Looks can be deceiving.I knew that most people took one look at the ink and the impossibly big and strong body it covered and decided I was a brawler…a bruiser…a beast. However, I was hardwired to be a thinker, not a fighter.I should have chosen to use my brain and talents to be one of the good guys, a hero, a man with dignity and worth.I turned my back on dignity and sold my soul to the highest … my soul to the highest bidder, deciding to dance with the devil, instead.
I couldn’t figure out how to help myself, so there was zero chance I knew how to save someone else.
That someone else was Noe Lee. She was the unkempt, unruly thief who was just as smart as I was and twice as street savvy. She was annoyingly adorable beneath the dirt and grime, and she was in trouble. In way over her head, I told myself it wasn’t my job to keep her from drowning. In the Point, it was sink or swim, and I wasn’t the designated lifeguard on duty.
I shut the door in her face, but now she’s gone…vanished…disappeared without a trace. It took less than a second for me to realize that I wanted her back.
When a woman comes along that melts all the frozen, hard things you’re made of; you’ll do anything you have to, to bring her home.
What you see is not always what you get…and with a man like me, what you get is more than anyone ever bargained for.
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Best
Love all her books, this one is good but not my favorite.
Love’s Edge!
Dignity is a gritty, thought provoking read. As usual, The Point is a dark, dangerous place to dwell. The stakes are high and the bad guys are sometimes more trust worthy than the “good guys.”
Noe is proficient in sticking to the shadows and she helps people disappear. Unfortunately her latest client leads a powerful man to her door. He wants the girl back and will stop at nothing to make that happen. Noe goes to the one man she thinks she might be able to trust…Snowden Stark.
Stark is a genius. Intelligent, logical, methodical, and detached. His skill is an ability to tune out everything but the task at hand. Emotion has no place in his world…until Noe.
Together the hacker and the genius learn to trust. The sexual tension is torrid. Intelligence is a huge part of their attraction. They have both struggled for survival and that solidifies their connection. This story has suspense, emotional turmoil, and beautiful character arcs. Jay Crownover takes you to the edge of fear and the heart of love. Fantastic read!
Snowden Stark and Noe Lee were everything a genius couple should be. Everything that happened in both their pasts shaped them into the strong willed human beings they were when they met each other. Between Key and Noe helping girls at the end you know there are parts of the Point that have to get better even in the smallest bit. Stark and Noe ranked up there as one of my favorite couple with Nassir and Keelyn.
Two smart characters in an ever changing rotten city… brilliant.
Il était temps de revenir à The Point et retrouver des personnages que nous connaissons à peine. En effet, nous avons découvert Noe et Stark dans le précédent tome avec Nassir et j’avais hâte de découvrir leur histoire. Je n’ai pas été déçue et j’ai même été ravie de les découvrir bien plus en profondeur. Nous avons aussi quelques nouvelles de nos anciens héros et cela fait tout autant plaisir.
Noe Lee est une jeune femme mystérieuse qui maîtrise l’outil informatique et qui est capable de vous trouver toutes les informations en un seul clic. Pourtant , elle va faire la recherche de trop et son talent va lui apporter de sacrés ennuis. Elle qui a toujours vécu dans l’anonymat le plus total va donc devoir sortir de sa cachette pour affronter le monde réel et demander de l’aide. Elle sait qu’une seule personne peut lui apporter son aide et elle va devoir se dépasser pour oser aller frapper à sa porte. La vie de Noe n’a jamais été facile mais elle va prendre un nouveau tournant encore plus surprenant et douloureux. Ce que j’ai aimé chez elle est sa détermination car depuis son plus jeune âge , elle a appris qu’elle ne pouvait compter que sur elle même et ce sera une de ses forces. Pourtant malgré sa ténacité , elle devra accepter de baisser les armes et affronter ce que le destin lui réserve.
