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 … 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.
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I love an ex-military man with a complicated past. Church is tough, but he’s made mistakes. Dixie is the sunshine in his dark world, but he doesn’t think he deserves her. He thinks he’ll ruin her. But love will not be denied. Emotional, touching, a bit frustrating until Church stops running from his past and toward the future he wants, but a great, engaging read.
Church is one of those characters that you want to simultaneously hug and slap upside of his his head!
Dixie is one of my favorite of the Saints of Denver girls and that is a huge compliment because she joins a cast of awesome women. Dixie is someone that I was pulling for the whole way. She deserves the happily ever after that she whole heartedly believes exists! Church although he fought it kicking and screaming the whole way deserves the HEA as much as she does.
So the question is why are you wasting your time reading my words? Go one click this now!!
“Love was supposed to make you better, not make you hate the person you became in order to obtain it.”
“Ther had to be because I refused to live my life in the dark.”
“Love doesn’t go away because the person it’s attached to has changed. It simply changes with them.”
I love the way this author brings in everyday problems that affect couples today.
On word….perfect. I will be the saddest person when this series ends because you get immersed and love these characters and want to read more because they seem real.
As someone who has devoured every single Marked Men and Saints of Denver story (numerous time through re-reads) since the very beginning, I’ve seen Dixie and Church fighting their feelings for one another for quite sometime now. So you can imagine how ecstatic I was to finally get my hands on their story! Immediately I #OneClicked it on release day, but it wasn’t until the day before Salvaged was released that I finally had the opportunity to finally sit down and read it. Right from the first page I knew this could very well become my FAVORITE of Jay’s stories (of course ROME still holds the #1 spot in my heart though) because it was so different from the rest of the series.
While this wasn’t a typical story in the Saints of Denver series I can’t say that I was disappointed one bit because it was the story that needed to be told. After being at war for so long Church finally realizes that it’s time to make his way back home, but he couldn’t have done it without Dixie. Although some readers might have been upset that the majority of this story was not in Denver, I must applaud Jay for her bold choice to make Church’s story one about coming home.
There is so much I want to say about this story, but I think that this story is one that needs to be read firsthand to feel the emotions that this beautifully captivating story holds. I absolutely recommend this story wholeheartedly and know that fans of Jay Crownover will love every second of this wild ride!
I’ve been curious about Dixie and Church ever since they were first introduced to us. They both just seemed to have a story to tell, especially Church. This book was everything I’d hoped for, even though it was very different than I expected it be.
Crownover takes us on the road with this couple, as we head to Church’s hometown in Mississippi for the majority of this book. The change in scenery allowed us so much insight into the enigmatic and intriguing character that is Church. Riveted brings us two incredibly strong characters. While they are different in many ways, they are both resilient, yet vulnerable. It was interesting seeing that side of them come to the surface and joining them on their journey of growth.
There was no denying these two were sizzling together. The sexual tension and chemistry was off the charts. Things didn’t just fall into place for them though. Church struggled with his own issues while Dixie battled between what she’d always wanted and what she wasn’t willing to pass up. This story focused so much on regret. One character was drowning in it, while the other refused to live with it. Living in the now and accepting things for what they were was really emotional. There was so much want and desire and feeling that it was hard not to get swept up in it.
We are confronted with some deep issues in this story: loss, guilt, regret, prejudice, acceptance, love, hope. It was emotional and consuming. Crownover gives us this beautiful story while cleverly weaving in some mystery and suspense. Her stunning writing style perfectly showcased the captivating storyline and bold characters. Crownover never fails to amaze and surprise me.
Jay Crownover’s damaged alphas are some of my favorite heroes because even though they are the ultimate badasses, fighting for everything that they’ve earned, they love with an equal intensity and those individuals who are lucky enough to feel that emotion from these broody and broken men can consider themselves blessed with an unwavering and powerful connection.
