either of them before, and Race and Brysen know now that the stakes are even higher, it’s going to take a hell of a lot to separate them now. Let’s hope that fortitude holds true for the hellish events that are to come.
The environment that Jay Crownover creates by having the setting take place in the Point is something that needs to be appreciated and understood by readers. The Point itself is just as much a main character of the series as the heroes and heroines. To truly understand what motivates the characters and why their decisions are what they are, the backdrop of the story – the ins and outs of a place that controls many people must be seen clearly, and Jay does a fantastic job of making the Point come to life and depicting it in all of its fucked up glory.
Race is such a complex hero. At first glance, he’s seen as a criminal – a law breaker who deserves everything bad that comes at him, but it’s not that difficult to look beyond the facade…beyond the appearance that is portrayed to the public and see who Race truly is at his core. Getting his firsthand perspective is essential for this understanding, and Jay offers that insight to readers with ease, which allows for a deeper appreciation as to how a man can stay true to his beliefs/values while living in an environment that threatens to strip his humanity on a daily basis.
Appearances can be deceiving also epitomizes Brysen’s character. She may look like a cold ice queen with a bitchy attitude and that may have been who she was, but with everything life has thrown at her, she’s been forced to adjust…to grow a backbone…to do what needs to be done to protect her sister. Brysen is Race’s perfect match just like Dovie is Bax’s. The female counterparts couldn’t be more different than the men, but that’s what makes it work…that’s what soothes the beast within both Race and Bax, which is clearly demonstrated in their interactions with one another.
Better When He’s Bold is an intense story that sheds light on the complexity of the individual and what s/he is willing to do to accomplish what needs to be done. It’s suspenseful…it’s intriguing, and it clearly demonstrates that there’s a depth to people that’s way deeper than what is shown by the life they lead. I love that Bax and Dovie play an integral part in Race and Brysen’s story, and I sure as hell can’t wait to find out what’s beneath the cop exterior of Bax’s brother, Titus.
A complimentary copy was provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 poison apples
And don’t miss the previous books in The Point Series!
GIVEAWAY
About Jay Crownover
Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men and The Point 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.
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