Book Review & Excerpt + Giveaway: BUILT by Jay Crownover
We are so excited to bring you the Release Week Blitz 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 is out now so grab your copy today! And be sure to check out the awesome sweepstakes! Info and links below!
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.
Rating: 4.5/5
Genre: In between New Adult & Romance
(main characters are ages 28 & 30)
Mature content! 18+
Okay, so I'm going to try and review this book without really ruining what isn't in the synopsis for you guys! It might be kind of hard though, sense the whole book revolves around this one little person I can't mention (I mean I probably can, but what's the fun in that?).
There's an instant attraction when the super closed off Sayer meets the extremely attractive and open Zeb. Zeb has his own home renovation business, and since Sayer just recently purchased a old victorian type home that needed extreme repair, Zeb decided to take it upon himself to help her out. Six months later after he finishes, he finds himself in quite a bit of a predicament. His past is coming to bite him in the butt, and he needs to hire a lawyer. Lucky for him, Sayer happens to be an amazing one!
I absolutely LOVED Zeb. Despite his "questionable" past (It's in quotations because it really isn't exactly questionable at all. In my opinion, he did what needed to be done.), he is the most honest, genuine, confident, and dedicated man I've had the pleasure to read about. He didn't let his past define him, and he took it as a lesson learned, and truly made himself the better person he wanted to be. Zeb is probably my second favorite character in this book!!
(Side note: I'm going to have to admit: I normally don't have a thing for guys with beards and the guy on the cover didn't particularly catch my eye. So I actually pictured Chris Hemsworth with a beard... lol!!! Honestly, if a guy is well built *drum roll*, super tall, and freaking hot, I normally end up picturing him. Hey... I have a thing for Thor, okay?)
As for Sayer... I had a love-hate relationship with her, and it's probably why I deducted a little bit from the "rating". When I say she's closed off, I mean she has bigger and stronger walls up then the Great Wall of China itself! She would walk a foot, and then shrink back three. She seemed to blame herself for absolutely everything and she has A LOT of baggage (though do a lot of Jay's characters), but the way that she was raised has made her stubborn and almost unwilling to grow. A little over half way, you start to see some character development and I was sooo relieved! I really started to understand where she was coming from, and you understand WHY she blamed herself for everything. I loved being able to see the drastic change in her character from beginning to end. And honestly, someone who has dealt with so much as she has, I'm surprised she learned to do it as quick as she did. By the end of the book, I loved her character too.My FAVORITE character of this book would be Hyde. Now, I'm not going to tell you who he is during this review, but you will meet him within the first several chapters! He is just.... Ah! Can I insert a heart eye emoji right now? I couldn't stop smiling during every single part he was in.
Overall, the story was BEAUTIFULLY written. The way you get to read about how different people come together as one, is truly incredible. You also understand the meaning of the title BUILT as well. I always get warm and fuzzy whenever the title really coordinates well with the book.
As always, I love Jay's books, and I can't wait for you all to read this book!!
And by the way, have a fan sitting next to you....
Because the sex scenes are HOT!
In case you were wondering (because how could you not)...
This is how I picture Zeb with a hammer...... LOL
“How come you don’t drive your cool truck during the week?”
Both his eyebrows shot up and I had to wait while he finished chewing to answer me. “My cool truck?
The International? I know about a hundred sixteen-year-old boys that would disagree with you about the Jeep not being cool. Especially here in Colorado.”
I shrugged a little and gave up trying to be delicate with the messy sausage. I was sure I had yellow all over my face, but I didn’t care. The thing was delicious. Seattle Sayer had no idea what gloriousness she had been missing.
“I like the old truck. It’s pretty and it’s so neat to see something like that restored and well loved.”
“I do love it. That’s why I don’t drive it to jobsites. Too many nails and other stuff getting carelessly tossed around. I try and baby her.”
I made a face. “The truck is a her?”
He laughed again and cleanly polished off the rest of his brat. I was amazed he did it all without getting anything in his face fuzz. That was real talent right there, I thought begrudgingly as I continued to make a mess all over myself.
“Sure. She’s classy, elegant, made of study stuff, expensive as hell to keep running and keep pretty. She’s only good to me if I’m good to her, so obviously she’s a girl.
I rolled my eyes and then wiped my hands on the outside of my pants when I finished off my own dinner. Briefly I thought my dad would be horrified at the action but I shoved that thought down and instead focused on Zeb and only Zeb. “How long did it take you to restore her?”
He shrugged, got to his feet, and moved to pry open the massive bucket of white primer he had been using as a chair. My buddy Wheeler sold the body to me for next to nothing when I got out of prison. We went to high school together and I think he knew I needed something to keep me busy because the only kind of work I could find right after being released was shit work for shit pay. Every week I would give him a few bucks here or there and he would find me a part or a piece of motor and we slowly but surely got her altogether. It was one of the reasons I knew I had to find a long-term way to support myself. Just because I had a record didn’t mean I wasn’t a valuable employee or a hard worker. I got really sick of being treated like a second-class citizen because of one mistake.”
His eyes cut to mine and all I could do was nod in sympathy as he poured the liquid into trays and fished a couple of roller brushes out of a plastic bag.
“I actually met Rowdy through Wheeler. He had done a bunch of Wheeler’s tattoo work, and when I told Wheeler I wanted something to remind me not to do stupid things that would cost me years of my life again, he recommended Rowdy and the Marked shop. Rowdy was the one that recommended me to the guys that own the tattoo shop when they decided to open and renovate the new location downtown. It all seemed very meant to be, ya know?”
I did know. Everything was tied together with thin threads of fate, and when one loosened or tightened it was surprising how impactful it could be. Kind of like how I had ended up where with Zeb now.
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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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