Some readers may not agree, but in my opinion, Riveted is 100% Church’s story; in a way, it’s his reawakening…it’s his final battle against the darkness of his past – one that he can’t fight alone, which is why Dixie plays such a pivotal role in his storyline. But while Dixie is the catalyst for Church’s resurrection and reconnection to his family, her part of the story is shown through Church’s enlightenment…through the way just being her proves to Church that she might just be worth the loss that could come from claiming her. It’s not that Dixie’s voice and actions aren’t integral to moving the plot forward because they most definitely are, and I absolutely adore how Jay wrote Dixie’s character and consistently illustrated Dixie’s silver lining attitude and her ability to bring light to every darkened situation, but she’s not the one who needed to change…she’s not the one who was lost in the dark due to uncontrollable events – that’s all Church, so while Dixie’s sunny disposition and always smiling demeanor shines through on every page in Riveted, the story’s focus is on the prodigal son’s homecoming…on Church’s ability to mend fences with those who have always been important to him despite his distance and lack of contact, and let me tell you when Church returns home and allows Jules, Dalen, and Elma Mae to open his heart again and to fight through the fear of loss in order to see what’s standing right in front of him, the Church readers are introduced to is much like the one in Colorado, but there’s the added bonus of witnessing Church’s whole demeanor light up and realize that he may not think he’s the right man for Dixie, but she sure as hell is the right woman for him, which gives Dixie a way to penetrate Church’s walls and show him with her body, her words, and her soul that he deserves just as much happiness as she does, and she’ll do just about anything to make that happen.
Riveted is definitely different from the previous books in the Saints of Denver series, but that’s what I loved most about it. It was easy to tell when Church arrived on the scene and took the job at Rome’s bar that it wasn’t permanent…that he was only passing through, biding his time for the real battle he was going to have to face back home, and the way Jay explained Dixie’s connection to Church and her views on finding her “right one” also allowed Dixie’s decisions to make perfect sense despite readers’ fears that it would not end up the way Dixie wanted it to from the very beginning.
The Deep South is much different than Denver, Colorado, and Jay does a fantastic job of exposing those differences and the reasons behind the small-mindedness of its citizens; these prejudicial circumstances definitely needed to be mentioned and explored because it illustrates the type of environment that surrounded Church growing up and what still exist in contemporary society.
Dixie Carmichael was the only woman who could bring sunshine into Church’s darkness and deal with the broody badass and his emotional shrapnel long enough to prove Church’s view of himself is nonsense and that his fear to love due to the losses he’s already experienced is depriving him of living a full life and giving the people who love him back the boy he was and should have remained despite the grief that overtook him.
A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 Poison Apples
Sunshine, smiles and the ability to see the positive in most everything. That’s Dixie.
Fear, loss, guilt, self-recrimination. That’s what fills Church’s soul.
Dixie fell for him just working closely with him at Rome’s bar. But he’s so closed off he can’t see himself ever letting anyone in, even his own family. He walked away from them over 10 years ago out of fear and loss and hasn’t allowed himself to return. But he sees Dixie. He definitely feels her.
Due to a family emergency, he uses Dixie as a buffer. She knows it. He knows it. But maybe there’s more. And on the road and in Lowry there’s DEFINITELY more. Shes going all in knowing hurts stands at the end of the line. He’s going to make her feel good and enjoy himself but he will not fall. There’s and end on this.
But danger follows them and puts his family at risk. Puts him at risk and puts Dixie square in front of danger. She does what she always does, protects them at the cost of herself. Church is not putting up with that!
I love Church’s family!! Dalen is a young Church with attitude. Jules is the man who raised him and has so much love to give. Elma is their self-appointed Mom. Family is not always blood, but it is always love.
I really enjoyed Dixie and Church’s story. And woven throughout is Wheeler, Kallie and Dixie’s sweet, damaged neighbor with whom Wheeler has found a connection. Now on to Salvaged for Wheeler’s story!!
There’s a moment when you’re reading a book when everything is clicking – the characters are likable, the storyline is compelling, and you gladly risk losing sleep if it means reading one more page – that you just know with absolute certainty it’ll be an unforgettable read. While reading Riveted by Jay Crownover, this moment arrived within the first few chapters and that’s largely a result of the connection between protagonists, Church and Dixie. I’m not typically a fan of angst-filled books and a character like Church has angst written all over him. For a book like Riveted, though, I’d willingly make an exception. This is a story about love, loss, and heartache, yet it’s also hopeful, wistful, and romantic. With a scorching hot romance, gut-wrenching angst, and a touch of pulse-pounding suspense, Riveted is nothing short of riveting.
