Title: Better When He's Bad (Welcome to the Point #1)
Author: Jay Crownover
Release Date: June 17, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Pages: 384
Source: Bought

Overall: 4 Stars

Summary:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jay Crownover returns with a heart-stopping new series… Welcome to the Point.

There’s a difference between a bad boy and a boy who’s bad . . . meet Shane Baxter.

Sexy, dark, and dangerous, Bax isn’t just from the wrong side of the tracks, he is the wrong side of the tracks. A criminal, a thug, and a brawler, he’s the master of bad choices, until one such choice landed him in prison for five years. Now Bax is out and looking for answers, and he doesn’t care what he has to do or who he has to hurt to get them. But there’s a new player in the game, and she’s much too innocent, much too soft…and standing directly in his way.

Dovie Pryce knows all about living a hard life and the tough choices that come with it. She’s always tried to be good, tried to help others, and tried not to let the darkness pull her down. But the streets are fighting back, things have gone from bad to worse, and the only person who can help her is the scariest, sexiest, most complicated ex-con The Point has ever produced.

Bax terrifies her, awakening feelings she never thought she’d have for a guy like him. But it doesn’t take Dovie long to realize . . . some boys are just better when they’re bad. 

My Thoughts:  
Dovie Pryce may have had a rough childhood, but she hasn't let her past jade her. Dovie's a good girl, willing to work hard and keep her head down, and hopes to someday get a degree in social work to help kids who grew up in similar circumstances. She may come across as naive and innocent at first glance, but to her credit, Dovie knows just how tough and corrupt a place The Point truly is and she can definitely take care of herself.

There's nothing soft about Shane Baxter—he's a bad boy through and through. After five years spent in prison, Bax is free and hunting for answers about the night he was arrested. His best friend Race set him up to take the fall and now Bax will do anything it takes to find him. His search leads him to Dovie, Race's secret half-sister, but Race has recently gone off the grid and no one can find him. As Dovie helps him to find Race, Bax learns there was much more to Bax's arrest than he ever could have imagined...

I absolutely loved the chemistry between Dovie and Bax! It may not seem like it at first, but the pair are actually quite similar to each other. They both know what it's like to fight to survive when the odds are against them, but they never give up trying. Bax has a fearsome reputation in The Point, but Dovie gets right under his skin and exposes a side of him that is only seldom seen; he's very protective, warm and loyal to those he cares about.

Addictive and suspenseful, Better When He's Bad is a gritty introduction to Jay Crownover's new Welcome to the Point series. While I'm definitely a fan of Jay Crownover's Marked Men series, there's just something about the darker tone of Better When He's Bad that really appeals to me. There still aren't too many New Adult romantic suspense novels available yet, so I find the premise for the Welcome to the Point series to be rather refreshing. I cannot wait to read Race's story in Better When He's Bold!