New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jay Crownover returns with her most complicated hero yet, in the first book in the romantic suspense series The Breaking Point.
Don’t be fooled.
Don’t make excuses for me.
I am not a good man.
I’ve seen things no one should, done things no one should talk about. Honor and conscience have no place in my life. But I’ve fought and I’ve survived. I’ve had to.
The first time I saw her dancing on that seedy stage in that second rate club, I felt my heart pulse for the first time. Keelyn Foster was too young, too vibrant for this place, and I knew in an instant that I would make her mine. But first I had to climb my way to the top. I had to have something more to offer her.
I’m here now, money is no object and I have no equal. Except for her. She's disappeared. But don’t worry, I will find her and claim her. She will be mine.
Like I said, don’t be fooled. I am not the devil in disguise... I’m the one standing front and center.
Order HONOR in ebook or paperback, releasing 10/18/16
Excerpt:
KEELYN
“What are you doing here, Nassir?”
Nassir Gates, half man and half monster. He was lethal and toxic, keeping all that sinister beauty covered up in a ridiculously expensive suit that made him look elegant and falsely civilized. To the untrained eye, Nassir was an outrageously handsome man that looked like he was on his way to a business meeting, but if you had spent any time on the streets, were familiar with life in the gutter, there was no missing who he really was, what he was. The top of the food chain. If you knew about what it took to make it where I came from, you could look at Nassir and see that he not only thrived in chaos, but was comfortable there. He even managed to make it look good.
I left all of that behind. I liked Denver. I liked the laid-back vibe. I liked the monotony. I liked the predictability. I liked that I could walk to my car after my shift at the diner and not have to worry about taking a knife in the ribs or getting a revolver shoved in my back. I liked that I didn’t have to shake my ass or get naked to pay my bills. I liked that here, soccer dads were just that, and weren’t secretly banging hookers in the back room or gambling the family’s grocery money away at an illegal poker game. Most importantly I liked that I didn’t have to look my biggest addiction, my worst temptation, in the eye every single day and pretend like I didn’t want him. Here I didn’t have to deny that I had been infatuated with him for years. I was foolishly obsessed with this particular devil in a designer suit and I knew he was absolutely detrimental not only to my safety but to the thing I valued above all else…my independence.
After a childhood spent evading the hands of my mother’s overzealous and unhinged boyfriends and barely escaping the clutches of a sick and twisted stepfather, and too many years working my ass off—literally—to make a life for myself, I could never risk letting myself care for Nassir the way I wanted to because I knew that if I did, I would become nothing more than his, and I refused to be any man’s possession or accessory.
When the opportunity arose to take off without an explanation or without looking like I was running from him and the promise and future I saw so clearly in his eyes, I grabbed it. Ran away with both my heart and my tail tucked between my legs. But now he was here in this fragile and predictable paradise and I wanted to stab him with the broken pen and jump in his lap and put my mouth on his smirking lips all at the same time.
“You’re here, Key. Where else would I be?”
From the moment we met Nassir in Jay’s Welcome to the Point series, I was intrigued. The more we got to see him and learn about him, the more I wanted a book for him. He’s one of the bad guys who isn’t all bad, but has been through a lot. I’ve always liked him, even when I probably shouldn’t have. In Honor I couldn’t help but love him.
His relationship with Keelyn has always been a little different. He met her when she was dancing and from the first time they met, he protected her, stood up for her. And he’s been doing it ever since. If you read the last ‘Point’ book, you know some things went down and Keelyn took off. Well, Nassir is not the type of guy to get someone he cares about just go. Not without a fight.
One of the things that intrigued me most about this story and Nassir in general was his past. Reading about it gave you a lot of insight about the man he is today. His past shaped him. It made him the man he is now. My heart broke for him. Yet I loved him and respected him even more after reading about all that he had been through.
Keelyn I had mixed feelings for at the start. All that pushing and pulling she was doing stressed me out a bit. But later in the story, she completely won me over. I loved how she stood up for Nassir, for what they had. No matter what the obstacle was, she overcame it. She was more than just his girl, she was his partner, his other half, his equal. Nassir hasn’t had that before and it’s something he desperately needed. I loved Key talking to another woman of the point… this quote was spot on.
“These men we love . . .” She gave her head a little shake and a soft smile tilted up the edges of her mouth. “They should come with clear warning labels. Not that it would matter because our hearts wouldn’t pay attention anyway.”
Keelyn and Nassir were great characters separately with a lot of strength and determination, but it’s together that they really shined. Their strength intensified when they were together. They could get through anything with each other, and they had each others backs 100%. I know Nassir had never had that before. Someone he could trust that had his back. Their attraction to one another and chemistry was just an added bonus to the rest of the story.
Honor is intense, edgy, suspenseful, steamy and romantic. It’s a bit of a darker romance with an imperfect anti-hero and a heroine who can stand on her own. I love Crownover’s writing and you can tell she really put her heart into writing Nassir’s book. I can’t wait to get back into the Point. I’m still waiting on Booker’s story here ;)
About Jay Crownover:
Thank you so much! ~Jessica, InkSlinger PR
ReplyDeleteNice review. This looks yummy!
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