Monday, February 04, 2019

BRICK (COOPER CONSTRUCTION #1)

I’m used to getting my hands dirty. During the day it’s mud and grime on the construction site. At night…it’s the blood I spill. A drug lord’s enforcer does what needs to be done. It’s my obedience, my loyalty to the boss that keeps my family alive. 

I know I’m teetering on the edge. I’m losing my humanity, I can feel it. It’s changing me, and it’s only a matter of time before the darkness takes over.

Then I meet her. Liv. The only person who sees past my busted knuckles and brutal exterior. She sees…me. But being with me will get her killed. The only way I can keep her safe is by staying away. Until her own actions catapult her into the center of my world—a world which will swallow her whole. 

Now I’m forced to be the ruthless bastard I’ve been for so long. Only this time it’s not to destroy…but to defend.

Release Date: February 5, 2019
Cooper Construction #1
Limitless Publishing
Contemporary Romance/Suspense elements
Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

Brick is the debut novel from author Jen Davis. This book is a dark contemporary romance with suspense elements that kept me on the edge of my seat pretty much the entire time.

Jonathan "Brick" Barlow is the number one enforcer for drug lord/loan shark Sucre de la Cruz. Brick wants out of that life more than anything on earth. He is an enforcer with a conscience and a heart and is only still in this world because Sucre keeps dirt on all his employees, and Brick is protecting his grandmother, who is in a nursing home. Brick is happy to work his side job in construction and keep saving to hopefully one day escape Sucre when he meets Liv, who is the younger sister of one of his coworkers on the construction site. Seriously these two had instant attraction and I adored the connection between them.

Liv is the polar opposite of Brick. She is a schoolteacher who is a cancer survivor and pretty much is a rule follower to the extreme. However as soon as she meets Brick, she can't stop thinking about him or stay away from him. I loved that Brick was super protective of her from the very beginning and really did try to stay away for her. I absolutely loved Brick and Liv together. Yes they were so different, but they worked for me. There was both a sweetness and a heat to their attraction, and it totally made sense for this couple.

Parts of this story were super dark and I literally was on the edge of my seat with any scenes around Brick's life that included Sucre or any of his crew. I have to say that Tre was especially dark and twisted. There are many scenes in that world that are especially violent and graphic. While some were tough to read, they added so much to the story along the way, even as I had to walk away from my kindle a couple of times I was so stressed out. Seriously found myself wanting more even as I was freaking out.

Brick was a wonderful edge of your seat read. Jen Davis gave her readers a very strong romance with lots of suspense thrown in. I absolutely loved her voice in this story and look forward to reading more books from Ms. Davis in the future.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (B+)

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