Saturday 17 June 2017

✪ Salvaged (Saints of Denver #4) ✪ Jay Crownover ✪ Blog Tour ✪





The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men books continues her delightfully sexy Saints of Denver series.

Hudson Wheeler is a nice guy. Everyone knows it, including his fiancée who left him with a canceled wedding and a baby on the way. Hes tired of finishing last and is ready to start living in the moment with nights soaked in whiskey, fast cars, and even faster girls. Hes set to start living on the edge, but when he meets Poppy Cruz, her sad eyes in the most gorgeous face hes ever seen hook him in right away. Wheeler can see Poppys pain and all he wants to do is take care of her and make her smile, whatever it takes.

Poppy cant remember a time when she didnt see strangers as the enemy. After a lifetime of being hurt from the men who swore to protect her, Poppys determined to keep herself safe by keeping everyone else at arms length. Wheelers sexy grin and rough hands from hours restoring classic cars shouldnt captivate her, but every time shes with him, she cant help being pulled closer to him. Though shes terrified to trust again, Poppy soon realizes it might hurt even more to shut Wheeler outand the intense feelings pulsing through her are making it near impossible to resist him.

The only thing Poppy is sure of is that her heart is in need of some serious repair, and the more time she spends with Wheeler, the more shes convinced hes the only man with the tools to fix it.



 



ARC received for an honest review

And so the Saints of Denver series comes to an end - sad panda.

But this book.  This book is everything about the the SoD.

If you have read the earlier Saints books or the Marked Men, you will have met Poppy before - she is Rowdy's girl Salem's sister, and she has has a sh!tty time.

Since I first read her, I wanted - no, I needed more. And what Ms Crownover has given us was so much more.

Buyer beware - do not go into this story without tissues handy.  Neither Poppy nor Hudson's story is all sweet and cute.

It is tough, gritty, raw and heartbreaking.  However, through it all there is hope, and our lovelies clung to that hope like their lives depended on it.

Heck, I clung to that hope, I needed them to make it together.  I loved the way they helped each other ,healed each other.



"We all need someone to bring us in from the cold."

 I just wanted to hug the crap out of both of them.  They wormed their way into my heart and I couldn't help but hurt for them, hurt with them.
Gah, see, I am still an emotional mess writing this review.

I loved seeing snippets of the characters from the MM/SoD series pop up, gave me a big old smile, like I was catching up with old friends.

So Salvaged - buy it - read it - love it.









I rounded the corner at the end of my block and came to a halt. The puppy took that as a sign that we were done playing outside and started jumping all over my lower legs and pawing at my shins. He whined at me until I picked him up, and as soon as he could reach my face, his little tongue started darting all over my chin and cheeks. I wondered if he could feel the tension that made my limbs stiff and the anxiety that tightened all my muscles. I felt my breath catch in the back of my throat and there was no stopping my eyes from rapidly blinking to make sure what I was seeing was real and not a figment of my imagination.
He looked like one of those black-and-white art prints that hung in every diner and restaurant Id ever eaten in. The one that was a throwback to another era when cool was something you had to cultivate and couldnt buy on Amazon. He was leaning against a black-and-silver car that looked like it should be on the cover of a hot-rod magazine and not parked on a busy and crowded Capitol Hill street. He had on dark jeans and a dark canvas jacket that had the logo of his garage embroidered on the front. His ankles were crossed on the curb in front of him and one booted foot bounced up and down, giving the impression that hed been waiting for me for a while. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes were locked on mine as I stood still, unsure what to do. He had an effortless kind of charisma that radiated off of him. It was equal parts intimidating and irresistible. I was unsure if my feet wanted to rush me toward him or run me as far from him as possible.
The puppy made the decision for me. Seeing another human, and thus another opportunity for pats and rubs, he threw his wiggling little body out of my arms before I could react. He hit the ground with a little yelp and then bolted right for Wheeler. I let out a gasp and took off after him thinking I could catch the end of the leash that was trailing behind him. I didnt want him to run into the road or veer off into a yard where he didnt belong. I was light-years away from being able to handle a confrontation with a hostile stranger that didnt want the puppy in their space.
I didnt need to worry because Wheeler pushed his long, lean frame off the polished side of the car and reached the scrambling animal within just a few strides. He crouched down as the puppy hurled himself into his arms and scooped the excited bundle up in one fluid motion. Then he was rising back up to his full height, which meant he was towering over me when I made my way over to where he was standing. I was embarrassed at how out of breath I was. I was supposed to be stronger than I was before, but I could hardly handle a little jog up the block or the way my heart raced at the sight of him.
I shook my head and put my hands on my hips as I looked up and into those arctic eyes. He was scratching the puppy under the chin and looking at me from under lashes that had the barest hint of red to them. Why dont you have a coat on?
It wasnt what I was expecting but his question reminded me that I was cold and that the lightweight hoodie that had the Saints of Denver logo on it wasnt doing much to keep the bitter chill in the air off my skin. The shirt came from the tattoo shop where both Rowdy and Salem worked and was probably the most exciting garment I had in my closet. It was the only thing I owned that was bright and colorful. I rubbed my arms up and down and fired my own question right back at him. What are you doing here?
The puppy barked like he was telling me not to be rude but I was unsettled by Wheelers unexpected appearance, and not the typical unsettled that I struggled with because he was a man that I didnt know. It was the kind of unsettled that made parts of my body I forget could react to an attractive man feel warm and tingly. The kind of unsettled that had me involuntarily leaning closer to him as he started to shift so that he could pull his heavy jacket off one arm without letting go of the dog.
I wanted to talk to you about the dog. Did you find someone to take him yet? He shifted the puppy to his now bare arm as I watched the endless amounts of ink that covered his skin move and flex as he shook his other arm free of the coat.
Uhnot really. The truth was I hadnt really put that much effort into finding someone because I didnt want to let the puppy go. In just a few days Id grown surprisingly attached even though I knew I wasnt allowed to keep him in my apartment. Id already asked since Dixie was allowed to keep Dolly, but the landlord informed they were grandfathered in before the laws surrounding pit bulls in Denver changed. My little guy wasnt that lucky.
My response made Wheeler chuckle. He stared at me silently as he held out the coat hed taken off in his free hand.
Put this on. I stared at him like hed suddenly started speaking Russian until he shook the coat again and frowned at me. His voice was serious and left no room for argument when he repeated the command. Put this on, Poppy.



Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men, The Point, and the Saints of Denver 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 dogs.  






ALSO IN THE SAINTS OF DENVER SERIES