A pint-sized but fierce bartender desperately yearning for her happily ever after and a gruff, intimating former soldier determined to keep everyone at arm’s length may not seem like the most obvious pairing, yet it’s their differences that make Dixie and Church so captivating as a couple. The relationship between these two co-workers is complex: Dixie would love nothing more than to let her optimism and generally positive outlook on life shed light on the shadows surrounding Church. Of course, Church attempts to protect Dixie from his own personal demons by ignoring the magnetic draw between them. Fortunately for us readers, all of their previously-unrequited feelings, their pent-up sexual frustration, and the overwhelming passion brewing between them is a combination too potent to be ignored.
The romance between Church and Dixie is a bit of a slow burn, mostly because Church is stubbornly determined to separate emotions from sexual intimacy. The man had me vacillating from sobbing my eyes out to melting in a puddle of swoon and, as much as I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him, his actions are as noble as they are romantic. Whether it’s their inner struggles or it’s circumstances beyond their control, nothing about Dixie and Church’s relationship is simple. Theirs isn’t a romance about two people meeting and falling in love at first sight. It’s about hardship and overcoming obstacles and finding light in the darkness.
Dixie and Church just so happen to be my new favorite Jay Crownover couple – a fact that took me completely by surprise because, I’ll be honest, their characters aren’t particularly flashy, never previously demanding more than their share of attention. They instead lingered in the background, content to dance around each other, their mutual attraction an unspoken but glaringly obvious truth. Riveted, however, is their time to shine. These characters gradually embedded themselves under my skin, quietly and unassumingly leaving an imprint on my heart. If you’re looking for something that’ll make you swoon, make your heart melt, and hit you right in the feels, Riveted is a must-read – emphasis on the “must”.
*complimentary copy provided by publisher for an honest review
I’ve been waiting for this story since the first time Church was mentioned in Rome and I realized that he and Dixie were meant to be. Turns out, Dixie knew it all along, we just needed to wait for our brooding, beautiful, scarred soldier to find his way back home, back to the man everyone knew he was meant to be. Back to love, and to Dixie.
“If I could promise you all the things your eyes promise me, I would.”
I loved this story with my whole heart. Church’s past was full of unexpected turns and painful enough to bring the strongest man to his knees, definitely painful enough to make this strong man not come home in 10 years. He sees himself as someone not worthy enough of love, someone who can’t bring anything good to this world, only bad; he sees himself as someone who can’t make any promises to a girl… especially one like Dixie.
And Dixie… She’s a ray of sunshine in the darkness, a smiling face among tear-stained, frowning ones. I loved, loved, loved! her bubbly personality, her positive attitude, her quickness with a smile. She definitely has a title as one of my favorite book heroines ever! Positive, optimistic, full of love, sweet, sassy, strong. Her dreams are simple – she just wants to LOVE and to be LOVED. She doesn’t have what some would consider big dreams – no money, no big, successful career, no travelling, no eating at expensive restaurants leading expensive lives – she just wants TRUE LOVE. A simple life with a man of her dreams. And that’s what makes her beautiful.
“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 or take her up on her invitation into her bed.”
Together, with him trying to resist, her trying not to give up on him… together, they’re explosive. Dixie and Church had so much chemistry it overflowed the pages and made this one one of the sexiest Jay’s stories.
“Lips took hungrily as breaths bled together and chests heaved rapidly up and down. She made my head spin and I made her hands shake.”
A beautiful story of coming home, of family reuniting, of love finding way to you when you least expect and when you feel like you don’t deserve it. A beautiful story of finding your way to yourself when you feel lost and falling in love… deserving that one person you want.
A beautiful story of beautiful, painful and heart-warming LOVE… that leaves you stunned, riveted to the spot by its beauty… RECOMMENDED to all lovers of romance!