A review by echoingbooks
Better When He's Bad by Jay Crownover

5.0

“Oh, honey, if you look close enough, everything is in those eyes. That’s why they’re so dark. They are full. Full of every secret, every promise, and every temptation that can make a good girl do really bad things and enjoy every second of it.”

This book was gritty and suspenseful; super sexy and I tell you very addictive…. which I absolutely loved. I could not put this book down, it was a heart-pounding page turner which left me on the edge of my seat the entire time! This book is the total opposite to the marked men series. What I mean about that is this book is about a violent and dangerous world of The Point, a place where criminals rules. I can tell you that Jay Crownover knows how to write books that just creeps up under my skin! I literally could not put this book down! This book was literally addictive, consuming and it never felt this good to be bad; up until now! This story is so different in many ways with the Marked Men series but this book has the same addictive quality with kick ass characters that shine with their boldness and individuality. This series is grittier and darker. Our hero in this book is a totally bad, dangerous criminal. But bad isn’t always black and white but has all shades of gray. Bax is literally untouchable with his life- toughened exterior, that is until one disarming redhead crashes into his life right after he got out of prison.

“I kissed the living shit out of her as I came harder than I ever had in my life. I kissed her until neither of us could breathe. Kissed her until she was pulling at my ears to get me to let her go. Kissed her until I felt her start to shimmy and quake around my dick. Kissed her until I sent her back over the edge while I tried to get my wits and rationality back. I kissed her like I knew there were only a limited number of times she was going to let me do it, and I was going to make each one a memory.”

Bax just got out of prison, after five long years but he barely been out a day and he is already in a whole lot of trouble. His best friend Race is nowhere to be found, but yet everyone is looking for him. Bax never had a easy life, he became a thief at a very young age and his like living each day as if it is his very last. Race is one of the very few that always stood by him and that meant he needed to find him before anyone else does. He needs to know why everyone is after him like that and in the middle of all of this is a redhead girl whose freckled face screams innocence but with her fiery attitude is willing to take on the world to find out what happened to Race. Bax is the one Dovie had to look out for. Race’s best friend, identified by the star tattoo on the side of his eye. Dovie was terrified of Bax, he was all toughness, darkness and danger. Somehow he was the key to finding Race so she had to push away her fear and stick to him like glue, despite the declaration that he works alone.

“She was like some kind of balm that made all the ravaged and torn pieces of my soul feel less raw.”

Bax is used to working alone, never to be attached to anyone. He lives in a world that having attachments meant liabilities and that was very dangerous in his life. Nonetheless Dovie was very relentless to stay in his business until they found Race. the more they worked together in search for Race, who I might add become a ghost, the more Dovie worked at cracking his impenetrable shield. Bax was under the impression that what she will find in him would be all bad. That he can’t be redeemed. Well actually he never hope to be redeemed but suddenly this girl was intent to draw out a side of him he never thought her had. Dovie obviously knew she had to stay away from Bax but the more time she spends with him, the more she sees that there are so much more about him than just being bad. He would sometimes soften around her, so this is how she saw the good in him. These two had such great chemistry that blazed uncontrollably between them and Dovie could just not stay away from even when she tried so hard to fight that desire. Everyone seemed to think that Bax will break her and be the end of her but she just could not stay away from him.

“Some boys . . . they are just better when they’re bad. Bax is one of them and I’m starting to think my brother might be one of them, too. I just have to be good enough for all of us to balance it out.”

I absolutely loved seeing their relationship grow like that. I love that Dovie never gave up on him even though he did everything he could to push her away. Dovie made everything better for him and it started to terrify him that he needed her in a way that he never needed before. He did not know how to be with her because he had only two choices in him mind: go back to prison or get himself killed. This story is filled with so much suspense as this story unravels, it is a heart-pounding adventure in the streets of the Point. I was constantly on the edge of my seat never knowing what would happen and I never could guess what would happen next. I adored both characters. I never expected for Bax to change but I’m happy that he got some kind of balance between good and bad, thanks to Dovie and I am very happy that Dovie never expected Bax to change. This book was honestly perfectly written, with so many twist and turns, through the gut- wrenching scenes with so much emotions. Suspense,steam and action is few of the things you experience in the first book of this series. I would never want to miss a second from Jay Crownover’s books, she is becoming a queen in the New Adult genre!

“I don’t know how love works, Dovie. I don’t know how to be anything other than this, but I know the only thing that gives me hope is the idea of you and me. I know I’m not the ideal, not the dream guy, but no one will ever fight for you the way I will. I promise you that you will always have the best parts of me I have to give.”

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