Quand elle se met sur le chemin de Snowden Stark, jamais elle n’aurait pu croire qu’elle ferai ce qu’elle va faire. Ces deux là vont former un duo improbable certes mais tellement attachant. Ces deux blessés de la vie pourraient bien se trouver et s’entraider s’ils acceptaient de baisser leur défense et d’accepter l’aide qu’ils pourraient s’apporter mutuellement. Noe ne va donc reculer devant rien et prendra des risques au fil des pages . C’est une jeune femme courageuse qui n’a rien d’une demoiselle en détresse mais qui devra accepter d’être soutenue. Ce qui est inattendu est le rôle que Booker va jouer dans l’intrigue et cela nous donne encore plus envie de découvrir le tome qui lui sera consacré. Noe va devoir affronter le pire pour espérer le meilleur mais aussi affronter les plus grands dangers.
Snowden Stark est un héros pas comme les autres dans le sens où il paraît inaccessible, froid et distant. Cela ne semble pas attirant au premier regard et pourtant quand on apprend à découvrir le personnage, on ne peut qu’être séduite par ce hacker de haute voltige qui aimerait bien mettre son talent au service du bien. Mais à The Point c’est plus souvent le Mal qui domine que le Bien et Stark devra faire son choix. Il ne fera pas toujours le bon choix mais il aura le mérite d’apprendre de ses erreurs tout en apprenant à s’ouvrir aux autres. Il n’a pas d’amis proches et sa famille n’est pas de la partie non plus. Nous apprenons son passé au fur et à mesure que l’intrigue se dénoue et on comprend aisément son comportement et sa méfiance vis à vis des autres.
Mais c’est surtout un personnage qui va vivre une très belle évolution et qu’on va apprécier de plus en plus. Il sera en lien avec Nassir mais aussi Titus, ce qui nous permet en quelque sorte de prendre de leur nouvelle. Nous aurons aussi des échos d’autres personnages tels que Race , Keelyn ou encore Karsen et j’adore quand cela est possible dans les sagas où l’histoire des personnages est liée à celle des autres. Stark est donc un personnage solitaire qui va devoir apprendre à faire confiance, à se livrer et à s’ouvrir . Cela ne sera absolument pas une chose facile à faire mais grâce à Noe , il pourrait y parvenir. Ce duo improbable va nous offrir de superbes rebondissements et la thématique de fond est aussi très intéressante. Le méchant cette fois ci est Jonathan Goddard , un maire au pouvoir infini qui use et abuse de ses fonctions et qu’on aimerait voir tomber.
Bref, une fois de plus Jay Crownover m’a conquise grâce à son univers unique et ses personnages qui sortent de l’ordinaire. Le retour à The Point n’en est que plus délicieux car nous sommes plongés dans une nouvelle intrigue où le danger, le pouvoir, les complots , les complicités mettront à rude épreuve la vie déjà mouvementée de nos héros. Parviendront ils à unir leur force pour combattre le mal? Sauront ils trouver un bonheur à deux qu’ils n’ont jamais connu?
Dignity is the second book in The Breaking Point series. Once again I am wowed by Jay Crownover’s story telling. This series is intense, raw and gritty. Jay Crownover herself states in her intro that this is fiction, and that she took many liberties to make things as bad as they can be so that she can turn around and make them better. There is a lot packed into this story, a lot of uncertainty, unrest and turmoil.
Snowden Stark is a boy genius. Well, actually a man now. Quiet. Always processing. Always thinking. Always calculating. He delivers his own brand of justice. He is alone. His heart is frozen from the losses he has suffered. The choices he has made.
“Stark was not a guy who oozed sympathy or even basic human understanding. He wasn’t a guy who had patience or any kind of practiced civility about him. Humans were flawed and defective. Computers weren’t. They did what you told them to do and reacted in predictable, expected ways.”
Noe Lee is smart and resourceful. She has been living in the shadows of the Point for a long time. She likes to be invisible and when necessary, she helps others to become invisible as well. She is smart, fearless and defiant. She too has had to make choices.
“She had the brains and looks to get whatever she wanted, but she wasn’t a user like that. She wasn’t part of the problem. She was the solution to everything that was wrong in the corrupted parts of the city.”
Snowden and Noe are pushed together through circumstance. There are so many emotions swirling around them; anger, fear, and helplessness. But there is also attraction and chemistry. The sparks fly when they are together and the walls they built come crashing down. I loved both of them! Their struggles, their coping – beautifully written! And the origin of Noe’s name, chilling.
