Salvaged (Saints of Denver, #4)

by Jay Crownover

The next book in the smoking hot SAINTS OF DENVER series from NYT bestselling author of the MARKED MEN series, Jay Crownover

Hudson Wheeler is tired of being the nice guy. He’s ready to start living in the moment but when he meets Poppy Cruz, her sad eyes hook him in right away. Wheeler can see Poppy’s pain and all he wants to do is take care of her and make her smile, whatever it takes.

After a lifetime of being hurt, Poppy’s determined to keep herself safe by keeping everyone else at arm’s length. Wheeler’s sexy grin shouldn’t captivate her, but every time she’s with him, she can’t help being pulled closer. Though she’s terrified to trust again, Poppy soon realizes it might hurt even more to shut Wheeler out – and her intense feelings are making it near impossible to resist him.

The only thing Poppy is sure of is that her heart is in need of some serious repair, and the more time she spends with Wheeler, the more she’s convinced he’s the only man with the tools to fix it.

• ISBN13: 9780008116309
• Publish Date: 14 December 2017 (first published 15 June 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 368
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

A solid finale for this series. It was a bittersweet read, because although I was excited to see Poppy heal, I was sad to be leaving the Marked world. Crownover definitely gave us fans some treats, by including almost every important player of the Marked family and giving us updates on them. I love how this family grew over the years, and will miss them very much.

I was onboard since this connection began. Both Wheeler and Poppy have so much baggage to deal with, and it was lovely that they had one another to help with the unpacking. Wheeler was everything we expect in a Marked hero and more. He really understood what Poppy needed in order to move forward in her healing process, and he was patient and attentive and I just loved when it all came together. There were a few things Crownover did for Wheeler that made me especially happy. I did not realize how much I wanted it for him, until she made it so.

Overall: A fond farewell to a world of friends I grew to love.

[Linda]

This review was originally posted on (un)Conventional Bookviews

Salvaged was like a hurricane of emotions! I laughed, I cried, my heart fluttered and it broke...

Salvaged was such a beautiful story, because no characters I've gotten to know in past deserved happiness more than Poppy and Wheeler. They had both been through hell, with no one to help them, and feeling both left behind and unloved. Seeing them open up and receive acceptance and love made me so happy. Even it there was still heartache in store for both of them during their story.

There was both suspense and mystery present, as well as some people who were far from happy with the budding relationship between Poppy and Wheeler. I just wanted to cheer both of them on and tell them they should grab love and happiness with both hands to never let it go.

The epilogue of Salvaged was amazing, too, because all the characters from both the Marked Men series and the Saints of Denver series were present, and I got an intimate peek at what was going on with them after the ending of their own story.

[thebookdisciple]

Salvaged was my most anticipated book of 2017. I have been wanting Poppy's book since we met her back in the Marked Men series. She was so broken I cried for her. I couldn't imagine who Crownover would bring into her life in order to heal her, but Wheeler is the man for the job! Salvaged is the salvation of two people who have been hurt; two souls who need and deserve each other! This book was everything I anticipated and more.

Jay Crownover's Introductions in her books are always ones I read. There is always a bit of insight into her process and into the character evolution. I find her words in the intros fascinating! She is the only author whose intros I actually have highlighted passages from!

In order to do these two justice, it took some digging deep, some honest self-evaluation and self-examination, on my part to get to the soft center of myself that I usually keep hidden from the world.

Once the story started, the tears began for me. I was tearing up from the prologue and it kept going until about the 25% mark when things got a little lighter. But seriously: Wheeler's tragic past, Poppy's tragic past, and an abandoned puppy! Too many emotions!!!!!!!

"I can count on one hand the number of times in my life someone bothered to ask if I was okay, Poppy"-Wheeler

These two are just heartbreaking yet beautiful. Wheeler has such a need for belonging and family since he grew up without one. Poppy has such a need for independence since everyone in her life controlled her and abused her. The beautiful thing is, they both thrive with the other! Wheeler is able to care for someone and Poppy is able to trust someone. They feed the needs of the other. This isn't a story of a hero saving a broken girl, or a heroine saving a sad boy. Its a story of two broken people making the choice to accept the love and compassion of another. Crownover has written Poppy and Wheeler in a deep, dynamic way that shows us what a person is like long after a life changing event. The struggles that one encounters in the days, weeks, and months of a very traumatic time are different that the struggles of someone whose trauma happened years ago. Where Poppy and Wheeler are in life its the stage of years after some of their trauma and they are just starting to realize what their coping mechanisms have cost them. Its incredibly powerful and very emotional.

Salvaged is that rare story that comes along and gives you something you never knew you needed. It reminded me that sometimes, you have to save yourself with the help of others. Sometimes, what you have is an illusion that slips through no matter how tight you try to hold. Sometimes, you have to listen to your inner voice and learn to trust again. What Jay Crowonver does with Poppy and Wheeler in Salvaged is help us learn to live life.

 

• POV: dual 1st


• Tears: oh hells yeah


• Trope: tortured hero, domestic violence


• Triggers: Poppy was abused by multiple men throughout her life and her ordeal includes physical abuse, verbal abuse, kidnapping.


• Series/Standalone: stand alone within in an interconnected series (but really, you should at least read Rowdy from the Marked Men series before reading this so you understand Poppy)


• Cliffhanger: no


• HEA: yes

Idol by Kristen Callihan, The Player by K. Bromberg, Lost Rider by Harper Sloan...then you will probably like Salvaged!

Salvaged

See full review on The Book Disciple