Riveted by Jay Crownover
From the New York Times bestselling author of the Marked Men books comes the next installment in the Saints of Denver series.
Everyone else in Dixie Carmichael's life has made falling in love look easy, and now she is ready for her own chance at some of that happily ever after. Which means she’s done pining for the moody, silent former soldier who works with her at the bar that's become her home away from home. Nope. No more chasing the hot as heck thundercloud of a man and no more waiting for Mr. Right to find her; she's going hunting for him...even if she knows her heart is stuck on its stupid infatuation with Dash Churchill.
Denver has always been just a pit stop for Church on his way back to rural Mississippi. It was supposed to be simple, uneventful, but nothing could have prepared him for the bubbly, bouncy redhead with doe eyes and endless curves. Now he knows it's time to get out of Denver, fast. For a man used to living in the shadows, the idea of spending his days in the sun is nothing short of terrifying.
When Dixie and Church find themselves caught up in a homecoming overshadowed with lies and danger, Dixie realizes that while falling in love is easy, loving takes a whole lot more work…especially when Mr. Right thinks he's all wrong for you.
Caroline's Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a slow burn romance but once the embers were stirred, the passion blazed hot and fierce.
“She lived in the light and I was far more comfortable hiding in the dark.”
Dixie Carmichael is the nicest girl you could ever meet. With her crazy, red hair and her soulful brown eyes, she’s sweet, sunny, and thoughtful. She puts other people first. It’s only in the quiet moments that she lets herself feel her own disappointment at not getting her own little bit of happy – she yearns for the moment when she meets her one true love, who she would fall hard and fast for, and live happily ever after.
“The only thing I’d wanted since I fell for him was to be in his hands and for him to find a place for me inside of his heart.”
Her one true love turns out to be someone she’s been working with for a while. It was one throwaway moment of care from Dash ‘Church’ Churchill that has her tumbling. However, she might know that he’s the one for her, but he doesn’t seem to think that she’s the one for him.
“She made me want to smile and that alone was enough to have my feet itching to hit the road before I did something stupid, like fall in love”
Church is tall, dark, and gorgeous, with his golden skin and broody air. Ex-military, he’s killing time in Denver and it’s way past time that he went home to see the family he left behind, ten years previously. Church desires Dixie like no other but his fear keeps him moving forward with her. However, when he asks her to go home with him, the dynamics in their relationship start to change, and Church starts to realise that surviving without love is a “hollow, empty existence”, and letting someone into your heart is a far more gratifying and fulfilling way to live.
“This thing that lived between us was hungry and tired of being ignored. It buzzed around us, electric and hot, refusing to be cooled by the chill in the night air that surrounded us.”
This story was chock-full of yearning and pent-up desire. Church is such a tortured soul, keeping himself remote from life, love and friendship. He’s the complete opposite to Dixie, who is a ray of sunshine on the darkest of days. Their attraction is mutual but Church knows that one taste of Dixie will have all his walls crumbling down, so he keeps her at arm’s length. However, travelling and sleeping in close quarters has his tight control at breaking point, and all the simmering passion and feelings explode into something hot and beautiful between them.
I’ll admit that, initially, I found it slow-going getting into this book, but once I was in, it was a beautifully-written story, with a ton of emotion, a bit of humour, a touch of danger, and a real message about acceptance, living life and loving hard because life is too short for the negative emotions.
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