I am loving this series! As I said above it is intense, raw and gritty. The characters are complex. Their stories have layers and layers to them. I only wish they were published closer together. This can be read as a stand-alone but if you really want to get the feeling of “The Point” then I highly recommend you read Honor first. Also an amazing book! I am looking forward to the Booker & Karsen’s story, Respect, next!
4.5 stars
#JayCrownover #Dignity #WelcomeToThePoint #SnowdenAndNoe #ComputerGeeks
I man who is way to smart for his own good it is scary. I women who is just right for him to make him a better man!!
The word dignity is defined as “the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect.” And while many of the major players in the Point live rather questionable lives, tending to follow their own set of rules regardless of the legality of such acts, these are also the people who use their ‘powers’ for good when they see injustice and mistreatment occur, working diligently to take down those who do not have the Point or its citizens in their best interest, only working for personal gain and harming innocent victims in the process.
Readers met Sawdon Stark in Nassir and Keelyn’s story where Stark sold his soul to the devil in order to gain even a small amount of redemption for his sins, and while we aren’t privy to what makes Stark work for the wrong side of the law, it was clear, even in the small glimpses that we received, that the inner workings of who Stark truly is and what he’s truly capable of remained hidden, perhaps even from the devil himself, so I couldn’t wait to get Stark’s story and the heroine who Jay Crownover matches him with is the PERFECT girl to get this computer genuis’ heart working again, mending what’s broken and ensuring the malfunctions don’t consume him.
Noe Lee is one hell of an amazing heroine. Her back story is heartbreaking but she remains strong and independent despite the struggles she endures, and it’s her never quit attitude that has allowed her to remain hidden, helping those who need her while also making sure she covers her tracks so that her past doesn’t try to break her. She and Stark may not have initially met under the best of circumstances, but once Stark works every angle to rescue her after he shut the door in her face when she asked for help, their connection flourishes not only because of how in tune their brains are but also because they accept one another for who they are and only want what the other is willing to give when everyone else is out to use them for their own personal gains.
The way that Jay Crownover characterizes Stark allows readers to truly understand why he’s made the conscience decision to suppress his intelligence, only revealing so much of himself to Nassir and the other ‘bad guys’ of the Point who he helps. The idea that Stark and most others see him as more of a machine than a human being speaks to what he’s had to do in order to shut down the emotions that could get him in trouble. His lack of a functional heart is a deliberate choice due to events of his past that he deems as his fault, and while his cold and dark demeanor allows him to remain under the radar, he can’t and he doesn’t want to hide himself from Noe because what they’re building together is something that will unthaw his heart and allow Noe to rely on somebody other than herself for the first time in years.
The Point itself continues to be so much more than a setting for Jay Crownover’s Breaking Point series; the city hides many illegal and compromising acts from the public eye, working behind the scenes of squalor in order to thwart any possible power plays from the so-called good guys when it comes to hurting those who should remain untouched.
Jay Crownover unequivocally proves that being smart is sexy in Dignity and what she also clearly illustrates is that her Boy Genius and her Little Thief deserve to hold their heads high and revel in their own personal dignity because what they have endured and risen above is not something that most people would be able to do and with each other by their side, they’ve come out of the shadows and into one another’s light.
5 Poison Apples
Who knew a computer hacker could be so sexy and badass.. And pair him with a female version of himself – explosive combination.
Snowden Stark – emotionally shut off, broody and bossy.
Noe Lee – thief, angry at the world, defiant and feisty.
These two had tragic pasts that changed the course of their lives. It takes a harrowing situation for Noe for Stark to come out of his self induced emotion coma and let himself feel something for another person – something he hasn’t allowed himself to do in a long time. That same situation as Noe finally dropping her defenses and trusting another person – something she has allowed herself to do in a long time.
This being the Point there are all kinds of nefarious happenings and Noe got herself right in the middle of one. Stark enlist king of the Point, Nassir Gates, to help in taking care of the situation along with the Points by the book cop Titus King.
The story was fast paced and full of action, suspense and plenty of sexy moments. Through out the book we get to see Booker who is brooding over the Karsen situation – which hallelujah will be the next book.
Never a boring story in this series which is a mesh of the Point and the Saints of Denver. Loved and really looking forward to Booker and Karsen’s book..