4.5 stars 
 Better When He's Bad is harder and grittier than what we've seen from Jay so far. I love her Marked Men, but compared to Shane Baxter, those boys are soft. 
 Bax has a bad side, and a worse side. I spent a good half of the book wondering if I was going to be able to find anything redeeming about Bax, other than he was unapologetically himself. Even through all the plot points, at his core, Bax doesn't change. He is hard. He is reckless. He is not afraid of criminal activity. And by the end I loved him. Those things I wasn't sure I would be able to love? I loved them because he made normally negative traits into something that was purely himself. He was always honest about who and what he was, and continually driven to meet his own needs above those of others around him. This doesn't sound like a glowing character description, but on Bax it works. 
 Dovie grew up in a place just like the Point. She knew the hardships that come from being from the wrong side of town. But through it all, she retained a light that no one was immune from noticing. Even when she found herself more or less alone, she had people willing to look out for her. She was sweet in a way that isn't often found in places as dark as the Point. 
 When they try to work together to locate Bax's best friend, Race, they transition from tolerance to attraction as they are forced to spend more time together for Dovie's safety. The attraction between them wasn't immediate beyond a surface level physical attraction, especially with the way they met. As the questions that Bax has spent the last five years asking himself begin to be answered, this became a page turner that I didn't want to put down. I was absolutely sucked into the Point and Bax and Dovie's journey to find out what exactly happened 5 years before, and just how thick the tangled web was woven. Between a cop, a fight coordinator, the local crime boss and Dovie and Bax, there were so many twists and turns to the story that made this an experience unlike any other. 
 I loved that neither main character changed major parts of themselves to be in the relationship. There was no waiting for Prince Charming to come to the rescue when trouble found Dovie, nor did Bax clean himself up to get the girl. They both stayed true to themselves and found acceptance for the other just as they were. 
 The Point as a location is perfect for this story. While it is a fictional city, it contains elements of the rough parts of any big city, and it's ambiguous placement lets it resonate no matter what part of the country or world the reader is from. Everyone can picture this kind of area, and not tying it down to one specific region allows the reader to project as much darkness as possible. It's the kind of place that breeds hardness, where light struggles to permeate. It's the kind of place where Bax is perfectly at home, and Dovie can't help but hide herself. 
 This was not an easy story to read. It was dark. It hurt. It surprised me in the best possible ways. As the beginning of a new series, it has a perfect amount of world-building and peripheral character introduction without taking too much focus away from the main couple's drama. There is enough of Race's story dropped that I am already anticipating the next book, Better When He's Bold, where we get his story. 
 I was gifted a copy in exchange for my honest review. This review is also posted at Reviews by Tammy and Kim.