We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Review/Excerpt Tour for BUILT by Jay Crownover! BUILT is a Contemporary Romance novel being published by HarperCollins, and it is the 1st full-length novel in The Saints of Denver Series, a spinoff of her New York Times bestselling Marked Men Series. This amazing book releases on January 5th!
About BUILT:
From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men books comes an electrifying new spin-off series, Saints of Denver, featuring all the characters fans have been dying to read about.
Sayer Cole and Zeb Fuller couldn’t be more different. She’s country club and fine-dining, he’s cell-block and sawdust. Sayer spends her days in litigation, while Zeb spends his working with his hands. She’s French silk, he’s all denim and flannel.
Zeb’s wanted the stunning blonde since the moment he laid eyes on her. It doesn't matter how many smooth moves he makes, the reserved lawyer seems determinedly oblivious to his interest—either that or she doesn't return it. Sayer is certain the rough, hard, hot-as-hell Zeb could never want someone as closed off and restrained as she is, which is a shame because something tells her he might be the guy to finally melt her icy exterior.
But just as things start to heat up, Zeb is blindsided by a life altering moment from his past. He needs Sayer’s professional help to right a wrong and to save more than himself. He can’t risk what’s at stake just because his attraction to Sayer feels all consuming. But as these opposites dig in for the fight of their lives, battling together to save a family, the steam created when fire and ice collide can no longer be ignored.
REVIEW:
Review by CA Borgford
It’s no surprise that
Crownover knows how to steal the hearts of readers. Where she continues to
surprise me is how she always finds a new way to do it. Together Zeb and Sayer
are electric.
In the face of life changing
circumstances and quite possibly the biggest challenge of his life, Zeb is rock
steady and certain. I love his fierceness, his patience, but most of all I love
his conviction to put it all on the line when it matters most.
In second chances you have to
remember there is a lot of pain before gain and looks can be very deceiving.
Sayer is a tough nut. She’s a
character you want to love and shake in equal measure. She is written and
developed as impeccably as she dresses for work. The complexity of her pain
coupled with her resolve to see herself in the harshest of lights is at times
painful and frustrating to read, yet serves a higher purpose in telling their
story. This book is brimming with love, second chances, and a healthy dose of
hot male that will make you want to remodel. Most of all it’s the opener to a new
series that hooks you into loving and longing for who and what’s to come.
Jay Crownover builds HEAs the
hard way, without short cuts ~Built from the ground up. That way you know
they’ll be built to last.
Review by Heather Davenport
Built is the first book in The Saints of Denver Series, a spin-off of The Marked Men Series. We were introduced to Sayer and Zeb in The Marked Men Series. The moment Zeb's eyes landed on Sayer, he knew he had to have her. Something about her spoke volumes to him. Both Zeb and Sayer have a past, a past that can effect their relationship.
Zeb's past comes face to face with him. He can either turn and look the other way, or take the bull by the horns. Zeb needs help and he turns to the one person he knows can help him, Sayer.
Sayer is fighting her own demons from her past. While trying to work through them, she finds that one burly man, keeps paying her visits in her dreams at night. She can't stop thinking about him. Zeb wants Sayer, he never denied it. Sayer seems to be the one holding all the cards in this situation. Relationships are built on trust. Built on love. Can Zeb and Sayer have that? Will Sayer continue to push Zeb away? What will happen when Zeb steps up to the plate and takes responsibility for his past? Will this push Sayer further away or will it bring them closer?
Jay took a risk with creating a character like Sayer. Usually readers want the woman to fall over the man and be warm and fuzzy all the time. Sayer is not that person. She was very indecisive in this book. At times, I wanted to ring her neck, but I had to take a step back and understand why she was like that. Sayer needed to love herself before she could love someone else. Zeb was nothing but patient with her, and you will fall in love with him with each turn of the page. You will route for Zeb. You will see how Zeb built his future from the ground up. The question is.... Does Sayer want to be part of it?
This is a five star read for me. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
EXCERPT
“One battle at a time, Zeb. That’s all we can tackle, okay?”
He was quiet for a long moment, but I could hear him breathing and then finally he grunted a little bit and replied, “Well, then the battle I need to tackle right now is those god-awful walls. Thank you for talking me off the ledge. It’s impossible not to hope for the best when I talk to you.”
Maybe it was the overwhelming quiet of my house or it was the wistfulness in his voice. Or maybe it was really the fact that no matter how hard I tried to keep a clear divide between the two of us, I was always going to be too eager to cross over it when an opportunity presented itself. Like a goddamn fool.
Calling myself every kind of name there was in the book, I blurted out, “I’m not doing anything tonight, and Poppy went out with Rowdy, so if you need an extra set of hands to help with the paint I can swing by the house.” I wanted to groan. I was the least handy person in the whole world and I don’t think I had ever even held a paintbrush, but the idea of getting to spend some one-on-one time with him was just so tempting that I ignored all of that and secretly hoped he would ignore it, too.
He chuckled a little. “Are you serious?”
I shrugged even though he couldn’t see it. “Sure. Why not?”
“Well, I’m not going to turn down free labor, especially when that free labor looks like you. Do you even own anything that you won’t be pissed to get paint on, Say? What I do tends to get dirty.” His voiced dropped a little bit and there was a husky timbre to the words that made me shiver.
There was a double entendre there that was impossible to miss and it made all of my skin heat up from the inside out. Not to mention no one had ever shortened my name before. I wasn’t exactly the cutesy nickname type. My father wouldn’t have approved and as such I was always just “Sayer.” Zeb’s shortening my name felt intimate. It felt far more familiar than I should be allowing myself to get with him. Still I didn’t say anything other than “I’m sure I can find something.”
And don’t miss the previous novella in The Saints of Denver Series!
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.