Lazy Book Lovers: Blog Tour: Built by Jay Crownover

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 1^st 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 5^th!

Studio portrait of young bearded man --- Image by © pinkypills/Corbis

Built (Saints of Denver #1)
Author: Jay Crownover
Publication Date: January 5, 2016
Published: HarperCollins
Source: InkSlinger

My Rating:

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.

Purchase

Amazon US | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

And don’t miss the previous novella in The Saints of Denver Series!

LEVELED

The saints are definitely in Denver in Jay Crownover's Built, first in the spin-off series of her remarkable Marked series. The moment I heard that we weren't done with this world, I was extremely excited. Seeds were planted in our heads of this story in the 5th book of that series, Rowdy, which happens to be my favorite as well.

In there, we meet Sayer Cole, Rowdy's long lost sister. She's a lawyer from Seattle who uprooted her life there to start over closer to her brother. Sayer on the outside is what you would expect from a stuffy lawyer but with also the compassion of a saint, which has her working in family law. She's stuffy and uptight but under all that sharp exterior, fragile as a wounded bird. Her not so perfect past was a great contrast to the kind of life she was intended on portraying.

And there there is Zebulon "Zeb" Fuller. I'm pretty sure he is part giant and god. The man with the tainted past but the drive and work ethic to make his future brighter. He's a contractor who takes run down houses and rebuilds them into something worth having. I think that it was a beautiful play on his character to have that as his career.

The romantic build up for these two was something I thought I would enjoy much more but a little of it felt forced? Maybe forced is the wrong word. All I know, is that I think I would have liked a little less of their instant attraction.

That said, I loved when they were in scenes together. Something life changing happens to Zeb and Sayer is there to help him through and those happened to be some of my favorite scenes. It was also nice to see how Zeb made Sayer a better person or even a person in general. Hammering away at those rough layers that she had conditioned was the perfect job for someone like Zeb.

Overall, I felt like this was a good first shot out the gate for this series. It sometimes is hard to continue in a world that we've already grown to love, and I will admit I found myself thinking back on those Marked boys but I fell in love with the gentle giant as well. I can't wait to see what else there is to come.

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.