Brick by Jen Davis [Review]

Brick (Cooper Construction #1) by Jen Davis
Format: ebook
Source: provided by the author for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: January 10, 2019

Cooper Construction
1. Brick - Kindle
2. Kane
3. Robby

Jen Davis
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Synopsis (Goodreads):

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.

Thoughts on Brick: Good guys who are dragged into a brutal situation and do what they have to do to survive while making plans to break away and get out are a literary weakness for me. I like the internal push and pull that goes on for someone who wouldn't otherwise be involved in what they're involved in. The moral ambiguity of hurting (and killing) people because they're forced into it (and subsequently think that's ALL they're good for because that type of life sucks the belief in yourself right out of you) versus the desire to protect those they care by shielding them from that side of their life is fascinating.

But enough deep stuff. Let's talk about how Brick and Liv seem so opposite on paper, but end up so right for one another once they let their guard down. He's a guy who was forced into the enforcer role for his family. To keep them safe, he doles out hurts on others. She's a teacher who wants to make a difference in her students' lives AND who wants to live life to the fullest after a medical scare.

Seriously, they're as different as night and day and yet they're SO right for one another. She lends him a reason to keep moving forward. He makes her feel safe and gets her realizing that life doesn't have to be about living as large as possible, but just as well as possible.

Yep, I like these two. Especially together.

The Cooper Construction crew are a burly band of misfits with tangled pasts and I'm all in for Kane's book.