Leveled by Jay Crownover Series: Saints of Denver, #0.5
Published by William Morrow Paperbacks Publication Date: November 2nd 2015
Pages: 224
Also in this series: Built, Riveted
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We all need a hero...let the Saints of Denver begin
Orlando Frederick knows what it is to be leveled by pain. Instead of focusing on his own, he’s made it his mission to help others: sports stars, wounded war vets, survivors of all kinds. But when Dom, a rugged, damaged, sinfully attractive cop, makes his way into Lando’s physical therapy practice, he might be the biggest challenge yet. Lando loved one stubborn man before and barely survived the fallout. He’s not sure he can do it again.
Dominic Voss is a protector. The police badge he wears is not only his job, it’s his identity, so when he’s sidelined because of an injury, the only thing he cares about is getting back on the force. He expects Lando to mend his body, he just doesn’t realize the trainer will also have him working toward a hell of a lot more. As attraction simmers and flares, Dom sees that Lando needs repair of his own...if only the man will let him close enough to mend what's broken.
An Avon Romance
Cocktails and Books received this book for free from Blog Tour, Inkslinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect our opinion of the book or the content of our review.
Leveled is a novella that crosses over between Jay’s popular Marked Men series and into her new Saints of Denver series. Jay never ceases to amaze me. I adored this story. This book just leaves you with a happy heart.
I went into this book a bit blindly. I wasn’t paying attention to who was the lead in this book and it blew me away that Remy’s Lando was finally getting his HEA. If you know me, Rule is one of my favorite New Adult books ever. I still read it over and over and over again. Most of Jay’s readers wanted a Remy story and now we know why that isn’t possible. She is absolutely right that Remy’s story doesn’t need to be told but Lando’s sure did.
Since Remy’s death, Lando has not been able to fully move on. His death has set heavily on his heart and shattered the man that Lando was. Dom, Royal’s partner on the force (Asa is where we meet them) is shattered as well both mentally and physically. When he was shot and fell off the roof, more than his body shattered, his mind was crippled as well. Dom has never been anything but a cop and the thought of never returning to his work destroyed him. All he wants to do is return to the work he loves. Lando is the therapist that can hopefully help him reach that goal.
These two help heal each other and it beautiful to read. Lando is living in fear, afraid to live fully, and afraid to love fully again. Dom sees that he is damaged. He is patient, loving and understanding. Although they have a few miscommunications, they fight for each other. The pages flew by and I was sad to see the story end. These two both deserve to be happy and it was a great deal of work for both but they stuck it out.
This was a great segway into the Saints of Denver series. We see all our old favorites from the Marked Series and we meet a few new characters. I can’t wait to read Built in a few months. Nice job, Jay. You tell a beautiful story every single time.
About Jay Crownover
Jay Crownover is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Marked Men series. She also introduced the dark and sexy world of The Point that started with BETTER WHEN HE’s BAD and is currently working on her newest series The Saints of Denver. 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 three dogs.
