This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Marked Men books comes the second installment in the Saints of Denver series featuring a bad girl and a by the book attorney who could be her salvation…or her ruin.
Avett Walker and Quaid Jackson’s worlds have no reason to collide. Ever. Quaid is a high powered criminal attorney as slick as he is handsome. Avett is a pink-haired troublemaker with a bad attitude and a history of picking the wrong men.
When Avett lands in a sea of hot water because of one terrible mistake, the only person who can get her out of it is the insanely sexy lawyer. The last thing on earth she wants to do is rely on the no-nonsense attorney who thinks of her as nothing more than a nuisance. He literally has her fate in his hands. Yet there is something about him that makes her want to convince him to loosen his tie and have a little fun…with her.
Quaid never takes on clients like the impulsive young woman with a Technicolor dye job. She could stand to learn a hard lesson or two, but something about her guileless hazel eyes intrigues him. Still, he’s determined to keep their relationship strictly business. But doing so is becoming more impossible with each day he spends with her.
As they work side-by-side, they’ll have to figure out a way to get along and keep their hands off each other—because the chemistry between them is beyond charged.
“Even when someone doesn’t want our story, we are still compelled to tell it.”
My Review
First Impressions
Charged is the second book in the “Saints of Denver” series and I am finally back to reading this author and I am so thrilled about it. I have really neglected this author recently and I do love her writing style, she writes the best bad boys/girls in her stories and there is this gritty charm that sucks you right into the story and I wasn’t sure how I felt about the heroine being the bad girl in the story but Jay Crownover completely made this work so beautifully in this story. I was first drawn to this cover, and yes the pink hair did it for me because its so rare to see pink hair on a romance cover, and I was intrigued. The story definitely delivers in all its beauty in showcasing the value in finding love when and where you least expect it and how well opposites can complement each other so well. I was delighted to see how these two would find a balance together and it just works in such a lively way with some thrills along the way.
It was the first time in my life that a bad idea felt like the best idea I had ever had.
Summary
Avett Walker has always walked on the edge, just coming short of ever truly breaking the law seriously, running with the bad crowd and getting into all sorts of trouble and yet her father is always the one to come to her aid like a knight on a white horse, but now she is in deep trouble and not even her father will be able to save her because she got caught up with some people she never expected to betray her and now with a policeman hurt, she knows it will take a miracle to get out of this. But then walks into her jail cell….is none other than Quaid Jackson, who is one of the top defense lawyers in the city and he was hired by a friend of her father’s who should despise her but offers out a helping hand when she betrayed him. Sparks fly between Avett and Quaid and there is a hidden passion that bursts between them. Quaid has always kept the appearances of being the cold unfeeling lawyer he is supposed to be, but underneath it all he craves something soft and sweet and fiery as he finds with Avett. But their worlds collide, and he knows he can’t ever let her go no matter the cost to his career. But there is much more at stake, as Avett is in danger and Quaid might be her saving grace…
And I do want your story, if you want to give it to me. Tell me why you’re rushing after the wrong kinds of things, time and time again, when the right kinds of things would die for a shot at getting a taste of all that wild and sweet you have inside of you.
What I Loved
Charged was such a fiery hot read that kept me on my toes and I couldn’t help but be charmed by this story here. I was so in love with these characters from the beginning and I just wanted to see them come together and explore what they had together. Even though the “bad girl” heroines don’t always work for me, Jay Crownover worked for me and I really was charmed by Avett’s back story and why she has acted out over the years and seeing her inner growth in finding herself and learning to build her life back better than before was pure beauty. Quaid is a hero that every romance lover will come to love. I loved his solid strength and his steady faith in Avett and what she is capable of. He never loses faith in her, and only connects more deeply with her when her story is told to him. The level of trust that is built between them, in the beginning, was so heartfelt and these small intimate moments that really build the intimacy within the story and only grow the momentum of the plot that allows the reader to connect deeply with the characters. We get some side characters and I absolutely loved seeing some of my favorites from Built I definitely need to finish up the series because I had forgotten how much I had fallen in love with this author’s writing previously.
Some of us are born into the storm and some of us are born to chase after it
What I Struggled With
I did find how quickly these two jump into bed together a bit unreal, to be honest, it felt way too fast and I just didn’t feel that connection at first.
Overall View
Charged is a wild and fastly paced romance that will curl your toes and keep your energy spiked through its high focus of passion and exciting thrills which packs the story in such an utterly delightful way guaranteed to charm any reader willing to delve and take a chance on this pair.
The one he knew without a doubt he loved beyond measure and wanted to keep forever.
Title: Charged
Author: Jay Crownover
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Length: 361 Pages
Book Links
Amazon| Barnes and Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 4
Story Itself: 4.25
Character Development: 3.75
Writing Style:4
World Building 4.5
Feels + The Romantic Heart 4
Pacing 5
Plot 4
Cover Art 4
Ending 4.25
Book Ratings
Overall Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Saints of Denver
Leveled-Pub 2015 #0.5 in the Series
Built-Pub 2016 #1 in the Series
Charged-Pub 2016 #2 in the Series
Riveted-Pub 2017 #3 in the Series
Salvaged-Pub 2017 #4 in the Series
About The Author
Jay Crownover is the International and multiple New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men Series, The Saints of Denver Series, The Point and Breaking Point Series, and the Loveless, Texas series. Her books can be found translated in many different languages all around the world. She is a tattooed, crazy haired Colorado native who lives at the base of the Rockies with her awesome dogs. This is where she can frequently be found enjoying a cold beer and Taco Tuesdays. Jay is a self-declared music snob and outspoken book lover who is always looking for her next adventure, between the pages and on the road.
I tried her books for the first time a couple years back and like you, I was fascinated by the gritty, sensual romances and how willing I was to go with the bad girl heroines along with the guys. This does sound like another good series.
I like character who seem hard on the outside, but are soft on the inside the way Avett was. I was a fan of how different Avett and Quaid were too, yet how well they worked together.
Lovely review! I haven’t read Jay Crownover in a while, since her Marked Men series but boy did I love her writing style. This book sounds like a fun & sexy ride. So glad you enjoyed it and the bad girl aspect worked well for these characters!
I really loved both the Marked Men and Saints of Denver series. While Avett was not my favorite character, and that meant Chraged was not my favorite in the series, it was still impossible not to be drawn into the story. I love Crownover’s story telling.